Sal Johnson

From the Open Championship

The 2007 British Open

July 19, 2007

By SAL JOHNSON
Publisher, GOLFOBSERVER
E-mail me at: Golfersal@aol.com

Photo: © Getty Images

Thur- 6:25 (Scottish time)

By worst nightmare is when I say either to "bet the farm on him" and that player misses the cut or "that player won't make the cut." and he plays great On Tuesday night I felt very strongly that Sergio Garcia didn't have a chance in the world, his putting wasn't getting any better and when I saw him trying out a long putter by first thought was, he is really screwed up.

How wrong I was.

Garcia had one final putt on the final green of about 10 feet and when he made it he became the first round leader of the British Open. Now for Garcia his 65 tied the mark of his best round in the British Open which he shot last year at Hoylake. Even more painful is the fact that 65 is the lowest round Garcia has shot in 115 major rounds. Adding to the pain is the fact that this is only the 2nd time that Sergio Garcia has led in a major. He was the 1st round leader in the 1999 PGA Championship after shooting 66. He finished 2nd in that event behind Tiger Woods.

Who knows maybe I will look very smart on Friday morning but Garcia is very hot with the putter taking only 27 putts. His game is also sharp as he hit 13 of 15 fairways and 13 of 18 greens.

Still I have a few things going for me, the last time a player was the leader after the first round and won was Phil Mickelson at the 2005 PGA Championship. Since 1970 in all the majors only 28 first round leaders or co-leaders have gone on to win, with only 8 from the British Open. Still Garica played a great first round and many think that he will win, guess in three days we will see. The weather is suppose to be great for tomorrow so it will be interesting to see what happens.

Here is the best comebacks in 1st rounds from '99 and '07
Stroke difference - Players	1st round, 1999	1st round, 2007
24 - Sergio Garcia	89	65
16 - Paul McGinley	83	67
13 - Stewart Cink	82	69
12 - Sandy Lyle	85	73
12 - Mike Weir	83	71
12 - Miguel Angel Jimenez	81	69
11 - Michael Campbell	79	68
Other well know names:
10 - Rich Beem	80	70
9 - Mark O'Meara	83	74
8 - Phil Mickelson	79	71
8 - Jim Furyk	78	70
8 - Padraig Harrington	77	69
7 - Angel Cabrera	75	68
5- Vijay Singh	77	72
5 - Tiger Woods	74	69
2 - Ernie Els	74	72

Difference between first round at Carnoustie in 1999 & 2007:
	1999	2007
Scoring average	78.314	73.72
Scores under par	0	24
Scores in the 60s	0	12
Scores 80 & over	57	8
Scores 85 & over	8	0
Holes that played over par	17	11

Now it's time to end today's blog but before I leave you, here is a look at some key things for today. 46 Players in this year's British Open played in 1999 at Carnoustie.

Of the 46, 41 of them had better first rounds this year that they had in 1999.
One, Paul Lawrie had the same score 73
While these four were worst:
Justin Leonard 73 then, 74 this year, Davis Love III 74 then, 79 this year, Duffy Waldorf 80 then, 82 this year and Nick Faldo 78 then, 79 this year.

Thur- 4:21 (Scottish time)

It's hard to believe but almost ten hours after the first game teed off the group of Jose-Filipe Lima, Terry Pilkadaris and Benn Barham are introduced and tee off. Now the person that introduces him, Ivor Robson has become part of the folklore of the British Open as the official starter, a job he has held for 33 straight years.

Now many know Ivor for his famour phrase "on the tee" in a distinct tone and crispness that can never be duplicated. Robson is the Vin Scully of starters, someone that has worked hard on the job and perfected his art. Now it's more than just introducing the players and pronouncing all 156 names right. It's a job of giving the players their scorecards, making sure that they are ready to go at the appoint time but most of all keeping order and timeliness to the process of getting everyone off.

For Robson he takes the job seriously to the point that the night before the round he refuses to eat or drink. He has a famous motto of "no intake means no outtake," as he refuses to take any breaks, for any reason which includes taking care of those bodily functions that most humans have to take care of every couple of hours. In that respect, once Robson arrives for work he is there for good, he never leaves the tee. On Thursday morning he was at the course at 5:15, setting up shop for the first 6:30 tee time. From then on to the last tee off time at 4:21 he never left post for the ten hours.

"When it gets close to the alloted time, I call the players to the tee and furnish them with their cards, hole information, any local rules, and any other relevant information they require," Robinson said. "I also check to make sure they are playing with an approved ball and with the correct number of clubs, and, of course, make sure they stick to time."

The importance of the job is making sure that everyone's name is pronounced the right way and in the day and age when a lot of Japanese names and a couple of players from India could spell disaster, Robson rises to the occasion and never has a slip of the tongue.

For Robson it's been a job that he has cherished ever since the first time he did it at Carnoustie in 1975, and if he has his way will be doing it for many years to come.

Now of course many would think that Ivor would have a bit of a problem with not going to the bathroom for over 11 hours, but if it is a problem he never shows it. Even after the last group left the tee there didn't seem to be a rush as Ivor chit-chatted with some folks, pack up his station and calmly retired to the comforts of the clubhouse.

Thur- 3:13 (Scottish time)

Phil Mickelson bogeys the third hole and I feel very comfortable with the fact that I told millions of people that Phil and Sergio Garcia don't have a chance in the world this week. For Mickelson I felt that a combination of his wrist and poor finish at Loch Lomond would do him in. I also didn't think that he would play well in tough weather conditions at Carnoustie. But the real reason for not thinking he will do well was running into him in the breakfast room of the Carnoustie Hotel. Now Phil was the only person in the room (I can see why with the prizes, by cup of tea cost 18 pounds but that is another story). But the thing that got my attention was the thick smell of medicated rubbing oil and his arm that looked very bare and raw from a rubdown. Still Mickelson can still prove me wrong as he shot even par 71 and is still in the running.

Now the other two players that I said wouldn't have a chance was Colin Montgomerie, who shot 73 but the one that I am worried about is Sergio Garcia, at about 3:13 he birdies the first hole and makes me wonder if this could be a good day for him.

Thur- 2:53 (Scottish time)

There is always one player that gives me fits in a major championship. One of by jobs is to put together a book on every player in the field, a player guide for the media. Now nobody really gives a shit about it, in a way it's like breathing air they all kind of expect it, use it and don't care how it gets done unless there is an error or a lack of information. Now I do guides at all the majors plus the Senior PGA and Senior Open plus the Women's Open but the hardest one for me to do is the British Open. This year there were over 60 guys that I know nothing about and in a short amount of time I have to dig up information on these guys. The hardest to get is the Japan and Asian Tours. Thank goodness I get a lot of help from those organizations but sometimes a player or two drop through the cracks. Well on Sunday night, one of those players that I didn't have information on was Achi Sato from Japan. Of course the first thing I thought on Sunday night was, it's late and I have to get going on this, nobody will care about this player.

Of course that was the kiss of death because Sato teed off at 2:53 with Brett Quigley and Francesco Molinari and what happens, Sato birdies four straight holes from 3 and 7 and owns the lead. Of course I have sat very quietly in the back of the media room but that ends as about a dozen people say, hey you have something more on this guy that he secured his place in the British Open by finishing second in the Mizuno Open?

Of course by the time I get together with the girl for the Japan Golf Tour and we started banging out some stuff on him he bogeys 8, 9, 10 and 11 and nobody but the poor media person from the Japan Golf Tour and Sato's mother cares much. He was able to play his last seven holes in even par and shot 71. Thur- 2:50 (Scottish time)

When Rory McIlory birdied the fifth hole, it wasn't that exciting. That is because he joined his playing partners Miguel Angel Jimenez and Henrik Stenson at 1 under par. But when he par his next four holes and made birdie at 10, things started getting special. That is because McIlory, from Northern Ireland is just 18 year's old and has already shown flashes of brilliance. At the Dubai Desert Classic in February, he opened with 69-69 and was in contention only to fall back in a tie for 52nd. He has already taken Ireland by storm winning the West of Ireland Championship in 2006 and the Irish Close Amateur Championship.

McIlory birdied 13 and then finished up the remaining five holes in par to shot 68 and become the only player in the field not to drop a shot in the championship on Thursday. McIlory is the first amateur to shot 68 or under in a major since Eric Ramsay did it in the 2005 British Open.

Now many will compare McIlroy to the way Justin Rose played the 1998 British Open. Back then he was 17 and just as cocky as he finished T4th. McIlroy shows no emotion in talking with the press and says (don't know if I believe him) that there were no nervy times for him on Thursday. Guess we will see in the next couple of days how he will handle all of this instant fame.

Thur- 2:30 (Scottish time)

Retief Goosen hasn't had much to celebrate the last few months. Since finishing T2nd at the Masters, he has only broken 70 three times and missed his last four cuts. So after opening up with a 70 today, including a double bogey at 15 you would of thought that maybe the press wanted to know if his game was back in shape to contend this week. Unfortunely that wasn't the question of the day, they wanted to know what he thought of Gary Player's drugs claims. Goosen told them, "I knew that was coming. I'm actually very shocked at his comments to be honest. I don't know what Gary was trying to prove. I don't know if he is trying to damage the sport." Asked if there is any evidence of it or whether it's being discussed in the locker room, Goosen said: "I've seen loads of Advils flying around for back pain but I have not seen anything else. I think that is probably the least talked about subject on the Tour."

Thur- 12:47 (Scottish time)

John Daly is about to tee off in his 14th British Open. Now for Daly this year is going down like last year as another one to forget. Even though he is one of the most popular players on the planet, especially in the British Open he is showing signs of age catching up and a lack of skill. He can still hit it a long way, but the allure of this is warn off because everybody else hits it long. Daly is also looking more like the Pillsbury dough boy, he probably weighs 40 to 50 pounds more than his win at St. Andrews 12 years ago. On top of his physical deterioration his life isn't that great with his the status of his marriage with his fourth wife still up in the air. Publicly the marriage is still on but we never see them together and it seems that he is seen more with Hooter girls than with his wife.

So as he tees off nobody expects much. The oddsmakers will give anyone brave enough 400 to one odds and I wonder if anyone was brave enough to take that, I wouldn't. Still Daly showed some of his old brilliance when he birdied 5, 6, 10 and then holed out a 50 yard wedge shot for eagle. At 5 under he was in the lead and had thousands of Scottish fans running down the fairways to watch him play.

But all of a sudden things went bad with a bad 3 wood at 12, followed by a poor chip to get back into the fairway and then a missed three footer for bogey. Unfortunely we then saw the John Daly that we see way too much, as he went par-bogey-triple-bogey-bogey-par-bogey. Daly put up a fat 40 next to a 34 and before he knew it went from 1st to 79th place in under two hours.

Daly slithered off without talking with anyone from the press and as one long time newspaper man from the United States said, knowing his luck he will be looking for the nearest Hooters to sign his memorabilia and have a cold one to wash down the sorrow of the round.

Thur- 11:59 (Scottish time)

For Chris Ohlmeyer this would be the start of four day quest to accomplish a dream, produce a major golf tournament. For years he has produced ESPN's PGA Tour events before the network lost the contract last year. This year he has produced LPGA Tour events and now he was going to reach the pendulum of his professional, producing a major championship. Sitting down next to John Delvecchio, who directed his first British Open last year and was ready to go with this one.

What a better way to start a major championship, Tiger Woods making a run and as he counted down to zero and TNT was on the air, it was Tiger's great front nine.

On the course, Paul McGinley was making a birdie at the 7th hole to take the lead at 4 under par. Now for a course that had no rounds under par in 1999, there were 22 rounds under par and most players would agree that the course was tough but very fair. While TNT and Ohlmeyer were going over Tiger Woods start, Mark Calcavecchia was starting out in his 21st straight British Open. Only Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo have played in more consecutived Opens and even at the age of 47 Calcavecchia showed that he still can give it some stick winning the PODS Championship last March. Now Calcavecchia didn't have the start that he wanted shooting 74, tying his personal record for his highest first round at the British Open.

Thur- 9:09 (Scottish time)

I walked into the press tent about the time that Tiger Woods was teeing off. No two ways about it the whole golfing world revolves around Woods and what he does. What makes things even tougher is that he Woods is a Howard Hughes type of guy. He guards his private life and it's very hard to find out what is up with him, what he is working on and how he really feels about a course. Now we know that he likes Carnoustie, this was the first place that he discovered links golf when he played in the Scottish Open in 1995. That first round at Carnoustie was pretty good, Woods shot 69 and despite a poor weekend finished T48th.

While Woods was getting set to play, K.J. Choi was running the boards making four birdies in his first six holes. He got a bit sidetracked to a bogey at seven, then finishing up the back nine at one over for a 69. Afterwards he said how much the weather didn't bother him because he made sure to practice in the rain.

On the first hole Woods took iron off the tee and pulled it left, still making par. On the second he took driver, again missing the fairway left but making birdie. He hit the third fairway with an iron and then watched his playing partners, Paul Lawrie and Justin Rose spin irons off the green into the small stream in front of the green. After watching that he changed clubs, made sure not to put in into the same burn and made birdie.

Woods got rolling with a driver and 7-iron on the par 5, sixth hole and made the 18 footer for eagle. As he said afterwards to the media about how the course compared to the way it played in 1999, "no, it doesn't compare to '99. The course is hard, but it's fair. I think all of the players can attest to that who played in '99."

Tiger also birdied nine but had problems at both 12 and 13 making bogeys But he had a big stroke of luck, he hit the 15th tee at one under par and of course the first thought had to be, this is the hardest four holes coming up, have to make par. Woods did it in one better, making a birdie on 16 thanks to a 90-foot putt for birdie on 16, the first of the tournament at that hole. Woods finished up par-par for a 69.

For the day, Woods only missed three fairways as he hit driver just four times. He hit 13 of the 18 greens and took 30 putts. Now in looking at his previous British Opens, he has broken 70 five times, including the last three years in a row. Last year he shot 67 and in 2005 a 66. As for the day he said "Very satisfying, to shoot 69 in these conditions, yeah, if feels really good.

Thur- 8:00 (Scottish time)

After a quick shower it was down for a bit of breakfast. Now I have to explain my stroke of luck on being able to sleep in and being just 50 steps from the 18th green. For the week my accommodations is at the Carnoustie Links Hotel, which is right across the street from the 18th green. Now I just happened to get in by a stroke of luck. Back in April when I was looking for a house, I thought that I had a deal with Blackadders property management. They were the official R&A renters of houses in the area, I used them in 1999 to get a nice house and had a deal on a house this year. But I guess a deal isn't a deal until money is taken. The first order of business to understand is that it's a new world out there in getting accommodations for major championships. People have dollar signs in there eyes and the worst ones are the British Open. Now the worst has to be at Carnoustie because housing is in very short supply. That and the fact that the dollar is now 2 pounds for a dollar have made for a very expensive experience. So when I negotiated the price down on a house from $7,000 to $5,000 and the owners said that was fine, I thought that I had a deal. I gave them a credit card to pay for it but two weeks later the card wasn't charged. So in a call to Scotland, I found out that they forgot to tell me that the owner had a change of heart (which means they got more than my $5,000 offer) and I was out of luck. Thank you Blackadders.

In stepped Joe McClory, who owned the Carnoustie Links Hotel. After my first debacle I set emails to every hotel in the Carnoustie area and out of the 20 I sent I got 19 bad news. But McClory said that he just received a cancelation and a room could be had for $5,000, which I gulped at because i went from a house for three of us at $5 grand to the same for one room! Still McClory was kind, worked the price down and made sure to give me a room big enough so that Barker Davis, a writer for the Washington Times could share the room. Let me tell you what a great experience to be 100 steps to the press room and just 50 steps to the 18th green and clubhouse.

Now to get us back on track, when I was having breakfast one of the other guests of the hotel came running in. Sean Foley is the golf coach of Stephen Ames and all week long was telling us how good Ames was playing. He also was proud of the fact that Ames was in good spirits taking a liking to Carnoustie.

But on this rainy morning you could tell that something was wrong. He had just come in from Ames practice session and it was a rough session. With rain coming down and it being very cold, he had a panic look on his face as he explained the tough time and was trying to figure out how to pump his man for the day. Why I was sipping my tea, my first thought was not on trying to make Foley feel better but the fact that I just had an indication that my 10 pound bet on Ames, because Foley painted such a great picture on how well Ames was doing was in jeopardy. I guess it was as Ames had no birdies, four bogeys and three doubles for an 81 and I think that the drinking hour at the Carnoustie Links won't be very lively tonight, especially with my lost.

Now while I was finishing my corn flakes, Oliver Wilson was getting the "I am the leader of the British Open" experience. About the time he made it to the top of the leaderboard at 2 under, he played his next five holes in eight over par including a triple bogey 8 on the par 5, sixth hole and he went from leading the British Open to shooting a 80 a few hours later.

Thur- 7:45 (Scottish time)

A combination of rain and spectators arriving to Carnoustie has waken me. It's hard to believe but right outside of my window the British Open has been taken place for about an hour and fifteen minutes. At 6:30 the official starter of the R&A, Ivor Robson gets the 136th edition of the British Open going.

It seems hard to believe that the first British Open was started when Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States! And even thought there weren't any records kept, you just wonder if it was a raining on that October morning in 1860 when 8 professionals went around three times on the 12 hole links of Prestwick.

On this grey, drizzly morning I wonder how many of the 156 starters looked out there windows and wondered the same thing, is today going to be a tough day like the first round of 1999 was. On that day, the scoring average was 78.31 as none of the 156 players broke par. Only one, Rod Pampling, shot even par while some of the best players of the day had problems.

Tiger Woods shot 74 and felt that he shot a great round. Great players struggled on a day that saw the temperature never getting above 70 and a strong 35 mph wind blew from the southwest. The newly crowned U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart went around in 79 along with Phil Mickelson. Past champions like Nick Price shot 77, Nick Faldo shot 78 and Seve Ballesteros was around in 80.

So the big question on Thursday morning, was the old dame that has the nickname "Carnasty" be serving up some high scoring today.

The first off the tee at 6:30 where Joe Durant, Oliver Wilson and Ben Bunny. For Wilson, a 26 year-older that is on the European Tour since 2005 he got the British Open off to a fast start when he birdied the first hole. After a par on the 2nd hole Wilson birdied the third hole and about the same time that I was getting up he was leading the British Open at 2 under par.