CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) The Latest on the British (all times local):

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) Sandy Lyle of Scotland sent a mid-iron rolling along the crusty turf of Carnoustie to start the 147th playing of the British Open.

EDNUND, Okla. (AP) Mark Hayes, the former Oklahoma State star who won the PGA Tour's 1977 Players Championship, has died. He was 69.

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) Mark Hayes, who won The Players Championship among this three PGA Tour titles and was the first player to shoot 63 in the British Open, has died. He was 69.

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (AP) Brittany Lincicome has every reason to be nervous as she chases history.

NBC/Golf Channel's David Feherty said last week that this year's British Open could be the most “burnt” conditions since the 1989 Open Championship. Feherty remembers that year well because he finished T-6 at Royal Troon (Yeah, the TV funnyman could play some serious golf back in the day). The winner? Mark Calcavecchia, who defeated Greg Norman and Wayne Grady in a playoff.
RELATED: Rory McIlroy lookalike wears perfect shirt at Carnoustie
All of which kind of leads us to Calcavecchia's wife, Brenda, who on the eve of this year's Open saw this photo of Carnoustie's greenkeepers (brownkeepers?) hard at work and asked a fantastic question:
https://twitter.com/brendacalc/status/1019622115790807041
Well played, Brenda. Although, her husband added a pretty good reply himself:
https://twitter.com/MarkCalc/status/1019622586228015104
Calc will be one of the first golfers to take on a freshly mowed/packed Carnoustie for real this year. He tees off at 7:08 a.m. local time..

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) Facts and figures for the 147th British Open, which starts Thursday:

Site: Carnoustie Golf Links.

Length: 7,402 yards.

Par: 71.

Field: 156 players (152 pros, 4 amateurs).

Playoff (if necessary): 4 holes, aggregate score.

Prize money: $10.5 million.

Winner’s share: $1,890,000.

Defending champion: Jordan Spieth.

Open champions at Carnoustie: Tommy Armour (1931), Henry Cotton (1937), Ben Hogan (1953), Gary Player (1968), Tom Watson (1975), Paul Lawrie (1999), Padraig Harrington (2007).

Tiger Tales: Tiger Woods is playing the British Open for the first time since he missed the cut at St. Andrews in 2015.

Key statistic: Americans in their 20s have won the last five major championships.

Noteworthy: The British Open has been decided by a playoff the last three times it was held at Carnoustie.

Quoteworthy: ”It will go until it runs into something.” – Justin Thomas, on how far the ball rolls on the firm ground at Carnoustie.

Television (all times EDT): Th..

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) Some players had to give up their drivers – at least temporarily – this week as British Open officials decided to test them to see if they were in violation of the rules.

The checks came in the midst of a distance debate that previously had been centered on golf balls, not clubs.

”We take our governance role very seriously, not just on the rules of golf and amateur status, but also equipment standards,” said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A. ”And we felt it was an appropriate next step to more actively seek to test players’ drivers straight out of the bag.”

Both the R&A and the USGA measure what is known as ”characteristic time,” or CT, to determine whether drivers conform to limits on ”spring-like effect” that determines how far the golf ball can be hit. But the testing lately hasn’t involved a list of players asking them to bring the clubs from their bags.

”We’ve always had an equipment test capability down on the range, certainly since I’ve b..

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) The eve of the British Open felt like cramming for a final exam, a multiple choice one with no obvious answers.

The wind that blows off the North Sea across the exposed links of Carnoustie has not been the primary concern during practice rounds. Players have a reasonable idea how far the ball travels in the air. They just don’t know how far it goes on the ground.

”If you get it downwind and you hit that little flat draw and it gets running, it will go pretty much until it runs into something,” Justin Thomas said.

That’s not entirely true.

Thomas hit a tee shot on the third hole Wednesday afternoon that rolled across the humps in the fairway and kept right on rolling. It looked as though it would run into a bunker, or maybe even the handle of a rake leaning on the left edge of the bunker. It missed both and eventually came to a stop 232 yards away.

His club off the tee was an 8-iron.

Tiger Woods doesn’t see many occasions to hit driver because of how far ..

Rory McIlroy was happy to reminisce on Wednesday about the last time the Open Championship came to Carnoustie. And why not? Back in 2007, McIlroy was an 18-year-old who claimed the silver medal in the event as low amateur. But there was one part of that week McIlroy doesn't particularly want to relive.
His hair.
McIlroy has changed a lot physically through the years as he's grown from a boy into a fitness-focused man, but his long curly locks are the most striking part of his appearance when taking a look back. Have a look:
FacebookPinterestPAUL ELLISAnd another:
FacebookPinterestRebecca Naden – PA ImagesRELATED: Rory McIlroy lookalike wears perfect shirt at Carnoustie
And here are those luscious curls sticking out from under his hat:
FacebookPinterestAndrew RedingtonBy the way, pulling up the collar on that pullover wasn't a great look either. The guy looks like an extra in “Saturday Night Fever.”
Anyway, God bless the British press for pressing McIlroy on this issue. I..