Well, that was a lot of fun.
Here's the deal with the British Open -- it's played on links courses where the wind is often dreadful. If those courses had the same type of obstacles that you would find on a championship-style American course like Oakmont or Pinehurst, then no one could break 80 once the wind started to blow. So the British Open courses are set up in a manner that leaves them relatively defenseless if the wind doesn't blow.
Yesterday, at Royal Troon in Scotland, there was only a light breeze and bright, sunny skies. Conditions were ripe for low scores, and they got low scores. The lowest score of all belonged to 46-year-old Phil Mickelson, who posted an almost perfect round: 8 birdies, no bogeys, a 63 that tied the lowest score ever posted in any major tournament. Mickelson would have had a 62, but his birdie putt on 18 took an inexplicable turn just as it was about to go into the cup.
But Mickelson was not the only star -- or the only American -- putting up low numbers. As you can see below, there are a number of big stars up near the top. And since we've been blogging here, I don't remember another leaderboard with more Americans:
1. P. Mickelson: -8 (63)
T2. M. Kaymer (GER): -5 (66)
T2. P. Reed: -5 (66)
T4. K. Bradley: -4 (67)
T4. T. Finau: -4 (67)
T4. B. Horschel: -4 (67)
T4. Z. Johnson: -4 (67)
T4. S. Kjeldsen (DEN): -4 (67)
T4. S. Stricker: -4 (67)
T4. A. Sullivan (ENG): -4 (67)
T4. J. Thomas: -4 (67)
I am for Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas.
ReplyDeleteRors!
ReplyDeleteRight now, the cut line is 2 over par.
ReplyDeleteSpieth is 3 over with 8 holes left.
Justin Thomas is 3 over with 3 holes left.
Meanwhile, McIlroy is 5 under with 10 holes left.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy bogeys the 9th hole and drops back to 4 under.
ReplyDeleteWow ... you must be right about the weather. The only golfer in the top 11 on the course is Steve Stricker, and he's even for the day and 4-under/T6 through No. 13. Nobody is charging this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteJustin Thomas finished at 2 over par, and he will make the cut.
ReplyDeleteRory has fallen back to 2 under with a bogey on 12.
ReplyDeleteSpieth finishes at 4 over par, and he'll wait to see if that's enough to make the cut.
ReplyDeleteHere's the leaderboard, which hasn't changed in a long time:
ReplyDelete1. P. Mickelson: -10 (36 holes)
2. H. Stenson (SWE): -9 (36)
T3. S. Kjeldsen (DEN): -7 (36)
T3. K. Bradley: -7 (36)
5. Z. Johnson: -5 (36)
All of these guys played in the afternoon yesterday and the morning today. A lot of the big stars -- including Rory, Jason Day, and Spieth -- were sent out in the morning yesterday and the afternoon today. The weather has simply destroyed that half of the draw; no one still on the course is more than one shot under par.
For me, this tournament has now turned into a big can-Phil-do-it?/Olympics-preliminary affair.
ReplyDeleteThe projected cut is now at 4 over, which means that Colin Montgomerie, Jordan Spieth, Brandt Snedeker, Danny Willett, Jim Furyk, and Bubba Watson -- all of whom finished at exactly 4 over par -- will be around for the weekend.
ReplyDeleteJ.B. Holmes, at 2 under par, is in a tie for 15th place. Rory is also at 2 under.
ReplyDeleteJason Day, at 1 over par, is in a tie for 41st place.
Justin Thomas, at 2 over par, is in a tie for 50th place.
Through 10 holes today, Campbellsville J.B. is now 6-under/T3 for the tournament!
ReplyDeleteAll television shows should be broadcast from outside in Scotland during the month of July. I am always so ready for this type of weather by the time July roles around here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that.
DeleteT1. P. Mickelson: -11 (43 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. H. Stenson: -11 (43 holes)
3. S. Kjeldsen: -7 (44 holes)
T4. K. Bradley: -6 (46 holes)
T4. B. Haas: -6 (44 holes)
J.B. Holmes is now 5-under and one of three players tied for sixth.
And now Mickelson is back in the lead after a Stenson birdie at 8. Mickelson has all pars today, except for a birdie at 3. Stenson fired birdies on 1, 3 and 4 and took over the lead from Phil briefly, but now he has settled back into second after bogeys at 6 and 8.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the Campbellsville bureau reports sadly that our J.B. has bogeyed 14 and 15 to fall back to 4-under for eighth place alone.
ReplyDeleteMickelson and Stenson take pars on 9 and turn to the back without anyone behind them much moving toward them on "moving day." Third-place Søren Kjeldsen appears he will be dropping at least one stroke on No. 10.
ReplyDeleteMickelson and Stenson drive to within about 10 feet of each other on the No. 10 fairway, just before Kjeldsen lumbers in with a double on the green ahead of him.
ReplyDeleteMickelson reaches the front of the green on his second shot; Stenson is about five or six feet short, on a slope up to the green.
ReplyDeleteStenson's third shot is not good, but he rolls in a very length par-saver.
Derring-do Phil safely lags and puts in. Par again.
1. P. Mickelson: -11 (46 holes)
2. H. Stenson: -11 (46 holes)
3. B. Haas: -6 (49 holes)
"Beelzebub's Beard" and "Planes, Trains and Triple Bogeys" are two of the descriptors the NBC boys have used to describe No. 11. It honestly does look like two pieces of golf course--a tee and a green--have been dropped into rural-electrified countryside along an L&N spur and county highway somewhere in western Kentucky.
ReplyDeleteMickelson and Stenson, however, survive adventures on 11 with up-and-down-for-par pars.
ReplyDeleteJ.B. Holmes (4-under) is the leader in the clubhouse!
ReplyDeletePhil finds big trouble off the tee on 12. Stenson is in the fairway.
ReplyDeleteWell, while I was eating my lunch, Mickelson saved par (somehow) on No. 12, birdied 13 and bogeyed 14. Stenson parred, parred and birdied. All of that adds up to 11-under/T1 for these two guys.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Miller has decided that Phil Mickelson is playing too conservatively--putting from off the green when he should be chipping, for example.
ReplyDeleteMickelson pars 15.
ReplyDeleteSo does Stenson.
ReplyDeleteBill Haas, 34-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, closes a 2-under round, and he's at 6-under for the tournament and third place alone.
ReplyDeleteT1. P. Mickelson: -11 (51 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. H. Stenson: -11 (51 holes)
3. B. Haas: -6 (54 holes)
4. A. Johnston: -5 (54 holes)
5. J.(B.) Holmes: -4 (54 holes)
Par-5 16: Mickelson has about six or eight feet for birdie; Stenson needs up and down from a bunker.
ReplyDeleteMickelson gets his birdie; Stenson, his par. Phil's up by one, headed to No. 17.
ReplyDelete17: Bogey, Mickelson; birdie, Stenson. So now Henrik's our leader, by one.
ReplyDeleteMickelson pars 18.
ReplyDeleteSo does Stenson. OK, this is a great tournament.
ReplyDelete