2011 Running British Open Thread

Have at it, kids.

Let the legend of Young Rory continue to grow.*




*Ian O'Connor would also like you to know that somewhere, perhaps balls deep in a nightclub hostess, Tiger Woods is nervous for the first time someone else may catch Jack.

 

Thomas Bjorn shoots 65 to take the early lead.

Bjorn, as some may recall, had the lead in the final round of the 2003 Open at St. George's, only to lose when he needed three shots to escape a bunker on the 16th hole.

I remember it well because I had a bet with my sports editor that week. He took Tiger Woods and let me have any five other players in the field. One of my picks was Bjorn. Almost won a nice little wager. Sadly, I didn't have Ben Curtis, the eventual winner.

 

LOVE The Open. LOVE it.
St. George isn't my favorite course, but it was home to the infamous Bond v. Goldfinger golf match.

At this stage the only one capable of cathcing Jack is LPGAer Yani Tseng.

If Rory wins how much focus falls back on his Sunday Masters collaspe? If keeps it together and he'd coulda been staring a slam heading to the PGA.

 

I've got Westwood and Jason Day in the office pool.

Love me some links golf!

 

I can root for Thomas Bjorn to win this thing all day long. He'll have the entire Western Hemisphere in tears come Sunday afternoon.

 

I love the Open because the pros actually seem to struggle to hit out of the rought/hay, the bunkers and have to deal with less than perfect greens. Love the wind's effects on shot making as well. If only Tom Terrific could come up with one more remarkable show.

 

And the Watson reference is just one reason I think it's ludicrous to make any broad claims about it being impossible at this point for Tiger to break Jack's mark. Not to turn this into a Tiger thread - god no, and we have like 8 of them for that - but this is a sport where you can say you're pulling for a fucking 61-year-old to win...and no one will laugh at you. So making any proclamations about a 35-year-old - no matter how many knees or women he's ravaged - is premature. When he's 61, Tiger might be on his fourth pair of bionic knees, put together by Dr. Galea, and will still have a great chance of finishing in the top 10 at Augusta.

And Tom today was at +2, one behind Rory. Sixty-one-year-old.

Pulling for Bjorn as well. And always excited to listen to Alliss (he is still around, right?)

 

Reilly on ESPN: "Who says you can't be Bjorn again?" Release the hounds ...

 

It may be a little thing, but I hate, hate, HATE how TV manipulates the leaderboard to hype the tournament. Lewis is now No. 1 even though Bjorn finished his round first and therefore should be listed No. 1. They ALWAYS do the same thing with Tiger. Rant over.

 

Never heard of this contention.

 

It's part of golf etiquette. If you've posted your score, you deserve the right to be listed first on the leaderboard because the guy still the course you're tied with -- even though he could post a lower score -- could also post a worse score. It's why if three guys finish the third round at, say, 4-under, the first two that do it are in the final group.

 

This is also a topic that Phil Mushnick has spent about 28,000 words on. It enrages him, even more than graphics taking up too much space on a baseball broadcast.