🏌🏻The Open: Who'll Win These 8 Trophies?

Good morning! Round 1 of the The Open Championship is in progress - you can watch all the action live on the USA TV Network and Peacock.

For all tournament updates and the latest news, check out our Youtube channel.

Fun Fact: The Silver Medal is awarded to the leading amateur at The Open. Who are the only two silver medal winners who have later gone on to win the Open?Answer at the end of the email.

⛳ This day in history: Bill Wright, at age 23, became the first African-American golfer to win a national championship when he won the US Amateur Public Links Championship on this date in 1959. He defeated Frank Campbell, 3 and 2, in the 36-hole final in Denver.

19th Hole
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ALBATROSS
These Pros Beat All Odds To Compete @ The Open

From life-threatening diseases to financial instabilities, nothing could stop these individuals from pursuing their passion for golf. This week, they'll be competing in The Open Championship at Royal Troon alongside the best in the world.

🏌️Michael Hendry: A year ago this week, Michael Hendry watched The Open from his couch. He had qualified to compete at Royal Liverpool but was fighting for his life, having been diagnosed with leukemia 10 weeks prior.

This year, Hendry is healthy and will compete this week at Royal Troon, as The R&A extended his exemption to this year.

🏌️Joe Dean: Earlier this year, Joe Dean was working as a delivery driver for Morrisons, a British supermarket chain. This week he'll compete at the Troon after making it via The Open Qualifying Series with a tie for second at the KLM Open.

Early in his career, he was nervous to get on planes – not an ideal fear for a professional golfer. Then he won the 2020 standings on a developmental tour; the prizes included complimentary hypnotherapy sessions.

🏌️Matthew Southgate: Two years ago, Matthew Southgate worked as a radio commentator for The 150th Open at St. Andrews. It has been a long road for Southgate – who emotionally finished T12 at the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon, a year after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Southgate beat cancer though. His golf journey in recent years has been lighter on highlights, but the tides could be turning, as he qualified to compete at Royal Troon.

🏌️Dominic Clemons: Clemons is one of 12 amateurs in this week’s field. It’s no shock to see an amateur pop up on The Open leaderboard though - as recently as last year at Royal Liverpool, amateur Christo Lamprecht shared the first-round lead.

It remains to be seen if Clemons author a similar tale.

🏌️Elvis Smylie: Smylie’s athletic pedigree befits a major stage. His mom Liz won four Grand Slam tennis titles – three in mixed doubles and one in women’s doubles – and now the younger Smylie takes aim at a major title of his own.

He played tennis as a kid, following in his parents’ footsteps but eventually took to golf’s individual nature and the ability to practice anytime.

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TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Nelly Korda Takes Mysterious Break

Nelly Korda has decided to skip this week's Dana Open after a disappointing T-26 finish at the Amundi Evian Championship. Despite a spectacular beginning to the season, the grueling tournament calendar seems to be catching up with Korda and she has opted to spend some time away from the greens.

Korda has chosen the European summer to rejuvenate and revitalize. The LPGA World No 1 is currently enjoying her vacation in the coastal town of Pucisca, accompanied by her two friends, including Croatian pro volleyball player Barbra Dapic.

The last couple of months have been quite tumultuous for Korda, whether on or off the course. From missing three consecutive cuts, including two major championships to being bitten by a dog - it has all gone wrong for the 25-year-old.

📌 Nelly Korda's Year So Far: Korda made a great start to the season, registering a streak of five wins that has made her one of only three female golfers in history to achieve the feat. She missed out on her sixth consecutive LPGA Tour win but did lift another trophy at the subsequent event, the Mizuno Americas Open.

But it has only gone downhill from then on.

📌 When will she return? While Korda hasn't confirmed her schedule, she will most definitely be seen representing Team US at the Paris Olympics. The women's competition tees off on August 7th.

Her next big event will be the last women's Major - the AIG Women's Open from August 22-25.

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LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

Solheim Cup:Ally Ewing has become the third American player to mathematically clinch a spot on the US Solheim Cup Team - she joins Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu.

OWGR: Asian Tour chief executive Cho Minn Thant has encouraged players from LIV Golf wanting to earn points in the Official World Golf Ranking to do so on the Asian circuit.

New Look:Phil Mickelson will be donning tight joggers for every round he plays at Royal Troon Golf Club. He's only wearing them because he lost a bet to Grant Horvat, a famous golf YouTuber with more than 700,000 subscribers.

Sponsors' Corner: Foxtel has retained its US Masters rights in Australia in a multi-year deal that solidifies its monopoly over leading golf properties.

For Sale: The Kelly family will have the best vantage point during the 152nd Open Championship as their “Blackrock House” sits in the middle of the championship course and has views of five holes. The house is for sale at $1.95 million.

Golf Course: The Municipal golf course in Oklahoma is set for a $2.2 million renovation that will replace all 18 greens - click here to check the details.

BIRDIE
The Open: 8 Trophies Up For Grabs

The Claret Jug is perhaps the most famous trophy in golf, but there are seven other Open Championship awards on offer at Royal Troon this year - we take a look at all of them.

🥈The Silver Medal is handed out to the amateur with the lowest score at The Open since 1949. It is only presented to someone who has played all four rounds, so it is not handed out if no amateur has made the 36-hole cut.

🥇 The winner of The Open not only receives the Claret Jug but also gets a gold medal. The award of a gold medal was first made in 1872.

🪙 The player who finishes as runner-up is presented with the silver salver - a plate which acts as a consolation prize to those who pushed the Champion Golfer of the Year all the way.

🏆 The next trophy to be won at The Open is called The Tooting Bec Cup. But this is, in fact, another medal rather than an actual cup. Since 1924, it has been awarded to the golfer who shoots the lowest round at The Open.

🎖️The Ryle Memorial Medal was instigated in 1920 in memory of Arthur Ryle, a former chairman of The PGA, and is awarded to a PGA member who wins The Open.

🏅The Braid-Taylor Memorial Medal is awarded to the PGA member who finishes in the highest position in The Open Championship. It is named after two of the founding members of the PGA, James Braid and J.H. Taylor, and was first awarded in 1966.

🥉A bronze medal is awarded to the low amateur if only pros make the cut.

DRIVING RANGE
What the Pros Do that You Don't

In today's video, we explain certain key elements that can help you develop your overall game.

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