While You Were Sleeping: Day 2 at the British Open
The British Open is one of the finest events on the sports calendar, but it’s inconveniently scheduled when most of America is fast asleep. How rude. Anyway, here’s what you missed while you were sleeping on Thursday night and Friday morning.
Phil! Phil Mickelson came within a hairsbreadth of carving his name into golf history on Thursday, just barely missing a historic 62. Mickelson rolled through the opening nine, extending his lead to as much as five strokes on the field, and didn’t make a bogey until the 12th. The early highlight of his round was a near-ace at the wicked Postage Stamp 8th.
[The British Open leaderboard]
Scottish summer: We now know which half of the draw caught the favorable weather: the late Thursday/early Friday crew. The entire field enjoyed a balmy, calm Thursday, and Friday dawned gray and unexpectedly dry and calm. Rain didn’t begin until about 5:30 a.m., and wind didn’t pick up for another hour, so anyone already on the course, like Mickelson, Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel, and Henrik Stenson, enjoyed the benefits of surprisingly accommodating Scotland weather. The late players, not so much.
Tribute to France: The horrific terrorist attack on Nice, France happened after the conclusion of Thursday’s rounds. French flags were lowered to half-staff, and tournament officials handed out black ribbons to players who wished to wear them. Clement Sordet, along with Victor Dubuisson the only French players in the Open field, wrote “Pray for Nice” on the visor of his cap prior to teeing off Friday morning.
Ugly numbers: Royal Troon lured in unwary victims on Thursday, playing very easy. On Friday, the teeth came out. Martin Kaymer was in a tie for second when he triple-bogeyed the seventh. Paul Casey five-putted the same hole. And Ben Curtis carded a 10 on the third hole. Ouch. And that’s likely not the end of the nasty numbers for Friday.
One more: You never quite know what you’re going to see at the British Open:
Keegan Bradley gets up close and personal with a low-flying plane. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/jfmvqX72QO
— Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) July 15, 2016
Round 2 continues through about 2 p.m. ET on Friday, on Golf Channel and streaming live on Yahoo Sports via NBC.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
