Scott Murray's Blog, page 178
July 29, 2015
The Fiver | Throwing haymakers around in the flamboyant style
SCRAPPY MOU
It’s hard to say where Chelsea are at as a team right now. They lost 4-2 to the New York Red Bulls in a glorified training session that didn’t matter. They drew with Paris Saint-Germain in a glorified training session that didn’t matter. And on Tuesday night they drew with some rabble claiming to be the European champions Barcelona in a glorified training session that didn’t matter. Along the way, they scored some penalties. It’s all a bit meh, really, neither one thing nor the other. Though the mood will obviously lift on Sunday at the Community Shield once they’re 6-0 up against Arsenal after 14 minutes, which is what usually happens, isn’t it?
RICE THEN GETTING STUCK IN THE IPHONE CHARGE PORT DOES NOT WORK
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Football transfer rumours: Dimitar Berbatov on his way to Aston Villa?
Emmanuel Adebayor wants a loan move to Aston Villa, where he will reunite with manager Tim Sherwood. The pair will then become the subject of a patronising internet pile-on, despite Adebayor having scored for fun under Sherwood at Spurs, because they once celebrated a goal rather sweetly by saluting each other, and because Sherwood has never once pandered to the self-appointed cognoscenti by pretending to be the second coming of Gusztav Sebes.
Villa aren’t stopping there in their pursuit of slightly flaky but highly intriguing box-office talent. They also want existentialism’s Dimitar Berbatov, a free agent in many senses. Suddenly the Paul Lambert era seems light years away.
Related: Arsène Wenger defends Arsenal spending policy from José Mourinho jibes
Continue reading...July 28, 2015
Carrow Road at 80: how Norwich built ‘eighth wonder of the world’ in 81 days
Norwich City abandoned their Nest stadium in 1935 amid safety concerns and broke it up to help construct a new ground. West Ham were the first visitors and this week return for a friendly to mark Carrow Road’s 80th birthday
Between 1908 and 1935, Norwich City plied their trade at a ground called The Nest. A more appropriate name for the home of the Canaries there could not have been. The Nest was a singular venue, even by the gloriously idiosyncratic standards of yesteryear. It was wedged where a football ground really had no business being, into a disused chalk pit formerly known as Rump’s Hole. Which again, in titular terms, was not too far wide of the mark.
The Nest was a cramped, ramshackle midden. This is not to say it didn’t have oodles of character, and wasn’t blessed with a certain period charm. But an architectural triumph it was not. Space surrounding the pitch was at a premium. Terraces and stands were erected at freeform angles, vying for space with houses and steep banks, squeezed into whatever gaps were available. Running alongside one portion of the pitch was a 50-foot high concrete retaining wall. Behind the wall, a cliff. On top of the cliff, a precariously positioned terrace. It was singular all right.
Related: Liverpool’s Andre Wisdom close to joining Norwich on a season-long loan
Continue reading...July 24, 2015
Real Madrid 4-1 Manchester City: pre-season friendly – as it happened
Rafael Benitez’s team ran out easy winners to secure the International Champions Cup in Melbourne.
12.54pm BST
And that’s that. Real Madrid are the International Champions Cup champions, for what that’s worth. They swarmed all over Manchester City today. But then City have the slightly nicer away kit. So it’s swings and roundabouts.
Related: Real Madrid 4-1 Manchester City | Pre-season friendly
12.52pm BST
90 min: There will be three added minutes. Only 180 seconds left of the International Champions Cup. And then we’ll have to wait another long year.
12.50pm BST
89 min: Clichy, 30 yards out down the left, looks to float a curler into the top right. It’s not a bad effort, albeit one that’s easily claimed by Navas.
12.49pm BST
88 min: “Is it any surprise that the second most fearsome attack in world football had a rather good day against a central defence consisting of a 16-year-old kid and a chap who was alright for Celtic last year?” asks Greg Parlett.
12.46pm BST
85 min: More of the Real keepball.
12.44pm BST
83 min: A real This Is Over feel about the game. Both teams willing the clock to tick down quickly, for different reasons.
12.43pm BST
82 min: Patrick Roberts makes his City debut, coming on for Navas.
12.40pm BST
79 min: Real are playing keep-ball right now. City can’t get a sniff.
12.38pm BST
76 min: Isco has been superb today. He’s run the show. He gets a well-earned rest, replaced by Llorente.
12.37pm BST
75 min: A crowd of 99,382 here today. A few hundred short of capacity.
12.35pm BST
A few throw-ins down by City’s right-hand corner flag. It’s all sleepy stuff, but Real suddenly wake up while City stay snoozing. Isco skitters into space to the right of the box, and fires a low ball into the middle. Hart is out of position, and Cherysev is on hand to walk the ball into the net.
12.33pm BST
71 min: Navas makes good down the right. A corner, which is easily cleared.
12.31pm BST
69 min: There’s no shape to this game now. A lot of loose passes, as you’d expect from two ever-changing teams.
12.29pm BST
66 min: A plethora of changes. City have introduced Dzeko, Clichy and Zuculini. Real have withdrawn Ronaldo and Ramos. Other players have arrived and departed, but those are the top lines. This is like a rugby international, or a football match in which both teams are managed by Sven-Goran Eriksson.
12.25pm BST
64 min: A free kick for Real, 30 yards out, Fernando taking down Ronaldo in full flight. Ronaldo hoicks it 30 yards over the bar.
12.24pm BST
61 min: Actually, the ball’s hoicked out of play by a City boot, so that’s a corner. From which Isco is found in space down the right. He whips a cross in. Varane meets it with a Keith Houchen style diving header, but his effort flies over the bar.
12.23pm BST
60 min: Sterling jinks down the right, reaches the byline after tearing past Ramos, and pulls back for Navas. The ball doesn’t reach his team-mate, but what a stunning run. Then Real romp up the other end, Ronaldo slipped clear down the inside-left channel by Kroos. Ronaldo draws Hart again and performs an elaborate stepover and quick-flick, but his dink sails just wide right.
12.20pm BST
57 min: Real have the ball in the net, and it should count. Isco slips a ball into the area down the right for Ronaldo, splitting the City defence. He’s clear in the box, and having drawn Hart, slides the ball back to the left for Isco to tap into the empty net. The flag’s up for offside, but Ronaldo was level when he burst through.
12.19pm BST
56 min: Corner for Real down the left, Danayer having denied Bale at full pelt. Kroos takes. Hart claims. But Real are quickly coming back at City, Ronaldo cutting in from the right and blootering high over the bar.
12.16pm BST
53 min: Toure nearly bursts through a big gap down the Real right. Marcelo steps in to put a stop to his gallop, but once again City had a sniff there. This second-half version of Real Madrid aren’t quite up to speed yet. “I can’t help but notice your disdain for both panto and the booing of Sterling,” writes Neil McMahon. “Sterling is a classic panto villan, he’s a future Ashley Cole in the making, swerving his car as Man City only offer him 250k a week to convince him not to move to Madrid. It’s probably also worth noting that Australia is basically a Liverpool FC outpost and the MCG in particular has been host to Liverpool a number of times to very rowdy capacity crowds. So the booing was always going to be a given.” Fair enough. Speaking of swerving things, it’s interesting how Liverpool have managed to avoid criticism from their fans for failing to offer one of their best players a realistic deal until it was way too late. Losing one of the most promising players in Europe at the age of 20 smacks of a massive balls-up, but you can spin it either way I guess.
12.12pm BST
50 min: Well this would have been interesting. Nasri scoops a delightful ball down the inside-right channel, releasing Silva into the area. Silva can’t quite set himself to shoot, jinking around in a futile manner instead. But City were very close to opening Real up there. Another goal for City, and we’d suddenly have a game on our hands.
12.09pm BST
48 min: Free kick for Real down the left. Kroos hoicks it into the area. City clear. It’s all a bit muted right now. The first half started slowly as well, remember, so plenty of time for things to get going again.
12.07pm BST
We’re off again! Manchester City are unchanged for the second half. Four changes for Real, though: Jese, Casemiro, Danilo and Varane on; Benzema, Modric, Carvajal and Pepe off.
11.55am BST
Half-time refreshment:
11.50am BST
Well, if it is, most of it will have to wait until the second half. Toure’s penalty was the last significant act of the opening 45.
11.49am BST
Toure slips the ball into the bottom-right corner! Is this the start of a great comeback?
11.48am BST
45 min +2: PENALTY TO CITY! Sterling earns it, chasing a ball down the inside-right channel. He flicks it back over his shoulder. Ramos handles. It’s outside the area, but in fairness City are owed a penalty for the Navas-Toure incident earlier. And so ...
11.46am BST
45 min: Ronaldo performs a series of stepovers down the left. Sagna eventually tackles him. City can be thankful that Ronaldo chose to showboat there, because he had men in the middle.
11.44am BST
Carvajal wins a corner for Real down the right, his cross pinging off Kolarov. Isco lumps it into the area. Pepe wants it the most, and rises, in a central position, ten yards out, to power a header past a static Hart.
11.42am BST
42 min: Kolarov looks to break down the left. He’s upended by Carvajal near the corner flag. Free kick, and a chance to load the box. Real half clear. Sterling jiggles down the inside-right channel, unsettling the Real defence. He lays off to Nasri, who skelps a first-time shot straight down Navas’s throat from the edge of the area.
11.41am BST
40 min: Sterling hasn’t touched the ball in a while, so the crowd entertain themselves with a Mexican wave.
11.39am BST
38 min: Isco probes down the right and wins a corner. Danayer heads clear, but only to Carvajal, who takes the ball down and bursts back down the right channel, into the box. But as he shapes to stand one up for Ronaldo in the middle, he’s penalised for using his hand. City are looking shaky, though.
11.37am BST
37 min: Toure shapes to shoot on the edge of the Real box. He should belt it, but decides to drop a shoulder and embark on a dribble instead. He slips past Modric, Pepe and Marcelo, but loses control as Navas comes out to claim. City’s most dangerous moment.
11.35am BST
35 min: Navas turns on the jets to reach the byline to the right of the Real goal. It’s a brilliant run, and he delivers a gorgeous pullback, but there’s nobody on the end of it.
11.33am BST
32 min: Sterling falls over. The MCG crowd react. It’s panto season. There appear to be a lot of Liverpool supporters in Melbourne.
11.31am BST
31 min: Isco, down the right, whips a cross into the box. Bale, rushing in from the right-hand side of the D, tries to guide a powerful header into the top right. Not quite. But close.
11.30am BST
29 min: The lovely twinkling toes of Sterling. He dribbles at pace down the inside-left channel, confusing Pepe immensely. Pepe’s frozen in the headlights. Sterling flicks inside for Toure, just inside the box. Toure falls over. Sterling nearly ripped Real open there.
11.29am BST
28 min: Real look a threat every time they go forward. Bale goes on a big-leggy run down the middle, and is this close from setting Benzema free down the right. Humphreys intercepts at the last moment.
11.27am BST
27 min: City are all over the shop here. Isco breaks clear down the inside-right channel. He’s got Benzema and Ronaldo to his left, with only Sagna chasing back. Isco hesitates, thinking about whether to shoot or pass, and Sagna can slide in to block when he eventually opts to take a shot. It should be three.
11.26am BST
11.24am BST
23 min: Sterling, in reply, tries to make something happen for City down the left. He can’t quite shuttle the ball on to Nasri. He’s still getting pelters from the crowd.
11.22am BST
This is a beaut! Carvajal goes on a romp down the right, then slips the ball outside to Bale, who loops a cross towards the penalty spot. Benzema, running backwards a little to meet the dropping ball, shapes and skelps a Zidane-esque volley into the left-hand side of the net! Hart had no chance whatsoever. That was a screamer!
11.21am BST
19 min: And now Delph is down on the floor, feeling the back of his leg. Hamstring, maybe, writes renowned quack Dr Murray, who couldn’t possibly know, being 10,000 miles away. He appears to have jiggered himself. Modric may be considering the concept of karma. Delph is replaced by Navas.
11.18am BST
17 min: Delph makes a challenge here all right, though. He clatters into the side of Modric, taking him out at the knees. Modric, more stunned than annoyed, looks up at Delph with puppy eyes, as though to say: c’mon man, this is a friendly, a glorified training session. Delph should be booked for that, but the referee opts for a ticking off.
11.16am BST
16 min: Silva sees more of the ball down the right. He diddles around for a while, then cuts back and curls a high one into the Real box. Navas is out quickly to claim. Delph, perhaps mindful of what recently happened to Toure, doesn’t bother to challenge for the ball.
11.15am BST
14 min: Silva sashays in from the right and balloons a shot miles over the bar from 25 yards. After a slow start, City are looking lively.
11.14am BST
12 min: But as it’s not, who cares. Nobody in a City shirt bothers to argue.
11.13am BST
10 min: And now City move it up a gear. Sterling turns on the jets down the left, then goes over in the box under a light touch from Pepe. He claims a penalty, but the referee isn’t having it. You’ve seen them given. Then there’s a long ball bouncing into the Real box. Ramos tries to toe-poke it back to Navas, but the keeper’s come way off his line and the ball loops over his head. Toure looks to take advantage, and for a second he appears to be in position to pounce on Ramos’s intervention and poke home into an unguarded net. But he’s clattered by the keeper. The referee decides that’s an accidental collision, so no penalty there either. If this was a Champions League game, you’d hear some noise about that.
11.09am BST
8 min: Real Madrid are beginning to bare their teeth. Benzema nearly breaks clear down the middle. Bale has a look down the left wing. Benezma nearly latches onto a loose Delph pass in the centre circle. City mop up on each occasion.
11.07am BST
6 min: Sergio Ramos rolls around the floor wearing a pained expression, like he’s been asked about a move to Manchester United for the 394th time this summer. He’s been winded, having ran smack-bang into Kolarov. He eventually gets up. All the action, as it happens.
11.05am BST
5 min: Bale, Marcelo and Benzema flick it up and down the left wing in a style that’s easy on the eye. Marcelo threatens to break into the box, chasing a clever scooped Bale pass, but he falls over.
11.04am BST
3 min: Now Real take a turn to stroke it around the back a bit. Perhaps it’s going to take a while for this warm-up to warm up.
11.02am BST
2 min: A first touch for Sterling, and the first loud pantomime booing. This is getting old already.
11.01am BST
And we’re off! City get the ball rolling. They knock it around the back a bit. Silva tries to scoot up the right, but Real close down the space. A lot of hectic passing and pressing going on.
10.59am BST
The teams are out! Manchester City are in their rather fetching dark-blue change strip. It’s not as nice as the classic Neil Young 1969 red-and-black number, but as away kits go it’s pretty enough. Real Madrid are decked out in their swap duds too. A grey number which suggests a pair of socks got into the wash load. No doubt it looks nice with jeans. The weather, incidentally, is positively Mancunian. It’s tipping down. Cleansing. It’s winter in Australia, after all. We’ll be off in a sec.
10.51am BST
One of these teams will lift Glorified Tin Pot today. For the record, Manchester City will be champions - champions! - if they win or draw this game. They’ll be champions if the match goes to penalties, as a result of some rule or other. Real Madrid need to win. Roma can’t be champions. Champions, though. Champions.
10.47am BST
The big news for City: A start for 16-year-old Cameron Humphreys in the centre of defence, and a debut for Fabian Delph. Although of course there’ll be a proper debut still to come for Delph in good time, in a competitive fixture, which this isn’t. Mind you, Real Madrid are certainly taking this one seriously if that line-up is anything to go by. Which it might not be, given that La Liga doesn’t start for another month.
10.20am BST
Real Madrid: Keylor Navas, Carvajal, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, Kroos, Isco, Bale, Ronaldo, Benzema.
Subs: To come; keep hitting refresh like billy-o
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Denayer, Humphreys, Kolarov, Toure, Fernando, Delph, Nasri, Silva, Sterling.
Subs: Caballero, Wright, Horsfield, Clichy, Evans, Zuculini, Garcia, Lopes, Navas, Pozo, Unal, Roberts, Iheanacho, Barker, Jovetic, Dzeko, Uncle Tom Cobley and all.
10.00am BST
Say what you like about Raheem Sterling, and plenty do, but the lad’s got star quality. He’s only 20 years old, and yet he’s already nearly helped Liverpool to a league title, shone as England’s best player at a World Cup finals, and become the most expensive English player of all time. That’s not bad going. And while this game could feature the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale and Luca Modric ... he’s the one everyone will be running the rule over, isn’t he. Star quality, see. Let’s have a look, then!
Venue: MCG, Melbourne, Australia.
Competition: International Champions Cup.
Status of International Champions Cup: Glorified training session.
Kick off: 8pm local time, 11am BST.
July 22, 2015
Stjarnan v Celtic: Champions League qualifier – as it happened
Celtic conceded early, but finished strongly as they made it through in Iceland.
10.06pm BST
And that’s that. Ultimately easy for the Scottish champions, though they lived on their nerves for a while after conceding that early goal. But they recovered well, and finished strongly. Mackay-Steven, Johansen, Bitton, Ciftci and Griffiths were all highly impressive, as Celtic pinged it around in a very pleasing manner at times. They’re only four games away from the group stage of the Champions League! Time for a wee snifter in Reykjavík, then. The bars should get going in about three or four hours.
10.04pm BST
Mulgrew chases after a Mackay-Steven sliderule pass down the left. He cuts it back to Johansen, to the left of the D. Johansen slides a gorgeous first-time shot into the bottom left, and Celtic have finished with a flourish!
10.01pm BST
90 min: In three minutes time, Celtic will be in the third qualifying round, where they’ll face Qarabag of Azerbaijan.
10.00pm BST
A brilliant goal, this. Johansen, out wide right, embarks on a determined bustle into the middle of the park. He draws three blue shirts, then slips a diagonal ball through the back line and towards Mackay-Steven, racing down the inside-left channel. Mackay-Steven slips the ball into the middle, past Nielsen, rushing out rashly, and giving Griffiths a tap-in from the penalty spot.
9.58pm BST
9.57pm BST
86 min: Mackay-Steven is magnificent to watch in full flow. He romps down the left touchline, then cuts inside and whips a ball straight through the box. Nobody’s in there.
9.55pm BST
84 min: The home fans keep on keepin’ on. They’ve been a credit to their team tonight. As indeed have Celtic’s travelling support. It’s been a great atmosphere.
9.54pm BST
82 min: No goal for Ciftci tonight. He’s replaced by Rogic. That’s an industrious and skilful showing from Ciftci, though. Always busy, always willing, always running. A cut-price Luis Suarez, if you will. I’ll not insult your intelligence by labouring the comparison any further.
9.52pm BST
81 min: Stjarnan’s best player and goalscorer, the highly impressive Finsen, turns on a sixpence to the left of the Celtic D and fizzes a shot towards the bottom left. Gordon claims.
9.51pm BST
80 min: Barddal comes on for Hansen.
9.50pm BST
79 min: A free kick for Celtic, 30 yards out, just to the right of goal. Mulgrew goes for the bottom corner. Nielsen gathers, though he makes a nine-course tasting menu of it. Griffiths nibbles at the ball, loose as it is for a couple of nanoseconds. The striker’s within his rights to go for that, though the keeper springs up wearing a greeting face. He calms down quickly enough, perhaps realising he really shouldn’t be kicking off about that.
9.48pm BST
77 min: Ciftci is desperate for this first goal of his Celtic career. He snatches at one while scampering down the inside-left channel. The ball screws across the face of goal and harmlessly out on the other side. File that one under Trying Too Hard. It’ll come, though: he’s playing very well otherwise.
9.47pm BST
75 min: Mackay-Steven is released into acres down the inside-left channel. He wheechs into the area, and should score, but batters a witless shot straight at the keeper. A little dink, saucy slide or composed curl, and that was Celtic’s third goal. Nielsen might have taken that one straight in the coupon, actually. Brave goalkeeping.
9.45pm BST
74 min: Incidentally, the winner of this tie will face Qarabag of Azerbaijan, who ended 1-0 victors over Rudar Pljevlja.
9.44pm BST
72 min: Also, there’s still a blazing atmosphere in this small stadium. The home fans are giving it plenty. Their side, while ultimately outclassed, are giving a proud account of themselves here. As indeed they did at Parkhead.
9.42pm BST
70 min: Griffiths tears down the right and curls a cross into the middle, hoping to find the head of Ciftci. Not quite. Given this match is over as a contest, and has been for quite some time, this is riotous end-to-end fun.
9.40pm BST
69 min: It’s been a lively, entertaining match, this. The impressive Finsen cuts in from the left and blooters a low shot towards the bottom left. Gordon blocks, and then the flag goes up for offside, Hansen with the unacceptable advantage in the resulting scramble.
9.39pm BST
68 min: A free kick hoikced into the Stjarnan box from the right. Bitton bursts ahead of the defence, and pokes the dropping ball past the advancing Nielsen and into the bottom-right corner. But he made his run far too early, and is a mile offside.
9.38pm BST
66 min: A couple of half-decent chances for the home side. Hansen nearly flicks home a left-wing cross, low at the near post, but has to make do with a corner, Ambrose refusing to give way. Then from the set piece, the ball’s worked to the other flank, Bjornsson curling one in from the right, Brynjar Gudjonsson rising highest and heading powerfully for the top-right corner. But it’s a wee bit wide.
9.36pm BST
64 min: Celtic are in the mood to add to their total. Ciftci ghosts in from the left before lashing a spectacularly awful effort 20 miles high and an equal distance to the right. Then Griffiths dribbles in from the right and batters a low effort from 20 yards straight at the keeper.
9.34pm BST
62 min: Griffiths comes on for Armstrong. He’s immediately into the action, chasing a flick-on down the right channel. He’s clear, and flashes an insouciant effort inches left of the left-hand post.
9.32pm BST
61 min: Brynjar Gudjonsson is booked for a ludicrous late lunge into the back of Ciftci.
9.31pm BST
60 min: Gunnarsson is immediately into the action. Finsen is in a bit of space down the right. He swings a low ball into the middle. Gunnarsson, on the penalty spot, swivels and shoots, but his effort is blocked. A corner for the home side, but it comes to nothing.
9.29pm BST
59 min: The home side swap Runarsson for Gunnarsson.
9.28pm BST
57 min: Bitton tries his luck from the best part of 3o yards. His shot is blocked and loops high into the air. Nielsen scrambles across and does very well to save a corner. The home side are in damage-limitation mode now.
9.25pm BST
53 min: Ciftci is hungry for his first Celtic goal. He bursts clear of the Stjarnan back line, down the left channel, and blasts a shot over the bar from a tight angle. He’s flagged for offside again, though that’s an unfair flag after a well-timed run. Not that it really matters, of course, though the striker could do with a confidence-boosting first goal in Celtic green.
9.23pm BST
52 min: Ambrose comes on for Lustig.
9.23pm BST
51 min: van Dijk jinks in from the left and dinks a ball down the channel to release Ciftci. The striker’s clear in the box, albeit with his back to goal, and when he brings the ball down he tries to back-heel a volley into the top-left. Ten out of ten for ambition, zero for execution, though. Nielsen plucks a soft waft out of the air, and in any case he’s a mile offside.
9.20pm BST
Mackay-Steven is a bag of tricks, and he causes all manner of confusion down the right. He eventually slips the ball inside for Brown on the edge of the D. Brown shuttles the ball further to the left for Mulgrew, who rushing in hits a first-time pearler of a daisycutter across the planted Nielsen and into the bottom-right corner. That’s a lovely strike. Celtic take a 4-1 aggregate lead, and this is over.
9.17pm BST
46 min: Celtic nearly get a flying start to the half, as Mackay-Steven flicks the ball to his former Dundee United team-mate Ciftci. The striker, just inside the box and level with the right-hand post, has a snapshot while leaning back, but it’s blocked.
9.16pm BST
And we’re off again! Stjarnan get the ball rolling for the second half, having swapped Bjorgvinsson for Bjornsson.
9.09pm BST
Half-time entertainment: Before winning their first Icelandic title, Stjarnan’s main claim to worldwide fame was their penchant for imaginatively choreographed goal celebrations.
9.02pm BST
And that’s that for the first half. Not particularly impressive stuff from Celtic, but it’ll more than do. They’re 45 minutes away from the third qualifying round, and what looks like a tie with Qarabag of Azerbaijan, who are currently winning at Rudar Pljevlja.
9.00pm BST
44 min: Praest kicks Bitton on the ankle. Bitton rolls about for a bit. Then he gets up. This half is slowly petering out.
8.58pm BST
42 min: A long free kick is humped into the Celtic area. Celtic don’t deal with the knockdown, and Laxdal, just to the left of the D, lashes a first-time effort just wide of the bottom-left corner. That was decent. Gordon was scrambling, and it’s not 100 percent certain that he would have got there had it been on target. Celtic have been worryingly dozy in defence on occasion this evening.
8.57pm BST
41 min: Celtic ping it around the front of the Stjarnan box. The ball’s slipped wide to Ciftci, who pulls a hard and fast ball back from the byline. Bitton, on the edge of the area, connects first time and skelps a low shot goalwards. There’s some venom in that, but it’s straight at Nielsen, who snaffles.
8.55pm BST
40 min: Finsen makes good down the inside-left channel, and very nearly breaks into the box. But Lustig sticks to him like he’s made out of glue.
8.54pm BST
39 min: Armstrong has his tail up right now. He zips down the left and stands one up in the middle for Ciftci. Nielsen anticipates the cross well, and is out quickly to claim.
8.53pm BST
36 min: Celtic are beginning to turn the screw now. Armstrong jinks down the left and nearly breaks into the box. The ball’s spirited away. But seconds later, Mackay-Steven is causing bother down the right. He reaches the byline and pulls the ball back. Armstrong, leaning back, tries to screw a shot into the bottom-left corner. Think Gerd Muller’s winning goal in the 1974 World Cup final, only it’s a mirror image, and an ersatz version, and the ball squirts wide left of the post. Erm. But that wasn’t a bad effort, and Celtic were inches away from taking the lead.
8.52pm BST
8.49pm BST
Yet another corner for Celtic down the right. And this is as easy as it gets. Johansen whips a high one to the near post. Nielsen comes off his line with a view to punching clear, but Bitton nips in ahead of him, rising to slap a header into the unguarded net. A precious away goal for Celtic! We can’t have extra time now.
8.47pm BST
31 min: Lustig once more causes some bother down the right. He very nearly breaks clear into acres of space, but is denied by some staunch battling by Runarsson.
8.44pm BST
28 min: Another corner for Celtic, this time down the right. Johansen takes. There’s an almighty scramble in the six-yard box. The ball is trapped between Ciftci’s feet, and he’s facing the wrong way as well. He can’t sort out his legs to backflick the ball into the net. Boyata attempts to help but just confuses the situation. Stjarnan clear.
8.41pm BST
25 min: Celtic are beginning to ping it around nicely. Quite a lot of triangulation going on, the ball shuttled from wing to wing in the aesthetic style. Stjarnan are holding firm, though. Mackay-Steven, his patience lost, has a whack from 25 yards. It’s deflected out for a corner on the left, and the set piece is mopped up with ease.
8.39pm BST
22 min: Celtic get the ball in the Stjarnan net, but it’s not going to count. Ciftci is upended as he diddles down the left. The free kick, to the left of the box, is a training-ground move: Ciftci shapes to cross, only to slip a pass towards the penalty spot for Johansen, who sidefoots goalwards. The ball’s blocked on the line, and Boyata bundles it in, but the defender was offside when Johansen shot. Celtic don’t bother complaining much.
8.36pm BST
20 min: Punyed bustles down the inside-left channel and flicks the ball inside. Bitton, facing his own goal to the left of the D, flicks the ball backwards. It clatters into poor Boyata’s trouser arrangement. Ooyah, oof. Punyed adds insult to injury by claiming a penalty for handball. But it was ballball, and the referee quite rightly tells Punyed to wind his neck in.
8.34pm BST
19 min: Stjarnan are making a good job of snapping at Celtic’s heels. The visitors are pinging plenty of passes together in the middle of the park, but they’re finding space at a premium further up the field.
8.33pm BST
16 min: Lustig has been highly visible so far. He romps down the middle of the park and slides a pass forward for Ciftci, who prepares to burst through the offside trap but decides not to bother when the ball takes a huge deflection into no man’s land.
8.30pm BST
14 min: Armstrong shuttles the ball down the inside-right channel for Ciftci, who from a tight angle whips a shot over the bar. Celtic still with the lion’s share of possession, though they’ve done little to trouble the keeper Nielsen so far.
8.28pm BST
12 min: An away goal for Celtic would change everything, of course. But they’ve lost a little of their confidence in the wake of that early blow. The passes aren’t quite sticking right now. “Excuse my Icelandic, but Bjork me!” splutters our resident Dundee United fan Simon McMahon. “GMS, Armstrong AND Ciftci in the starting XI. They were all in a United jersey less than six months ago. Still, at least we got top dollar for them, eh? That’s right, £3 million the lot. Remind me, how much will Celtic earn if they qualify?” A manic rant there. Imagine it being delivered by Einar Örn.
8.25pm BST
9 min: Well, that’s put the cat among the puffins. Celtic were in total control before Stjarnan put that little move together. Just before the goal, Lustig had been bundled over down the right, allowing Mulgrew to lash a cross-cum-shot towards Nielsen in the Stjarnan goal. But it wasn’t accurate enough. And now ... now we’ve got a game on!
8.23pm BST
This is a brilliant goal! Punyed strokes a pass down the left to release Hansen down the channel. Hansen hooks a pass inside for Finsen, who drops a shoulder to slide past a confused van Dijk, and slams the ball into the left-hand side of the net! What a stunning start for the Icelandic champions! What a nightmare for their Scottish counterparts! That was as easy as you like. A brilliant move, but non-existent defending.
8.21pm BST
5 min: Mulgrew hoicks the second corner long for the head of the first-leg hero Boyata. The big man is all over Brynjar Gudjonsson, and concedes a free kick. A lovely, boisterous atmosphere in Stjarnan’s little stadium. It’s not quite the Maracana in 1950, but everything in context. There’s a lovely bounce in the stands.
8.19pm BST
4 min: Lusting earns a corner down the right. Mulgrew whips it into the mixer, and there’s a fair bit of churn. Bedlam. Head tennis. The ball’s hacked out for another corner.
8.18pm BST
3 min: It’s all Celtic in the early stages. In terms of possession; they’re not threatening much up front yet. But plenty of time, and it’s a nice confident start.
8.17pm BST
And we’re off! Celtic get the ball rolling, and stroke it around a bit. A row of trees behind Craig Gordon’s goal. Shades of the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, 1967 and all that.
8.16pm BST
Anyway, the teams are out. Way too early, it would seem. Celtic line up, preparing to kick off, only for the referee to notice it’s only 7.11pm. Stjarnan are in all blue, Celtic all green. “They might not be world beaters, but judging by the surnames most of their boys are Icelandic,” notes Seamus Devlin. “I certainly didn’t go to school with too many Ciftcis or Bittons. I like our model of buying cheap abroad and selling on, but seeing a teamsheet like their’s makes me long for some Scots boys coming through the ranks.” Well, it’s never going to be like 1967 again, with everyone born within 30 miles of Parkhead. But five Scots out of 11 ain’t too bad. And Gary Mackay-Steven is from Thurso, and you can’t get any more Scottish than Thurso. They’ve tried their best.
7.30pm BST
Stjarnan: Nielsen, Aegisson, Daniel Laxdal, Gudjonsson, Arnason, Thorri Runarsson, Praest, Punyed, Bjorgvinsson, Hansen, Finsen.
Subs: Svinn Johannesson, Johann Laxdal, Gunnarson, Barddal, Atli Palsson, Knutsson, Halldor Bjornsson.
Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Boyata, van Dijk, Mulgrew, Brown, Bitton, Mackay-Steven, Johansen, Armstrong, Ciftci.
Subs: Izaguirre, Ambrose, Griffiths, Stokes, Rogic, Forrest, Bailly.
7.15pm BST
For the second year in a row, Celtic travel the best part of a thousand miles north to Iceland in their quest for Champions League football. Last season they took on KR Reykjavík, and won 1-0 in the second qualifying round. This time they’re just outside Iceland’s beautiful capital, in the garden town of Garðabær, to take on Stjarnan at the same stage.
Continue reading...The Fiver | A poor man's Gyles Brandreth
A SLOW MONTH FOR NEWS
The new season’s still a couple of weeks away, so most of the Premier League’s biggest clubs are currently dotted around the globe extorting money from innocent foreigners by staging training sessions in large stadiums and insisting that they’re matches. Liverpool are currently grifting the entire federal state of Malaysia, and before Friday’s fitness workout, lame duck Brendan Rodgers has again refused to talk about the impending purchase of Christian Benteke, a transfer everyone knows is happening but one he claims to know bupkis about.
SAY IT AIN’T SO, STATTO.COM
Continue reading...July 18, 2015
The Open 2015: day three – as it happened
Play was suspended for most of the day, but when the gales finally eased off, the second round was completed. And at the halfway stage, Dustin Johnson leads the way.
8.51pm BST
And that, dear Family Golf, is your lot for today. It’s been another weather-addled marathon. And a good day for Dustin Johnson, Paul Lawrie and Sergio Garcia. There are at least 20 players who could potentially win the 2015 Open. Here are some of them - and what a stellar leaderboard it is! Nighty night! See you in the morning for Moving Day!
-10: D Johnson
-9: Willett
-8: Lawrie
-7: Warren, Z Johnson, Scott, Streb, Day, Oosthuizen
-6: Dunne (a), Goosen, Donald, Matsuyama
-5: Bowditch, Lahiri, Ogilvy, Rose, Schwartzel, Garcia, Spieth
8.30pm BST
It’s been all pars on the back nine for David Howell. He kept his run going at the Road Hole, getting up and down brilliantly with the putter from miles off the front of 17. And now he’s slotted away a nervy five-footer for par at the last, having fizzed a chip miles past the flag. After a one-over round of 73, he’s -3 at the halfway mark.
8.20pm BST
Brilliance from David Duval! He skelps his drive down the last. Straight at the flag. He’ll have a curly 40-footer left. He lags it up to 18 inches, a brilliant putt that deserves an eagle, but a tap-in birdie will do! It secures his passage into the “weekend”; he’s made the cut for the first time since 2008! All smiles as he pops the putt into the cup. A lovely end to the day. Duval was in a group with two other erstwhile Open champions, and they both birdie the last as well: 2009’s
Tom Watson
Stewart Cink ends with a 71, -3 overall, while 2003’s
Thomas Bjorn
Ben Curtis has shot 75 and at +5 is away home.
8.06pm BST
Poor old David Duval. The 2001 Open champion, one of the most popular players in the game, hasn’t made the cut in this tournament since Birkdale in 2008. He looks in good nick coming down 17, level par, creaming his second into the front of the green. But a miserable three putt drops him below the cut at +1. He’ll need something coming up the last. The nervy tiddler he missed for par was that of a man desperate to stay here for the weekend. Here’s hoping he pulls something out of the bag down the last.
8.02pm BST
Koepka drives into the Valley of Sin, then leaves his putt up a good 12 feet short. He doesn’t hit the birdie putt either, and he finishes with a 70. Should have been a little better, that. He’s -3. Meanwhile here’s Scott Arnold of Australia, playing in the Open for the first time. He fancies staying around for the
weekend
final couple of days. The 29-year-old suffered in the wind and fading light yesterday evening: he went out in 40 strokes. After his first round of 71, that dropped him to +3, three shots below the cut. But he’s just carded four birdies in a row, 12 through 15, and he’s -1, three holes from the safety of the clubhouse.
7.47pm BST
Barrack-Room Brooks Koepka may have used up a few too many joules engaging in trenchant legal debate with the officials on 11 this morning. For he’s running out of steam late on: a very makeable birdie chance is spurned on 16, then he leaves himself a monster par putt from the back of 17. He gives it a good go from 50 feet - expect nothing less from a potential future major champion - but it’s two feet short and the bogey drops him back to -3.
7.34pm BST
From the back of 18, Oosthuizen chips to ten feet. Day, just to the right of the Valley of Sin, lags up to four feet. Tiger, from the front edge, whistles a hot putt eight feet past the cup. Oosthuizen with the first birdie effort: it’s short and right, and he taps in for par, and a 70. He’ll be content enough at -7, three off the lead going into the “weekend”. Tiger’s putt dies off to the right, too, and he’s signing for a 75. He’s +7 overall, and misses the cut for the second major in a row, the first time he’s suffered that indignity in his career. He’ll be back. Don’t listen to
your coach
the naysayers, Tiger. And finally a little missable curler for Day, but he eases it in from the left and cards a 71. He’s -7, alongside Oosthuizen and quite a few others. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looks after the second round, with nobody still on the course within striking distance:
-10: D Johnson
-9: Willett
-8: Lawrie
-7: Warren, Z Johnson, Scott, Streb, Oosthuizen, Day
7.25pm BST
Tiger and Day both blast their drives at 18 straight towards the flag. Both look like bumping up very close, both eventually just die before the green. Oosthuizen has overcooked things to the back-left of the putting surface. Meanwhile the veteran Australian journeyman Greg Chalmers has only participated in two previous Opens: 1998 at Birkdale and 2012 at Lytham. He made the cut both times, and looks like doing so again. He’s -3, but it should be better because he’s just missed the tiddler of the day, high winds earlier and all, pushing a two-footer birdie chance to the left of the cup at 14.
7.16pm BST
A solid par for Paul Lawrie on the last, though he gives his birdie effort from 12 feet a decent look at the hole. He signs for a 70, and is perfectly placed for the weekend. Look!
-10: D Johnson (F)
-9: Willett (F)
-8: Lawrie (F)
7.14pm BST
Back to back birdies for Brooks Koepka, at 14 and 15. He’s -4, and nicely placed. Unlike his ball on 11 this morning, a state of affairs which caused him to engage belligerently with the rules official for nigh on 30 minutes. Wonderful. A long birdie putt on 14 for 2009 dreamwrecker Stewart Cink: he’s -3. And fighting pars all round on 17 for Oosthuizen, Day and Woods, though it’s Tiger again who grabs the attention, splashing out to a couple of feet from the infamous bunker. He’s going out with a flourish.
7.07pm BST
Lawrie trundles a putt up the bank at 17 to eight feet, and then sinks yet another staunch par saver. He’s -8, and 1999 suddenly doesn’t look quite so long ago. For a while, he’s just the one off the lead. But Dustin drives the 18th, lags a monster putt to a couple of feet, and taps in for a birdie. He signs for a 69, and he’s -10, one clear of Danny Willett and a couple clear of the home favourite Lawrie. Spieth matches him shot for shot: his birdie secures a level-par 72, and he’s at -5, right in the mix. As is Hideki Matsuyama, who pars the last and puts his scribble at the bottom of a stunning 66. He’s -6, and like Dustin and Sergio, looks in the mood to make his major breakthrough.
7.02pm BST
A decent two-putt par from the back of 16 for Louis Oosthuizen. He stays at -7. Par for Day as well; he’s -6. But a little something at last for poor old Tiger: a birdie, having bothered the flag with his second, tapping in from a couple of feet. If that. He’s back to +7, for what it’s worth. To his great credit, he greets the wild celebration of his loyal gallery with a wide smile. Imagine if ... no, when he gets back to his best. Imagine the rest of the golfing world looking over their shoulder and thinking ... aw no! That’d be something else. Plenty of time. God speed on your journey back, Tiger Woods.
6.57pm BST
Hole in one! Step forward Daniel Brooks. He’s on the 11th tee, in the penultimate group, and +6 for the tournament. The hole’s playing 163 yards. He whips his iron to the left of the flag, where it lands on a downslope, kicks to the right, takes a couple of small bounces, and bounds into the cup! A brilliant shot! He high-tens his caddy, then holds both hands in the air, palms out, and spins through 360 degrees in glee! What a moment for the 28-year-old Englishman, who in all likelihood won’t be making the cut, but has something very precious to take home with him. A hole in one! At the Open Championship! At St Andrews, the home of golf! And this on his Open debut, too. Wonderfully warm scenes at chilly St Andrews!
6.51pm BST
Trouble for Dustin? Nah. He’s now in the best nick on 17, sending a wedge, with the gentle power of Lennie from Of Mice And Men, into the front of the green, using the camber to tilt the ball round left to 20 feet. Matsuyama’s off the front in two shots, but he putts up to the right of the famous bunker to a couple of feet. Par: -6. Dustin two putts for his par as well: -9. But Spieth’s right at the back of the green, and he three-putts: -4. It’s not quite happening for him. Though he’s hardly out of it.
6.44pm BST
Lawrie leaves another putt short, this time on 16. He’s caught a dose of the Montys. But he knocks in the four-footer he leaves himself. Two great saves in a row. He can’t keep doing that, though. He’s still -8. Oosthuizen grabs back the shot he dropped at 14 on the very next hole, rolling in a lovely ten-footer for his birdie. He’s back to -7. Day taps in for par. And another bogey for Tiger, who is now +8. He’s gone 5-6-5 since the restart. Meanwhile back on 18, Lee Westwood does his best to miss a Doug Sanders sized tiddler for par, but he signs for a 73. A miserable end to a miserable day, but he’s at least here for the weekend.
6.40pm BST
Come on Sergio Garcia!!! He’s pin high on 18, ten feet from the flag, and he teases in a gentle left-to-right curler for another birdie! He’s finished with three birdies in the last five holes, a round of 69, and he’s -5, right in this tournament! How he must wish the winds would blow for 11 hours every day! He’s been simply brilliant since the restart!
6.37pm BST
Lawrie’s in a spot of trouble in the rough down the left of 16. But he skelps a delightful power iron into the heart of the green, and should secure a precious par from where he is. Birdie for Schwartzel to finish: he cards a 72, and he’s -5. He’ll be a little less livid about that double on the Road Hole now. A little less livid. Bubba finishes with a birdie too, but he’s +3, and away home, slain by the Road Hole. And driving down that famous hole, Spieth, Matsuyama and Johnson. The first couple of drives are peachy, but Dustin’s wanged his into the thick nonsense down the left. He’s in a spot of trouble there.
6.34pm BST
Day scrambles his par on 14, and remains at -6, but he’s joined there by his playing partner Oosthuizen, who can’t save himself from the bunker. Tiger, from a good position on the fairway, bogeys too. He’s +7. He’s hung around an extra day for this?!
6.31pm BST
Spieth, Dustin and Matsuyama are all in the rough down 16. Only Spieth gets anywhere near the hole, leaving himself a 15-foot birdie putt. The other two will be happy to get down in two putts from the fringe. Dustin’s got a 40-footer with plenty of wind cutting right to left. He leaves it eight feet short, and left to boot. But he strokes in a solid saver. He stays tied for the lead at -9. Spieth can’t convert his birdie chance, the ball staying high on the left. But he’s happy with his par: he’s -5. And Matsuyama lags up from the back to three feet, and slots away his par putt. He’s -6, and if he pars his way home, will be signing for a 66.
6.29pm BST
Birdie for Sergio! A rare shot picked up on the Road Hole! He’s suddenly -4 for the tournament, and this is a strong finish to his round: birdies at 10, 14 and now this one on 17. But another dropped shot for his partner Westwood, this time at 17. He’s on the cut mark now at level par. Don’t drink 15 pints of coffee in ten hours, kids.
6.24pm BST
Lawrie’s a bit wild off the tee at 15, and can only bump onto the front of the green with his second from rough. His first putt from distance is left ten feet short, but he nails the par saver, to the loudest cheer of the day. He stays at -8. Though that loud cheer is soon beaten on 17, where Sergio Garcia, from rough down the left, scampers an iron into the green. His ball, travelling fast and heading for trouble miles behind the green, hits the flagstick, then spins to a halt ten feet from the flag! He could have been in all sorts of trouble there, but now he’s got a birdie chance that’d take him to -4.
6.20pm BST
Bubba’s playing partner Charl Schwartzel has no more luck on 17. He’s snagged up in the thick stuff to the front left, and can only hack out to the front of the green, a large upslope facing him. His par putt slides wide left, a couple of feet away, a decent attempt. Then he misses the bogey tiddler. He drops back to -4. A costly cold start for the pair of them, albeit in different ways.
6.16pm BST
Bubba in bother down the Road Hole. He’s on the titular track, and his chipping four up onto the green. And straight back through it. He’s already +1, and won’t be here for the weekend. No he won’t, sir. He chips up to eight feet, then recoils in horror his double-bogey putt lips out. A triple, and he’s +4. Bubba isn’t the first superstar to come a cropper at the Road Hole, and he won’t be the last.
6.14pm BST
Oosthuizen’s long iron into the par-five 14th is swallowed up by one of the deep bunkers to the front-left of the green. Trouble there. And then Day follows him in! Tiger’s drive was the worst of the three, but as he’s forced to chop out of thick rough and take his medicine, he’s in the best nick after two shots. He’ll not be making this weekend, though. His first act after the restart was to tap in for a bogey on 13, and at +6 he’s got no hope of making the cut. This will be his second missed cut at a major in a row, and only his second missed cut at an Open in 19 appearances as professional and amateur. That other one came at Turnberry in 2009. You remember, the one Tom Watson won. Spiritually. I accept no other outcome.
6.08pm BST
All that caffeine hasn’t had much of an effect on Lee Westwood. A curiously under-stimulated par putt from distance on 16. He leaves himself a missable six-footer, and that one’s prodded out to the right. A double bogey, and he’s back to -1, with the projected cut at level par now very much a consideration.
6.05pm BST
Two putts from distance for par on 14 for Paul Lawrie, the 1999 champ. Sixteen years ago today, he creamed that 4-iron into the final hole of the play-off at Carnoustie with Jean van de Velde and Justin Leonard. He’s in fine position for the weekend as he looks for a second Open title. He’s -8, one behind Willett and Dustin. Plenty of time for things to go either way, though. What he’d give to be spirited into the clubhouse now.
6.02pm BST
So here we go. And it’s only right that we start with Louis Oosthuizen, whose two-foot par putt became an eight-footer in that wind, ten-and-a-half hours ago. Happily, he sinks it, and walks off with a huge smile on his face. That’s lovely to see. And you can bet quite a few folk high up in the R&A will be wiping their brows in relief. He stays at -7.
5.57pm BST
All the players are out on the course. They’re back in position, waiting for the hooter. We’ll be golfing in a minute!
5.43pm BST
You Ask, We
Transcribe Off The Television
Answer! “What is happening with the players? Are they warming up, and how did they spend the day?” asks Mark Emanuelson. Well, Mark, they’re all out on the range, getting their chops up, with a 6pm restart still on the cards, the winds dropping to an “acceptable” 25-30 mph. And the BBC have just asked Lee Westwood what he’s been up to for the past ten hours. “Sitting. Eating. Sitting. Drinking coffee. Eating. Sitting. Drinking coffee. Eating. Sitting. Drinking a bit more coffee.” There’s a career in journalism for him when he packs in playing, if he wants it.
5.10pm BST
For those wondering if this tournament has the potential to rumble on for weeks or maybe even months - and still no Open has been held in December, January, February or March - here’s a weather update for tomorrow and Monday. Some common-or-garden Scottish misery. That’s it! But in more detail ... heavy rain in the morning tomorrow, then cloudy for the rest of the day. On Monday, it’ll be dry in the morning, with rainy spells in the afternoon. But nothing dramatic like the floods of yesterday or the tempest of today. So there should be no suspensions in play. (Having said that, our snout out on the Old Course tells us that while it’s still windy out there, the conditions are absolutely playable, with gusts that’d generate no comment had this morning’s farce not taken place. Testing, but not unacceptable. However the R&A are playing it ultra-conservatively, as is their wont. Fair enough, but perhaps we shouldn’t second-guess too many of their decisions over the rest of the piece.)
4.40pm BST
Predictably enough, the resumption time has been put back yet again. We’re now looking at a 6pm start. Time to kill, so here are the stats from that 32-minute piece of performance art this morning. There were 52 holes completed. Three birdies were made, while there were 16 bogeys and four double bogeys. The combined score to par: +21. One of those rare birdies was made by the 19-year-old French amateur Romain Langasque, who raked one in from distance on 15. It’s almost as though, fresh-faced and simply happy to play in an Open, he just got on with it.
4.20pm BST
And in further consumer news ... In accordance with R&A T&Cs, and based on “the projected duration of today’s play”, today’s punters with a Daily ticket will be eligible for a 60 percent refund. All official parking will be fully refunded. And in a lovely old-school touch, applications for refunds will only be accepted if submitted in writing. Long-hand presumably. No capital letters. No green ink.
4.07pm BST
The second round is still expected to restart at 5pm. In the meantime, the R&A have issued the following ticket news. Daily tickets for Monday will be £10 for all spectators. Under-16s accompanied by an adult get in for free. Weekly tickets will be valid for Monday.
3.05pm BST
Oh for goodness sake. The wind has “still not dropped to acceptable levels”, and so now we’re looking at a 5pm restart rather than 4pm. The R&A will issue a further update at 4pm. We should still get the second round finished tonight, but what a shame for the punters who went to St Andrews today. I hope they’re all enjoying a few nippy sweeties.
1.35pm BST
Moving Day has been moved! The R&A have made some plans, and here they are. Play today is expected to resume at 4pm, as the forecasts expect the wind to drop to acceptable levels sometime after 3pm. The second round will be completed this afternoon. After which the third round - Moving Day, in the modern parlance - will be played tomorrow, leaving the final round to take place on Monday. An announcement will be made “regarding Saturday and Monday tickets” shortly. So there you have it, then. Only the second Monday finish in post-war Open history awaits us. The only man in the modern era to lift the old Claret Jug on a Monday? Seve. Shoes to fill.
1.00pm BST
Anyway, should the R&A say anything of import, you’ll be the first to hear. But hopefully they’ve got the forecast spot on, and the players will be sent out again between 3pm and 4pm. So please check in with us for that. In the meantime, here’s Andy Gordon, clearly a reader of preambles of yesteryear: “I think we now know that Dr Golf is an NHS Consultant and doesn’t reply to pages on a Saturday.” No wonder the Open’s going private in 2017.
12.45pm BST
The R&A are getting quite a bit of stick this morning. In fairness, it’s hard to see what else they could have done. Their people got up at daybreak and monitored balls placed on the exposed 11th green, and none of them moved. The players were sent out, and the winds picked up, so they took them back in. Granted, they perhaps shouldn’t have trundled their mowers over the 13th green, turning it into an air-hockey table, much to Louis Oosthuizen’s chagrin, his two-footer turning into a six-footer. But the player himself has taken it in good spirits, perhaps recalling that he got the best of the weather in 2010, while high winds did for Rory McIlroy that year. Swings and roundabouts. That’s Open golf. If every single tournament was played in Masters conditions, we’d soon get pretty bored. Golf needs both polar opposites, in equal measure.
12.30pm BST
The R&A aren’t ruling anything in or out right now. Play is unlikely to start before 3pm - that’s their “best-case scenario” - but they’ll be reviewing the situation at 2pm nonetheless. However the duty meteorologist has just told the BBC that 4pm may be a little more realistic, and it’ll still be damned windy, though the winds will drop from the current 40-45mph to a more manageable 30mph. A suggestion that the winds could drop to a breezy 20mph was deemed “optimistic”.
But that’d still give us five hours of play, before the light begins to fade. So at the very least, we should get the second round completed today. Whether the third round will begin today is another matter. And don’t even ask the R&A about threeballs or split tee-times in order to get everything done by tomorrow evening. They’re not committing. The simple solution, of course, would be to hold the third round tomorrow, and the final round on Monday. However the wants and needs of players, paying punters, broadcasters and traditionalists all have to be factored in. Good luck keeping everyone happy there.
12.16pm BST
All this waiting around is such a shame, but that’s part of the Open’s unique charm. No wind, no rain, no golf, as they say in Scotland. So, hey, it’s the risk you run. We’ll still get our four rounds of major championship golf. But it’s beginning to look like a Monday finish might be on the cards. If things pan out like that, it’ll be only the second Monday finish in Open history, the first coming in 1988 at Lytham. More about that, and other meteorological Open calamities, here.
12.00pm BST
12 o’clock, and all’s not well! The R&A have been poring over the weather reports, and it seems there’s going to be no realistic chance of play before 3pm. They’ll be giving another update in a couple of hours at 2pm, so this morning’s report has had, if nothing else, a gentle rhythm to it.
10.06am BST
An update! And sadly there’s still no play. There are 40mph winds razoring across the Old Course, and as we saw during that 32-minute circus performance earlier this morning, play’s simply not possible under those conditions. Fingers are crossed - interlocking or Vardon grip, take your pick - that we’ll get some play just after midday. But no promises: the winds could be up until mid-afternoon, so we’ll have to see how it goes. We’ll be back at high noon: high on life, high on golf.
8.06am BST
The R&A have announced there will be no play for at least two hours. What a downer. But the conditions were farcical, Titleists being blown around greens in the pinball style. It’s been a miserable morning for Jason Day and Dustin Johnson, who have both dropped shots in the high winds; an irritating one for Jordan Spieth, who is channelling Sam Snead right now in his disdain for the set-up here; and a very good morning for Danny Willett, who may yet be tucked up in his bed. We’ll be back here at 10am, when there’s hope of more golf.
-9: Willett (F), D Johnson (15)
-8: Lawrie (13)
-7: Warren (F), Z Johnson (F), Scott (F), Streb (F), Oosthuizen (12)
-6: Dunne -a- (F), Goosen (F), Donald (F), Schwartzel (16), Matsuyama (15), Day (13)
7.46am BST
Play suspended indefinitely. “We should never even have started,” is Jordan Spieth’s trenchant critique, as he and his friend Dustin Johnson stand on the 16th tee shaking their heads. They leave the scene in high dudgeon. Incidentally the pair, along with Matsuyama, took two putts for their pars on 15. The weather forecast for later is good weather, and the winds are expected to drop. So there’s still hope that the third round will be completed today, though expect another late finish.
7.40am BST
But you can’t blame Day, not really. His playing partner Louis Oosthuizen stands over a three-foot putt, only for the ball to be blown a foot to the right, and a little closer to the hole. In the past, that would have counted as a shot, Oosthuizen having addressed the ball and grounded his putter. But wind moving the ball no longer counts; the player has to have effected the move himself for a shot to be counted. So that’s a great break. Until, that is, another gust of wind sends the ball four feet further from the hole! Seems the R&A did cut a couple of the greens, and this is one. That might not have been completely thought through. Anyway, to Oosthuizen’s great credit, he enjoys a laugh about his ill fortune with his playing partner Day, but he’s now faced with a tester for his par. That’ll have to wait, though, because play has been suspended, the conditions having shifted from testing to farcical.
7.32am BST
Lawrie hits an over-excitable wedge over the flag at 14 and to the back of the green. A long birdie attempt awaits. Spieth, Johnson and Matsuyama have all set themselves up for a half-decent look at birdie on 15, in the heart of the green in two, 20 feet from the flag. Matsuyama, incidentally, didn’t putt out on 14 this morning because he’d finished up on the hole last night, as was his right. He birdied it, too. So he’s -6 again, for both round and championship. Meanwhile Jason Day really isn’t enjoying these putting conditions. He looks highly agitated, and on 13 clatters a ludicrous long birdie effort ten feet past the hole. He addresses the par putt again and again, before pushing a tentative one to the right. Another bogey, and he’s back to -6.
7.25am BST
Lawrie’s hoicked his drive at 14 well left, and he’s in semi-rough running down the 5th, but he’s able to lash a fairway wood back up the correct fairway. Well short of the green, but he’d not have got there in two anyway, so that’s got things back on track. These winds are something else, though with the deep yellow of the morning sun skimming off every other undulation across the links, St Andrews is an aesthete’s dappled delight.
7.19am BST
Spieth was also at the front of 14 in two big booms. He lags a putt up to six feet, then fails to hit the birdie effort. He lashes his putter through the air, miming a crashing drive of frustration. Hey, he’s 21, he can throw the toys out of the pram all he likes. It’s charming. On 13, Tiger drops his scorecard, and it goes flying off in the tempest. A broadcast technician - a guy with a big microphone - races after it, sticks his boot on it, and hands it back to a smiling Tiger. Smiling through gritted teeth, maybe. Did he actually want it back? To be fair, he’s just +1 for his round, but +5 overall. With the cut predicted at level par, he’ll be packing his bag when he gets back to the hotel.
7.15am BST
The leader Dustin Johnson hasn’t fully woken up yet. The winds are whipping across the Old Course, and he’s still to finish 14, at the front of the par-five’s green. So he takes out a lob wedge. It’s ballsy, you have to give him that. Then he fails to hit it. Chyip! The ball barely makes the playing surface. He then snoozes, failing to rush up to mark his ball. And it blows back down off the green! Get a wriggle on, big man! He takes the putter out and leaves it 12 feet short. He’ll have that for par. Nope. A total mess from the front of the green. You’d normally say the only way is up, but in these winds there are also several versions of sideways, and in the context of the scoreboard, down.
-9: Willett (F), D Johnson (14)
-8: Lawrie (13)
7.09am BST
It looks as though the greenkeeping staff have left the greens well alone, and not run their mowers over the putting surfaces. In this wind, every little helps. But that doesn’t stop Jason Day dribbling the par putt on 12 he’s thought about all night past the hole. A most miserable start to his day; he’s back to -7. Better news for Paul Lawrie, who trundles a 30-foot birdie effort on 13 stone dead, and he’ll be tapping in for a par that keeps him keepin’ on at -8. Back on 12, Oosthuizen steps away from his ball a couple of times in the breeze, before finally clacking putter face on manufacturer’s logo. The dappled white thing disappears into the cup from six feet, and he remains at -7.
7.04am BST
♬ Good morning, good morning! We’ve considered the delayed completion of the second round the whole night through! Good morning, good morning to you! (Nothing could be finer than to be on the Fife coast in the morning, in the morning ... ♪ So here we are again, happy as can be. All good pals and jolly good company. It’s a beautiful morning at St Andrews. Apart from the 30mph wind, that is. The R&A have ruled that the course is nevertheless playable, so the players are back out by their markers, assuming they haven’t been whipped into the briny. (Markers or players, take your pick.) They’re ready to go. And they’re off!
6.00am BST
Only nine hours will have passed between the end of play last night and the resumption of the delayed second round this morning. So let’s not prattle on. You’ve all got good memories. But in any case, normal preambulatory business would be a waste of your time. All’s up in the air until we know how this second round ends. And some of the top players have still to put in a second card, including the leader Dustin Johnson, the Ben Hogan hunting Jordan Spieth, former Open champions Louis Oosthuizen and Paul Lawrie, and the perennial major bridesmaid Jason Day. So let’s just get going. Our coverage will begin at 7am BST! The winds will be up! It’s on!
-10: D Johnson (13)
-9: Willett (F)
-8: Lawrie (12), Day (11)
-7: Warren (F), Z Johnson (F), Scott (F), Streb (F), Oosthuizen (11)
-6: Dunne -a- (F), Goosen (F), Donald (F), Schwartzel (15), Matsuyama (14)
July 17, 2015
The Open 2015: day three – live!
6.00am BST
Only nine hours will have passed between the end of play last night and the resumption of the delayed second round this morning. So let’s not prattle on. You’ve all got good memories. But in any case, normal preambulatory business would be a waste of your time. All’s up in the air until we know how this second round ends. And some of the top players have still to put in a second card, including the leader Dustin Johnson, the Ben Hogan hunting Jordan Spieth, former Open champions Louis Oosthuizen and Paul Lawrie, and the perennial major bridesmaid Jason Day. So let’s just get going. Our coverage will begin at 7am BST! The winds will be up! It’s on!
-10: D Johnson (13)
-9: Willett (F)
-8: Lawrie (12), Day (11)
-7: Warren (F), Z Johnson (F), Scott (F), Streb (F), Oosthuizen (11)
-6: Dunne -a- (F), Goosen (F), Donald (F), Schwartzel (15), Matsuyama (14)
July 16, 2015
The Open 2015: day one – live! Scott Murray
3.13pm BST
John Trousers, the 1995 champion, has just rattled in a 40-footer on 9. That’s a birdie, and it’s his fourth of the day. One bogey, only four pars, and he’s out in a rollercoaster three-under 33. Another old timer doing just dandy: the two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer, who has birdied 1, 2 and 5. He’s -3. As is the more whippersnapperesque Tommy Fleetwood. The 24-year-old Englishman loves this place, having shot 62 here at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last year. He’s enjoying himself again: birdies at 2, 5 and 6, and he’s -3.
3.06pm BST
Phil Mickelson’s warmed up now. His second to 2 lands 12 feet past the flag, and he guides in the birdie putt without fuss. A Philesque touch of the peak of his cap to thank the crowd, who warmly greeted that one dropping. Some extra respect for Lefty there, as a former Scottish Open champ.
3.04pm BST
Day putts through the Valley of Sin, lagging his ball up to a couple of feet. A fantastic 66. What should really please him is that most of the other low scores have been built on the easier front nine, while Day spread his birdies throughout his card. That shows he can perform around here when the going gets tough. As it’s expected to tomorrow and Saturday, when the weather gets up. Oosthuizen rattles in long left-to-right curler for birdie and a 67. He’s in brilliant nick right now. And Tiger pars. A four-over 76, and he’ll need something special tomorrow. To his eternal credit, he smiles generously as he congratulates today’s vastly more successful playing partners, before walking off, insouciantly twirling his putter like Tusk-era Stevie Nicks.
2.57pm BST
The 2013 US Open champion Justin Rose is the third member of the Fowler-Faldo group, and he’s just clipped his second into the 1st to a couple of feet. That’s a certain birdie. Fowler nearly makes one from distance at the back of the green, but it’s one joule short of energy. On 18, Day’s ball stops short, like Frank Costanza, and topples back into the Valley of Sin. A wee job to get up and down from there. But if he does, he’s carding a bogey-free 66. Meanwhile here’s news of Rafael Cabrera-Bello: the Spaniard is out in a blistering 31 strokes, having birdied 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7. He’s in the sizeable group on -5.
2.52pm BST
The Scottish Open champ Rickie Fowler is out and about! There’d be few more popular winners if he breaks his major duck this week. He’s straight down the middle. As is the 1990 St Andrews champion Nick Faldo, to warmer applause than he used to get back when he was hoovering up six majors. It’s how British crowds roll. Up on the green, Phil Mickelson takes a solid two putts from distance to save his par. The 2013 winner just warming up.
2.48pm BST
Day blooters his drive into the rough down the left of 17. He leaves his second short left, but chips gorgeously over the bunker to four feet. He remains at -6. And a brilliant up and down by Tiger, who faces a 120-foot putt. He gets it to 15 feet, then slots away the par effort. That’s his best putt of the day by some distance, but he’s still +4, and in all sorts of trouble. Meanwhile up on 18, Paul Lawrie is a ball’s width away from draining a 30-foot left-to-right curler for birdie and a 65. But he makes do with a par and a 66, and he’s in the clubhouse at -6 alongside Robert Streb and Retief Goosen. A marvellous effort by one of the most under-rated Open champions of all time. He went out and won that 1999 Open just as much as Jean van de Velde lost it, you know.
2.40pm BST
Spieth takes an age working out the line of his putt on 18. It’s got a huge left-to-right break. It’s worth the effort, because he judges it to perfection, and it drops in, just the right pace. He punches the air, a birdie at the last, and a five-under 67. The Hogan dream is very much alive. A quarter of the way there. Neither Matsuyama nor Johnson, from similar positions, give their efforts enough. Matsuyama - who reached the turn in 33, but dropped shots at 10, 14 and 15, coming back in 39 - is level par. Dustin’s leading the championship, but one more turn of the ball there and he’d have been putting his name to a 64. As it stands, he’s happy enough tapping in for a 65.
-7: D Johnson (F)
-6: Streb (F), Goosen (F), Lawrie (17), Day (16)
2.35pm BST
Spieth flays his drive at 18 miles left, but wedges to 15 feet, a decent chance for a closing birdie. Matsuyama - who got up and down from the back of 17 - follows him there. And Johnson - the longest, hitting last - chips to 12 feet. Dustin’s the sole leader now, because Lawrie left his approach at 17 short, was forced to chip over the bunker, and left the 20-footer he gave himself low on the right.
2.31pm BST
Brisk starts dept. The 2013 PGA champion Jason Dufner dropped a shot at the opening hole, but has birdied 2, 3, 5 and now 6 to move to -3. The 2007 Masters winner Zach Johnson has birdied 1, 2 and 5; he’s -3 as well. And alongside the pair of them, England’s Danny Willett, who birdied the opening three holes and has just parred 4.
2.26pm BST
Dustin can only lob his ball over the flag and 25 feet behind the hole. No matter, because he strokes in the return putt! That’ll feel like a birdie, and he remains in the lead at -7. Spieth meanwhile splashes out from the sand to six feet, a fine escape from there, but he sends the short par putt away to the right. That was never going in, and for once Spieth’s putter has betrayed him. He drops back to -4. Birdie for Howell on 14, grabbing back a shot dropped at 13. He’s -5. And the 21-year-old English amateur Paul Kinnear drops one at 13, but he’s still very nicely placed at -5.
2.22pm BST
Everyone in trouble down 17. Dustin’s in the rough down the left, and chooses to fire an iron straight over the famous bunker. He doesn’t catch it at all, and the ball ends up short and left in semi-rough. He’s snookered by the bunker, with the flag only just over the sand. That’ll be quite a poser. Spieth meanwhile finds the bunker. A test for him, too. The best shot in the grouping is Matsuyama’s: from Dustin Country down the left, he finds the back-left portion of the green.
2.19pm BST
Jason Day continues to go along very nicely. Having reached the turn in a blemish-free 33 strokes, he’s now birdied 10, 14 and 15. He’s -6. A bit of trouble down the back of 16, though, putting from a hollow; he gets it up and over a hillock, the ball breaking dramatically to the right. He’s left with a six footer for his par, which he makes. That was very missable. He’ll feel good about that. Meanwhile Sergio finds the centre of the green on 18. Two putts for a par, and that’s a 70. Not a disaster, but such a shame about that bogey on 17 after his escape from the bunker. Still, it could be worse. His playing partner Lee Westwood misses a tiddler. He finishes 5-5-5, three bogeys in a row, and a good round has turned into a bog-average 71.
2.10pm BST
One of the shots of the day here by Sergio Garcia. He’s up against the face of the Road Hole bunker, and splashes out to a couple of feet. Genius. And so of course he then misses the par tiddler. He’s back to -2. And now he’s nearly wanged his drive at 18 out of bounds on the right! He should be fine from there, but that was toying with disaster. Meanwhile Cameron Tringale, who is always there or thereabouts in PGA events, without ever actually getting the job done, has flown out of the blocks today. Birdies at 1, 2 and 3, followed by another couple at 5 and 7. He’s right in the mix here - though the wind is getting up, so keep it going while you can, everyone.
2.00pm BST
Dustin Johnson, on the same green, leaves himself with a lot to do to save par and a share of the lead … but he sends it straight in at a decent pace. And on that note I’m off, and Scott’s back to lead you through for the remainder of the day’s play – enjoy.
1.58pm BST
A rare miss from >10ft for Spieth! His birdie effort on 16 fails to find its target, and he swings his putter through the air out of frustration. He pars, of course, but it says a lot for his current form that we are surprised he missed a mid-length putt.
1.53pm BST
Schwartzel, having dropped a shot on the 17th, pars the final hole to make his way into the clubhouse on a promising -5. Poulter, having birdied only the 10th, finishes up on +1. Back on 15, Lawrie pars to remain tied at the top with Johnson on -7.
1.49pm BST
The English amateur Paul Kinnear, who has just unluckily lipped the 12th hole with a birdie putt, sits tied for third alongside Streb and Goosen. Some info from our golf correspondent, Ewan Murray, from the course, on why we shouldn’t be too surprised.
Worth noting that amateurs like Kinnear play lots of competitive links golf. Stage etc is different now but course the same.
1.46pm BST
Johnson pars the 15th with his second putt after the lengthy first from the back of the green trickled a tad too far, while his co-leader, Lawrie, in the group immediately behind, fails to find the green with his approach – sending it to the right.
-7: Lawrie (14), D Johnson (15)
-6: Streb (F), Goosen (F), Kinnear -a- (11)
1.40pm BST
Tiger sinks his putt for his first birdie of the day! He’s on to +4. Elsewhere Oosthuizen hits his fifth birdie of the day to go on to -4. Spieth’s third on 15 rolls to five foot from the hole.
@alansmith90 can you do anything about that bl@@dy helicopter?
1.35pm BST
Spieth’s second on 15 from the rough ends a smidgen short of the green, Johnson’s approach ends behind the pin and on to the back of the green. It’ll be a difficult putt from there. On 14, Woods, also short of the green, decides to putt on and rolls about a body-length beyond the hole to the right.
1.27pm BST
On 18, Ernie Els cannot finish with a birdie, sending his putt left of the hole. He rolls in the follow up to end the day on -1. Johnson finds the fairway from the 15th tee, while Spieth’s effort lands on the light stuff but rolls a couple of feet into the first cut of rough. The other member of that group, Matsuyama, somewhat in their shadow but back on a fair -1, also finds the fairway.
1.22pm BST
Luke Donald, who finished up on -4, reacts to his first round: “I made some good saves for pars on 13, 14, 17. I was happy with that score and I think conditions will get more difficult later today.” Back on the course Lawrie hits a remarkable fourth shot on 14 from near the 15th tee back on to the green to leaves himself a gimme from what looked like an impossible position. “A miracle pitch, would you believe it,” says a flabbergasted Peter Alliss, lamenting our inability to actually see the shot due to an obstructed view. What do I know, eh?!
1.15pm BST
Drama on the 14th. Spieth has a sharp, tricky downhill put to save par and coolly rolls it in. However is playing partner, Johnson, has a putt to join Lawrie – he sinks it to move on to -7. Further back the hole, Lawrie’s third shot after playing out from the bunker is shanked right and ends up near the 15th tee. Does not require some golf genius to declare he will be dropping a shot or two here. Woods saves par on 13 after leaving the previous putt short to remain on +5.
1.10pm BST
Hello! The US amateur Jordan Niebrugge after his -5 round, the joint best by an amateur on this course, tells BBC: “I arrived last Friday and played four or five times so I’m used to the track … and my caddy works here.” Lawrie, meanwhile, has found sand on 14. One back on 13 Woods has a long, long birdie putt but leaves it about six foot short. And two further back, Howell saves par to remain on -5.
1.03pm BST
And we’ve got a new leader! It’s the 1999 champion Paul Lawrie, who has just tickled a 15-footer in on 13. His ball threatened to stay up on the left lip, but finally toppled in to great cheers from the home gallery. Spieth, meanwhile, couldn’t escape on 13; two putts and he’s back to -5. What an Open we have here!
-7: Lawrie (13)
-6: Streb (F), Goosen (F), Schwartzel (14), D Johnson (13)
12.59pm BST
Tiger chunks a chip on 12. The divot he takes up comprises 30% of the historic county of Fife, and nearly goes as far as the ball. Just before he took the shot, with uncanny timing, the BBC transmitted pictures of a tatty old crow, hopping around ominously, the universal symbol of impending doom. Oh Crow! Oh Tiger! He manages to scramble par, but what a miserable display this is. Meanwhile on the 1st tee, it’s the 1995 St Andrews champion John Daly. You can’t miss him, because he’s wearing green and pink trousers. The BBC again, and Peter Alliss compares the Wild Thing’s wild attire to the sort of wallpaper the hosts of Homes Under The Hammer regularly strip off in order to boost the price of property. And it’s par for Donald at the last. He signs for a 68, having played the tricky back nine in a Faldoesque nine pars.
12.46pm BST
Paul Lawrie joins the gaggle at -6 with birdie at 12. How long Jordan Spieth remains part of that leading group is a moot point. He’s just driven into one of the Coffin bunkers in the middle of the 13th fairway, and is forced to take his medicine and knock out sideways. He’s still the best part of 200 yards from the green, playing three. He toys with the bunker to the front right of the green, but the ball stays up and creeps onto the putting surface. He’s pin high, and will have a 25-footer for par.
12.43pm BST
David Howell never quite fulfilled all that promise, but he enjoyed a top-ten finish at the 2008 Open, and made the top 15 last year. The 40-year-old Englishman appears to be in the mood for another high finish. After an opening-hole birdie, he made another three in a row, at 6, 7 and 8. He should have made it four, but pushed a short putt on 9 to the right. Still, he’s out in 32 strokes, at -4. Meanwhile up on 17, sheer brilliance from Luke Donald, who finds himself up against the face of the Road Hole bunker, but escapes with a deserved par after a stunning punch up and out to a couple of feet. An insanely good bunker shot, and to strains of LUUUUUUKE he walks to the final hole smiling, as well he might at -4.
12.41pm BST
12.38pm BST
On 18, Goosen wedges to 12 feet, and rolls in the birdie putt. He’ll be signing for a 66, and a tie of the clubhouse lead. He’s joined at -6 by his fellow South African Charl Schwartzel, who birdies 14. It’s quite a leaderboard, this:
-6: Streb (F), Goosen (F), Schwartzel (14), Spieth (12), D Johnson (12)
-5: Niebrugge -a- (F), Na (F), Lawrie (11)
12.34pm BST
Kevin Na drains a 30-footer on 18 for birdie, and he’s signing for a blemish-free 67. Some news of his playing partner Sandy Lyle, who carded a very respectable one-under 71. Goosen finds the Road running behind the Hole at 17, but lobs to four feet and saves his par. Meanwhile Spieth is in a little bit of bother down 12. He’s found the long grass, and punches into the middle of the huge double green. A long two-putt left there. But he rolls his monster three feet past, lovely judgement from where he was, and he avoids dropping his first shot. Such brilliant control from distance.
12.27pm BST
Another missed green for Tiger, another short putt lipped out, another shot dropped. This is beyond dismal. He’s +5, and propping up the entire field. His playing partner Jason Day makes another birdie, and rises to -4. It’s lovely to see him going so nicely after the tumult of the US Open. And another scramble for Sergio, this time on 13. He remains at -3, as does his playing partner Lee Westwood. Sergio’s par putt needed all the cup, the ball racing round the rim before dropping, and he punches the air with determination and delight.
12.22pm BST
Spieth isn’t the only Jordan making waves today. A birdie at the last for the amateur Niebrugge, and the 21-year-old American is signing for a 67! The other young American amateur, Oliver Schniederjans, is hanging on in there too. Having reached the heady heights of -4 through 8, he doubled 9, but has continued to battle: birdies at 10 and 14 have more than offset a bogey at 11, and he’s -3 through 15.
-6: Streb (F), Spieth (11), D Johnson (11)
-5: Niebrugge -a- (F), Goosen (16), Todd (13), Schwartzel (13), Lawrie (10)
12.17pm BST
Sergio on the surge! He whistles his tee shot at the par-three 11th down a swale to the right of the green. He’s shortsided, facing a hellishly tricky up and down. But he makes it. And he’s rewarded for his staunch display with birdie at 12. Suddenly, just as it looked like he was dropping back to -1, he’s up at -3. The in-form Kevin Kisner came flying out of the traps: birdies at 1. 3 and 5, and he’s reached the turn in 33. He’s -3 through 10. Bubba Watson is going along nicely. He’s -3 through 13, though a missed tiddler on that hole will cause him some emotional tumult. And back on 11, Spieth’s tee shot stays up on the bank, back left of the green, but that’s near enough to the flag for a look at birdie. And in it goes! He joins Streb and Dustin in the lead at -6!
12.11pm BST
Here’s the 2000 and 2005 St Andrews champion Tiger, with a snaking birdie attempt prodded slightly apologetically towards the hole at 9. It’s never dropping, and he’s reached the turn in 40 shots, +4, only Rod Pampling and Kevin Streelman worse off. He’s playing very poorly indeed, and as he trudges off to the next tee, looks more saddened than angry. A slight twitch of the lip, an involuntary Elvis, gives away a micro-tell. He looks upset. First Chambers Bay, now this. It’s not much fun to watch the great man struggling in the majors in such an abject manner. God speed, Tiger Woods. Meanwhile what a juxtaposition with the 2010 king of St Andrews, his playing partner Louis Oosthuizen: he birdies, having just about driven the green, and he’s out in 33. The third member of the group, Jason Day, pars, also reaching the turn at -3.
12.06pm BST
Robert Streb pars 18 and signs for a six-under 66. He’s got the clubhouse lead, but for how long remains to be seen, because he’s joined at -6 out on the course by Dustin Johnson, whose second to 10 is wedged to eight feet, the birdie putt stroked in with ease. Meanwhile Matt Jones of Australia rolls in a 15-foot birdie putt on the last, and signs for a four-under 68. And some breaking news: it’s cold in Scotland, though the wind’s not up yet. So plenty of time still to make hay while the sun doesn’t shine.
12.00pm BST
Anything Jordan Spieth can do, the 1999 champion Paul Lawrie can match. He’s just rolled in a 25-footer on 9 to reach the turn in 31 strokes. He’s -5. Another veteran, Goosen, is a dimple’s width away from stroking home a left-to-right uphill 40-footer on 16, but he remains one off Streb’s lead. Meanwhile Goosen’s compatriot, the former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, was out in 33, and has just followed up birdie at 10 with another at 12. He’s -5. And this leaderboard is already looking stellar:
-6: Streb (17)
-5: Goosen (16), Todd (12), Schwartzel (12), Spieth (9), D Johnson (9), Lawrie (9)
11.54am BST
What an end to the round for David Lingmerth. Out in 29, and it all started going wrong after the turn. Bogey at 11, 14 and 15, then a double on the Road Hole. A birdie at 18 has repaired some of the damage, though there’s no disguising that he came back in 40 strokes. But he’s signing for a 69, still nicely placed at -3. That’s golf for you, right there. Like football, it’s a game of two halves. A funny old game. Hey, he’s still in the record books, that 29 over the front nine matching Tony Jacklin’s best Open score at St Andrews. Meanwhile Tiger wasn’t able to save his par at 7. He’s+4, tied for 79th place out of 81 players. What a business.
11.47am BST
Matteo Manassero, who respectfully escorted Tom Watson around Turnberry in 2009, on his way to becoming the low amateur, hasn’t really clicked as a pro yet. But the 22-year-old Italian made the top 20 last year at Hoylake, and now he’s just carded four birdies in five holes, the latest at 9, to reach the turn in 33. He’s -3. Birdies for Louis Oosthuizen at 5 and now 7. He’s -2. Carl Pettersson can’t save par on 14 after whistling his ball into a bush; he’s back to -3. And Dustin Johnson is a yard or so away from driving the short par-four 9th, but two putts gives him a birdie, and he’s reached the turn in 31 strokes. As has Jordan Spieth, who has a look at birdie on the same hole from 15 feet, his ball staying out on the high side.
11.38am BST
The 1999 champion Paul Lawrie has just clipped a wedge to three feet at 7. He taps in for his birdie, a third in a row, and the fourth of the day. The veteran Scot joins the big group at -4. Nothing’s going right for poor Tiger, though. He guides a wedge straight at the flag at 7, but it spins back down a huge swale to the right of the green. He’ll face quite the up and down to save his par.
11.31am BST
Spieth takes his tee shot at the par-three 8th. He spins away in disgust. Has he bunkered it? Nope, it’s merely in the centre of the green, pin high, but maybe 30 feet from the flag. Standards, though. He can’t knock in the long (but fairly straight) uphill birdie effort, and par will have to do. Hey, nobody’s perfect. Birdie for Day at 6; he moves to -3. Day’s playing partner Tiger gives himself a look at birdie by landing his second pin high to 15 feet, but doesn’t hit the putt and it dies off to the left. There’s no spark. Such a shame. Meanwhile Todd rakes in a monster on 11 to move to -5. And par on the last for the Irish amateur Paul Dunne, who reached the turn in 32 and held it together nicely on the much tougher back nine; just the one over coming back, and he signs for a three-under 69. Magnificent.
11.23am BST
What a start this is by Jordan Spieth. He caresses a wedge to three feet at 7, then strokes it in for his third birdie in a row, and his fifth of the day. This is effortless brilliance. He’s in second spot, alongside Goosen, who has just missed a tiddler on 14 for a birdie that’d have given him a share of the lead with Streb. Meanwhile a bogey for Petterson at 13, dropping him back to -4.
11.20am BST
Tiger is in all sorts of bother down the left of 5. He drives into rough, then wangs an awful 3-wood onto the grassiest of knolls. His third takes a hot bounce and ends 40 feet past the hole. Three putts later - the last one a tiddler - and the two-time St Andrews Open champion is +3 after just five holes. He’ll currently be grateful for the late-round collapse of Rod Pampling. The Aussie was -1 after a birdie at 11, but double-bogeyed 13, then carded another four bogeys in a row. He signed for a five-over 77. Without Pampling, Tiger would be propping up the entire field.
11.12am BST
The wind is beginning to rise. So make those scores while you can. The afternoon starters won’t fancy this. Streb grabs the sole leadership with birdie at 15. Another birdie for Lee Westwood, this time at 7. He’s -3. Matsuyama sees his birdie effort from 12 feet on 6 slip just past, but Spieth, from a similar position, makes no mistake. He’s the best putter in the world right now. Like that’s news. He’s -4, just two off the early lead. Meanwhile in the clubhouse with a four-under 68: the 6.32am starter Greg Owen, who ended his very fine, very early round with a birdie.
-6: Streb (15)
-5: Goosen (13), Pettersson (12)
-4: Owen (F), Lingmerth (16), Niebrugge -a- (14), Na (13), Donald (12), Mahan (12), Todd (9), Spieth (6), D Johnson (6)
11.00am BST
How David Lingmerth must wish the turn had never come. He’s been struggling on the back nine, chasing par. On 15, he’s forced to knock in a missable six-footer for his bogey. It’s in, but he’s back in the pack at -4 now. Meanwhile Brendon Todd has birdied 3, 5, 6 and now 9, and the 29-year-old American, playing in only his second Open Championship, is out in 32.
10.54am BST
Matsuyama on the move. He’s in the heart of 5 in two, lags a 35-footer up to a couple of feet, and knocks in the birdie putt. He’s up to -3. Spieth matches his effort, and moves to -3 too. But their playing partner Dustin, having boomed a typical monster drive down the track and lifted a 9 iron to three feet, taps in for eagle! He’s -4, and looking the part. Meanwhile monster putt of the day has just been sunk by Kevin Na, who putts through a valley from 50 feet for a birdie that takes him to -4. And Goosen will very soon be joining the leaders, having come within an inch of holing a 60-yard wedge at 12. A tap-in birdie will take him to -5.
10.49am BST
Sergio on 6, 20 feet from the flag. He hits a putt that was destined to travel 40 feet past had the hole not got in the way. But it rattles into the cup at high velocity, and he’s -2! As is his playing partner Lee Westwood, with back-to-back birdies at 5 and 6. “I don’t want much from life,” begins Simon McMahon. In fairness, we’d already come to that conclusion ourselves, based on the amount of time you spend reading these reports. “But seeing Tom Watson finish on Sunday this week is one of them. He deserves that. Although if I had to choose between that and a certain Spaniard lifting the claret jug, well.” Preach on, brother. Sergio! He couldn’t, could he? *
[* Answer: Almost certainly not. But let us dream, will you.]
10.43am BST
A bit of trouble for the leader Lingmerth at 14, as the Swede tries to bump a wedge through a few mounds, and watches in horror as it breaks off to the left and runs back off the green. He can’t get up and down from the front, racing a putt eight feet past and missing the return. He was out in 29, but he’s dropped two since the turn. He’s back to -5. But here’s contrasting news for Swedish fans, as big Carl Pettersson curls in a 12-footer on 10, and then makes another birdie with his long putter at the par-three 11th. He’s suddenly tied for the lead alongside his compatriot!
-5: Lingmerth (14), Streb (13), Pettersson (11)
-4: Levy (14), Niebrugge -a- (13), Goosen (11), Donald (11), Mahan (11)
10.39am BST
Tiger hasn’t made a green in regulation yet. He’s just landed his second into 3 short. This isn’t in the US Open realms of Difficult To Watch yet, but to put it into some sort of context: he’s one of only ten players out of 63 to be out there and over par. He gets up and down from the front, which may make him feel a little better. His playing partner Oosthuizen misses a dribbly six footer for birdie: he’s not done much wrong yet, but nothing special either. He’s level par.
10.32am BST
10.29am BST
Tiger can only hoick his third into the 2nd to 25 feet. Aimless. He’s all over the shop. But he’s slightly unfortunate as a mighty fine putt horseshoes out. That’s another bogey, though, and a dismal start for Tiger. So much for his conservative approach, taking irons off the tee Hoylake style. He may as well be flaying them hither and yon with his driver. Day knocks in his birdie effort, and he’s -1. Meanwhile what a run here by the 22-year-old American amateur Oliver Schniederjans: a birdie at 3, and now three on the bounce between 6 and 8; he’s -4. But he’s not the leading amateur right now. He’s not even the leading American amateur. Step forward Jordan Niebrugge, who has birdied 10 and now 12, having gone out in 33. He’s -5, in a tie for second with Robert Streb, and a shot behind the early leader David Lingmerth.
10.24am BST
Tiger’s woes continue on 2, a heavy second shot left 50 yards shy of the green! The early signs aren’t good for the 14-time major winner. Day - having hit his tee shot nearly 80 yards ahead of Tiger - gently eases his second pin high to ten feet. Lingmerth, incidentally, is going along serenely after that dropped shot at 11. Pars at 12 and 13, up and down from 30 feet at the latter, and he’s still in the lead, a shot ahead of Streb. And another birdie for Goosen, this time at the short 10th.
-6: Lingmerth (13)
-5: Streb (12)
-4: Levy (13), Niebrugge -a- (11), Goosen (10), Donald (9), Mahan (9)
10.15am BST
Spieth is this close to making it three birdies in a row. But having sent his second at 3 pin high to ten feet, his putt lips out. An excellent start nevertheless. It’s two in a row for Dustin, though, after a delightful approach to six feet. And Matsuyama makes birdies as well. This group are on fire: they’re all -2 through 3. Up on 12, Streb lifts his approach to 18 inches; he’ll surely be moving up to -5. Tap. And in.
10.09am BST
Ti-gerrrrrr! He’s just flipped his wedge into the Swilcan Burn. Day and Oosthuizen both set up birdie chances. Tiger was a good 40 yards behind his playing partners; a suggestion that he might have mishit his opening shot a little. Playing from 140 yards out, with the pin at the front of the green, another misjudgement wasn’t long in coming. He wedges his fourth over the burn to three feet, and should escape with a bogey. Which he does, rattling it in. Day and Oosthuizen can’t make their birdies, though, short ones missed. None of the three particularly happy as they walk off. Meanwhile birdie for Sergio on 3, after a lovely wedge to six feet. He’s -1. It’s a fast start for the 2011 champion Darren Clarke, who birdies 1 and now 3; he’s -2. And Donald races in a 25-footer on 8, to move to -4. That’s four birdies in the last six.
10.00am BST
Spieth loves talking to his ball, doesn’t he. “Down! Softly! Softly!” Like an obedient pup, it obeys, taking one bounce and stopping pin high, ten feet from the hole. Matsuyama again is right next to him. They’re following each other around the course. Spieth strokes in his birdie putt, like you knew he would. The Phenom is -2 after 2. Dustin sent his his second close too, and this time he makes his birdie. But Matsuyama fails to make it a group hat-trick. Par. Meanwhile back on 1, another stellar group gets underway. Jason Day, hopefully refreshed and raring to go after his hellish US Open experience. To huge cheers from the faithful gallery, it’s Tiger Woods, twice an Open champion here. And finally the 2010 winner here, Louis Oosthuizen, who was the best player at the US Open, if you factor out that ludicrous opening-day 77. They all clip their tee shots down the track. All three, all smiles.
9.52am BST
Spieth blooters his tee shot straight down the middle of 2. Matsuyama right next to him. Dustin a good 30 yards ahead of them both, a little frustration taken out on the ball there. Goosen rakes in a 30-footer on 8 to move to -3. Anthony Wall, who tied for 11th at Hoylake in 2006, is out in 33: he’s -3.
9.47am BST
It’s fair to say it’s all happening. Lingmerth goes straight for the flag at the par-three 11th, and dumps his ball in Hill Bunker to the front left. He’s got an eight-foot-high face to splash over, but he manages to gently guide the ball out to six feet. He couldn’t have done much better there. But his curly right-to-left putt dies just in front of the hole, and it’s his first dropped shot of the day. Back to -6. On 1, Spieth, Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama pepper the flag with wedges, but only Spieth and Matsuyama manage to convert for birdies. Poor Dustin’s putter continues to betray him. Meanwhile Luke Donald, another man whose career has been a litany of near misses, has started well. Birdies at 3, 5 and 6, and he’s -3. And Levy’s good round continues. Having got to -3 through 7, he dropped a shot at 8, but birdies at 9 and now 11 see him rise to -4.
9.40am BST
Here comes Jordan Spieth, described by the BBC’s legendary Peter Alliss as a “phenom”. To have his way with words, huh? Spieth swishes an iron down the left-hand side of the fairway, and his bid to match Ben Hogan’s unique feat of 1953 is underway. His playing partner Dustin Johnson whistles an iron down near the burn. You’d need a cold, hard heart not to wish the big man well, after that horror show on the last at Chambers Bay. Meanwhile a very brisk start from eternal bridesmaid Hunter Mahan. Birdies at 1, 3, 5 and now 6, and he’s -4 in double-quick time. And Lingmerth makes a meal of 10, driving into rough down the left, then having reached the green in regulation, leaving himself a ten-footer for par with a weak putt. But it’s in, and he stays at -7.
-7: Lingmerth (10)
-5: Streb (9)
-4: Mahan (6)
9.31am BST
Lowry isn’t the only recent US Open contender to start slowly. Patrick Reed dunks his second at the opening hole into the Swilcan Burn. Welcome to Fife, big man! His fourth over the burn doesn’t go that close, but he rattles in the 12-footer he leaves himself and escapes with just the bogey. Meanwhile birdie for his playing partner Lee Westwood, and a par for Sergio. Up on 2, Bubba escapes with par after a long two putts o’er hill and dale. And on 9, Streb strokes in a left-to-right slider from 15 feet for another birdie, and he moves to -5. He’s out in 31, fantastic scoring which only looks workaday in the context of Lingmerth’s astonishing birdie blitz.
9.23am BST
Lingmerth wedges his second at 9 pin high to 15 feet. That’ll give him a decent look at birdie for a front nine of 29. And he rolls in the right-to-left slider! He’s -7, matching Jacklin’s front-nine 1970 record at St Andrews! Meanwhile an opening birdie for Bubba, who eases his second to five feet and strokes in the putt without fuss. A dropped shot for Dunne at 11. And it’s a miserable start to the championship for links expert Shane Lowry. Bogeys at 1 and 4, and he’s already +2.
-7: Lingmerth (9)
-4: Streb (8)
9.13am BST
Lingmerth’s parred the 8th. So birdie at the short, drivable par-four 9th will see him out in 29 strokes. That would equal the Old Course’s Open front-nine record, set by Tony Jacklin in 1970. (See, Rory, this is what reigning champions can do on a benign day at St Andrews.) An eagle, and he’d be matching Denis Durnian’s Open front-nine record, set at Royal Birkdale in 1983. Meanwhile Craig McEwan has been perusing the official Open website: “Spectator advice: Please don’t bring stepladders. This from the same organisation that tried to stop Maurice Flitcroft. Could anyone smuggle stepladders on to the Old Course?”
8.59am BST
This is becoming preposterous now. Lingmerth has just birdied 7. Six birdies in seven holes. It’s his first round in an Open Championship! What a way to announce yourself. He’s two clear at the top of the young leaderboard, ahead of Streb (who has just birdied 6) but not Bjorn (who has dropped one at 10).
-6: Lingmerth (7)
-4: Dunne -a- (9), Streb (6)
8.56am BST
Alexander Levy of France is a young man in a hurry. He made his major-championship debut at the PGA last year, finishing very respectably in a tie for 30th. He went three places better at the US Open last month. The 24-year-old has also got two European Tour wins under his belt already, and now he’s making waves at his first Open Championship. Birdies at 2, 4 and now 7 move him right up the early leaderboard in a tie for fourth place with Owen, Streb and Niebrugge. Meanwhile the first prediction of the week from John McEnerney, still recovering it would seem from the dramas of that aforementioned US Open: “From the Chambers of Horrors Bay to Heaven. That’s some change and I doubt anyone will launch toys from their prams this week. Well, Bubba might.” Yes, the beauty of Bubba is his sheer unpredictability. He could easily shoot 62 or 82. And there are few more entertaining sights than watching Bubba coming off double bogey, an otherwise decent attempt at a poker face betrayed by a slight narrowing of the eyes, light reddening of the cheeks, and 17 gallons of hot steam parping out of both ears. It’s very hard not to love him. I hope he’s in the mood to take advantage of these conditions.
8.51am BST
Another birdie from the simply astonishing David Lingmerth! He’s bounced back from the shock of only parring 5 with yet another birdie, this time at 6. This must surely be the best start to an Open career in 144 years of history. He’s a shot ahead of Bjorn, who is out in 32, and the amateur Dunne, who matches that score after nine holes, having just birdied 9. Greg Owen does his best to stay on the leaders’ tails. His third birdie of the day, this time at 9, sees him out in 33 strokes. Also moving up to -3 are Streb and another amateur, the 21-year-old American Jordan Niebrugge, both with birdies at 5.
-5: Lingmerth (6)
-4: Bjorn (9), Dunne -a- (9)
-3: Owen (9), Streb (5), Niebrugge -a- (5)
8.34am BST
Kevin Streelman got a late call-up to the Open, replacing Chris Kirk. He certainly appears to be in the mood to make his mark, any mark. An opening double bogey has been followed by birdie and bogey. A rollercoaster +2 already, and he’s one of only five players over par, with 33 out on the course right now. Matt Every props everyone up at +3, having added to that double bogey at 2 with another bogey at 4. Meanwhile it would appear David Lingmerth has been wasting everyone’s time. A par at 5. Pfffft! Pah! Just the four opening birdies in a row, then. He stays at -4 alongside Bjorn. What a start, though!
8.27am BST
The two-time US Open champ Retief Goosen has come wheeching out of the blocks, Lingmerth style. Perhaps with good memories of the last Open here - the big South African placed sixth in 2010 - he’s birdied the opening two holes. Meanwhile marvellous news of Sandy Lyle. The 1985 champion dropped a shot on the easy opening hole, but he’s grabbed it back quickly with birdie at 3. He’s not going to win this week, but we all have our favourites, so please allow me that. And joining Lingmerth at the top of the tree: Thomas Bjorn, with his fourth birdie in five holes, this time at 8.
-4: Bjorn (8), Lingmerth (4)
-3: Dunne -a- (7)
8.15am BST
63. The lowest score in major championship golf. Set by Johnny Miller at the 1973 US Open and matched 25 times but never bettered. Seemingly unbreachable. Is the record set to topple this morning? I mean, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. But still. What’s the point in following sport if you’re not allowed to dream? The Old Course’s defences are down this morning. Will someone seize the day and carve themselves a lovely, thick, succulent slice of history? The non-defending champion Rory McIlroy must be sitting at home itching all over. He shot one of those 63s here on the opening day five years ago (before being banjaxed by the wind, shooting 80 on the Friday, but that’s another story). What he’d give for a chance to take another tilt at 62.
8.04am BST
David Lingmerth has taken to Open golf in a manner that makes Tom Watson look like Maurice Flitcroft! He’s just birdied 4 as well! This is an astonishing debut. Sheer perfection! The only way here is down. Bjorn meanwhile stays on his tail with his third birdie in a row, this time at 6. As does the amateur Dunne, who picks up another shot at 5. And Robert Streb is another man in the groove right now. He finished fourth in the Wells Fargo back in May, then made it to a four-man play-off at the Greenbrier a couple of weeks ago. Birdies at 1 and now 3 see him continue that form; he’s -2. But it’s not all a walk in the park: An Byeong-Hun has become the first player to register a common-or-garden bogey. He’s dropped a stroke at the opening hole, the first player to do so. An was in the top 30 at Hoylake last year, his first Open as a professional, but maybe he’s suffering flashbacks from five years ago, when he missed the cut here as an 18-year-old amateur.
-4: Lingmerth (4)
-3: Bjorn (6), Dunne -a- (5)
7.54am BST
Lingmerth’s dream start to Open golf continues! The Swedish debutant makes it three holes played, three birdies carded. He’s the new, early leader of the Open, clearly still buzzing from his first PGA Tour win at the Golden Bear’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village last month. And it’s a Scandinavian landgrab at the top of the leaderboard, with 2003 bridesmaid Thomas Bjorn of Denmark carding back-to-back birdies at 4 and 5 to move to -2.
-3: Lingmerth (3)
-2: Bjorn (5), Dunne -a- (4)
7.41am BST
So with all that talk of easy scoring, here’s news of the first dropped shots of the tournament. You’ll notice the use of the plural, because nobody’s made a bogey yet. Matt Every however has doubled the 2nd. Much better news for David Lingmerth: the Swede, on his debut, has followed up birdie on 1 with another at 2. No bother, this Open lark, huh.
7.30am BST
The 1st on the Old Course is a nice gentle start, so all these early birdies are no great surprise. But it’s also worth noting that there’s only a gentle breeze this morning, so a low score is there for the taking for the early starters. The wind’s expected to pick up later in the day, so the draw’s been kinder to Jordan Spieth than Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia than Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods than Adam Scott. The winds are expected to pick up on Friday, so the benefit of going out early tomorrow, after the draw switcheroo, may not be so great. But time will tell. For now, the players out there are filling their boots. Picking up birdies at 3: James Hahn and the 2004 champion Todd Hamilton. Ah the Curtis-Hamilton era of the early Naughties. And they say the Open nearly died during the 1950s.
7.18am BST
Dunne birdies the 2nd as well! The young amateur leads the field! Such as it is, early doors! Do we have another Tom Lewis - 65 on the opening day at Sandwich in 2011 - on our hands? A long time to go yet, but yes please. Meanwhile there’s a birdie at the 1st for the US-based Scot Russell Knox, who only scraped into the Open as a result of poor Rory McIlroy’s ill fortune on the football field. Oh Rory. Anyway, we’ll not be making a habit of these early leaderboards, but an amateur currently has sole leadership of the Open. And yes, yes, there may only be a dozen players out on the course, but only the coldest of hearts could deny us taking another snapshot for him. He’s leading the Open!
-2: Dunne -a- (2)
-1: Owen (3), Knox (1), Lingmerth (1)
7.10am BST
We’re barely more than half an hour into the Open, with only a few players out and about, so all the leaderboards dotted around the course a bit redundant right now. Well, perhaps, but tell that to Paul Dunne. The young Irish amateur made it through final qualifying in some style - a pair of 67s at Woburn - though he nearly missed his start time that day, only arriving a minute before he had to tee it up. He’s obviously a young man who knows how to time his run to perfection, because he’s birdied the opening hole. So if you ever find yourself tied for the lead at the Open, you’d want it marked down somewhere for the record, right? It’s only fair, right and proper. And here it is:
-1: Owen (2), Dunne -a- (1)
E: Pampling (2), Bjorn (2), Hamilton (1), Hahn (1)
7.00am BST
So welcome to the 144th Open Championship at the home of golf, St Andrews. The grand Old Course has been buffed and cleaned, polished and preened, and after all the waiting and anticipating, we’re finally under way! Who will put their name to the illustrious list of Open winners at St Andrews: Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Peter Thomson, Bobby Locke, Tony Lema, Nick Faldo, John Daly, Louis Oosthuizen, Tiger, Seve, Jack? (The Sonics. The Sonics.) The official starter Ivor Robson - making his final appearance at the Open - called the first group to the tee a few minutes ago. Rod Pampling of Australia - who led the 1999 Open at Carnoustie after the first round, only to miss the cut after ballooning to an 86 on Friday - had the honour of hitting the first shot of the 2015 Open. He creamed it down the middle of the invitingly wide 1st fairway. He parred the hole, but his playing partner Greg Owen carded the first birdie of this year’s Open.
5.00am BST
Ben Hogan was the winner of the 1953 Open Championship at Carnoustie. A four-stroke victory over Dai Rees, Antonio Cerdá, Frank Stranahan and Peter Thomson. None of the men tied for second place were exactly mugs. Rees would finish second in the Open on three occasions. Cerdá was in the middle of a run of five top-five Open finishes in a row; in nine appearances, he finished outside the top ten just twice, and never lower than 26th. Stranahan was the world’s leading amateur golfer - as well as a renowned weightlifter and marathon runner - and already had second-placed finishes at the Masters and the Open under his belt. Thomson, of course, would go on to win five Opens.
But none of them could get anywhere near the man the Carnoustie gallery referred to as The Wee Ice Mon. Hogan, wrote the Guardian’s legendary Pat Ward-Thomas, “dresses as modestly as he talks and only the piercing deep-set eyes reveal the force of character behind them. Imagine him as he scrutinises a long difficult stroke, with arms quietly folded, an inscrutable quarter-smile on his lips, for all the world like a gambler watching the wheel spin. And then the cigarette is tossed away, the club taken with abrupt decision, the glorious swing flashes and a long iron pierces the wind like an arrow. That was Hogan. We shall never see his like again.”
Continue reading...A brief guide to … Steven Gerrard, a man strong enough to carry LA Galaxy's hopes
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With the Guardian’s unstoppable rise to global dominance (NOTE: actual dominance may not be global. Or dominant) we at Guardian US thought we’d run a series of articles for newer football fans wishing to improve their knowledge of the game’s history and storylines, hopefully in a way that doesn’t patronise you to within an inch of your life. A warning: If you’re the kind of person that finds the Blizzard too populist this may not be the series for you.
Anyone who only started watching soccer in April 2014 would be forgiven for thinking Steven Gerrard is a prize galoot. Here’s how things have panned out for him since then. He slipped against Chelsea, allowing Demba Ba to score, consigning Liverpool to a defeat which ultimately cost them their first English league title since 1990. He was a slow, leggy presence in a midfield which was overrun by relegation haunted Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final. His grand goodbye to Anfield ended in abject defeat to Crystal Palace. And his last appearance in a Liverpool shirt was a humiliating 6-1 thrashing at Stoke, Liverpool’s heaviest loss since 1963. Hey, at least he scored a goal in that last one.
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