Weigh In on Some Open Issues

Get the pun? Open issues? Haha. Anyway, there are several issues coming out of the Open that I'd love to hear from you about, including:

The 17th green at Birkdale - controversial during the week because of how awkward it is compared with the rest of the course, it wound up keeping an easy hole from becoming a very easy hole due to its undulations. Good, bad, or indifferent?

Greg Norman - at 53 years old, can the Aussie be said to have choked this championship away ...again? I don't think so given that no one ever expected Jack Nicklaus to make the comeback he did to win the 1986 Masters. And he was the greatest ever.

Tom Watson in the booth - he seemed pretty solid in there and I think his analysis was dead on in finding what cost Norman the Open. He may have not been a great prognosticator but he was more then complimentary of Harrington in victory - something Paddy deserved for the intelligence behind his victory. But, Chris Wood didn't get into the Masters. Only the Top 4 do.

Rick Reilly - personally, I don't like the guy a whole lot. He does too many puns and cute stuff that I hate. He's way better than Jimmy Roberts, though. But both ESPN and NBC need to learn that, unless you have someone like Jim McKay in the booth, you don't need essays. Still better than Jimmy Roberts.

Chris Wood - this kid finished tied for fifth in the second best performance by a British amateur in modern times. Rock solid stuff and it looks like good things for this kid. Is the next step to turn pro? Will he miss 21 cuts in a row like his Birkdale amateur soulmate Justin Rose?

The Champion Golfer of the Year - Padraig Harrington now has two major championships, in back to back years, in the same event. Not too many characters have done that in the history of the sport. What does that mean for the career of the Irishman? Now that he has won the easy way and the hard way, can he go on to win other majors?