GULLANE, Scotland – Well, that didn’t take long.
Half the field had not completed their opening rounds at Muirfield before course setup was called into question.
Several players took to social media to voice concerns, and Phil Mickelson, who shot an opening-round 69, challenged the R&A set-up crew to be a little more generous.
“Let go of their ego and set it up reasonable,” Mickelson said. “The greens are dying, and the holes are on edges of slopes that the ball just simply won’t stay. You drop it, it won’t stay by the hole.”
Nos. 8 and 18, in particular, have been called out for poor hole locations.
“Unfortunately the guys this afternoon will struggle with a few pin positions. 8th hole is a joke, 18th needs a windmill & clown face,” Ian Poulter sent via his Twitter account. Poulter shot 1-over 72.
Stewart Cink tweeted: “Muirfield greens really baking out in the sun. Keep an eye on #8, #9, and #16-18. Overall the greens are the fastest I’ve seen in the Open.” The 2009 British Open champ shot 72.
Mickelson closed his comments by saying, “joy would not be the word I’d use to describe it, no.”
