353: Open Championship Preview: Hole-by-Hole Breakdown + Heat Wave at Royal Birkdale

Smylie Kaufman joins Charlie Hulme for a major championship preview edition of The Smylie Show, this time reporting on-site from Royal Birkdale ahead of the 154th Open Championship. Smylie's fresh off practice-round scouting with Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns and Tommy Fleetwood, and the two break down how a UK heat wave has left the course baked out, brown, and playing firmer and faster than usual — with wind direction doing wild things to distance and club selection all week.

Plus: a full hole-by-hole walkthrough of Royal Birkdale using the R&A's course guide and Padraig Harrington's notes on each hole, including the redesigned par-3s and the new 13th where Jordan Spieth made his iconic bogey in 2017. They close it out with contender picks for the week & dark horse names to watch out for.

Before all that: Charlie cranks the office heat and a fan to "simulate" Birkdale conditions, and Smylie details a rough night of jet lag getting into town.

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Chapters

0:00 Intro: heat wave banter & simulating Birkdale conditions
2:23 Smylie's practice round report (Scheffler, Burns, Fleetwood)
3:34 Course strategy: wind, firmness & club selection
6:46 UK heat wave, dry conditions & Open Championship ice cream
8:36 Hole 1
10:41 Hole 2
12:30 Hole 3
14:48 Hole 4
17:53 Hole 5
22:14 Hole 6
25:00 Hole 7
26:53 Hole 8
28:12 Hole 9
31:57 Hole 10
33:52 Hole 11
37:08 Hole 12
39:18 Hole 13
43:06 Hole 14
47:15 Hole 15
50:43 Hole 16
54:14 Hole 17
56:06 Hole 18
57:28 Course wrap-up: what to watch for at Royal Birkdale
59:41 Open Championship picks & dark horses
1:09:56 Sign-off & what's coming this week

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