Friday, July 19, 2019

British Open -- Day Two Wrap-Up

The biggest news from Day Two of the British Open is that we said good-bye to some old favorites.  Tiger Woods shot a valiant 1-under par 70, but missed the cut due to his 7-over par 78 on Thursday.  Rory McIlroy, in his Ulster homeland, shot an even more valiant 65 -- but missed the cut (by one painful shot) because of his 79 on Thursday.  Phil Mickelson is gone after a middling 76 was followed by a middling 74.  And Adam Scott is gone after a 78 and a 73.  Of course, none of these folks did as poorly as our old friend David Duval, the 2001 British Open Champion.  Duval shot a 91 on the first day, followed that with a 78, and leaves the premises with a 27-over-par total of 169.

So who's left?  Lots of interesting folks, actually, including Campbellsville's own J.B. Holmes, who is tied for the lead with Irish fan-fave Shane Lowry at 8 under par.  other big names are circling the top, including Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Jordan Spieth, and Brooks Koepka.  Here is the current top 10:

T1.  J.B. Holmes-8 (66+68=134)
T1.  S. Lowry (IRL):  -8 (67+67=134)

T3.  T. Fleetwood (ENG):  -7 (68+67=135)
T3.  L. Westwood (ENG):  -7 (68+67=135)

T5.  C. Smith (AUS):  -6 (70+66=136)
T5.  J. Harding (RSA):  -6 (71+65=136)
T5.  J. Rose (ENG):  -6 (69+67=136)

T8.  B. Koepka-5 (68+69=137)
T8.  J. Spieth-5 (70+67=137)
T8.  A. Putnam-5 (70+67=137)
T8.  D. Frittelli (RSA):  -5 (68+69=137)

50 comments:

  1. Still waiting for the leaders to tee off. Henrik Stenson has made two birdies in his first three holes, and is now up to 5 under par.

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  2. Byeong Hun An is three under for the day through five holes, and he is also at 5 under par.

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  3. Another Korean golfer -- Sang Hyun Park -- is four under for the day through 10 holes. He is also at 5 under.

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  4. Jon Rahm birdies the second hole, and he joins the pack at 5 under.

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  5. And now Matt Kuchar has birdied the second hole, so he is also at 5 under. As are Stenson, Webb Simpson, Brooks Koepka, and Jordan Spieth. That's a strong collection of players.

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  6. And now here is Spieth, teeing off on the first. He tee shots have been an adventure in recent years, and this one (naturally) lands in the rough on the right.

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  7. But Spieth reaches the green with his second shot. He's too far away for a good birdie chance, but he should be able to make par.

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  8. Justin Thomas is off to a good start. He plays the front nine in 3-under par, and he is now 4-under par for the tournament. Danny Willett, who once stunned Jordan Spieth to win the Masters, is 5-under par through 10 holes.

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  9. There are currently 19 players within three shots of the lead, including many of the biggest names of the game. So far, Royal Portrush is putting on an amazing show.

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  10. Now Koepka and Rose have started their round.

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  11. An birdies the 8th -- his fourth birdie in 8 holes. He's now 6 under par.

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  12. Xander Schauffele birdies the 7th hole, and he joins the crowd at 5-under.

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  13. Rickie Fowler birdies the 7th to get to 4-under. He's only four shots back, but he's in a tie for 23d place.

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  14. The Guardian reports that Dylan Frittelli is trying to become the first man to win the British Open while wearing glasses since Ian Baker-Finch in 1991. He has my sympathy. He also has a birdie on the downwind par-5 second hole, and he moves to 6-under par.

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  15. And now Schauffele, who went 74-65 in the first two rounds, moves to 3-under for the day, and 6-under for the tournament, with a birdie on 8.

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  16. An bogeys nine, and falls back to 5-under. In general, this course starts off relatively easy, and then gets tougher as the round goes on.

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  17. T1. J.B. Holmes: -8 (36)
    T1. S. Lowry (IRL): -8 (36)

    T3. T. Fleetwood (ENG): -7 (36)
    T3. L. Westwood (ENG): -7 (36)

    T5. X. Schauffele: -6 (44)
    T5. D. Frittelli (RSA): -6 (39)
    T5. J. Spieth: -6 (38)
    T5. J. Rose (ENG): -6 (37)
    T5. C. Smith (AUS): -6 (36)
    T5. J. Harding (RSA): -6 (36)

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  18. And now Rose and Koepka have both birdied the second hole. Rose moves to 7-under, Koepka joins the crowd at 6-under.

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  19. Here come the last group of the day -- local favorite Shane Lowry, and Heath Post favorite J.B. Holmes. Lowry is wearing a black cap, a black shirt with some sort of black wind vest, white pants, and a brown beard. He whacks his drive into the first cut of rough on the left. Holmes has a white cap, a black windbreaker over a red shirt, gray pants, and a reddish beard. His tee shot is perfect -- straight down the middle.

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  20. I'm now taking a lunch break, so I'll be out of pocket for a while.

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  21. OK, back from lunch. Here is the latest leaderboard:

    1. S. Lowry (IRL): -11 (45 holes)

    T2. L. Westwood (ENG): -10 (45)
    T2. T. Fleetwood (ENG): -10 (45)
    T2. J.B. Holmes: -10 (45)

    5. Rickie Fowler: -8 (54)

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  22. Updates on other players:

    Koepka is 7-under through 11.
    Kuchar is 6-under through 15.
    Rose is 6-under through 11.
    Schauffele is 5-under and is finished for the day.
    Stenson is 5-under through 17.
    Spieth is 5-under through 12.
    Thomas is 4-under and finished for the day.

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  23. And now Fleetwood has birdied the 10th hole and moves into a tie for the lead at 11-under par. Meanwhile, Westwood suffers a bogey and falls back to 9 under.

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  24. T1. T. Fleetwood (ENG): -11 (46 holes)
    T1. S. Lowry (IRL): -11 (45)

    3. J.B. Holmes: -10 (45)

    4. L. Westwood (ENG): -9 (46)

    5. R. Fowler: -8 (54)

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  25. From the rough on 10, Lowry whacks a long shot which rolls onto the green, rides the contours perfectly, and rolls to within 7 feet. That could be another birdie for him.

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  26. From the middle of the fairway on 10, Holmes hits a poor shot that is in the rough at the back of the green. He will have to play very well to save par. After the drive, it looked like he would gain ground on Lowry. Now it looks like he will lose ground.

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  27. Rose eagles the 12th hole, and he moves to 8-under par.
    Koepka birdies the same hole, and he is also 8-under.

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  28. Holmes, who has a UK logo on his bag, makes a brave effort from the back of the 10th green, but will still have 3-4 feet left for his par.

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  29. Meanwhile, Lowry rolls in the birdie putt, and once again has the lead to himself at 12-under par.

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  30. Holmes does save his par, and remains at 10-under.

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  31. Now here's Fleetwood, with a 9-footer for birdie on 11. But he doesn't quite hit it hard enough, so he remains one shot behind Lowry.

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  32. Justin Rose is feeling it now. On the par-3 13th, he hits an almost perfect tee shot, and rolls in the short birdie to move to 9-under par.

    Koepka's tee shot went into a bunker behind the green. He cannot get up and down, and he falls back to 7-under.

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  33. 1. S. Lowry (IRL): -12 (46 holes)

    2. T. Fleetwood (ENG): -11 (47)

    3. J.B. Holmes: -10 (46)

    T4. J. Rose (ENG): -9 (49)
    T4. L. Westwood (ENG): -9 (47)

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  34. The Guardian points out that no one has one the British Open with a full beard and mustache since Old Tom Morris did so in 1867. That could change this year.

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  35. Growing up in the 1970's and 1980's, I did not predict a comeback for beards.

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  36. Holmes and Lowry both par the 11th, and they move on to the par-5 12th.

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  37. Now Jon Rahm is charging. He has birdied 16 and 17, and he is now 8-under par.

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  38. Westwood misses a six-footer for birdie on 12, so he remains at 9-under.

    Fleetwood does not miss a three-footer for birdie on 12, so he moves into a tie for the lead at 12-under par.

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  39. T1. T. Fleetwood (ENG): -12 (48 holes)
    T1. S. Lowry (IRL): -12 (47)

    3. J.B. Holmes: -10 (47)

    T4. J. Rose (ENG): -9 (49)
    T4. L. Westwood (ENG): -9 (48)

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  40. Koepka makes a huge birdie at 14, and moves back to 8-under. He really needed that.

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  41. Spieth birdies the 15th, and he is now at 6-under. He's hanging in there, but he can't hit it straight.

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  42. Holmes botches his second shot on the relatively easy par-5 12th, and he can only get his third to about 9 feet.

    Lowry has a 35-footer for eagle on 12th. He runs it about two feet past.

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  43. Holmes really needs this birdie putt -- and he makes it. He moves to 11-under.

    Lowry taps in his birdie, and regains sole control of the lead at 13-under. Lowry is 5-under for the day.

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  44. Rahm bogeys the last, and goes into the clubhouse at 7-under.

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  45. Rose is still hot. He birdies the 15th, and he is now 10-under par.

    Now Koepka, who drove into a bunker, has a 6-footer to save par. He runs it two feet past, and falls back to 7-under.

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  46. 1. S. Lowry (IRL): -13 (48 holes)

    2. T. Fleetwood (ENG): -12 (49)

    3. J.B. Holmes: -11 (48)

    4. J. Rose (ENG): -10 (51)

    5. L. Westwood (ENG): -9 (49)

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  47. Years ago, J.B. Holmes was part of a U.S. team that won the Ryder Cup before a rabid crowd in Louisville. Now he's on the other side, as the crowds at Royal Portrush are going absolutely nuts with Lowry and three Englishmen up at the top of the leaderboard.

    Holmes has actually played quite well (he's 3-under for the day), but his long birdie putt on 13 is terrible and goes at least six feet past the hole. He can't make the par putt coming back, and he falls back to 10-under.

    Lowry makes par to stay at 13-under.

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  48. Lowry has been brilliant all day, but his tee shot on the par-4 14th goes far off into the rough on the left.

    Holmes then steps up and whacks a lovely shot right down the middle.

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  49. And now Rose bogeys the 16th hole to fall back to 9-under par. Koepka pars to remain at 7-under.

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  50. And with that I am done for the day. Errands to run.

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