With Australia well in command in the 2 Ashes test at Lords, Adam Scott – the no. 1 golfer from Down Under – is threatening to win the Open Championship.
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But a five-under-par 67 on Friday, following an opening 70 the day before, leaves Scott on seven under par and within touching distance of Dustin Johnson’s lead.
High stakes stuff, serious pressure. He has proven that he can handle the courses, the conditions and the pressure of golf’s oldest championship.
So when a sponsors’ invitation to compete in the Dunhill Links that October came in he was determined to seize his chance, finishing fifth to rack up enough earnings on the Race To Dubai to secure playing rights for the following season.
“It was a great experience today, going out late in the third round of an Open”. The two had developed a good relationship over their 12 years together and, in addition to 13 major victories, Woods had even attended Williams’ 2005 wedding as well as several of his dirt track races.
Warren used every one of them to his advantage, then said that’s why he could look so comfortable.
“I don’t really want to have to say how great he is, but I did butter him up a little bit, and our record was really good the last few years in the majors“.
“You know, it’s a totally different side of the game than trying to win a golf tournament”. It doesn’t matter how good you play, you can’t compete when you are putting like that.
“I’ve got nothing to lose”.
“He (the rules official) just said there was no penalty and I felt like I just won the lotto”.
“They might as well have given someone else a chance to play as it was pointless the way the week turned out for me”, he added.
As much as winning an Open demands skill and ball control, the luck of the draw can prove equally crucial and there’s no doubt that Warren could consider himself lucky his early start yesterday morning was halted by a lengthy delay due to heavy rain flooding the course. But he bogeyed the last four holes of his round, including missing a seven-foot putt on the 18th that would have forced a playoff, giving the title to Ernie Els.
He eased into his first competitive round on the Old Course.
Lying joint third, just two off the lead, after two rounds and in contention for a second Open Championship success, Lawrie was bitterly disappointed after closing rounds of 74 and 73 saw him finish on five-under 283. It was going to be tough if you had to go out and play in those conditions because as well as the rain the wind was up.
“Hopefully my name will be in a similar position tomorrow and Sunday but I will be looking at the leaderboard to see who’s on it, not just enjoy it”.
Following the completion of the AT&T National I am no longer caddying for Tiger after he informed me that he needed to make a change.
“It was the right call for me to make at this point in the year to get him back out and instill a bit of confidence in my game and get back in that flow”, Scott said.
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“I went back inside, sat in the players’ lounge again for about 45 minutes and then I ended up going to the auto and sat there watching Everybody Loves Raymond on TV and ended up falling asleep”.
