Tiger Woods birdied 17 and parred the final hole – almost holing a tremendous chip – but it was too little too late for the American golfer as his 5 over par score at the end of day two of The Open Championship means he misses his second Major cut since 2006.
His fellow American, Tom Watson, posted a level par 70 to end the day tied on 5 under after the blustery conditions posed many problems for his younger colleagues. The 59 year old must now be a serious contender to add another to his impressive tally of 5 Open Championships – 25 years since his last win in 1984.
Of those young talents to miss the cut, none will be more disappointed than the charismatic Japanese Ishikawa who shot 7 over on the back nine today. He also misses the cut.
Of the current leaders, experience seems to be the order of the day, as Watson is followed by Calcavecchia, another former championship winner. That said, his fellow leader, Steve Marino had never played in England, nor on a links course before this week.
Though many are expecting those at the top to fall away, the experienced players are getting good dividends with sensible course management being the order of the day – avoiding bogies seems to be as important as attacking these tricky pin positions.
The remaining two days are set to provide exciting sport as the expected championship winners are a number of shots down – and therefore must take risks – while those at the head of proceedings are unlikely to drop many shots. It could well be another duel, though the sun looks a tall order.
Current Open Championship Standings
- -5 Steve Marino USA
- -5 Tom Watson USA
- -4 Mark Calcavecchia USA
- -3 Ross Fisher ENG
- -3 Retief Goosen RSA
- -3 Miguel Angel Himanez
- -3 Kenichi Kuboya
- -3 Vijay Singh