Fruity Tangentialness

Stewart Cink captured the British Open, or if you prefer the Open Championship in 2009
Was it a well earned victory, yes absolutely, did Tom Watson choke, probably but have your ever done it, have I absolutely. Stewart Cink wins his first major in 2nd place it was Tom Watson both officially scored at 278. At T3 was Chris Wood and Lee Westwood at 279. Luke Donald, Retief Goosen and Mathew Goggin were T5 at 280. The quad of Ernie Els, Soren Hansen, Justin Leonard and Thomas Aiken were T8 with a 281 and that rounded out the top 10.

I knew when he choked with the putt at 18 he was going to lose the playoff, certainly never on the scale of a British Open but I know what it feels like to have a an 8-10 footer on the line and come up short. He had history in his grasp and he was well aware of it, he wanted it, you could see it in his eyes but that was not a gimme putt either, Stewart Cink earned his victory and Tom Watson did the best he could. Congratulations Stewart Cink.

Shout out to John Daly for the 2nd day in a row, finishing the tournament at 4 over with a 284, 2 over on the final day for a T27 finish.

Tom Watson’s amazing run continued today, he remains the sole leader after 54 holes of play with a stroke total of 206. It was evident that his bunker play and touch around the greens has diminished little and however unlikely the dream may seem to be, I have to pull for him tomorrow. Tied for second one stroke back at 207 are Mathew Goggin and Ross Fisher. Lee Westwood and Retief Goosen share the T4 spot at 208. At T6 set Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink at 209 and are the last currently under par. At T8 and even par are Bryce Molder and Thongchai Jaidee at 210. There are four players T10 to round out the top ten, Richard S. Johnson, Boo Weekley, Angel Cabrera and Steve Marino all at 1 over par 211.

Marino had a bad day with a triple at 15, 2 doubles, 4 bogeys, 3 birdies and an eagle. The triple at the par 3, 15th was painful to watch but it was good that the officials took the time to determine that the rules were followed and that he be given the chance to exercise all his options. He is still in contention and with a championship on the line he should have been given every opportunity to make the right decision, which I think he did as hitting from there or the two club length drop into the thigh high rough would have been fruitless at best. The delay didn’t seem to bother Watson who had an eighteen minute wait from the time he hit his tee shot until he got to take his 2nd from the bunker.

The Brits have Lee Westwood heavily favored, but in my opinion and with the weather to be just as windy tomorrow I think anyone within five shots has an even chance. I really hope that Mr. Watson can hang on though it will have been 32 years since his victory at Turnberry back in 1977.

Shout out to John Daly who is T14 at 2 over par 212. His problems have been well publicized but he has made tremendous effort to return to the sport and get his life back on track.

Round 2 is in the books, tied for 1st place it’s Tom Watson and Steve Marino. Both outstanding golfers to be sure, but what an unlikely pair to be leading, the aging veteran and the stand-by who got in when Katayama had to withdrawal due to injury. Good luck gentleman I wish you both luck this weekend. Alone in 3rd place another aging vet Mark Calcavecchia one stroke back at 136. At T4 it is Ross Fisher, Retief Goosen, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Kenichi Kuboya and Vijay Singh all with 137. Rounding out the top ten at T9 are JB Holmes, Mark Kingston, Lee Westwood, Stewart Cink and Mathew Goggin they’re posted scores are at 138.

The lowest 70 scores and ties made the cut at 144. Some of those failing to make the cut were Tiger Woods, Ben Curtis, Mike Weir, Colin Montgomerie, Todd Hamilton, Charley Hoffman, DJ Trahan, Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark, KJ Choi, Anthony Kim, John Sneden, Martin Laird, David Toms, Rory Sabbatini, David Duval, Rod Pampling, Bubba Watson, Stephen Ames, Dustin Johnson, Greg Norman, Geoff Ogilvy, Nick Faldo, Hunter Mahan and Carl Pettersson.

Tiger has only missed the cut in 3 major championship’s, the first has an amateur in the ’96 Masters, the 2nd at the 2006 U.S. Open and now the 3rd at the 2009 British Open or “The Open Championship” as it is now dubbed. Since turning pro he has only missed 5 cuts total in his career.

The shot of the day will have to be the 50 footer on 18 which gave Watson the tie for the lead. Tee times for the top 10 are at 3PM BST Watson and Marino, 2:50 Calcavecchia and Fisher, 2:40 Goosen and Jimenez, 2:30 Kuboya and Singh, 2:20 JB Holmes and Mark Kingston, 2:10 Westood and Cink and at 2:00 Goggin and Kaymer.