What to Watch In Round 3 at St. Andrews: Leading Hair, Rors' Roars and More Birdies
Now that TigerWatch is over, here are a few things to look for Saturday at the British Open …
Hair Today, Comb Tomorrow
Let the MulletWatch begin: Golf’s favorite mullet-wearer, Australian Cameron Smith, lit up the Old Course with a 64. He was 6 under par through 10 holes, right about the time the wind direction switched, but he did have a lengthy putt for 63 on the 18th green. The Open’s low round is 62 by Branden Grace; 63 is the low score in the other three majors.
The Old Course typically rewards a power-hitter and a good chipper. Smith is long enough but his iron game is strong and his putting may be the best in modern golf. Think of him as Jordan Spieth 2.0 (1.0 being the 2015 Spieth).
Smith has the world’s best chasing him on the weekend. He played through a lull after his big Players Championship win, where he shot 69-66 on the weekend and tied for third at the Masters. Smith got back on track last week when he finished 68-67 at the Scottish Open. The man is on a roll. He’s got the right game for the right course and the right conditions and he’s not afraid of the big stage. He will be tough to beat, but the same could be said of other contenders such as Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. Also tough to beat: Billy Ray Cyrus’ old mullet. Smith still ranks ahead of Ellen DeGeneres and the young Rob Lowe in that category …
The New Favorite
The old favorite is gone. That would be Tiger Woods, who missed the cut by a gap as wide as the Firth of Forth. The next most popular big-name player in the field with the most fan support, also by a wide margin, is Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.
If Rory McIlroy gives the crowd plenty to cheer about on Saturday, this could be his Open.
Michael Madrid/USA Today
Does anything that happens on Friday really determine the outcome Sunday? No … but maybe. McIlroy has looked like a man on a mission all week. That mission is not to crush the rebellion (LIV Golf) but to re-stake his claim to greatness and win his first major in eight years. He broke fast Thursday, shooting 66, but watched Cam Smith flash by him in the passing lane Friday. McIlroy simply kept pounding drives onto or next to assorted par-4 greens. If one moment sums up his steely determination to win in St. Andrews, it was the 17th hole, where McIlroy dropped an approach shot past the hole, then rolled in a 20-foot putt for birdie that got him to 10 under and, at that time, into the next-to-last pairing Saturday with LIV defector Dustin Johnson.
It was well into the Scottish evening when McIlroy holed the putt but the roar was loud and unmistakable. This crowd is his on the weekend. Viktor (Norwegian Wood) Hovland later birdied the 18th to tie McIlroy so they’ll be paired in the third round, not McIlroy and Johnson. That will be an attractive pairing as Hovland, who seems to be smiling even when he isn’t (like Matt Kuchar or Phil Mickelson), is also popular with galleries. He holed an approach shot from the rough at the 15th for an unlikely eagle 2.
Look for McIlroy and Hovland to have a larger gallery following than the final Cameron pairing — Smith and Young. Will those roars for Rors throw anyone else off their game? Well, nobody would admit it if they did …
The Old, Old Course
The TV talking heads who commended the course setup on Day 1 and discussed how well the course held up to a scoring onslaught were dead wrong for a second straight day. Two days, two 8-under 64s. Five under par after two rounds is in a tie for 18th place. Remember the part where this is supposed to be a major championship? It was breezy Thursday but not Friday and officials have already used a lot of tricks with the pin positions the first two days to keep scoring where it is, which is too low.
With a calm Sunday forecast and a maybe-breezy-or-maybe-not Saturday ahead, Henrik Stenson’s Open record of 20 under par may be challenged. Smith is already at 13 under; Cameron Young is -11; McIlroy and Hovland are -10; and two guys who can go low anytime, anywhere are at -9 — Scottie Scheffler and Johnson. And remember, these guys are shooting these scores at a rare par-72 track that has only two par-5 holes.
How’s the Old Course really holding up? The 360-yard par-4 18th par-4 hole ceased being a virtual par 3 (as it was Thursday) because the wind switched Friday afternoon and the hole played into the wind. It was still a fairly easy birdie hole, however. Friday saw one 64, one 65, four 66s and 10 67s. The Old Course is getting its you-know-what ripped apart. Expect another birdie barrage Saturday but hope for a big afternoon wind …
Anytime, Today
Slow play was still a problem in Friday’s round, once again caused by double greens (players wait to hit to their half of the green until the guys are done putting on the other half), and a slew of drivable par 4s and reachable par 5s. (Oakmont, a U.S. Open staple, has one hole that is only a possibly reachable par 3, I’m just sayin’.) How slow was it? I watched Cameron Smith pour in a nice birdie putt at the 9th to go 5 under on the front, then I went out and mowed half of my lawn. I came back in and he was only just walking onto the 10th green, where he holed another one. Memo to everyone: Golf needs a shot clock.
Weather Channel Magic
Not really but the official forecast for Saturday, as posted by the R&A, is again loaded with maybe’s and then-agains and the kind of weasel-wording you’d resort to if you were a United Kingdom weatherman in a location where predicting the weather even 12 hours in advance is a guessing game.
Saturday’s forecast calls for a mostly sunny morning followed by increasing clouds in the afternoon, along with increasing wind strength, from 5-10 mph out of the southwest growing stronger later with gusting possibly up to 25 mph. So it will be breezier than Friday’s round, maybe not as strong as Thursday.
How to make a cover-your-butt forecast: “Saturday evening and overnight — Largely dry though some rain is possible at times… Sunday — Likely cloudy early with a chance of mostly light rain; most likely dry during the afternoon; feeling very warm in any sunshine, high 79 degrees.” Likely cloudy? Oh, can’t say for sure. Feeling very warm in any sunshine? You mean you’re not sure about the sunshine. Largely dry though some rain is possible at times?
Come off it, just say, "We don’t know." (But say it in a cool Scottish accent.)
More British Open Coverage From SI.com/Morning Read
> Tiger Woods Isn't Retiring Yet, But St. Andrews Revealed That His Competitive Days Are Over
> Matt Fitzpatrick Moves Into Position to Chase Rare Double at British Open
> Tiger Woods Understood That Friday's British Open Ovation Could Mark an End
> Tiger Woods, Collin Morikawa, Phil Mickelson Among Notable Players to Miss Cut
> Slumping Collin Morikawa Leaving St. Andrews Early After Missed Cut at British Open
> LIV Golf Against the World? Dustin Johnson's Not Feeling It at St. Andrews
> At Stake This Weekend For LIV Golfers: A Claret Jug, and Respectability
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