Special to ESPN Golf Online
Saturday, July 22
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Sergio Garcia finished his round wondering why he's no longer in contention at the British Open.
| One to remember | |
| Former European Ryder Cup captain Mark James made more of a stir with his book than his golf. James, who missed the cut at 7-over, was autographing his tell-all book, "Into The Bear Pit," which was about the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline. In the book, he criticized the American team for its celebration at the 17th green when Justin Leonard rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt that turned out to be the Cup-clinching point. He was particularly hard on Tom Lehman for leading the charge onto the green. One of those who asked him to sign the book this week was Melissa Lehman, Tom's wife. "I asked him to write, 'Thanks for the memories,' and he did," she said. |
Much like last month's U.S. Open, players other than Woods are frustrated at their inability to make a move. "I look at the board and I'm just getting lapped, and that's no fun," said 1996 Open champion Tom Lehman, who shot 70 and trails Woods by eight shots. "I threw away, let get away, four or five shots today, and there's really no reason that I couldn't be in a with a reasonable chance," he said. "One round, anything's possible, and within three or four shots there's always hope. But eight shots back ... it's going to be pretty difficult for me." Big Easy inquiry
After taking the tournament lead with a first-round 66, Ernie Els said there should be an inquiry if Woods defeats him by 15 shots, as he did last month at the U.S. Open. Well, there probably won't be an inquiry, but... Els is now eight shots back. He shot 70 on Saturday, finishing his round with six straight pars. At one point, he had pulled within a single stroke of Woods by getting to 10-under. Then Els double-bogeyed the short par-4 12th, and Woods played his last 11 holes in 5-under. Els did not stop to comment afterward. Wise bet
Legal betting in the United Kingdom has some unusual twists. One occurred after the 1995 Open at St. Andrews, when odds were set on players for the 2000 championship for its return here. One player listed was Woods, then a 19-year-old amateur who had just competed in his first Open Championship. Woods shot rounds of 74-71-72-78 for 295, 7-over. He tied for 68th. His odds were 100-1. A local man named Angus Loughran placed a wager on Woods at the time, amount unknown. But he stands to collect a handsome profit should Woods prevail Sunday. Heading into the weekend, Ladbrokes, the largest gambling agency in the United Kingdom, listed the betting odds for Woods with 36 holes remaining at 1-3. Going low
Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer went out early Saturday and matched his best-ever British Open round, a 6-under-par 66. It was Langer's 82nd round in the Championship. Langer matched David Duval and Bob May for low round of the day, and Els on Thursday for low round of the tournament. "Today, I kept out of the bunkers and hit my irons close, that was the difference," said Langer, who got to 6-under for the tournament. "But I reckon I will be 10 shots behind at the end of the day as I reckon the scores will be low." Langer was right. He trails Woods by 10 and is tied for 13th.
Bob Harig, who covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a column every Tuesday for ESPN Golf Online.
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