Monday 18 July 2016 12:10, UK
After a stunning finish to The Open at Royal Troon, Wayne Riley discusses the best and worst shots of the week and the "horrific" weather conditions during the second round...
When we have days when the weather is more severe, I actually enjoy being on course more. That's because it gives me more to put into the commentary. I love talking about the elements as well as the golf, I really do.
Having said that, it's less ideal when it's windy and raining. I can deal with getting wet, I've got no problem with that, and I can deal with a breezy day. But when it's both together, like it was on Friday, that can be a bit of a nightmare.
The second round at Royal Troon was horrific at times, and it was among the worst weather days I can recall. I remember similar conditions - if not worse - when I was playing in The Open in 1985 at Royal St George's, and Muirfield in 2002 was wet, windy and freezing cold at times.
But that's what it is, that's links golf. People who come here and complain about the weather? I'm sorry, this is how it's supposed to be - a real mixture of the good and the bad, exactly what we've seen this week.
Links courses are exposed to the elements, and what we've seen this week is what you get on a regular basis. When it's flat calm, then an Open becomes a birdie fest. The main defences for links courses are its bunkers and the wind.
Bubba Watson hit an incredible shot out of a bunker at the par-five sixth on Friday. He was 60 yards from the pin, one of the toughest shots in golf, and he clipped it perfectly and knocked it to a couple of feet for birdie. That's maybe the best shot I've seen close up this week.
I've seen a few shockers as well, mainly on the back nine, and it's fair to say that the back nine is winning this week! The front nine has been fairly defenceless, but it gets mean after the turn.
The Railway hole at 11 has been one of the toughest holes this week, we've seen a few nines there. It's been described as one of the hardest holes on the Open rota, and that's probably not far off. Is there a par-four as difficult? Yes - the 10th!
That tee shot is blind and brutal. All you can see from the tee is sand dunes, and when you get on the 11th tee, all you can see is gorse.
But I love the whole golf course at Royal Troon and I think this is the fairest I've ever seen it play. It's quite soft, so we've not seen so many balls run down the middle of the fairway, hit a mound and cannon off into the rough.
The R&A did well with the set-up considering the bad weather on Friday and Saturday, and it's been a fantastic week for The Open.
