Watson shares Open Championship lead with Marino
MDH Managing Editor Patrick Graziano gets credit for the following observation: We'd all believe a golfer with the initials T.W. would lead the British Open two rounds in ... just not this one.
I don't believe many people predicted that one of the game's greats, 59-year-old Tom Watson, would be atop the leaderboard after 36 holes at Turnberry. Probably about the same percentage of the population would've called Tiger Woods missing the cut, which he's now done for only the second time since turning professional.
Though Watson seemed to be falling apart at one point today following his awesome 65 during Thursday's opening round, he rallied for a 70 that kept him at 5-under par. He started with five bogeys in his first seven holes, but had nothing over par from the seventh hole on. Steve Marino is also 5-under after carding a 67 and a 68 in Rounds 1 & 2. Ross Fisher, Retief Goosen, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Kenichi Kuboya and Vijay Singh are all tied for fourth place at 3-under par.
Woods won't even have a chance to make a run at the leaders this weekend, as his tournament is over. Only 65 golfers made the cut with scores of 4-over par or better, and Woods was one of 11 golfers that came in one shot worse than that. His 74 today was Woods at about the worst we've ever seen him. He had double bogeys on the 10th and 13th holes as part of a six-hole stretch during which he was 7-over par. And what struck me most about his effort was the fact that he was horrendous off the tee, which is usually the place he maybe excells most.
The absence of Woods isn't good for ABC, which can anticipate the ratings hit that always happens when Woods isn't in contention at the end of a tournament. I'm guessing Watson being in the mix will steer some viewers towards their televisions ... especially if he's still there on Sunday.
