The 136th British Open begins play this Thursday at Carnoustie in Scotland, so NY Times golf writer Damon Hack sets the stage (see also here) for this year’s event. The Open’s website is always one of the best tournament websites, and this year’s version includes this slick visual guide to the golf course. Meanwhile, Austin’s Dave Pelz, Phil Mickelson’s short game guru, gives this interesting interview on how Team Mickelson is preparing for the special challenges of Carnoustie.
By the way, this year’s event is the first time that the Open has been back to Carnoustie since 1999, when France’s Jan Van de Velde self-destructed on the 72nd hole by taking a 7, blowing a three shot lead and then blowing another opportunity to win the championship in the subsequent playoff. That meltdown on the final day of a major tournament prompted one of the better golf jokes that I’ve heard over the years:

“What does ‘Jan Van de Velde’ mean in English?”
“Greg Norman.”