Capelle On Golf

British Open Coverage

The Surprise Leaderboard
The names at the top of the British Open include three players that were such long shots that any wager on them on Wednesday would have been considered a total waste of money.

Take 36-hole leader K.J. Choi. In his last six outings his best is 41st and he’s missed three cuts. Now he’s in the position to join fellow South Korean born In-Bee Park as a major winner in ’08.

Greg Norman has played in three events on the PGA Tour this year including the AT&T and missed the cut in each one.

David Duval, who is three back in a tie for fourth, has 10 missed cuts, a WD, and a 60t on his 2008 resume. “I’m ready to play again,” said Duval. Perhaps he’s not kidding.

And now all three apparently have a shot at winning the Wide Open.

Watch Out for the Quiet Man
Jim Furyk snuck his way onto the leaderboard at last year’s US Open, then nearly walked away with the top prize before finishing a stroke back in a tie for second with Tiger Woods. Now he’s at it again. After matching 71s he’s only three back going into the weekend. His accurate driving should keep him out of the hay and pot bunkers and in contention until the end.

Norman vs. Nicklaus
At the 1996 British Open a 56-year old Jack Nicklaus trailed by a shot after 36 holes before fading to tie for 44th. Now we have 53-year old Greg Norman, who is also within a shot going into the weekend. So is the Shark teasing his fans as Nicklaus’ did, or will he stand his ground and contend until the end?

Par is Not Just a Number
Peter Dawson of the R&A was busy defending the outdated concept that par is just a number, an idea even the staid R&A gave up in the early 1960s when they started assigning pars to each hole. Then, a while later Peter Alliss commented that par does matter, and that the R&A made a mistake by lowering par on holes like the monstrously difficult par 4 sixth. Over the first two days the average on this par 4 is 4.73 compared to 4.78 at the par 5 17th. According to Allis, par has a psychological effect on the players. “You think you are playing badly,” says Allis when you make a bogey on a par 4 even though it is super difficult.

After watching Watson yank another short putt, Allis said, “That was sad,” then added that, “The only thing that keeps him going is his indomitable spirit.”

Camilo Villegas’ Birdie Barrage
Par on the last five holes would have left Villegas in a tie for 27th going into the weekend. He birdied all five instead, turning an even par round into a tournament low of 65, two better than the next best score. While the field was averaging 21.63 on these five holes, Villegas used only 14 16 shots, picking up 5.63 strokes on the field. He’s now two back in solo third.

Mickelson and Els Rebound – And All Hope is Not Lost
Just when it looked like Phil Mickelson (68) and Ernie Els (69) would be headed out of town, both rebounded to make the cut. Mickelson is eight back while Els is 10 behind. There position would seem hopeless, but remember that Paul Lawrie came from 10 back in the final round to win the 1999 British Open.

It’s possible the three leaders will back up because they include a player who’s never won a major and has been in a slump (Choi), a 53 year old (Norman), and a player who’s competing in his first Open (Villegas). Plus there is the weather. Mickelson will tee off over two hours ahead of the leaders, so if he catches the best of what is supposed to be a bad weather day, he could make up some big ground, as could the others who are well back in the pack.

Ian Baker Finch on the Gallery
When a player hit a shot wide of the green, Finch commented on the galley’s possible assistance. “You don’t want a parting of the red sea’s when you’ve hit out towards the big stuff (high rough),” said Finch.

Ernie Johnson on the Starter
Ivor Robson is known for never leaving his post through 10 hours of tee times. He’s able to do this says TNT’s Ernie Johnson because, “There is no input or output.”

Azinger’s Zingers
“When you have 10 hours of tee times sometimes your going to get the bad end of the deal.”
“If you don’t embrace the conditions you’re in for a long day.”
Commenting on the use of ball flight stats in the modern game, he said that, “It’s information you can’t live without.”

Sergio Garcia’s Putting Woes
Garcia with a putter in his hands is as scary bad as Watson was in the mid to late 1980s. After missing a gimme earlier in the round he took his regular stance (no backhanded swipe) and missed a 14” putt on 18 that never hit the cup! Tiger would go 50 years without missing one this short. The pretournament favorite now trails by six at five over, but is still in the hunt.

The Cut Falls at 150
Eighty three players finished at 149 or better, earning the privilege of playing in what the weather man say’s will be 40mph winds tomorrow. Miguel Angel Jimenez and Brandt Snedeker missed the cut, ending their chances for a top 10 slam in 2008. Richard Karlsson made the cut, so his top 10 slam chances are still alive though he’s currently six back of the top 10.

Jim Huber is the New Worst Interviewer
Interviewer extraordinaire Jim Huber asked Garcia about his chances if the high winds blow over the weekend. “Are you strong enough mentally to handle that kind of thing?” queried Huber. Garcia amazingly kept his cool despite Huber’s ridiculous inquiry.

Huber was back at it later with Tom Watson, who missed the cut by a single shot due to wretched putting. “Can you tell us what happened over those putts?” asked Huber. Then after Watson gave us a rundown of a half dozen miscues with the flat stick, Huber said, “Have a good weekend.” To a man who desperately wanted to be playing on the weekend but won’t!

Huber had a chance to score some editorial point with his essay on Birkdale’s clubhouse, but he wimped out by saying, “It stands still as one of the most unusual looks in golf.” Let’s face it, the white monstrosity is a Blight on Birkdale’s Hallowed Grounds.