Your British Open update: Weather has become a factor
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Good news, America! Because of a monstrous rainstorm that rolled through Scotland early Friday morning, you’ll get to see some golf from the U.K. that’ll last until after your lunch break!
The deluge pounded St. Andrews with enough rain to flood many of the fairways. Grounds crews squeegeed the Old Course (there’s a line that Old Tom Morris never would have imagined) enough that play could begin at 10 a.m. local time, or 5 a.m. Eastern. Click on the slideshow below to see the spectacle:
Yep, it’s pretty dang wet here. But after the rain cleared out, the sun came in. Yes, sunshine at the British Open … it can happen! That left the course in soft condition, making the hours after the rain an ideal time for a charge.
So far, it’s England’s Danny Willett who took the advantage, big time, moving to the top of the leaderboard with a 3-under 69, putting him at 9-under and making him the clubhouse leader. Zach Johnson had moved to 8-under with a couple of early birdies, gave two back, then birdied 18 to finish the day at 7-under. Scotland’s Marc Warren is in with a 3-under 68, putting him at 7-under for the tournament, as well.
Adam Scott fired the round of the day, a 5-under 67 to move to 7-under
Phil Mickelson was making a bit of a move. Three early birdies had him at 5-under before a double bogey on the par-3 11th dropped him back to 3-under, then a brutal bogey at 18, a hole no one had bogeyed all day, has him at 2-under heading to the weekend.
Those who went out early looked to be on the good side of the tee times, but even with high winds in the afternoon first-round leader Dustin Johnson still got off to a solid start, with two birdies in his first five holes to match Willett at 9-under.
Tom Watson’s round Friday is particularly significant because this marks his final British Open, and he’s in danger of missing the cut. Sunset in St. Andrews is around 4:45 Eastern Time, and that means Watson will be finishing up his round, and crossing the famed Swilcan Bridge, right as darkness falls. That’s either poetic or tragic, depending on how the day plays out.
The earliest rounds on Friday did have a bit of levity. The players in The Most Interesting Grouping In The World — that would be Miguel Angel Jimenez, John Daly, and Jason Dufner — all put their opening tee shots within two feet of each other. Referees and cameraman were used to determine whose ball was whose, and how to proceed.
Much more to come on this lovely British Open Friday.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter.
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