Now that he’s in contention, Scot Marc Warren might get some TV time
In the last 100 years, only three Scots have won the Claret Jug – the trophy that defines the game their kin invented. Marc Warren is looking to become the fourth, following up an opening 68 with 3-under 69 on Friday at St. Andrews to post up at the halfway mark of the British Open with a strong chance to win.
Now that he’s in contention, maybe the BBC will show more of Warren on TV.
After his opening round on Thursday, Warren wasn’t surprised to learn that the BBC aired less than 10 percent of his round.
“Six [shots]? That’s quite good for me,” Warren said, according to the Daily Mail. “I just feel sorry for people who don’t get to see me!”
Warren joked that he would just have to play harder to merit coverage.
“I will definitely try to play better to try and get more coverage – but it seems as if we’re kind of against the breeze a little bit, shall we say, to put it nicely,” he said.
He added, “If I keep shooting and playing as well as I am just now, then if they want to show me, great, and if they don’t, then that’s fine, as well.”
At 7-under 137, Warren has assured himself a late tee time on Saturday and, hopefully for his countrymen, a chance to watch more of him on TV.
The BBC hasn’t had much reason to show Scots in its Open coverage in recent memory. Aided by Jean van de Velde’s epic collapse, Paul Lawrie overcame a 10-shot deficit entering the final round to become the first Scot to win the Open since Sandy Lyle ended a 65-year Scottish drought in 1985.
However, it’s unlikely the BBC has some kind of anti-Scot bias. The BBC feed is aired throughout the world, so the network has to show some deference to players outside the British Isles. Warren and his fellow Scots, though, can hope for more camera time starting in 2017, when Sky Sports takes over as the R&A international broadcast partner, ending more than 60 years of Open coverage on the BBC.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
