'Absolute Carnage' - Social Media Reacts To Brutal Senior Open Conditions

Veterans battled brutal wet and windy conditions in South Wales at Royal Porthcawl on the final day of the Senior Open

Harrington and his caddie under an umbrella
(Image credit: Getty Images)
James Nursey
By James Nursey
published

For all their vast experience, the field of the Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl found the going very hard as the pros were battered by the wind and the rain.

The likes of Padraig Harrington , Vijay Singh and Alex Cejka were among the names at the top of the leaderboard battling for the prestigious title in conditions commentators claimed would have been the worst they had ever faced.

Back home, there were also rows of other pros seemingly glued to the live coverage which prompted the likes of Justin Thomas and Eddie Pepperell to comment on social media about the appalling playing conditions. 

The final day of the Senior Open saw extremely tough conditions

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The howling wind and driving rain prompted plenty of jokes from Sky's commentary team, especially those in the comfort of the studio, but there were few smiles to be seen in the wild conditions. Well, until players finally putted out on the 18th, like former champion Darren Clarke.

DP World Tour pro, Pepperell, described the scenes as "seriously abysmal" before admitting it made "great TV", while two-time Major winner, Justin Thomas, tweeted: "I can’t stop watching the Senior Open. It is absolute carnage."

The conditions prompted Sky commentator, Andrew Coltart, to say anyone who finishes in the top 25 deserves a round of applause after claiming it would have been the toughest conditions any of them had ever faced. 

At one point Bernhard Langer was the clubhouse leader on ten-over-par as the broadcasting team suggested the German may want to hang around in case there was a play-off. However, he was eventually surpassed even though the wind meant a string of players missed a number of short putts including last year's runner-up Harrington on the 16th.

It followed a brutal third day at Royal Porthcawl in which no player shot an under-par round in gusting winds on the south Wales coastline. It was the first time no player has produced an under-par round in the Senior Open since 2005, when Tom Watson triumphed at Royal Aberdeen.

James Nursey
James Nursey
Contributor

James Nursey is a freelance contributor to Golf Monthly after spending over 20 years as a sports reporter in newspapers. During a 17-year career with the Daily Mirror, he covered mainly football but reported from The Open annually and also covered a Ryder Cup and three US Opens. He counts a pre-tournament exclusive with Justin Rose at Merion in 2013 as one of his most memorable as the Englishman went on to win his first Major and later repeated much of the interview in his winner’s speech.  Now, after choosing to leave full-time work in newspapers, James, who is a keen single-figure player, is writing about golf more.  His favourite track is the Old Course after attending St Andrews University but has since played mainly at Edgbaston, where he is a long-time member. James’ golfing highlights include previously winning the club championship and scratch knock-out there. He is also an active member of the Association of Golf Writers and Press Golfing Society but his favourite round is playing the game with his young children. James is currently playing:  Driver: Ping G400 3 wood: Ping i20 Hybrid: Ping i20 Irons: Ping i500 4-SW Wedges: Ping Glide forged 50, 56 Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Ball: Titleist ProVIx

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