The British Open

In 1998 I was in the British Isles for three weeks with my family. We were there in the middle of summer, late July into August, but the only place that seemed summery was London where the temperature stayed around 70 degrees the eight days we were there. In the south of Ireland we ran into frigid weather, with the temperature in the low forties in the morning and it felt even colder on the coast because there was a gale coming off the Atlantic Ocean. It was equally chilly in Edinburgh and near the coast where St. Andrew’s Golf course is located, with another cold wind blowing making it very uncomfortable. Thank goodness I had been smart enough to bring my winter Jacket.

I tell you about that trip as prelude to making a report about the British Open, which started play Thursday morning. It is being held for the 9^th time at the Royal Birkdale Golf Course on the western coast of England. It was cold, windy, and raining on Thursday morning, but not quite so bad in the afternoon when most of the low scores were made. Scores were generally high, averaging 78 in the morning and 75 in the afternoon. An American pro, Pat Perez, said the weather made an impossible course ridiculous, claiming that only three par four holes could be reached in two. He shot an 82, while John Daly and Ernie Els shot 80. Phil Mikelson had 79, which included a triple bogey 7 on the 6^th hole when he lost his ball. He shot a 68 on Friday to stay in the tournament. Sandy Lyle and Rich Beem, two golfers who have won Majors, were so frustrated they walked off the course. Some Brits were upset with Lyle for doing that. He forgot you are suppose to maintain a stiff upper lip.

Kenny Perry must be having a good laugh in Milwaukee where he is playing in a PGA event rather than at The Open. Perry has won three times in the last several weeks and everyone assumed he’d play in the prestigious Open, which is a Major. But he decided to play where it was 85 on Thursday. He shot a 67 to be in contention again.

Rocco Mediate, the darling of the Media right now, shot a 70 and 73 to be near the lead and still attracting considerable attention. But the biggest surprise of the first two days has been the play of Greg Norman who is there despite being on his honeymoon, having wed retired tennis queen Chris Evert thee weeks ago. She encouraged him to play even though he has hardly touched his clubs for a month and hasn’t been in contention in ten years. But buoyed by the confidence of his new bride he is riding the crest of a wave that everyone is curious to see how far it can carry him. He shot two 70s and he is one stroke behind K.J. Choi, who shot a 69 today to take the halfway lead. There are 20 golfers within 5 strokes of Choi, so it is still anybody’s tournament. Camilio Villegas who birdied the last 5 holes to shoot 65 turned in the low score of the day.

Oh yes, you might have noticed I haven’t mentioned Tiger Woods. He’s home nursing his bad knee, like his doctors insist he do.