Without time, our experience of the world would be shallow and meaningless. Because of time, it is deep and rooted. Time fertilizes our experiences until they are less a moment that happened and more a part of who we are as people. Time is both mysterious and extraordinary. At least as far as his game is concerned this year, 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year Jordan Spieth said Tuesday that it didn’t really matter to him how many Opens have been played throughout history. “It’s very exciting,” said Spieth of his 150th Open Championship in St. Andrews. “If it was the 100th [or] 143rd… doesn’t change anything for me on the golf course.” While it shouldn’t matter to a player whether an Open is the 26th or 78th or 123rd edition, it does matter when it comes to the context, because the context outlines our lives. The Open matters for a thousand reasons, but one of the most important is because it is the oldest of the most important golf tournaments in the world. Its first edition was played in 1860 and its first trip to St. Andrews was made in 1873. “Obviously, it’s the ‘Home of Golf.’ It’s the spiritual home,” Rory McIlroy told CBS Sports last week. “There’s just a different feel. You stand on that first tee next to the R&A clubhouse and you can’t help but think about the people who played there 150 or 200 years ago. It’s special. It’s different.” People ran to the same spot, to the same North Sea, when the United States consisted of only 37 states and the American Civil War was only eight years in the past. They were held there for 11 different tournaments before the First World War. “It’s hard to believe it’s been 150 years since we played this tournament,” Tiger Woods said. “And it’s unbelievable, the history behind it, the champions that have won here. Like I said, it’s hard to believe it’s more historic [this year], but it really is. It feels that way. This feels like the biggest open league we’ve ever had.” One hundred and fifty is an arbitrary number like any other anniversary. It’s round and graphic designers can easily shape it into a fancy logo for marketing teams to sell. In this sport, though, it’s also a reminder of what makes golf so special: Its roots run deeper than any other sport. And it came during a year in which the sport has never needed that reminder more. “The history of the game is definitely something I’ve taken into account,” Woods said. “I think it’s a very important part of understanding the evolution of our game, where we’ve come from, especially for me, for a person who had to fight sometimes to get into clubs or golf courses. “So I understand it from a different historical side as well. But you have to appreciate everything about this game, how it’s evolved and the people who paved the way to allow us to play in these events, who created the energy behind this. “There are so many great champions, like yesterday for example [at the Celebration of Champions] that was out there, I hope some of those kids watching at home had a chance to appreciate that, to see them play out there. I saw Bob Charles out there on 18 hitting. I think he won in ’63 or something. Just to be able to see it in person, live, oh my God, it was so special. I just hope the kids appreciate that.” Ancient objects are amazing, even more so when they stand the test of time. And what better representation of that in golf than the Old Course at St. Andrews? Yes, the R&A has had to extend this piece to other St courses. Andrews to make it stand up to the modern game. And yes, the scoring can get silly this week. But what other course would even get that far? “It’s probably the most strategic golf course in the world, and yet the sheep ruined it,” said Nick Faldo, a six-time major winner and 1990 Champion at St Andrews. The Old Course also has a unique link with golf enthusiasts. Regular fans like us can’t practice at Fenway Park or run routes at Lambeau Field or play five-on-five at Allen Fieldhouse. It’s just never going to happen. Even in golf, especially American golf, it’s rare. Most fans will never get the chance to play the courses they watch on TV. The Old Process, though? You can play it. You can try to avoid the bunkers like Tiger and you can try to make the putt on No. 18 like Seve Ballesteros or the one off the green like Constantina Rocca. The St. Andrews is just as magical as you can imagine. People play the golf clubs in the city at all hours of the night. Bars and restaurants seem to be glorified storage areas for all kinds of clubs. You might run into Keegan Bradley crossing the street, or Spieth at a gym, or any number of golf agents, all of whom you’ve seen on TV. It is the smallest major city in the sport. It is also the place where everyone gathers to remember and project. This week at the Old Course has been spent in equal parts romantically reminiscing about all that this place has seen and wildly wondering what LIV Golf will do in the future of the sport. An event of the year. “On Sunday night, it will be my privilege to announce the Champion Golfer of the Year at the 150th running of this great championship,” said R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers as he looked ahead to the week’s highlights. “This player will have his name etched in history on the Claret Jug, and what could be more special than that? “I would urge you all to keep that in mind and enjoy the Open as much as we can. It will certainly be an opportunity to talk to your children and grandchildren for many years to come.” These events are nothing but a slog. It has been almost 8,000 weeks since St Andrews hosted its first Open Championship. Opens on this course have been played in just 0.37% of weeks since then. Another will not be played in St. Andrews for at least another five years. Rory McIlroy will be almost 40 years old. Phil Mickelson will be approaching 60. Time will have accumulated more layers. As time passes, the more we appreciate what is around us. This is true both internally and externally. As we grow older, we become more grateful for the people in our lives and the places we visit and the things we get to see. In the same way, as external entities age, they become more wonderful. People may gawk at the incredulity of modern skyscrapers, but the 12th-century castles dotted across Scotland make dreams come true. What’s happening this week at the Old Course in St. Andrews cannot be manufactured or manufactured. You can’t throw enough money at another event to try to match what’s going on at this Open. You can’t buy time. This is a refreshing reality in a world of golf where it seems everyone and everything has a price. So while 150 is just a number, it is also much more. At dusk Sunday afternoon, 155 golfers will have to wait at least another five years to take a rip at the Old, while someone kisses a pitcher that’s almost as old as the tournament itself. And no doubt, when the 2022 Champion Golfer looks at the names and years that adorn the greatest trophy in sports, something inside him will break and spill out. Time gives birth to life’s deepest emotions and this Open is nothing if not a reminder of time.
