Open 2009: Patient Watson keeps faith as Woods tumbles out

Published on Friday 17 July 2009 23:40

WHEN the leaderboard at the 138th Open was painted red with the numbers which denote scores below par on Thursday, Tom Watson volunteered the opinion that the old lady of Turnberry was defenceless.

As the wind blew and the pins were rendered less accessible in the second round than even the Ailsa itself, the old lady reached for the rolling pin and gave the world's best golfers, including Tiger Woods who missed the cut, a salutary clip round the ear.

Watson, of course, understands the foibles of linksland golf better than anyone. The winner of five Claret Jugs overcame the setback of five bogeys on the outward half to card 70 for 135, five under par, to share the halfway lead with his fellow American Steve Marino. "I never lost faith in myself," he confided later. "Patience is always the key on a links."

The oldest competitor in the field also holed a couple of monster putts on the 16th and 18th to raise the kind of roars more usually associated in golf with another TW these days.

By way of contrast, Woods, who surmised beforehand that you can't fake it round Turnberry, missed the cut in the Open for the first time and only his second major as a professional. He endured a miserable day and was left stranded ten shots behind the leaders after carding 74 for 145. Until 1996, the ten-shot rule would have kept him around the for the weekend.

Unfortunately for Woods, that safety net was binned 13 years ago and the world No 1 fell by the wayside after 36 holes in the majors for the third time in all. Truthfully, it came as no great surprise since his ball striking and distance control were no more than a pale imitation of the game which captured 14 major titles. "I had some high numbers," he said, "and it cost me a chance on the weekend."

Pin placements and wind were the explanations for Turnberry's wicked transformation. Justin Rose was among the competitors irked by the switch from welcoming to hostile."Flag placements were bordering on ridiculous," he said. "I think they were trying to protect the golf course The flags were opposite to where the wind was wanting to take the ball."

Not everyone was girning. Marino, a young American making his debut in the Open, holed everything he looked at and was delighted to be here. He carded 68 for 135, the same mark as Watson. The pair lead by a stroke from Mark Calcavecchia, the champion golfer at Troon 20 years ago, who signed for 69 and 136.

Interestingly the American view of Marino is that he resembles a young Calcavecchia. Whatever golfing genes the men have in common – a superlative short game is one shared trait – they both know how to make birdies on the Ailsa. In spite of a wayward driver and a few equally errant iron shots, Marino was honest enough to admit he didn't leave a single shot on the course.

Calcavecchia, who reckons four pints a night keep him ticking over nicely, also flew the flag for the mature competitors in the field and accepted the challenges of weather and pin placement with equanimity. "You know, the great thing I think which happens in this tournament almost every time, with the exception of Carnoustie (in 1999] is that we come and play the course as it is, as we find it. Sometimes it's not windy. Sometimes the weather is good. Sometimes we shoot pretty low.

"The R&A never seems to mind what the winning score is going to be, unlike the USGA, in my opinion. I didn't think about the pins and how low the scores were on Thursday. I knew it was going to even out eventually when the wind started blowing out here. And obviously the scores were all higher today."

Asked for his opinion on the glitch in the time-space continuum which sees the 1989 champion at Troon and the 1977 victor at Turnberry showing the rest the way here, Calcavecchia replied: "Tom, when he plays, always plays great. We've both won this tournament, and I think just that extra motivation of being a past champion really sparks the fire under us a little bit. Tom, obviously loves this place."

Watched by a crowd of 28,000 – "You wouldn't see this many people in the States in weather like this," observed Marino, who was out early in the worst of the conditions – Watson produced a thrilling inward half of 32. Between the ninth and the 18th he made four birdies in ten holes and gave nothing away to par. In the circumstances, with Tiger butchering the holes around the turn, it was both a remarkable and exhilarating response from the 59-year-old.

The leading British player, Ross Fisher, 68 for 137, is two shots adrift and finds himself in a similar situation to Phil Mickelson at the US Open in 1998 at Pinehurst. Mickelson carried a pager in his bag that week and, although he eventually lost to Payne Stewart, the left hander made it to the hospital in time for the birth of his first child.

Fisher's wife, Jo, was expected to give birth on Tuesday and Conor Ridge, Fisher's manager, is under orders to tell him the moment she goes into labour. When that happens, he'll leave the Open.

"Obviously I'm thinking about Jo and how she is," he said after making three birdies over the closing four holes. "But at the same time I'm here to do a job until I receive a phone call or any information. I'm trying to put it to the back of my mind and concentrate on golf. But as soon as I've finished on the golf course, golf is out the window.

"I'd love to be here for all four days but obviously my wife comes first. If she were to go into labour later on this evening or tomorrow I've got no choice. I want to be there."

On a day when those pin positions were as confounding as the breeze which gusted up to 25mph, Fisher added: "It was tricky out there. Just had to stay patient and hit one shot at a time.I went out there with the mind set of trying to make as many pars as I could. Keep the bogeys off the score card and fortunately I made five birdies out there.

"It's difficult after the turn with the wind coming right across. You had to hit it right off line on some holes, which is always difficult. The pins were tucked in the corners."

Although he's eight strokes off the lead, Padraig Harrington, 74 for 143, is still dreaming the dream and hasn't raised the white flag yet on the possibility winning the championship for a third consecutive summer.

"I'm thinking I'm eight shots behind," remarked the victor at Carnoustie and Birkdale. "That's not insurmountable over the weekend on a links golf course, especially one like this."

On the other hand, last year's runner-up, Ian Poulter, 79 for 14 over par, blamed no-one but himself. "It was a lost cause and if I'd been playing the easiest municipal course down the road I would (still] have missed the cut," he said.

Greg Norman, third last year and the champion in 1986, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie were among the high-profile casualties who also missed out.

SCORES

(GB and Ire unless stated)

135

Steve Marino (USA) 67 68, Tom Watson (USA) 65 70

136

Mark Calcavecchia (USA) 67 69

137

Vijay Singh (Fij) 67 70, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 67 70, Ross Fisher 69 68, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 64 73, Kenichi Kuboya (Jpn) 65 72

138

J.B. Holmes (USA) 68 70, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 66 72, James Kingston (Rsa) 67 71, Stewart Cink (USA) 66 72, Lee Westwood 68 70

139

Jeff Overton (USA) 70 69, Jim Furyk (USA) 67 72, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 70 69, Camilo Villegas (Col) 66 73, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 69 70, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 69 70

140

Anthony Wall 68 72, John Daly (USA) 68 72, Justin Leonard (USA) 70 70, Soren Hansen (Den) 68 72, Nick Dougherty 70 70, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 67 73

141

Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 70, Graeme McDowell 68 73, Zach Johnson (USA) 70 71, David Howell 68 73, Metteo Manassero (Ita) 71 70, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 69 72, Peter Hanson (Swe) 70 71, Justin Rose 69 72, Ernie Els (Rsa) 69 72, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 69 72, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 71 70, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 71 70

142

Oliver Wilson 72 70, Davis Love III (USA) 69 73, Kevin Sutherland (USA) 69 73, Tom Lehman (USA) 68 74, Darren Clarke 71 71, Paul Broadhurst 70 72, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 70 72, David Drysdale 69 73, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 70 72, Andres Romero (Arg) 68 74, Paul McGinley 71 71

143

Steve Stricker (USA) 66 77, Nick Watney (USA) 71 72, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 71 72, Daniel Gaunt (Aus) 76 67, Kenny Perry (USA) 71 72, Rory McIlroy 69 74, Sean O'Hair (USA) 68 75, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 74 69, Luke Donald 71 72, Padraig Harrington 69 74, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 71 72

144

Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 68 76, Johan Edfors (Swe) 71 73, Graeme Storm 72 72, Paul Goydos (USA) 72 72, Mark O'Meara (USA) 67 77, Robert Allenby (Aus) 70 74, Paul Lawrie 71 73, Paul Casey 68 76, Thomas Levet (Fra) 71 73

145

Tiger Woods (USA) 71 74, Charley Hoffman (USA) 71 74, Anders Hansen (Den) 68 77, Adam Scott (Aus) 71 74, Colin Montgomerie 71 74, Todd Hamilton (USA) 75 70, Ben Curtis (USA) 65 80, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 71 74, Josh Geary (Nzl) 70 75, Mike Weir (Can) 67 78

146

John Senden (Aus) 66 80, Peter Baker 74 72, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 70 76, Matt Kuchar (USA) 70 76, Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) 68 78, Anthony Kim (USA) 73 73, K J Choi (Kor) 74 72, Elliot Saltman 70 76, Briny Baird (USA) 72 74, Tim Clark (Rsa) 71 75

147

Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 74 73, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 71 76, David Toms (USA) 72 75, David Duval (USA) 71 76, Rhys Davies 73 74, Mark Brown (Nzl) 71 76, James Driscoll (USA) 76 71, Yuta Ikeda (Jpn) 76 71, Richard Green (Aus) 71 76

148

Gary Orr 73 75, Bubba Watson (USA) 73 75, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 75 73, Charles Howell III (USA) 73 75, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 71 77, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 71 77, David Higgins 73 75, Sandy Lyle 75 73

149

Azuma Yano (Jpn) 75 74, David Smail (Nzl) 70 79, Stephan Gross (Ger) 74 75, Lucas Glover (USA) 72 77, Brian Gay (USA) 73 76, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 77 72, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 72 77, Stephen Ames (Can) 72 77

150

Timothy Wood (Aus) 73 77, Chad Campbell (USA) 73 77, Tomohiro Kondo (Jpn) 71 79, Ken Duke (USA) 71 79, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 68 82, Steve Surry 69 81

151

Hunter Mahan (USA) 72 79, Nick Faldo 78 73, Jeremy Kavanagh 74 77, Richard Finch 73 78, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 74 77, Tim Stewart (Aus) 74 77

152

Damien McGrane 78 74, Greg Norman (Aus) 77 75

153

Bruce Vaughan (USA) 78 75, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 75 78

154

Dustin Johnson (USA) 78 76, Koumei Oda (Jpn) 76 78, Ian Poulter 75 79

157

Oliver Fisher 79 78

160

Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 79 81