Review: British Open. BBC1

11:30am Monday 21st July 2008

Comments (2)   Have your say »

By John Anson »

IT’S funny that what amounts to little more than a bunch of blokes with poor dress sense wandering around a field hitting balls with sticks can be such compelling viewing.

Unless your TV’s broken you cannot help but fail to have noticed that the British Open has formed the cornerstone of the Beeb’s output this weekend.

Poor old Beeb, it hardly gets any sport of note to cover these days so you can be sure that when it does, it does so royally.

Even if you don’t like golf – there is one famous description of the game a “a good walk spoiled” – the drama of the past two days at Royal Birkdale will surely have captured your attention over the weekend.

The Open coverage represents what the BBC does so well.

By blending the avuncular presence in the commentary box of Peter Alliss with the likes of Sam Torrance and Ken Brown (all former pros) you get an insider’s view of the game – and no little humour thrown in.

Unlike, say Sky, the BBC tends to keep it relatively simple, tell the viewer what’s happening and let the pictures tell the story.

That’s not to say coverage hasn’t escaped the boffins totally – computer generated holes and stats about trajectories have been making an appearance but it actually enhances the viewer’s enjoyment.

Now will they let Gary Lineker out of his glass box?