I'd like to say something in defense of every person who's ever called the major tournament which currently resides between the U.S. Open and the P.G.A. Championship "The British Open." And in so doing mildly challenge people who rush to "correct" such speach.
I get that you Brits named your tournament "The Open" more than a hundred years ago. I don't know, maybe it was the only "Open" on earth at the time. That's certainly not the case today.
Today, the name "Open" is part of the title of the U.S. Open, French Open, Irish Open, Senior British Open, U.S. Senior Open, and who knows how many others.
It's fair to say that when speaking about any one of these tournaments, one might on occasion abbreviate its title and call it "the Open". Hence, someone calling The British Open "British" is a sometimes useful qualifier to avoid confusion. Jumping to "correct" such a speaker serves no one. And it makes you seem a bit fussy. Further, there is no way of telling whether the offending speaker, in saying, "The British Open" means that as an incorrect title for that tournament or rather means, "The open which is held in Great Britain".
You guys invented the English language. I thank you for that. Let's all enjoy using it in a clear manner.
Heck, sometimes I have a hard enough time figuring out what someone means when they say something about "The U.S. Open", because it's not necessarily clear whether they're talking tennis or golf.
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