In the waves that crashed high and onto the shore of South Beach, local kite surfers were having the time of their lives.
How could they not? Winds of 34mph provided ideal conditions for this extreme sport. They looped the loops, soaring so high you wondered if they would end up in the flight path that runs above the seventh fairway of Royal Troon to neighbouring Prestwick Airport.
But for the golfers on the other side of the dunes? You might call it torture. All that could be heard was the sound of giants falling one by one, their scorecards ruined by a succession of bogeys, double bogeys and worse, their games blown out of this 152nd Open Championship.
But in a strange way, that is what makes this tournament so exciting. You may have had the privilege of holding the Claret Jug as proudly as a father holds a newborn baby, but past achievements mean nothing on days like these.
All you can do is hold on and hope you don’t fall into the abyss.
Conditions at the Royal Troon were worsened by wind gusts reaching 34 mph on Friday
Rory McIlroy’s recent troubles continued as he exited The Open early
For Rory McIlroy, that was not to be the case. If Thursday was bad, day two was even worse, and the unimaginable 20 minutes he spent on the fourth hole in particular were the sporting equivalent of watching a car crash in slow motion.
Perhaps it was simply unrealistic to think McIlroy could still compete after his nightmare at Pinehurst last month and all the emotional scars that came with it, but he had no chance after powering through the 599-yard par five.
A wild drive ended up under so much undergrowth you’d think a strimmer would be the only way to free him, but McIlroy opted to try a recovery iron. He hit and uprooted a lot of grass, but his ball only moved a few yards. If the world hadn’t been watching, he’d have been tempted to run.
The Open website describes the fourth as “possibly the best birdie chance on the course,” but you read that with a wry smile as McIlroy went from one dead end to another, eventually posting an eight. His fate was sealed.
Bryson DeChambeau, who capitalized on his burn at the US Open, did something similar on the first day of the sixth day, and any weekend golfer will be familiar with the stance he adopted: one hand on his hip, one arm outstretched with a club in his hand and a disbelieving shake of his head.
Whatever McIlroy — Champion Golfer of the Year in 2014 at Royal Liverpool — tried, he failed. Bump and runs were skipped into bunkers, punched approach shots missed targets by miles and putts never seemed to fall.
McIlroy glided through the field into the deep, where he found himself in the company of previous winners.
John Daly (1995, St Andrews) and Ernie Els (2002, Muirfield) had retired after 82s in their opening rounds, but there were many more. Todd Hamilton, the surprise hero of the 2004 renewal, fought through but finished on +20, after an 82 with an 80. Justin Leonard, another previous course and distance winner (1997), was +16 ahead of last season’s US Open champion Wyndham Clark.
And then there was Tiger Woods (Open victories in 2000, 2005 and 2006) at +14. He had made it clear that a round in the 60s was needed to survive the weekend after Thursday’s arduous trek, but he had the kind of round that brought muffled groans rather than excited howls to his shots.
“It wasn’t that good,” Woods said. “I doubled on two there, right out of the hopper, when I had to go the other way. I fought it all day. I never really hit it close enough to birdie it and made a lot of bogeys.
Whatever McIlroy tried — Champion Golfer of the Year in 2014 at Royal Liverpool — he failed
“I’ve always loved majors. I just wish I was more physically sharp when I went into it. It tests you mentally, physically, emotionally and I just wasn’t as sharp as I should have been.
“I was hoping that I would find it somehow. But I never did. So my results and scores were quite high.”
Many will be wondering if this is the last we will see of Woods, but in his eyes that is not the case. Portrush in 12 months is still on the agenda, as he has said it is ‘certainly’ his intention to play in Northern Ireland.
How his game will fare is anyone’s guess, but the Atlantic coastline can be just as unforgiving as this corner of Ayrshire. And who’s to say the course Shane Lowry conquered in 2019 won’t end up as a champion’s graveyard?
Because so many fell on this hectic Friday: Cameron Smith (2022, St Andrews), Stewart Cink (2009, Turnberry) and Henrik Stenson (2016, Troon) were nothing, as were Francesco Molinari (2018, Carnoustie) and Louis Oosthuizen (2010, St Andrews).
Tiger Woods had the kind of round where his shots were followed by muffled groans instead of excited yelps
This was as brutal as you can imagine – Zach Johnson, US Masters winner in his day, also left – and Matthew Fitzpatrick was grateful to keep his head above water. He climbed into the clubhouse at +6 and closed the door with the relief of someone who had escaped a pack of wild dogs.
“The conditions are crazy,” said Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open winner. “It’s tough. There’s no getting around it. You just have to keep going.”
That’s what champions are supposed to do, but sometimes it’s just impossible.
