Leader Dustin Johnson, history-maker Jordan Spieth and a desperate Tiger Woods will all be looking up at the skies with the second round of The Open getting under way at St Andrews yesterday.
Birdies were aplenty during Thursday’s opening chapter at the “home of golf,” but conditions gradually worsened during the day and the full blast of the looming bad weather hit the fabled Fife links course yesterday, with the possibility of continuing today.
Johnson for one, seeking his first major title, was happy that he produced his opening seven-under 65 when the going was good.
Photo: AP
“Everybody knows the weather Friday and Saturday is going to be very difficult, so today I thought was very important to get off to a good start and try to make as many birdies as you can today, because the next couple days it’s going to be very difficult,” he said.
It was a packed leaderboard stacked up behind him.
Standing one back of him was a six-strong group consisting of home favorite Paul Lawrie, Australian shotmaker Jason Day, South African veteran Retief Goosen, Danny Willett of England and Americans Robert Streb and Zach Johnson.
Even more pertinately, among those on 67 is the man who has taken the golfing world by storm this year, 21-year-old Texan Jordan Spieth.
The world No. 2 played alongside Johnson on Thursday for his first competitive round at St Andrews and he dealt admirably with the challenge.
In the absence of injured world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, his clash with Johnson is the one that is making headlines as the rivalry to watch.
Spieth said of Johnson that he had been impressed by “somebody who’s splitting bunkers at about 380 yards and just two-putting for birdie on five or six of the holes when there’s only two par-5s.”
“I don’t have that in the bag, so I’ve got to make up for it with ball-striking,” Spieth said. “I’ve played enough golf with him to where I believe in my skill set that I can still trump that crazy ability that he has.”
Phil Mickelson (70), England’s top hope Justin Rose (71) and last week’s Scottish Open winner Rickie Fowler (72) were positioned to apply some pressure on the leader.
Tiger Woods needed a minor miracle to avoid missing back-to-back cuts in major tournaments for the first time in his career.
The 14-time major winner struggled to an opening 76 and there was nothing in his game to suggest that he will fare any better in tougher weather conditions.
Play resumed at 10am yesterday in the second round following a three-and-a-half-hour delay caused by torrential rain.
The bad weather sweeping in off the North Sea had been widely forecast and it arrived on time just as the first players took to the tee for round two in the early morning.
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