PGA Tour: Open Championship / True South Classic: Notes from the Ballwasher

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1).Well done Zach Johnson, winning the John Deere Classic after you tried hard to throw it away on the first play-off hole. Second win of the season for Zach who is on the Board of the tournament and has done so much to ensure its place on the PGA Tour schedule - reminiscent of Carl Pettersson's win at Greensboro a few years ago in that respect.

2).This win doesn't arithmetically ensure Zach Johnson of a place on Davis Love's Ryder Cup Team, but he and DLIII are near neighbours on the Georgia coast, have worked together to help create "The McGladrey Classic", and it would be a huge surprise if his John Deere success doesn't clinch a spot at Medinah.

3).Troy Matteson came way too close to winning last week's John Deere Classic, leading as he did every day, to throw it all away on his first play-off hole. He would have been the first player to win a Tour event in which he finished last in driving accuracy for 24 years! But he putted for his dough, leading the field in "strokes gained - putting". Sometime College Teammate of Kuchar and Molder, among others.

4).Open Championship week, then, and let's hope Royal Lytham gets the Champion it deserves. Rather like Carnoustie did in 1999, or so Davis Love thought:
"When you have a screwy setup, you're going to get a screwy finish," Love was quoted as saying. "And if Paul Lawrie is the champion that Scotland wanted, I think they got exactly what they wanted."
The R&A get exactly what they want on Thursday, 8.31 a.m. BST, when Lawrie and Love tee it up together with Tim Clark!

5).Let's see who's done well in the past at Lytham:
1996 result:
1st: Lehman
2nd: Els
11th: Darren Clarke, Vijay Singh
14th: Duval
18th: Harrington
22nd: Woods, Stricker
27th: Broadhurst (also 58th and Leading Amateur in 1988 - hope he plays well this week, will never get the credit he deserves for his 1991 Ryder Cup play.)
41st: Calc, Mickelson
Also made the cut: Hamilton, Furyk, Allenby, Ames, Lyle, Daly, Goosen

6).2001 result:
1st: Duval
3rd: Els, Clarke, Jimenez
9th: Garcia
13th: Vijay, Goosen, Jacquelin
21st: DLIII
23rd: Michael Campbell, Greg Owen
25th: Woods
29th: Barry Lane
30th: Cink, Mickelson, Rose
37th: Harrington
42nd: Stricker, Paul Lawrie
Also made the cut: Allenby, Scott, Westwood, Calc, Lyle.

7).The last two Major winners won Majors their namesakes had won, Watson and Simpson. Sadly Jarrod Lyle won't be maintaining the tradition as he battles leukemia in Australia. But Aussie Luke Elvy tweets a promising update on Jarrod's condition:
"Has had his ups and downs over the past 6 weeks but Bone Marrow tests overnight showed no leukemia cells. Great news."
Get well, Jarrod, hope to see you on Tour soon.

8).No idea who'll win this week, fingers crossed though for Westwood and Harrington. Obviously Els, Clarke and Vijay have played well here in the past, but, Woods apart, it's difficult to see where any American challenge might come from. (Interesting take in USA Today on David Toms' non-participation: "He's pulled out of the British on several occasions due to injury and general disinterest."!)
Apart from the golden oldies, Woods, Stricker, Furyk and Phil, the leading Americans in the owgr have little to show for their trips to The Open, Dustin Johnson, Fowler, Mahan and Watney scoring the only 5 top 15's.

9).Hate disclaimers but this week's "opposite field event", the True South Classic in Mississippi, has been abandoned by PGA Tour players in their droves, very few of the owgr top 200 bothering to show up for a $540K first prize. Players are withdrawing by the dozen and it seems futile to speculate too much about the event. If they don't care, why should we?

Except to say that it's a BIG tournament for Gary Christian and Russell Knox, not to mention the ailing Richard S.Johnson and a golfer with an excellent record in Lytham Opens, Alex Cejka - a cut for Cejka this week will earn him PGA Tour "Veteran" status as he reaches 150 career cuts. Good luck Alex, but a poor reward for a first-time sponsor and a Jack Nicklaus course that the players rate more highly than Torrey Pines, Doral, Bay Hill and the Greenbrier.

10).Finally, Majors may be two-a-penny on the Champions Tour, two-in-Michigan even, but Sundridge Park's Roger Chapman won't be complaining as he added the US Senior Open title to the Senior PGA he won a few weeks ago. Two fingers, then, to the USGA who only saw fit to invite five Europeans (Hogberg went through qualifying) to their Senior Open which is even more of a closed shop than the Champions Tour. Pathetic.

Roger Chapman won't mind though as he will be at Kiawah Island for next month's PGA Championship, and joins Lee Westwood in being the first two Englishmen to punch their tickets to next year's US Open at Merion.

love the way poults is on the course.. he loves it!!

He's on the range now hitting balls and there doesn't seem to be a problem, the commentators haven't mentioned anything. Don't be frightening me guys!

I'll be most interested to see how Dustin Johnson plays today - hope he'll take the course on. Two 68's Friday and Saturday and would not be surprised to see him post the next 65.

Tiger on the range, but all he's doing is hitting soft shots, smooth swing. Then he thrashes at it like a man possessed on the course, especially with his short irons which he seems to be forcing and losing his distance control.

What will we see today?
The controlled clinic from Thursday or Friday.
Or the flawed "game plan" from Saturday where he just gave up too much ground off the tee?

Quote of the day: One of the BBC pundits quipped, "I don't know why Adam Scott
couldn't win this thing. He's got Tiger's old swing, Tiger's old coach, and
Tiger's old caddie."

All true -- but does he have Tiger's fortitude?

High time we heard from an Australian, but I admire Gmac's swagger. Hot for him (or Tiger or Sned) cool for Adam and game on.

Why is Webb Simpson not playing here?

Tevez must be a sh1t caddy, Romero is 12 over for the day.
Good scoring is rare so far out there, Colsaerts leading the way on 5 under and about 7 others at 1-2 under par.

How did Tiger hurt himself? Playing at night as usual?

Simpson's wife expecting. Didn't stop him from throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium the other day though.

Nice rounds from The Mechanic and The Poults.

Good to see Badds hanging around to wish Adam Scott well. Two of the very very best guys to follow on the course.

C'mon, Sneds. Be aggressive. Nothing to lose and so much to gain.

How does Tiger get out the bunker like that! I would have been there all day and all night trying to dig it out.

Kangaroo looking nervous and clumsy at the start. So, we may look forward to an interesting day.

Vijay is the steadiest player on the course. Ten holes, 10 pars. What good does it do other than keep him in the top twenty here?

Only two golfers (Stricker and Oosthuizen, both two under) under par on the course right now.

Re. Woods limping after getting out of a car. Given his knee history, I wouldn't be surprised if sitting in a car for a while stiffens it up such that when he first gets up and walks it's stiff and a bit painful. I have a gammy right ankle from one too many torn ligaments and it does just that sort of thing if I've been sat for a while or first thing in the morning on getting out of bed.

At the Oval, no respite from pounding by the Saffers. Amla unbeaten triple.

Here, looks like Tiger and Sneads waiting for Scott to fall off.

yeah do you have to remind me leff, thing is they arnt scoring fast enough to declare and bowl us out- its kinda crazy- deffo draw

tiger has lost the plot - he is gone"!

scott holes a 10 foot par putt.- that will give him massive confidence

Oh dear. Did it hit Tiger?

Now his knee will hurt. Limping now

Woods' challenge is coming to an end here. .

ermm- he has done a murryism- things start hurting when your playing bad

No doubt I am the only poster on here not taking pleasure from tigers bunker issue.

Commentary here Mac was about taking unplayable and dropping outside of the bunker. Seemed a bit crazy

Bye bye Tiger. Hopefully Scott can push on or McDonut can do something

Ouch!!!!!!!!

Oh dear, Tiger triple.

They were also saying how he birdied this hole every day this week. Given them all back today.

However, this might free him up. Think of it as the card wrecker in your medal. Score is Flip so just relax and play some good golf

Now, the field is down to 3 contenders - Scott, Sneds, and Gmac (possibly).

omg- scott hit a semi tommy tank out the sand just then- got away with it though- that could have been much worse

Sneds lost ball, then provisional into fairway bunker!

Looks like if Scott can get through this front half about +1, then he will be able just relax to victory hopefully, but seems the 6th is causing issue for the leaders to

Go Sneds. Just 2 shots behind now. Gmac did well there without Tigerish mess, but 4 shots behind at this stage is too far.

Oh nope, double bogey for Sneds. Scott in full control now.

Sneds is 4 behind! Courtesy of a double birdie at 7 for Scott could be a 5 shot lead

ermm if anyone of these players could actually bring a challenge then scott wouldnt have a lead right now!!

Lucky for Scott not to get a penalty there.

Sometimes you get a break, sometimes you don't. Just like Freddy on 12 at Augusta. Stayed on the bank as opposed to rolling back into the creek

Sorry for Snedekar. In control for 6 holes, then two double-bogeys, for +4.

They're all falling apart. Els first birdie in that group at 10. Some scary stats just shown Leff

Calc tied for 6th place at the moment, his best performance in any major in ten years.

GMac has recovered one stroke there, now just 3 shots behind Scott.

mick doo and stevie williams now a full hole behind. Any reason why they have not been put on the clock?

gmac has just had a brain mash up, and they are also on the clock

Ok, apparently they have just been put on the clock. Scott playing very slowly so I hope he is penalized should he not speed up.

One step forward, one back. The story continues for all chasers

Someone thought Zach J would be the one to rise up? He is not doing well today.

gmac needs to start putting pressure on scott for his own sake and for the rest of the field. It is all a little too easy for scott at the moment as no pressure is being applied from anywhere.

Ernie seems to have woken up. But probably too little too late now

C'mon Ernie, make a charge here..

leff- no one is rising are they- no point singlng out one of them!

infact its one of the weakest final rounds ever(so far) westy must be feeling abit gutted- the one major he doesnt contend no one actually wants!

Sixteen consecutive pars for Vijay!