Peter Morrison/Associated PressPhil Mickelson playing out of a bunker at the British Open on Thursday.
The relentlessly dour English weather gave way to a picture-perfect first round of the British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes on Thursday, only a few sprinkles dotting a placid morning with almost no wind and even a few peeks of sunshine through the clouds. And the field did its best to quickly take advantage.
Adam Scott of Australia played early, when the weather was at its most placid, and promptly raced out to the early lead. He blistered a course softened by nearly constant rain and compromised further by almost no wind. His eight birdies were offset by only two bogeys and by the time he got to the clubhouse with his 64, he would be in the lead.
Peter Morrison/Associated PressPhil Mickelson playing out of a bunker at the British Open on Thursday.
The relentlessly dour English weather gave way to a picture-perfect first round of the British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes on Thursday, only a few sprinkles dotting a placid morning with almost no wind and even a few peeks of sunshine through the clouds. And the field did its best to quickly take advantage.
Adam Scott of Australia played early, when the weather was at its most placid, and promptly raced out to the early lead. He blistered a course softened by nearly constant rain and compromised further by almost no wind. His eight birdies were offset by only two bogeys and by the time he got to the clubhouse with his 64, he would be in the lead.
Peter Morrison/Associated PressPhil Mickelson playing out of a bunker at the British Open on Thursday.
The relentlessly dour English weather gave way to a picture-perfect first round of the British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes on Thursday, only a few sprinkles dotting a placid morning with almost no wind and even a few peeks of sunshine through the clouds. And the field did its best to quickly take advantage.
Adam Scott of Australia played early, when the weather was at its most placid, and promptly raced out to the early lead. He blistered a course softened by nearly constant rain and compromised further by almost no wind. His eight birdies were offset by only two bogeys and by the time he got to the clubhouse with his 64, he would be in the lead.
Paul Lawrie of Scotland shot a 65 to sit in comfortable territory as well, where he was tied at five under with American Zach Johnson and Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium.
Bubba Watson, the Masters champion, and Ernie Els of South Africa both shot a 67.
Tiger Woods was also out of the course early, slashing his way to four birdies on the front nine. He could not keep that pace and a bogey on the back nine sent him into the clubhouse with a 67.
The wind picked up in the afternoon a bit and the gloom returned with some rain, and the conditions started to deteriorate a bit for those playing later, which included Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy got some momentum going mid-round and was three under before his drive on No. 15 hit a fan in the head and bounced out of bounds, which cost him two shots. He did finish strong for a 67.
Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson was going in every direction but the right one, and finished at three over.
Brandt Snedeker of the USA (10 under) and Adam Scott of Australia (9 under) lead the way entering Saturday's third round of the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Tiger Woods, thanks to a brilliant chip-in birdie from the bunker at 18 on Friday, is alone in third at 6 under.
Woods, playing with 22-year-old Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark, is chasing his 15th major championship, and a definitive answer to the recurring question, "Is he back?" Snedeker and Scott each are seeking their first major.
We'll track their progress throughout the day, which opened with the sun shining and conditions calm.
- Here's a look back at the second round.
- Follow along with our in-progress leaderboard
Tiger Woods is trying to catch the leaders in Round 3.
ESPN has the broadcast.
1:08: Tiger is stalking his birdie try at 14 ... looking t it from every angle. Apparently he needed one more look. The putt just slips by on the right. Tap-in par.
1:06: Scott with a driver on 14 ... maybe doesn't need that much, but it was a very good one. Long and dead center. 333 yards. He'll have about 100 yards to the pin.
1:05: Tiger with a 9-iron from 163 yards is in prime birdie range now on 14.
1:03: Olesen found a fairway bunker off the tee on 14. His second ... finds the same bunker, clipping the top and bounding back in. He's out with his third and into the fairway.
Whoops. Scott wobbles for the first time, missing his par save on 13 and tapping in for bogey. He's back to -11. The lead is four.
1:02: Scott's birdie try from off the green was a bit tricky, and he'll have 4-5 feet for par.
1:00: Scott from 131 yards at No. 13 didn't hit a good shot, but he still is OK, just off the edge of the green.
Tiger's tee shot at 14 (444-yard par-4) is fine with an iron.
So, when did guys -- all of them seem to do it now -- start twirling their clubs in their hands after a good tee shot?
12:54: Adam Scott's tee shot at No. 13 is fine again. He might as well be walking down the fairway and placing it wherever he wants, he has been that accurate.
Tiger's putt from off the green on 13 is good but just wiggles off line.
12:50: Poor shot from Tiger with a wedge on 13. Came up 20 feet short. Just simply not a good shot. Olesen's was much better, skipping past the hole and rolling back to about 16 feet.
12:48: Scott's putt from 45 feet on 12 is wide, and he'll have 3-4 feet to finish. But the way he is playing it should be no trouble.
12:47: Tiger and Olesen play it safely ... Tiger hits a 5-iron into the fairway. He'll try to get it close with his wedge.
1245: Tiger and Olesen now go to 13, which is a short par-4, 340 yards today. There are 15 bunkers on either side of the fairway and green.
Graeme McDowell birdies 14, his second in a row, to get to -6.
12:43: Scott's tee shot at No. 12 is conservative, but smart. He'll have a long birdie try, but par should be routine. With a five-shot lead, that's how to play it.
12:41: Ernie Els bogeys 14 to drop back to -4.
More bother for Snedeker, who bogeys 11 to drop to -6. That's five bogeys in six holes.
Tiger makes his par at 12 to stay at -7, and he is alone in second. Olesen also makes par to stay at -6.
12:40: Ugh. Adam Scott's eagle putt comes up short, but he is comforted by the fact that he has a tap-in birdie at 11 to get to 12 under. He's running away with this thing.
12:36: Graeme McDowell birdies 13 to join Zach Johnson (in the clubhouse) and Ernie Els at -5.
12:35: Now Tiger and Olesen are at No. 12, a 200-yard par-3.
Tiger's tee shot looks wonderful, until it trickles over the green and into rough on the back side.
12:33: Olesen knocks in a birdie at No. 11 to get to -6.
Adam Scott knocks his second onto the green, and he and Steve Williams are having a pretty good time out there. Scott will have an eagle putt to get to -13, and two putts to get to -12. Crikey, is he hitting the ball pure.
12:26: Tiger's third at No. 11 flies over the flag and trickles off the back edge of the green.
12:24: Tiger, 32 of 36 fairways hit for the week, chunked his second on the par-5 11th. It was only a layup, but he lost some major yards.
Scott, meanwhile, hammers another drive ... and as ESPN notes, he is sending a message. Here I am. Come get me! Confidence is so important, and Scott has it right now ... and that par save on 10 built it even more.
12:22: Adam Scott! Wow, that was the kind of par save that can win you a championship. Scott doesn't have to pay for finding the fairway bunker after draining that 21-footer.
12:20: Scott's third from 94 yards is, at best, average. His par putt is going to be tough.
12:18: Snedeker finally puts two good shots together, with driver off the tee on 10 and a fine approach to about 12 feet for birdie.
12:16: Tiger on the tee at the 598-yard par-5, with iron in hand, hits a good one, safely in the fairway. Olesen, too, is OK off th tee,
Scott knocks his second out of the fairway bunker on 10, but he will have to get up and down from 94 yards short of the green.
12:13: Tiger's birdie putt at 10 was good, very good, but just not quite good enough. He will, however, tap in for par to stay at -7. Olesen has been solid, minus two hiccups, and he is still at -5 overall.
Scott finally misses one, finding a fairway bunker on No. 10
12:12: Snedeker's troubles continue. He couldn't get close out of the bunker, misses the par saver, and he is now tied with Tiger at -7.
12:10: Scott's putt at No. 9 is safe but short. He will have a couple of feet for par.
Tiger's approach from the rough at 10 is pin-high, 25 feet away.
12:05: Snedeker is leaking oil. At 2 over today, he's in a greenside bunker at the short par-3 ninth. Scott, as he has been doing, is dead center of the green with another look at birdie.
12:03: Snedeker comes up well short on his par putt ... Bogey isn't assured.
Adam Scott finally drains a long putt, for birdie. Through eight holes, he's 2 under today and 11 under overall.
Tiger's tee shot at No. 10 skirts the mounds and lands in the fringe, but not in bad position.
12:01: Boom! Tiger birdies No. 9 for his third birdie in four holes to get to -7, three behind Scott.
Snedeker is danger again of dropping a shot, at No. 8.
11:57: Now on the tee at the 165-yard par-3 ninth. Woods is on target this time, stopping it about 7 feet away.
Scott back at No. 5, 165 yards to the hole, is pure again, center of the green. 23 feet for birdie.
Snedeker finds trouble again. In the rough off the tee at No. 8, and his second hits the green and speeds on over and comes to rest up against the grandstand.
11:55: Tiger makes his par at No. 8 to stay at -6. Olesen makes his birdie at No. 8, on top of a birdie at No. 7, to get back to -5.
Zach Johnson completes his round of 66 to get in the clunhouse at -5.
11:49: Scott is alone in front now, at -10, after the birdie on No. 7. He is striking the ball so pure off the tees and fairways.
11:47: Tiger's second at No. 8, from the fairway, is pin high, on the fringe, about 10 feet away.
Scott's eagle bid just rolls past, but he will have only 2 feet for birdie. Snedeker's third was well done, and he makes birdie to get back to -9 and stop the bleeding.
11:42: Tiger now goes to No. 8, a par-4, 416 yards on the card.
11:40: Snedeker's second at No. 7 hovers on the edge of one of the greenside bunkers. Scott's second, after he nuked a 343-yard drive into a perfect spot in the fairway, is on target again, dead center of the green and hole high. He will have a very good look at eagle.
11:39: Zowie. Tiger's chip from off the green is right on line and 5 inches short. Still, the tap-in birdie takes him back to even on the day and -6 overall. He's where he started the day, alone in third.
11:35: Tiger's second on No. 7 is a low-driving 4-iron that flies the bunkers, rolls past the hole and to the back edge of the green, on the fringe. He'll have a long look at eagle, and two putts for birdie to get back to -6.
11:34: Another good putt from Scott, another par. He is at -9 and alone in front.
11:33: Snedeker's fourth is really good, but he's going to lose his share of the lead with his second bogey in a row. He's at -8.
11:32: Snedeker goes backward out of the bunker, his first bunker of the week, and now he is staring down his second consecutive bogey.
11:29: On the tee at No. 7, at the 592-yard par-5, Tiger uses driver, and smashes a 325-yarder right where he wanted.
Back at No. 6. Snedeker from the rough finds a greenside bunker. Trouble.
Scott's second is, as usual, solid.
11:26: Tiger's birdie putt, a 50-footer, is unbelievably, miraculously, on target, and now he has birdied this hole, a beast, three days in a row. 15 birdies on the hole during the week, and he has three of them.
He joins Zach Johnson and Ernie Els at -5.
11:25: Olesen is making a mess of No. 6. Drive into rough on the left; second into the crowd near the green; third comes up short into the bunker, 18 inches from the steep wall; fourth is a good one though, and he will have a chance to save bogey
.
11:22: Leaderboard update -- Scott and Snedeker are at -9; Zach Johnson and Ernie Els are at -5; Tiger, Olesen and Matt Kuchar are at -4.
11:18: Off the tee at No. 6, Scott and Snedeker both miss the fairway just right, and their balls come to rest within a couple of feet of each other. Scott's ball, though on a downslope, is sitting up nice; Snedeker's disappears into the rough.
11:14: And there it is. The bogey-free run is done, the solo lead is gone. Snedeker makes bogey at No. 5 and drops back to -9, even with Scott.
11:12: Snedeker's putt from off the green is a bit speedy, and he will have 3 feet to save par.
Scott's birdie try once again goes wanting, but at least it will be a stress-free par.
Tiger hits iron off the tee at No. 6, and it rolls into the fringe. Not the thick stuff, but not the short grass either.
11:11: Tiger and Olesen now head for the 492-yard par-4 sixth, with a dogleg left ... Fairway bunkers are out there to cause trouble for drivers.
Scott hits another dandy iron at No. 5. He needs to get the putter going. Snedeker's tee shot is about 5 feet short of the green -- A missed green??!!! -- but he should have no trouble getting up and down.
11:07: Azinger must have been right. A solid bunker shot from Tiger and he taps in for par. He's still +2 today, six back of Snedeker.
Hey, now! Ernie Els makes a birdie at No. 7 and joins Zach Johnson in third place at -5.
11:06: Snedeker for birdie at No. 4. Such a good putt, but 6 inches wide. A tap-in par, and goes par-par-par-par. Now he has played 40 holes this week without a bogey. Scott's birdie try from about 23 feet goes about 3 feet past.
11:05: Another miscue from Tiger. His fade lands short of the green and trickles into the front-right bunker. Paul Azinger says it's not a bad spot ... We wouldn't want to be there, however.
11:03: Tiger and Olesen head to the 208-yard par-3 fifth, with three bunkers left and two right of the green.
11:00: Tiger makes a par at No. 4, and Olesen can't recover after hitting the fairway bunker off the tee. He's back to -4.
10:57: Snedeker is in the fairway off the tee at No. 4, and he still has not made a bogey in the tournament.
10:55: A leaderboard check shows six guys at -4, Woods, Calcavecchia, Els, Dufner, Kuchar, Lawrie.
10:53: Snedeker's long birdie putt was short at No. 3, but he will be able to tap in for par to keep his lead.
Olesen found one of the fairway bunkers at No. 4, and with one foot in and one foot out, he chops it out into the fairway.
Scott saves his par.
10:52: Scott will have to try to save par again at No. 3, after his approach missed the green. He will have about 6 feet for par.
Ernie Els birdies No. 6 to join the big group at 4 under.
10:50: Woods and Olesen move now to No. 4, a 392-yard par-4, with seven bunkers dotting the fairway and five around the green.
10:46: The wobbles continue for Woods. He bogeys No. 3. Not the kind of start you need if you plan to catch a guy who started the day four ahead in scoring conditions.
Zach Johnson is 4 under on the day through 13, and he now is tied with Olesen for third at 5 under.
10:45: Tiger is wobbly to start the day. His putt from 10 feet short of the green wanders about 7 feet past. Meanwhile, Olesen, is steady as she goes. His birdie try on No. 3 hits the hole but stays out.
10:41: A roar while Scott was putting turned out to be Graeme McDowell making birdie at No. 4 to get back to 4 under
.
10:40: Tiger's approach from 232 yards at No. 3, with a 6-iron, comes up short, and he will have to get up and down to save par.
Back at No. 2. Snedeker makes his par, and Scott just misses the birdie. Two pars, no change at the top.
10:34: No. 3 is a 478-yard par-4, with six fairway bunkers. The troubling fairway bunker is 240 out. Tiger's tee shot is well done.
Back at No. 2, Snedeker from 200 yards is on the green with not trouble ... Scott's approach from 179 is spectacular. He will have about 10 feet for birdie to tie this baby up.
10:30: Tiger's long birdie putt was a good one for an easy tap-in par. He will stay at -5. Olesen makes his par as well.
10:26: On No. 2, a 481-yard par-4, Woods and Olesen are safely on the green in regulation.
Back at No. 1, Snedeker is in with par, and Scott, after a solid bunker shot, gets up and down to save his par. No change at the top.
10:18: Tiger's bump-and-run from the back of the green was on target but came up way short, leaving one of those difficult 8-foot par savers. Olesen's bunker shot rolled about 12 feet past.
Olesen calmly raps his par saver in there; Tiger blows his par putt, and he is 1 over for the day, -5 for the tournament.
Is the dream over already?
Meanwhile, the last group, Snedeker and Scott, are on the tee.
10:11: Ouch for Olesen, who finds one of the steep-walled greenside pot bunkers. Tiger's tee shot is true, but long, rolling just off the edge.
10:10: Tiger is on the tee now with Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark. No. 1 is a 205-yard par-3, unusual for the opening hole in a major. But unusual is good.
Ivor Robson makes the announcement, Game No. 41, and they will be on their way.
Bubba Watson bogeyed 14 to drop back to -4.
9:54: Bubba Watson is 5 under on the day after another birdie at 13, 5 under for the tournament, climbing up the leaderboard.
9:30: We're 50 minutes from the leaders' tee times, 40 minutes from Tiger Woods and Thorbjorn Olesen. Wait, who? Yep, Thorbjorn Olesen, a 22-year-old from Denmark. Olesen, who earned his first European Tour victory this year, closed with two birdies, knowing that the last one would give him a 66 and a chance to play with Woods, his idol.
Sure, Woods is in contention. But let us mention this: Woods had a share of the lead after two rounds of the U.S. Open, then folded like a cheap card table on Saturday and Sunday.
Bubba Watson is 3 under on the day, through 10 holes, and 3 under for the tournament. We won't call this moving day ... Ugh! We just did ... but Bubba is moving.
Checking in with a few of the guys who played early Saturday:
Lee Westwood: It appears he will have to wait again for his first major championship title . He shot a 71 Saturday and finished his day at 4 over. His next chance will come Aug. 9-12 at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in South Carolina.
Rory McIlroy: Rory shot a third-round 73, and he is 5 over for the tournament. Probably unfair to ask him to recapture the magic from the 2011 U.S. Open. Asking him simply to contend, however, is more than fair.
