[Sawgrass]

I'd like to say something in defense of every person who's ever called the major tournament which currently resides between the U.S. Open and the P.G.A. Championship "The British Open." And in so doing mildly challenge people who rush to "correct" such speach.

I get that you Brits named your tournament "The Open" more than a hundred years ago. I don't know, maybe it was the only "Open" on earth at the time. That's certainly not the case today.

Today, the name "Open" is part of the title of the U.S. Open, French Open, Irish Open, Senior British Open, U.S. Senior Open, and who knows how many others.

It's fair to say that when speaking about any one of these tournaments, one might on occasion abbreviate its title and call it "the Open". Hence, someone calling The British Open "British" is a sometimes useful qualifier to avoid confusion. Jumping to "correct" such a speaker serves no one. And it makes you seem a bit fussy. Further, there is no way of telling whether the offending speaker, in saying, "The British Open" means that as an incorrect title for that tournament or rather means, "The open which is held in Great Britain".

You guys invented the English language. I thank you for that. Let's all enjoy using it in a clear manner.

Heck, sometimes I have a hard enough time figuring out what someone means when they say something about "The U.S. Open", because it's not necessarily clear whether they're talking tennis or golf.

Signed,

A Yankee fan of the British Open

(Please feel free to flame, my golfing brothers from across the sea.)

[bscinstnct]

Sawgrass, on Jul 22 2009, 10:56 AM, said:

I'd like to say something in defense of every person who's ever called the major tournament which currently resides between the U.S. Open and the P.G.A. Championship "The British Open." And in so doing mildly challenge people who rush to "correct" such speach.

I get that you Brits named your tournament "The Open" more than a hundred years ago. I don't know, maybe it was the only "Open" on earth at the time. That's certainly not the case today.

Today, the name "Open" is part of the title of the U.S. Open, French Open, Irish Open, Senior British Open, U.S. Senior Open, and who knows how many others.

It's fair to that when speaking about any one of these tournaments, one might on occasion abbreviate its title and call it "the Open". Hence, someone calling The British Open "British" is a sometimes useful qualifier to avoid confusion. Jumping to "correct" such a speaker serves no one. And it makes you seem a bit fussy. Further, there is no way of telling whether the offending speaker, in saying, "The British Open" means that as an incorrect title for that tournament or rather means, "The open which is held in Great Britain".

You guys invented the English language. I thank you for that. Let's all enjoy using it in a clear manner.

Heck, sometimes I have a hard enough time figuring out what someone means when they say something about "The U.S. Open", because it's not necessarily clear whether they're talking tennis or golf.

Signed,

A Yankee fan of the British Open

(Please feel free to flame, my golfing brothers from across the sea.)

You just don't get it.

If you refer to The Open as the British Open well, what have you got?

The B.O.

Now do you see?

[Ears26]

You can call it the British Open if you like - but the official Title is "The Open Championship".

The winner is not the Open Champion - but more correctly "The Champion Golfer" for 2009 etc..

It doesn't really matter, on this side of the pond it will always we referred to as THE open, and we call the U.S. Open just that - the U.S. Open. I suppose it's a bit of Snobbery for having done things first - just like our postage stamps are the only country in the world not to identify the country on them by name. Sometimes us Brits can be like that But don't worry just 'cos we did them first means you get to learn from it and do it better.

Oh and for the record I think you mean the U.S. PGA Championship ('cos we have a PGA Championship over here too - and it's defo not a major)

[Gem]

It doesn't really matter what you call 'The Open'. As has been said before, if you are from the U.S then 'The Open' can mean either the U.S Open or the British Open but mainly will be taken as the U.S one.
If I was talking about the British Open when the U.S one is being played then I would include 'British' in the description to clarify.
If any one gets annoyed when 'British' is added to the Open Championship then I would just let them blether on and not really listen.

Gem

[mjc694]

Arnold called it the brittish open.

jack called it the brittish open.

everyone occasionally refers to it by this moniker, but only to distinguish it. It is not a sign of disrespect.

i for one very much look forward to the tournament on a yearly basis, just sick of this argument.

[tpariff]

I try my best to refer to it as The Open because I respect the history. That said, it's someone's choice to refer to it as The British Open. Either way it's the same tournament.

Kevin

[Johnny]

British Open is "the open" US Open is the US Open.. I dont have any issues with that, it's tradition.

[spring7]

Everyone used to call it the British Open, I am not sure what happened

[bermuda]

The famous golf writer Charles Price called the US Open the "National Open," which I think was its original name and is still a registered service mark of the USGA. I say "US Open" and "British Open," but it's good to know the official, historical names.

[Lundingolfer]

Sawgrass, on Jul 22 2009, 03:56 PM, said:

I'd like to say something in defense of every person who's ever called the major tournament which currently resides between the U.S. Open and the P.G.A. Championship "The British Open." And in so doing mildly challenge people who rush to "correct" such speach.

I get that you Brits named your tournament "The Open" more than a hundred years ago. I don't know, maybe it was the only "Open" on earth at the time. That's certainly not the case today.

Today, the name "Open" is part of the title of the U.S. Open, French Open, Irish Open, Senior British Open, U.S. Senior Open, and who knows how many others.

It's fair to say that when speaking about any one of these tournaments, one might on occasion abbreviate its title and call it "the Open". Hence, someone calling The British Open "British" is a sometimes useful qualifier to avoid confusion. Jumping to "correct" such a speaker serves no one. And it makes you seem a bit fussy. Further, there is no way of telling whether the offending speaker, in saying, "The British Open" means that as an incorrect title for that tournament or rather means, "The open which is held in Great Britain".

You guys invented the English language. I thank you for that. Let's all enjoy using it in a clear manner.

Heck, sometimes I have a hard enough time figuring out what someone means when they say something about "The U.S. Open", because it's not necessarily clear whether they're talking tennis or golf.

Signed,

A Yankee fan of the British Open

(Please feel free to flame, my golfing brothers from across the sea.)

Get your handicap down,qualify,come over and play,win it and see what you call it then................................

[Señor Rafa]

The Open has always been called "The Open", but some way along the line I presume it got called "The British Open" by Americans because that's what they refered it to because they have their own open called "U.S. Open", but I don't know any American's who refer to the U.S. Open to "The Open".

It's just like football. The real name of the game is 'football' but a couple countries call it 'soccer' for whatever reason. Makes no sense to copy the same name of another sport.

[Sawgrass]

Ears26, on Jul 22 2009, 12:06 PM, said:

Oh and for the record I think you mean the U.S. PGA Championship ('cos we have a PGA Championship over here too - and it's defo not a major)

Thank you Mr. Ears. I most definitely did not mean the British PGA! (I feel very expertly, and appropriately, poked at by the way!)

[gregflat9]

What would you sooner win?

The Open or the US Open?

Case closed!

[Paul Stewart Jones]

If arnie and Jack are on tv in the USA they will call it the british open, but they know it is the The open championship, even tiger calles it the british open in america and the open championship in the UK.

I think it saves the confusion with u.s audience on tv, so they dont think they are talking about hte us open.

[Dizzub]

gregflat9, on Jul 22 2009, 04:37 PM, said:

What would you sooner win?

The Open or the US Open?

Case closed!

Personally, the US Open.

[Paul Stewart Jones]

mjtoal, on Jul 22 2009, 03:13 PM, said:

Sawgrass, on Jul 22 2009, 07:54 PM, said:

Ears26, on Jul 22 2009, 12:06 PM, said:

Oh and for the record I think you mean the U.S. PGA Championship ('cos we have a PGA Championship over here too - and it's defo not a major)

Thank you Mr. Ears. I most definitely did not mean the British PGA! (I feel very expertly, and appropriately, poked at by the way!)

The 'US' PGA Championship is called the [91st] PGA Championship on their website, so I guess that is what they want the event called.

http://www.pga.com/p...2009/index.html

The event held in the UK is called the BMW PGA Championship, not the British.

I have no problem calling all these events, including The Open Championship, by their proper names.

Yeah but if the BMW PGA didnt have a sponsor, it would be the PGA Championship, because it is the British PGA's Championship, as the field has 20 British PGA championships who qualified from there PGA Regions, senior pga champion, pga champion or assistants champion.

[mikethedog]

I call it by it's intended name, The Open Championship, but I happen to like formality and tradition...I also like punctuation, capitalization and proper spelling, but maybe that's just me.

[Swingtheclub]

After the performances of the last couple of years

we could just call it "The Senior Open" I heard Arnie has started practicing for next year

[Mainlinegolfer]

I understand next year, at St. Andrews, it will be The Weetabix Open, presented by Kohler.

[dlygrisse]

gregflat9, on Jul 22 2009, 03:37 PM, said:

What would you sooner win?

The Open or the US Open?

Case closed!

The United States Open, case closed!

[dlygrisse]

Mainlinegolfer, on Jul 22 2009, 04:14 PM, said:

I understand next year, at St. Andrews, it will be The Weetabix Open, presented by Kohler.

And Schweppes

[dlygrisse]

Seriously, it's called the Open Championship, that is fine, the proper name, the Brits are very big on being proper anyway. Calling it the British Open, or "the British" is a slang term, often used to clarify what you are talking about especially in the US or on US television. If anyone really takes offense then you have too much time on your hands, no one is intending to be disrespectful.

It was referred to as the British Open for many years, whether that was the proper name or not, it just seems in the last 10 years or so the R and A has made a concerted marketing effort to add some prestige to the event globally. IMO this was a good move on their part, untill several years ago the Open was really not taken as seriously in the US as the US Open, especially the Masters and maybe the PGA. I think the Masters was actually moving ahead of the pack world wide as well, now I know people from Europe will take offense to what I am saying but it was basically true, and the big money, especially at the time, was coming from the US.

Many US pros did not play in the "British" because the money was not up to standard, and unless you won you lost money traveling to GB to play in it. in fact when Hogan and Snead won not long after WWII the prize money did not cover their expenses and they never went back. As Curtis Strange used to say when he was one of the top ranked players in the world, the British Open only counts if you win. This sentiment has obviouly changed over the years and the main reason, like it or not, is that the prize money and the residual impact of playing is now very lucrative.

Things change over time, but you can always be sure of one thing, if you follow the money you will usually find your answer.


Edit:

Snead won 150 pounds in 1946, a pittance even in those days
Prize money did not reach 100,000 pounds till 1993 when Norman won at St Georges, Lee Janzen won $290,000 in the US Open the same year. Even with the exchange rate at the time the money was probably 1/2 of the US Open. The winner this year received 750,000 pounds.

Not to mention the excessive taxes, and gouging that occurs on hotel rooms

[BigPete]

Did I hear somewhere it was "The Open Chamionship" because you could qualify from anywhere in the World? If you win and become THE champion golfer, it's because anyone in the World could've qualified.
Not sure if similar qualifying opportunities are available for the U.S. Open?

btw "Soccer" is a shortening of Association Football - why some clubs are called AFC (like Bournmouth)

And wasn't it the "Chicago World" newspaper who sponsored the first baseball champs?

I reserve the right to be proved completely wrong on any of the above points...

[tok]

This thread is stupid so i wont wast many characters on it.

The open was the first of these championships to start - it has its pick of name. Anyone with a problem over the open championships name needs to find more important problems to consider as problems.

For instance how hard it is to remember that the proper name is The Open Chapionship!

[dlygrisse]

BigPete, on Jul 22 2009, 04:39 PM, said:

Did I hear somewhere it was "The Open Chamionship" because you could qualify from anywhere in the World? If you win and become THE champion golfer, it's because anyone in the World could've qualified.
Not sure if similar qualifying opportunities are available for the U.S. Open?

btw "Soccer" is a shortening of Association Football - why some clubs are called AFC (like Bournmouth)

And wasn't it the "Chicago World" newspaper who sponsored the first baseball champs?

I reserve the right to be proved completely wrong on any of the above points...

I never new the origin of soccer
Background
The rules of association football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other versions of football played at the time. The word soccer is a colloquial abbreviation of association (from assoc.) and first appeared in the 1880s. The word is sometimes credited to Charles Wreford Brown, an Oxford student said to have been fond of shortened forms such as brekkers for breakfast and rugger for rugby football. (See Oxford -er)

The term association football has never been widely used, although in England some clubs in rugby league strongholds adopted the suffix Association Football Club (AFC) to avoid confusion with the dominant sport in their area.

The longer version of the name, "soccer football", is used less often than it once was. The United States Soccer Federation was known as the United States Soccer Football Association from 1945 until 1974, when it adopted its current name. Some soccer clubs, in Australia for example, still contain the words "soccer football" in their titles. "Football" is used in more countries by more speakers, including more non-native speakers of English, as well as countries where the game is most prominent. The game is also known colloquially as footy/footie and footer in various places. In some countries "soccer" is the most dominant form, the United States being the largest.

[TM TourClub Ho]

It allways amuses me how this argument comes up every year.

First Open Championship was played in 1860

Was there any Golf Clubs in the US then?

First US OPEN 1895

First US PGA Championship 1916

First Masters Tournament 1934

First US Amateur Championship 1895

First British Amateur Championship 1885 ( The US and British Amateur were Major Championships until the introduction of the PGA and Masters)

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP is the oldest Golf Major in the world and the first Major, It therefore as the right to be called " The OPEN",

British Masters Golf Tournament founded 1946, we Brit's call it the British Masters, we call the US Masters "The Masters" as that is what it as allways been called ( ok since 1939 as it was previously known as "The Augusta National Invitational ), Same as the Open as allways been called "The Open"

[Johnny]

gregflat9, on Jul 22 2009, 12:37 PM, said:

What would you sooner win?

The Open or the US Open?

Case closed!

without a doubt the US Open.

[callawayfan]

The Open.. at St Andrews
cant get better than that

[bscinstnct]

TM TourClub Ho , on Jul 22 2009, 07:08 PM, said:

It allways amuses me how this argument comes up every year.

First Open Championship was played in 1860

Was there any Golf Clubs in the US then?

First US OPEN 1895

First US PGA Championship 1916

First Masters Tournament 1934

First US Amateur Championship 1895

First British Amateur Championship 1885 ( The US and British Amateur were Major Championships until the introduction of the PGA and Masters)

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP is the oldest Golf Major in the world and the first Major, It therefore as the right to be called " The OPEN",

British Masters Golf Tournament founded 1946, we Brit's call it the British Masters, we call the US Masters "The Masters" as that is what it as allways been called ( ok since 1939 as it was previously known as "The Augusta National Invitational ), Same as the Open as allways been called "The Open"

Are there any golf clubs left in the UK? I thought that Labour's agenda was to have shut them all down by now.



Relax. Just a corresponding pleasantry to your "were there any Golf Clubs in the US then?" .

Cheers.

[volrus]

gregflat9, on Jul 22 2009, 03:37 PM, said:

What would you sooner win?

The Open or the US Open?

Case closed!

Uh, hands down the US Open.

[ChiGolf]

Johnny, on Jul 22 2009, 06:05 PM, said:

gregflat9, on Jul 22 2009, 12:37 PM, said:

What would you sooner win?

The Open or the US Open?

Case closed!

without a doubt the US Open.

Ha. I'd rather win The Open at St. Andrews.

Different strokes for different folks.

[TM TourClub Ho]

Johnny, on Jul 23 2009, 02:05 AM, said:

gregflat9, on Jul 22 2009, 12:37 PM, said:

What would you sooner win?

The Open or the US Open?

Case closed!

without a doubt the US Open.

There's Nothing like winning your National Championship, Patriotism is a great thing and rightly so.

what i was saying is there is Only 1 Open Championship and then there's the US OPEN Championship

same as there is Only 1 Masters Tournament and it's not the British one

[gatorsteve]

It's one of the best tournaments if not the best no matter what you call it.


steve

[BigPete]

Federer winning British Wimbledon anyone?

[extremeld]

The Open is the correct title, ONLY Americans will refer to it occassionaly as the BRITISH Open to distinguish from the US Open (As it would be reasonable to talk about the Open as US golfer and mean the US open)

Golfers from any country other than the USA will most likely call the British Open, the Open and the US Open the US Open.

I think the use of the title British Open is just for clarity when it comes from US golf pros.


I call the USPGA the PGA - there is no need do call it the USPGA as there is only 1 (major)


Majors names and in order of value


The Open
The US Open
The Masters
The USPGA (US part dropped when discussing majors (as there is no need to distinguish from other PGA events)



check out the uk longdrive series

k

[Mainlinegolfer]

Mainlinegolfer, on Mar 27 2009, 12:05 PM, said:

mat562, on Mar 27 2009, 08:59 AM, said:

The Open Championship has never, in it's 150 year history, been the 'British Open.' It was christened the Open Championship as it was exactly that - a championship open to all-comers and, since no other event of an equivalent nature existed, no national tag was needed to differentiate it from any other national open.

The only British Open that exists in golf is the Womens British Open - so-called because that's what it was christened at its inception.

In the case of the mens' version, it's not snooty or huffy to refer to it by its given title. It's just being correct. And, since being correct in this case involves no more effort than being wrong, many people choose to simply refer to the championship by its correct title.

It's the original major championship and, regardless of whether the game as we know it originated in Scotland, The Netherlands or even in China, as some claim, it was the first structured championship in golf and can rightly lay claim to its place in history and a traditional venue in the United Kingdom.

To be pedantic, the fact it's previously been held in Northern Ireland means that it can't, by definition, be a 'British' Open. And, before anyone brings up the inevitable argument, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Faldo and Woods are all wrong when they say they won the 'British Open.' Unless they snuck in and beat Laura Davies and Annika whilst sporting a brunette wig and disguised as Corrinne Dibnah, they didn't.

I am a stickler for this, I admit it. But I don't call the Masters the 'U.S. Masters' for precisely the same reason. I look at it this way: If I were to build a concrete flower bed in my back garden with five sides, and were to then christen it 'The Pentagon', would it then be reasonable for me to be petitioning the blokes over in the States to stick a 'U.S.' in front of their version - just so that people are sure about whether we're referring to my flowerbed or the United States' Military Headquarters when the subject comes up? Ridiculous? Very much so. But it's almost an exact analogy for the Open Championship argument when you think about it.

Don't get your knickers in a twist. I don't need (or want) a lecture; I've heard it all before. And you are correct, you certainly are being pedantic. Perhaps a lesson differentiating Great Britain, the United Kingdom (and Ireland) would be interesting? Lest you think me jingoistic or provincial, I've actually lived in London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam and played golf all over the world.

I KNOW it's THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP and I know why; this "insight" has been proffered and posted for years. That which was envisioned in 1860 about the scope of the OPEN and the world of golf is significantly different from today's golf world. The modern, Modern Olympics is quite different from that instigated by Baron de Coubertin, and the Ryder Cup is quite different from that started by Samuel Ryder -- aristocratic white gentlemen enjoying a bit of sporting competition (with a spot of tea afterward). How civilized.

If it helps communications to refer the THE OPEN as the British Open, so what? There are now many more "Opens" than in 1860. If it has also become customary to refer to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as "Wimbledon" and the "Wimbledon Championship", so what? Excuse me, but those of you (Brits) who become so agitated about THE OPEN or WIMBLEDON (we know, not WimbleTON) are simply being pompous and flaunting a bit of trivia over the heads of the great unwashed golfing masses. "Well, you know, actually, The OPEN Championship began in Preswick, Scotland in 1860" (must kill the English). Tut, tut and harrumph

Interestingly, I've always found it interesting that when Bobby Jones was presented the Freedom of St. Andrews in 1958, both he and Provost Robert Leonard referred to the "British" Open.

Mainlinegolfer, on Mar 27 2009, 12:30 PM, said:

mat562, on Mar 27 2009, 10:15 AM, said:

But don't try to convince me that the Champion Golfer each year is the winner of something called the British Open. He's not.

Frankly, "Champion Golfer of the Year", is another title that, while traditional and customary, seems somewhat antiquated, provincial, and a trifle quaint now that professional golf is played by other than a few Scots, and even, gasp, outside the British Commonwealth. There are many golf tournaments, lots of Opens, several Championships, and arguably, four "major" championships. Are "majors" media created? Perhaps. But it is what it is, and even Tim Finchem has not been successful in branding the Players Championship as a "Fifth Major". Perhaps tradition and history will win out over hype and commercialism (although the Ryder Cup is endangered).

Terming the winner of the, um, Open Championship, as "Champion Golfer of the Year" may be a bit presumptuous.
(At least it's not yet the Weetabix Men's British Open)

extremeld, on Jul 23 2009, 09:20 AM, said:

The Open is the correct title, ONLY Americans will refer to it occassionaly as the BRITISH Open to distinguish from the US Open (As it would be reasonable to talk about the Open as US golfer and mean the US open)

A pedantic thread debating "The Open" vs. "the British Open" doesn't just come up once a year; it came up as recently as March 2009! And, as I posted back then: "... I've always found it interesting that when Bobby Jones was presented the Freedom of St. Andrews in 1958, both he and Provost Robert Leonard referred to the "British" Open."

Relax.

[Gareth Williams]

gregflat9, on Jul 22 2009, 09:37 PM, said:

What would you sooner win?

The Open or the US Open?

Case closed!

The Open Championship every time.

And I think that if most pro's were polled they would also pick The Open over all the other major. It's not going to happen but it is about time the USA lost one of the three major tournaments and it was replaced with a bona fide 4th major that is played outside of the US. That would signify the status of golf as a world game and not just a European/US one.

[stage1350]

I call it The Open Championship because that's the name of the tournament. I respect it's history as the oldest Major. Too many people don't care about the history of the game anymore or want to post revisionist history as it is.

There are other "Masters" tournaments, but when you say "The Masters" it certainly represents the tournament held at ANGC every spring. There's no need to qualify The Open Championship as the "British" open either.