Tiger Finally Roars at Lytham...
7/20/2012
Brandt Just Snedeker's into Lead
Brandt Snedeker matched a 20-year-old record held by Sir Nick Faldo as he earned a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Open Championship at Royal Lytham.
The American emulated Adam Scott's opening-day 64 to move to 10 under par after 36 flawless holes and become only the second man after Faldo in 1992 to post a halfway score of 130.
Scott scrambled hard to return a 67 which left him one behind Snedeker and three ahead of Tiger Woods, who holed a bunker escape for birdie at the last to post a second-straight 67.
Snedeker birdied the first for the second day running and picked up three shots in four holes to complete an outward 30.
Like Scott on day one, the 31-year-old threatened to card the first 62 in major history when he added further birdies at 11 and 12, but he had to settle for six closing pars to set a blistering clubhouse target.
Snedeker's lead was never seriously threatened during another benign day until Scott followed an uncertain front-nine 34 with birdies at 10 and 11.
The Australian's assured putting helped him save par several times during the round, and he converted a superb approach to five feet at the last to cap a 67 which left him one shot behind.
But the leading pair will be looking over their shoulders for Woods, who plotted his way around the Lytham links in a thoroughly professional manner.
The 14-time major champion used his driver only once, content to hit fairways with long irons and aim for the heart of the greens with the majority of his approaches.
His tactic faltered only once, when he carved his tee shot into rough at the long 11th en route to a bogey-six, but he picked up shots at the fourth, sixth and 16th before his grandstand finish took him to six under.
Unheralded Dane Thorbjorn Olesen ensured a dream pairing with Woods for the third round as he picked up four shots in five holes around the turn and also birdied the last two to get to five under.
Paul Lawrie (71) and Graeme McDowell (69) are a further shot adrift along with Matt Kuchar, Jason Dufner and Thomas Aiken, while world No 1 Luke Donald fired a solid 68 to reach two under.
But Rory McIlroy's round unravelled with a double-bogey at nine, and he came home in 39 to slip to two over after a 75, while Lee Westwood (70) made the weekend with nothing to spare amongst a host of big names a shot further back.
What a Difference a Year Makes
Darren Clarke blamed a cold putter after seeing his Open Championship defence fizzle out after two rounds at Royal Lytham.
Clarke added a second round of 71 to his opening 76 for a seven-over-par total of 147, comfortably outside the halfway cut.
"I'm disappointed, I would have liked to come here and put up a good score in defence," said the 43-year-old Ulsterman, who has struggled to reproduce anything like the form which brought him a shock victory at Royal St George's 12 months ago.
"Tee to green was okay, I just had a very cold putter again. It's not been very good for a long time. The damage was done yesterday but I gave myself plenty of chances to make it up today."
Clarke still harboured hopes of making the cut after birdies at both par threes on the front nine contributed to an outward half of 33, but he could not find any more birdies and a bogey on the 18th, where he missed a very short putt, summed up his day.
He was at least able to enjoy the warm reception of the crowds who defied the muddy conditions, admitting: "The roar coming down the last was fantastic. The crowd were wonderful to me last year and have been to me all year round. It is a pity I didn't give them anything to shout about.
"It has been an honour and privilege to be Open champion. It is a huge honour to have my name on the Claret Jug and they will be memories that I cherish forever."
GMAC Moves Through Open Gears
Graeme McDowell is moving up through the gears as he heads into the weekend of The 141st Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes looking to mount another Major challenge.
McDowell, winner of the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach, shot a one under par 69 to move to four under par 136 and into a share of fourth place, six adrift of Brandt Snedeker, as he looks to keep the Claret Jug in Northern Ireland after Darren Clarke’s success last year.
“Haven't quite gotten into fifth gear,” he said. “I'm probably still in third gear, fourth gear. I’m just gearing up.”
Last month McDowell finished joint runner-up in the US Open at Olympic Club after coming within a whisker of a play-off with Webb Simpson, and McDowell is once again rising to the big occasion, unfazed by the size of the Snedeker’s lead.
“Yeah, I'm six behind Brandt Snedeker, but it's just one guy,” said McDowell. “It's not like it's bunched up in front of me. I've just got to go out and keep doing what I'm doing. I'm doing a lot of things well, but I can do them better.”
McDowell is sitting nicely in the chasing pack with only Snedeker, Adam Scott and Tiger Woods ahead of him after plotting his way round Royal Lytham & St Annes with three birdies and just the two dropped shots on a course playing exceptionally tough even in the benign conditions on the Lancashire coast.
“You just have to play the waiting game a little bit when the golf courses are this hard,” he said. “I know we've got some wind forecast on Sunday. So if you can be within four or five shots going into Sunday, that's right where you need to be, because this is going to be a tough test come the weekend. It's been very benign the last couple of days, but still, it's a tough test of golf out there.”
And having already won one Major and holed the winning putt in the Ryder Cup, McDowell knows what it takes to perform under the greatest of pressure and has a habit of raising his game as the intensity rises. His performance at Olympic Club last month further reinforced his belief.
“I control my emotions well under pressure,” he said. “I do the right things when I'm under pressure.
“I don't always win. No one always wins. But Olympic reinforced to me that I can control myself when I'm in the mix. But still, you know, I've still got to go out there and do it this weekend.”
Now the stage is set, the cast is gathering and a fascinating two days of golf await.
“The last few groups of a Major Championship, playing with guys like Tiger Woods, that's right where you want to be”.
McIlroy Battling Out of Open Contention
Rory McIlroy refused to throw in the towel despite slipping out of contention at the halfway stage of The Open.
The 23-year-old Northern Irishman was out of sorts all day at a damp and cold Royal Lytham, firing three bogeys and one double bogey against two birdies in a five-over par 75.
McIlroy had resumed in joint sixth place on three under but his round started to come apart on the short ninth which he double-bogeyed after failing to get out of a greenside bunker.
He then had three bogeys on the back nine - at the 12th, 14th and 17th - to tumble back to two-over 142 for the tournament and 12 shots behind American Brandt Snedeker.
Two minds
"It wasn't the best day out there. I was doing pretty well just to hang in there and making a double on the ninth was sort of the turning point," he said.
"I couldn't really recover from that. I wasn't committing to my tee shots and was in two minds a few times about what shots to hit. That's just something I'll need to improve on.
"I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty good on the range. I was losing a few to the left, so maybe that's why I was trying to protect that one and I missed a couple to the right early on.
"Obviously Snedeker is a little bit ahead at the minute, but I feel like if I can maybe get it back to where I was at the start of the day I'd still have a great chance.
"The course is very playable. You just need to keep out of the bunkers, which is the whole idea any way. I don't see any problem with the water in the bunkers."