‘Champion golfer of the year is such a cool title’

Champion Golfer of the Year is such a cool title.

I’m looking forward to having that announcement again as I get on to the tee. When those words were spoken on the green at Birkdale, it just kind of hit me.

It was almost like someone had kind of punched me in the gut – in the best way possible.

You need to realise how special this is and embrace what it means.

I look forward to teeing it up at Carnoustie, having those chills go through me as I step to the first tee and remember the year before, and obviously get focused and try to do it again.

I actually watched it (the 13th hole) the next day. I got home to Dallas, and I couldn’t help but turn on the final round, and actually fast-forward until the tee shot on 13.

I didn’t watch the first 12 holes. I don’t even know exactly what happened on that tee shot.

And then from there, about five minutes into the looking for the ball, I got pretty annoyed with it because it was a lot longer than I remember.

For me, it went by pretty quickly because it was, okay, decision here, decision here, now I need to drop here, but with the coverage, with the commercials, and then they come back, and it seems like we haven’t even moved.

It was like, man, that really did take a long time. That was kind of tough to watch.

I’ve seen Opens at Carnoustie. I’ve seen the golf course has a reputation and a nickname, ‘Car-nasty’, among a lot of the players, for being that difficult.

Although it won’t be necessarily the golf course itself; the conditions can obviously create scores similar to what the US Open just saw. But I thoroughly enjoy links golf.

The Open Championship has always been one of my favourite events to have played in and I am looking forward to this challenge.

I know Carnoustie presents, especially in the finishing holes but really throughout the entire golf course, a tremendous challenge.

As a competitor, you look forward to that tough, but fair, type of challenge.

No matter the conditions, I know it will be difficult, but you can obviously expect a little bit of everything in four days over in Scotland.

I don’t have any memory of the ‘99 Open. I’ve seen video of it but I don’t remember it personally. But 2007, I definitely do. That was kind of the height of me starting to fall in love with the game and travel and play.

I remember watching Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington going at it and I remember that 18th hole. I know Sergio had a pretty good look to win the tournament in regulation and it just slid by.

But I remember kind of the routes that were taken and how good of a score par was on that hole and will continue to be for Opens going forward.

It’s one of probably the toughest closing holes in the Open Championship anywhere, and that creates some drama when it comes down to Sunday, as we’ve seen, and I don’t think it will be any different this year.

The 147th Open takes place at Carnoustie Golf Links, Angus, from July 15-22, and you can be there to witness history by securing your ticket here.