With a wry smile and a slight chuckle that Casual Friday
watched the proceedings of the 132nd British Open Thursday.
Tiger Woods loses a ball off the first tee. Jerry Kelly chalks up
a snowman-plus three on the par-4 first hole and Steve Elkington will
return Friday after signing for a 15-over 86. It all makes that evening
cocktail go down a bit smoother.
Granted, Casual Friday would have spent more time walking the knee-high
rough, hacking from the deep bunkers and four- and five-putting on
greens that look like they are a good acre in size. But there never
was a phone call or a mailed invitation from the Royal and Ancient
Golf Club to play in this year's Open Championship.
The first-round scoring average was 76.49, a full five strokes over
par.
Seeing the players struggle, seeing them fight course conditions
and their own frustration is classic golf theatre. There are enough
weeks out of the year when the pros drive the fairway, hit the green
in regulation and then drain one birdie putt after another. Yawn.
Watching Woods and a contingent that included caddie Steve Williams,
forecaddies and the voices of those in the gallery sift through the
thick and gnarly rough off the first tee was refreshing. How many times
has the Saturday foursome at the local club spent minute after minute
in the thicket trying to find the errant tee shot?
While Hennie Otto's 3-under 68 might stand as the low round of the
tournament - if the wind stays put - Fredrik Jacobson's 1-under bogey-free
round might be more impressive.
"There really is a huge element of luck," said
Phil Mickelson of playing well in a British Open.
Casual Friday can relate. As a high-handicapper, shooting in the
low- to mid-80s - even on the local muni - would take a certain amount
of good fortune from the golfing Gods.
SECOND CUT
Golf literature appears to be on the rise. There is not a season
that goes by when there is not three or four mass produced releases.
Thus, it is with great delight when Casual Friday gets a regional-based
book.
"Golf in the Lowcountry" (Joel
Zuckerman, Saron Press) takes readers on a journey through the Hilton
Head, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., regions.
The book is a mix of course reviews, essays and personality profiles
that combined are tied into a nice, quick read that spotlights courses
and people that might otherwise go unnoticed.
DOUBLE CLICK
www.badgolfmonthly.com
OK, so the high scores in the opening round of the British Open was
not as much about bad golf as it was the weather and course conditions.
But since this was the highest single-round scoring average of the
year on the PGA Tour, it is as close to bad golf as there may well
be this season.
