TWs are the headliners on second day of Open
Mike Dudurich
Posted 2009-07-17
OK, let’s get this detail out of the way right off the top.
Steve Marino is tied with Tom Watson for the lead at the 138th Open Championship at Turnberry.
Marino, 29, has been on and around the PGA Tour since 2005 and has yet to record his first victory. He’s a money-making machine with $4.7 million earned. He’s in his first Open and just his four major. Marino is currently 23rd in the FedExCup standings, No. 27 on the PGA TOUR money list, 18th on the Presidents Cup standings and No. 77 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
No doubt he’s thrilled to be where he is and hopes like crazy that he can somehow hold onto the rope for two more rounds.
But Steve Marino is not the story of this Open. Through two rounds, only those whose initials are TW qualify as the story.
As in … can you believe that 59-year-old Tom Watson came back from a potentially-devastating four-hole run of bogeys on the front nine to shoot an even-par round of 70 and be tied with Marino?
As in … can you REALLY believe how badly Tiger Woods played Friday? Even with all the vagaries of links golf, Woods hit some horrific shots in the middle of his round that put him in a position of having to chip in from off the 18th green to have a chance to make the cut. He came up a foot and a half short and left the premises even before television coverage concluded for the day.
But let’s start with the positive. Watson’s performance -- albeit aided by a pair of pot-luck birdie bombs on the 16th and 18th greens – was truly remarkable. After a birdie on the first hole, things went very wrong for the five-time Open champion.
Four consecutive birdies threatened to take him out of the picture, but he rolled in a 20-foot birdie on and then made three more on the back.
“It’s as if the spirits are on my side,” Watson said. “Something’s on my side right now. I hope the spirits stay on my side. I knew that if I could hang in there, the golf course was going to turn in my favor coming down the stretch. No. 9 turned me around.”
Woods had a turnaround, too, but it was more shocking than Watson’s. After posting a one-over par 71 Thursday, he knew it would take a number in the 60s to get him back in the tournament. (Even though a radical switch in the weather made for only seven scores in the 60s after a record 50 in the first round).
He came out of the chute a model of consistency, making six straight pars and then posting a birdie. It looked as though the world’s No. 1 was ready to make move. Well, he did. He then went bogey-bogey-double as he made the turn. His swing at the point disappeared and, on the 10th, he popped up his drive and actually came up short of making the fairway.
After a scrambly par on 11, he went bogey-double again. Two double-bogeys in four holes for Woods. What do you think the odds against that were?
“I hit a couple bad shots out there, the bogey on 13 was a big one,” Woods said. “It was just problem after problem and I kept compounding them. When I stood on 14 tee, I figured I had to birdie the last 4. I birdied the last 2 and that won’t be enough.”
No, it wasn’t enough and now Woods has a three-major losing streak. The chase to catch Jack Nicklaus and his 18 major titles is still stuck at 14.
“Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen,” Woods said. “No doubt I’m frustrated. I was playing well the first seven holes, right there in the championship. I felt like if I was under par for the tournament, I would be in the top 10. I didn’t do that. I went the other way.”
Ironically, the British Open does not employ the 10-shot rule, which would allow anyone within 10 strokes of the lead to make the cut. Woods was, ironically, 10 behind co-leaders Marino and Watson.
The day alternated between calm, rainy, windy, cool, pleasant, basically a standard day of weather in Scotland. But while a few were able to handle Turnberry under trying conditions, many other struggled mightily.
First-round leader Miguel Angel Jimenez got off to a lousy start but came back to shoot 73. Japan’s Kenichi Kuboya, who came flying to the finish line Thursday to shoot 65, finished at 72 and in contention at 137, two shots behind Watson and Marino and a shot behind 49-year-old Mark Calcavecchia.
Also at 137 are Ross Fisher (68), Retief Goosen (70) and Vijay Singh (70).
Sergio Garcia and John Daly are in at 140.
And then there’s Ben Curtis, the 2003 Open champion. He shot 65 on Thursday, but put up an 80 on Friday.
“I just hit it bad,” he said. “I got lucky yesterday with the weather. That helped me keep it in play. Today was different.”
But there’s no doubt the eyes of the golf world will be glued on what happens with Watson over the next two days.
“Today was a special day,” Watson said. “I don’t have too many more opportunities to play in the Open Championship. Hopefully I can make another memory.”
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About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf.
He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com.
Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August.
The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.
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