Dustin Johnson: 9/4
Darren Clarke: 11/4
Rickie Fowler: 7/1
Thomas Bjorn: 14/1
Martin Kaymer: 16/1
Miguel Angel Jimenez: 16/1
Phil Mickelson: 18/1
Sunday, July 17, 2011
British Open -- Day 4
The leaders do not tee off until 8:10 AM Central Daylight Time, so there's not a lot to report right now other than the fact that Jim Nantz is playing a larger and larger role in the BBC's coverage. Here are the latest odds:
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If only the British Open counted your best three of four rounds, ...
ReplyDeleteSpencer Levin +11 F -1 72 69 81 69 291
OK, ESPN just showed and explained the Darren Clarke eye-line replay again, and I still didn't see what they were talking about.
ReplyDeleteAnd Clarke--immediately after showing the eye-line deal from the putting green--then sinks a long putt for par, to maintain his one-stroke lead over Dustin Johnson.
ReplyDeleteFor a lark, I might well root for Phil Mickelson this morning. He has two birdies in his first four holes, getting him to 2-under for the tournament and three behind leader Clarke.
ReplyDeleteDarty-eyed Clarke lips off the back a long birdie putt on No. 6, and now he's tied for the lead with my man, Mickelson, at 5-under for the tournament.
ReplyDeleteOh, man ... on 8, Mickelson misses a similar-length birdie putt in a similar-looking way (lipped around the back) that Clarke missed on 6. My man is 5-under today (and for the tournament), and that's four strokes better than anyone else so far.
ReplyDeleteJohnson is 2-over today; Fowler, even; Kim, 1-under; Campbell, even; Love, 1-over. At the moment, six of the top nine golfers for the tournament are Americans.
ReplyDeleteT39 T41 Jeff Overton of Evansville +10 F +3 68 71 78 73 290
ReplyDeleteObviously because of his support from the HP's golf editor, Anthony Kim today appears to be wearing a Vanderbilt cap (though he attended Oklahoma).
ReplyDeleteESPN is right about darty-eyed Clarke being inconsistent in his putting. He appears to be alternating wildly between very, very good and outstanding. His long, long eagle putt on No. 7 pushes the 42-year-old Irishman back ahead of my man, Mickelson, by two strokes.
ReplyDeleteTHIS JUST IN! Clarke, who will celebrating his 43rd birthday only 12 days after I do, is also my main man. I wonder how Clarke finished in his 1986 high-school regional golf tournament. (I finished 64th of 64 golfers in the First Region tournament, just missing 63rd place by about 10 strokes. Honestly.)
Worship starts in 40 minutes, and I'm in the basement of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) watching the BBC's coverage online. One commentator just said that there might be a "smidgeon" of break on Thomas Bjorn's upcoming putt, which encourages me to announce that our family's 1976-88 dog, Smidgeon, was awesome.
ReplyDeleteClarke's a lot grayer than I am.
ReplyDeleteThe BBC turns to Jim Nantz for maudlin commentary on Tom Watson's finishing up on No. 18.
ReplyDeleteMickelson birdies No. 10 to get back to within a stroke of Clarke.
ReplyDeleteMy main men are lighting it up.
OK, here we go ... Nantz: "Irish eyes are smiling, aren't they?"
ReplyDeleteMickelson misses a three-footer on 11 for par, and now my main man, darty-eyed Clarke, rolls in a four-footer for par on 9. The Irishman's lead is back to two strokes.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Clarke's having a cigarette. Now this reminds me of the smell of my dad's golf bag. OK, I'm officially rooting for Darren Clarke.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's it ... signing off ... I"m serving communion today.
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm back from church, so I can pick up on Eric's excellent coverage. Here's what has happened. Phil Mickelson went out in an incredible 30 strokes, and actually got to 6-under par with a birdie on 10. Since then, however, he has bogeyed 11, 13, and 15 to drop back to 3 under, and he is done.
ReplyDeleteDustin Johnson started off with bogeys on 3 and 6 to fall back to 2 under par. Since then, however, he has birdied 7, 10, and 12 to move to 5 under.
Darren Clarke, who is going to win this tournament, birdied 2, bogeyed 4, and eagled 7 to get to 7 under. Since then, he has been cruising along with par after par.
No one else has done very much. Fowler is 1 under through 14. Kim is 1 under through 15.
And the tournament is now over. Dustin Johnson, who blew the U.S. Open last year with an 82 on the last day, and who blew the PGA last year by taking a two-stroke penalty on the 72d hold, has blown this one. Johnson, who was trailing Clarke by two shots, hit a tremendous drive down the middle of the 14th hole. Hoping for an eagle, he tried to shoot a long iron at the green. Instead, he hit an incredible slice that soared all the way out of bounds. So instead of an eagle -- or a birdie -- he has taken a double-bogey. He is four behind with four to play, so this is over.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Mickelson has bogeyed the 16th to fall to 2 under, five shots behind Clarke.
ReplyDeleteWell, the Americans certainly made a better showing here than they did at Congressional or at the Masters, but in the end none of them was capable of playing championship-caliber golf when it matters.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Darren Clarke, who has been far and away the best golfer all week, and who will have a very pleasant stroll through adoring crowds over the last few holes. He has seen off the American effort at the Open, just as he killed us off so many times in the Ryder Cup, and he deserves every cheer he gets.
Apparently, what really killed Mickelson was missing a two-footer for par on 11. When he putted that ball, he was six under and one shot off the lead. He then bogeyed 11, 13, 15, and 16. You would think he would be used to missing little putts for par by now; he's been doing it for 20 years. But it always seems to surprise and unnerve him.
ReplyDelete