It’s been cold, rainy, and above all WINDY. In other words, as far as Golfers are concerned, the weather’s been perfect.
But seriously, The Wind. As an example Greg Norman used a 4 iron to hit the ball 175 yards. Normally he would hit an 8 iron for that shot. 4 clubs worth of wind. It’s blowing so hard that the balls are moving on the greens. The R&A were thiiiiiiisssss close to stopping play because of The Wind.
I just love the links course. Tall grass. Gorse. Pot bunkers. No trees. Miss the fairway and chances are good you will never find the ball. The only reason these guys are hitting drivers are because of the wind. Personally I like playing links style courses. Of course I much prefer playing them when it’s 75 degrees and no wind. But when the top of the leader board is +2, you know conditions are tough.
And speaking of Greg Norman(aka The Shark). Wow. 53 years old. Just married Chris Evert. This Chris Evert. He has admitted to playing much more tennis than golf lately. And yet he is leading by 2 strokes. Of course this is also Greg of the famous chokes. He has made a habit over the years of being in the lead on Saturday, and then doing a severe choke on Sunday, and losing. But he has won this tournament twice before, and he knows how to play links courses. And he is happy, and relaxed and golf is no longer THE most important thing in his life. So who knows.
I have mixed feeling about this. I like Greg. And he was/is a great golfer. And he is definitely ‘of a certain age’ and it’s nice to see someone in your own demographic doing well. But. He’s hard to root for on a Sunday, because he has choked so often. And he’s already won this tournament twice. So personally I have to say, while I won’t be unhappy if Greg wins tomorrow, I am rooting for several others.
David Duval was really looking good on Thursday and Friday and I would have loved to see him win, but he fell off pretty bad today, and it will be hard for him to come back tomorrow. So right now I am pulling for either Jim Furyk or Rocco. I would like to see the golfing gods get behind either one of them. However, if the gods decided on either Cutie Pie or Retief Goosen I wouldn’t complain. They all know their way around a links course, and if Greg does his usual Sunday choke any one of them stands a chance. I like KJ Choi, but the others have paid more dues, and deserve the win a bit more. He can have it next year. Given the weather, how hard the course is playing, the movement of players up and down the leader board today, and Mr. Normans tendency to choke on Sunday, realistically anyone +9 or better has a chance.
In case you hadn’t noticed, coverage is not on CBS, as I thought. It’s actually on TNT/ABC. So I am not getting my David Feherty fix. Which just doesn’t seem right. There ought to be an Irish accent at The Open, don’t you think? Of course I think there ought to be a certain Irish accent at every tournament. But then, as mentioned before, I’m extremely biased. ABC is doing alright. And at least I don’t have to listen to Johnny Miller.
And finally. Most of you probably don’t haven’t noticed this, but ABC keeps playing Irish music. As mentioned previously Golfing Offspring #2 does Irish Step Dancing. As it happens, in my previous life (i.e. before marrying The Golfer ) I played the bagpipes. And GO#3 is following in my footsteps and plays the bagpipes. So I know where-of I speak. The music ABC is playing is Irish. There is nothing wrong with Irish music. I happen to love Irish music. It occupies much space on the iPod. But. This is The Open. This year it may be being played on an English course, but the whole tournament evokes the sports distinctly Scottish heritage. So the least ABC could do is get the music right. Some Wicked Tinkers would be just perfect I think.
Stay tuned. Tomorrow should be a very interesting day.
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