Steady Snedeker charges ahead
Source: Agencies |
July 21, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BRANDT Snedeker was steady as can be at the British Open. The 31-year-old American, who has never made the cut in golf's oldest major, surged to a four-stroke lead early yesterday before many of the other contenders even got on the course at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
Following a 4-under 66 in the opening round, Snedeker kept up his assault on the fairways, knocked in four birdies and made the turn with a 4-under 30. He rolled in a 25-footer for another birdie at the par-5 11th, then put his tee shot in the middle of the green on the par-3 12th and calmly sank the putt - his sixth birdie of the round, pushing his score to 10 under.
First-round leader Adam Scott, who tied the course record with a 64 on Thursday, had an afternoon tee time. So did many of the others who stood out on Day 1, including Paul Lawrie (65), Zach Johnson (65), Tiger Woods (67), Ernie Els (67), Bubba Watson (67) and Graeme McDowell (67) - all of them past major winners.
Everyone was chasing Snedeker, who is best remembered for making an emotional run at the 2008 Masters and winding up in a tie for third. He was 0-for-3 in making the cut at his previous British Opens.
That shouldn't be a problem this time. He had yet to make a bogey through his first 30 holes at Royal Lytham and showed everyone that there were plenty of birdies to be had if you kept the ball in the fairway.
For many players, that proved to be elusive. Rory McIlroy, who opened with a 67, knocked his ball onto an adjoining tee box at No. 3, needed a couple of whacks to escape a towering pot bunker on the ninth, and was struggling along at 4 over on the day as he approached the end of his round.
Phil Mickelson, the runner-up last year at Royal St. George but never an Open champion, was already warming up the jet after three double-bogeys pushed his total score to 9 over, making him a likely cut victim.
And no one took a bigger tumble than the big-hitting Belgian, Nicolas Colsaerts, who had surprised in the opening round with a 65. He fell apart yesterday, running into trouble right away with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 2 and 3 before making a total mess of the par-5 seventh, normally one of the easier holes on the course.
Following a 4-under 66 in the opening round, Snedeker kept up his assault on the fairways, knocked in four birdies and made the turn with a 4-under 30. He rolled in a 25-footer for another birdie at the par-5 11th, then put his tee shot in the middle of the green on the par-3 12th and calmly sank the putt - his sixth birdie of the round, pushing his score to 10 under.
First-round leader Adam Scott, who tied the course record with a 64 on Thursday, had an afternoon tee time. So did many of the others who stood out on Day 1, including Paul Lawrie (65), Zach Johnson (65), Tiger Woods (67), Ernie Els (67), Bubba Watson (67) and Graeme McDowell (67) - all of them past major winners.
Everyone was chasing Snedeker, who is best remembered for making an emotional run at the 2008 Masters and winding up in a tie for third. He was 0-for-3 in making the cut at his previous British Opens.
That shouldn't be a problem this time. He had yet to make a bogey through his first 30 holes at Royal Lytham and showed everyone that there were plenty of birdies to be had if you kept the ball in the fairway.
For many players, that proved to be elusive. Rory McIlroy, who opened with a 67, knocked his ball onto an adjoining tee box at No. 3, needed a couple of whacks to escape a towering pot bunker on the ninth, and was struggling along at 4 over on the day as he approached the end of his round.
Phil Mickelson, the runner-up last year at Royal St. George but never an Open champion, was already warming up the jet after three double-bogeys pushed his total score to 9 over, making him a likely cut victim.
And no one took a bigger tumble than the big-hitting Belgian, Nicolas Colsaerts, who had surprised in the opening round with a 65. He fell apart yesterday, running into trouble right away with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 2 and 3 before making a total mess of the par-5 seventh, normally one of the easier holes on the course.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
