Bye, bye to Bubba at Royal Troon?

Torrential rain on day one and hurricane winds on day two saw floods of disruptions at St Andrews last year and an eventual Monday conclusion to the Open Championship.  Amazingly, despite the horrendous conditions, a very respectable score of level par remained the cut line.  You would expect then that in perfect weather conditions at Royal Troon this week (14-17 July) that players would need to shoot below par to be around for the weekend.  But The Open is no ordinary tournament.  The Open is one of the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious championship on the golfing calendar.  Weird things often happen on Friday as nerves jangle and putters turns cold.  Especially in Scotland, renowned for its changeable weather.

 

Advantage early starters

 

Bubba Watson was looking out for the count at Royal Troon on Friday.  He was 5-over par after 13 holes.  The grey skies and strong winds that had welcomed the early starters turned into steadily increasing rain as the day went on, giving the morning field a distinct advantage.  Bogeys of frustration began to litter the afternoon scorecards.  And so the projected cut-line moved up and up, eventually settling at four-over par.  It looked like “Bye, Bye Bubba!”.  The great American crowd pleaser would have to pull something very special out of the bag.  In order to enjoy the weekend in Scotland, it finally all came down to making a birdie at the 457-yard, par 4 final hole.  Bingo!  Birdie!  Bubba’s here to stay!

Yes, Bubba Watson sneaks in on the cut-line, along with Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie among others, and The Open waves goodbye to the likes of past Champions, Ernie Els and John Daly.

 

Phil still thrills as Stenson closes in!

 

American Phil Mickelson held on to his overnight lead by shooting a superb 69 in tough conditions to get to 10-under par and so create a new 36-hole Open Championship record at Royal Troon.  The best player of the day was Sweden’s Henrik Stenson who carded a 6-under par, 65.  It comes as no surprise as the 40-year old from Gothenburg has been showing fine form all season.  He currently lies 6th in the Race to Dubai and, if that’s not impressive enough, he is also ranked 6th in the Official World Golf Ranking.  Stenson now tees-off on day three of The Open just one stroke behind Mickelson on 9-under par.

 

Wendy Hoad

 

PICTURED:  Henrik Stenson shoots 65 on day two to get within one stroke of leader Phil Mickelson.