(Honeyfield/Flickr)
I WAS STILL TRYING TO GET USED to Greg Norman being in contention at the British Open, someone who now plays more tennis than golf, when another ghost from golf’s not-too-distant past appeared on the British Open leaderboard.
David Duval? Is that you? Are you kidding me?
This is like a British Open funhouse where you stare into the TV screen and everything is distorted.
Former world No. 1 Greg Norman, a 53-year-old newlywed who considered this a tune-up for the Senior British Open, is one shot off the 36-hole lead held by K.J. Choi. Then there’s Duval, who had made one cut in 12 events coming into The Open Championship. If Duval’s opening 73 on a foul weather day wasn’t surprising enough, he backs it up with a nifty little 69.
Can anybody tell me what’s going on here? Am I in some sort of alternate golf reality? Are my TV and Internet playing tricks on me?
I was getting ready to leave this afternoon when I spotted Duval on the closing holes of his second round. I stuck around. I had to see this.
Wearing wraparound shades on a gray, misty day, it was the same David Duval, an expressionless and robotic golfer. Only he’s bulked up in new places. There he was saving pars out of pot bunkers and thigh-high rough. I blinked. He was still there.
First-round leader Rocco Mediate is still hanging around at plus two. Phil Mickelson rebounded with a 68 after an opening 79. Lefty will be around for the weekend, but I don’t see him getting back into this thing. But who knows in this bizarre British Open?
Unlike Sandy Lyle, who walked off the course during round one when he was 11 over par, John Daly completed his disastrous second round, an 89.
If anybody thought golf couldn’t be interesting without Tiger Woods, they might want to tune in this weekend.
−The Armchair Golfer
Related:
2008 British Open TV Schedule