Day: July 20, 2018

Cut down: 3 of top 5 players to miss weekend at British OpenCut down: 3 of top 5 players to miss weekend at British Open

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Cut Down: 3 of Top 5 Players to Miss Weekend at British OpenCut Down: 3 of Top 5 Players to Miss Weekend at British Open

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A pair of housemates share The Open Championship leadA pair of housemates share The Open Championship lead

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – There will be an elephant in the room Friday night – and we’re not talking about Big Al, the mascot of the University of Alabama, which happens to be the alma mater of one of the housemates, Justin Thomas. Although upon reflection, sticking Big Al in an oversized Scottish kilt and have him kick soccer balls at Auburn grad Jason Dufner would definitely raise the level of absurdity in those backyard matches. Rather, this topic is more serious. Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson, two of the other seven PGA TOUR golfers who are sharing a compound this week close to Carnoustie Golf Links, are co-leaders at 6 under through 36 holes of The Open Championship. Kisner is seeking his first major win; Johnson is chasing his third. Both desperately want to get their hands on the Claret Jug come Sunday night. The pressure will be immense. To make it even more interesting – they will be in the final twosome in Saturday’s third round. What do Kisner and Johnson think about sharing a house and sharing the 36-hole lead? That’s the big topic – and nothing will be off-limits when the two see each other at the dinner table. In fact, no topic apparently is off-limits among these friends. “Absolutely not,â€� Kisner said after his 1-under 70 left him at 6-under through 36 holes. “The range of topics are vast.â€� Kisner expects he and Johnson – as well as Thomas, Dufner, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler – to discuss what they’ve been discussing all week. No dancing around any subject matter, although the majority of the conversation is pretty clear-cut. “Golf will probably be the tune,â€� Kisner said. “Everybody will tell their horror stories and good stories, and we’ll laugh and eat a big ol’ meal and sit around and watch something stupid.â€� Actually, not everything they watch is stupid. The other night they watched the Netflix movie “Icarus,â€� a fascinating documentary about the Russian doping scandal. Sounds like pretty heady stuff for a group of guys who otherwise play pick-up soccer, with Dufner playing all-time goalie. This is the third year of The Open Championship “fratâ€� house but the first time that Kisner has been in the group. He’s fit in nicely, and perhaps hanging out with a group of friends has helped alleviate the pressure of leading the first two days. Johnson, of course, already has shown he can successfully handle the challenge of winning a major. At 42, he’s the oldest member of the house, although the housing arragements didn’t exist when he won the Claret Jug in 2015. “I wasn’t in a fraternity in college, but it kind of feels like I’m going back to my alma mater,â€� Johnson said after his 4-under 67 in the morning. “And I’m the old guy stepping into the current frat house…. “It does make the week significantly easier because of the amenities we have and because I’m with buddies and because I’m with guys that, I mean, certainly I can feed off and vice versa. It’s never a bad thing to bond or hang out, whether you’re competing or not.â€� While Kisner and Johnson are the co-heads of the household right now, they’re not the only ones in contention entering this weekend at Carnoustie. Spieth shot a 4-under 67 and is now just three strokes off the lead as he attempts to win a second consecutive title at The Open. Fowler also has the same score as Spieth at 3 under after a 69, while Dufner made the cut on the number at 3 over. Thomas (4 over) and Walker (8 over) unfortunately will have to sit out the weekend. But Fowler and Thomas may have a side competition going this week – best scruffy beard. “I think he kind of followed my lead in a way,â€� said Fowler, who started growing his last week during a T-6 performance at the Scottish Open. “It’s just fun. We mess around with it. Obviously, not taking it too seriously. But like I said, ended up playing halfway decent last week, so I couldn’t really shave it off going into this week.â€� Back to the golf competition … a year ago, Spieth entered the weekend at Royal Birkdale with a two-shot lead over non-house member Matt Kuchar. Nobody else staying with Spieth was close to sniffing the lead, and after the third round, Spieth and Kuchar had clear separation from the field. This year could be different, especially if there are multiple co-leaders in the house entering the final round. “We’ll see how tomorrow plays out,â€� Spieth said. “Maybe tomorrow night or Sunday, it’s gets a little quiet. “But I doubt it.â€� A year ago, Spieth also had to pony up a substantial amount of money to pay the entire private jet fee for the housemates to return home to the United States. It was part of the agreement made if anybody in the house won The Open. According to Johnson, no such agreement exists this year, so he and Kisner – as well as Spieth and Fowler and even Dufner – are off the hook. “This year a bunch of guys are going elsewhere,â€� Johnson said. “So it’s not going to come to fruition. It’s not going to happen, but that’s fine.â€� Might be a topic worth revisiting now that so many housemates are in contention. Sounds like they have plenty to talk about.

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British Open: Big questions heading into weekendBritish Open: Big questions heading into weekend

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Pat Perez continues career renaissance at CarnoustiePat Perez continues career renaissance at Carnoustie

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – The beauty of links golf is that superhuman strength isn’t necessary for success. The courses over here reward control and creativity. Distance is an advantage anywhere, but the firm turf allows players to advance the ball on the ground instead of requiring them to send it into orbit. That’s why players like Tom Watson and Greg Norman can contend at this championship when they’re well past their prime. Pat Perez is further proof that links courses make The Open Championship accessible to the widest variety of players. He’s 42 years old, two years removed from shoulder surgery and sporting a little paunch. He shows up at most majors knowing that he doesn’t stand a chance. Making the cut on the supersized courses used in the four Grand Slam events is a moral victory. Halfway through this year’s Open, though, he has a chance to hoist the Claret Jug. He’ll start Saturday just one shot behind two other players who will never be confused for linebackers, Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner. Perez shot 69 and 68 in the first two rounds at Carnoustie. “That’s what’s so awesome about this place. You can play it so many different ways,� Perez said. Take the par-5 sixth hole, where the fairway is bisected by pot bunkers. While Ben Hogan famously squeezed his tee shots between the traps and an out-of-bounds fence, today’s big hitters can fly the trouble and reach the green in two. Not Perez. Perez hit two 4-irons and a 9-iron. He loves the links so much that he often returns to Scotland in the fall to compete in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which is contested on the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. Perez isn’t afraid to acknowledge that the odds are against him. He has one top-10 in 24 major starts while missing the cut 10 times. The spotlight will shine this weekend on players like Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth, all of whom will start Saturday within three shots of the lead. But Perez thinks that will work to his advantage. “The best part for me is that no one thinks that I can win,� Perez said. “For me, that makes it easier to play. I don’t have any pressure.� He may try to downplay his chances, but Perez is in the midst of a renaissance after that shoulder surgery. The winner of one PGA TOUR title in his first 15 years, he has a victory in each of the past two seasons. Last year, he qualified for the TOUR Championship for the first time in his career. He is 22nd in this season’s FedExCup after winning the CIMB Classic. “You can have 22-year-olds playing great. Phil, 48, is winning World Golf Championships. That’s what’s so awesome about our sport,� Perez said. “But if I’m there, I’m there. If I’m not, I’m used to that.�

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How one bad swing gave Tiger, Phil, Jordan and Rickie new hopeHow one bad swing gave Tiger, Phil, Jordan and Rickie new hope

Kevin Kisner hurt himself at the 18th hole Friday, but he helped the sport by setting up a potentially wild weekend at The Open.

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Zach Johnson, Kevin Kisner take lead at The Open ChampionshipZach Johnson, Kevin Kisner take lead at The Open Championship

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — The way golf has been going the last few years, it would be reasonable to see the name “Johnson” atop the leaderboard and assume it belonged to the No. 1 player in the world. But not necessarily at The Open Championship. Zach Johnson — not Dustin — already has his name on the claret jug. And the way he handled the rain Friday in his round of 4-under 67, he might have a chance to see it on that precious silver trophy again. Johnson holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th and had a one-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood at the midway point of the second round. Fleetwood, the top player on the European Tour last year, put together the best round of the week at Carnoustie with a 65. Rory McIlroy had another 69 and was two shots behind. Johnson was at 6-under 136, and had to wait to see if it would hold up. Kevin Kisner, the 18-hole leader, was among the late starters. The light rain from overnight never let up. It wasn’t enough to turn the color of grass from brown to green, just enough to be a nuisance playing in rain gear, with towels hanging from the inside of umbrella to stay dry and putting surfaces that were slightly slower. Johnson overcame a bogey on the opening hole with birdies on the third and fourth holes, and he never put himself under too much pressure the rest of the way. Already a two-time major champion with titles at St. Andrews and Augusta National, the 42-year-old from Iowa now has made the cut 12 straight times at The Open, a streak that began at Carnoustie in 2007. His low ball flight, grinding nature and good putting give him the right ingredients. As for that other Johnson? Dustin Johnson was headed toward being the first No. 1 player in the world to miss the cut at The Open since Luke Donald in 2011 at Royal St. George’s. He appeared to keep it together with a tough par save from the bunker on No. 12, followed by two straight birdies. But he had another poor finish, closing bogey-double bogey for a 72 and is at 6-over 148 for 36 holes. Even as Tiger Woods was piecing together a level round, and late starters like Kisner and Jordan Spieth were still on the course, the cut figured to be about 3-over, plus or minus one shot. Zach Johnson and Dustin Johnson, one of golf’s most powerful players, share nothing in common but a surname. That hasn’t kept the casual fan from occasionally calling Zach Johnson by the wrong name. “I certainly am not the No. 1 player in the world that ends in ‘Johnson,” he said. “I’ve been called Dustin many times. I doubt he’s been called Zach that many times. Zach Johnson has more than held his own. In the power era of golf, he is more of a pistol than a cannon. And yet he has still won 12 times on the PGA TOUR, along with majors at the Masters and The Open. Fleetwood and McIlroy were playing a few groups ahead of Johnson, and it was a race to see who would wind up on top for much of the late morning until Johnson made his birdie putt on the final hole. Fleetwood shot 63 at Carnoustie last year in the Dunhill Links, but that was a European Tour event. In more difficult conditions, his 65 felt just as good, especially the birdie on the 18th that put him atop the leaderboard until Johnson finished. McIlroy, meanwhile, was within one shot until a long three-putt from just off the 12th green. He gave another shot back on the 15th when he pulled his second shot toward the gallery, though he made enough birdies to stay within range. “Under those conditions, I would have taken that score today going out,” McIlroy said. “It wasn’t that bad, but it was just damp enough and cold enough that the game plan that I was trying to adapt to be aggressive and hit driver a lot, I just couldn’t do it. … So a lot more irons off tees and a lot more conservative, but ended up being the same score.” Dustin Johnson wasn’t alone in his struggle this week. The No. 2 player in the world, Justin Thomas, also was headed toward a weekend off. Thomas was 2 under for the tournament when it took him two shots to get out of a pot bunker in the sixth fairway and three putts from long range on the green, leading to double bogey. He then made double bogey on the next two holes and wound up with a 77 to finish at 4 over.

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