Looks like Rocco Mediate’s epic battle with Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open was no fluke. The likeable 45-year-old golfer is tied on top of the leaderboard with Robert Allenby and Graeme McDowell after shooting a 1-under 69 in Day 1 at the British Open. Three players shot a 70, including 53-year-old newlywed Greg Norman. Also in the mix are Jim Furyk (71), Retief Goosen (71), Sergio Garcia (72) and Anthony Kim (72).
Other than Tiger not playing in this tournament, a topic of discussion Thursday was the weather. The wet, windy and cold conditions made life difficult for a few big-name golfers. You never want to say someone is done after the first round, but you can pretty much put a fork in Phil Mickelson (79), Vijay Singh (80), Ernie Els (80) and John Daly (80).
Here is a list of the leaderboard. Scroll down for updates.
Update at 7:45 am– Coming in it was interesting to see if Norman could keep pace with his excellent shooting – well he has! The Shark sunk a long putt on the 18 for par, finishing at even-par. He also had a long putt for bogey on 17. So at the halfway point, who would have thought, but Norman has shot a par of 70s. Not far behind is Furyk, who shot a 71 to equal his total on Thursday. Furyk said he put himself in a position to give himself a chance to win.
Update at 8:00 – So far, the best round has been Camilo Villegas, who shot an amazing 5-under 65, and sits behind Norman for second place at 1-over. Villegas shot 11 strokes better on Friday than he did on Thursday. Mediate and McDowell both came in with a tie for first place and after each player shot a 73, it looks like they will be joined once again at 2-over.
Update at 8:15 – Allenby slip just a bit in Day 2 and shot a 73. He is at 2-over, along with McDowell, Furyk and Mediate. Adam Scott missed a 5-foot par on 18 to finish +4. Jean Van de Velde and Nick Dougherty each made up some ground by shooting a 71. Van de Velde is +4 and Dougherty is +6. By the way, the rain and wind has picked up.
Update at 8:30 – Garcia, whose first shot on 14 landed near a bunker, made an incredible second shot by putting it two feet from the hole. Not bad.
Update at 8:45 – OK, now seems a good time to talk about some of Norman’s shots. He birdied hole 7 and 8. He had a bogey on 17 and saved par on 18 after knocking down a long putt. Good stuff.
Update at 9:00 – Defending champion Padraig Harrington just got underway here. He sunk his third shot on the 2nd hole -- from the bunker no less -- to be at +3. Justin Leonard, who is decked out in all black and is wearing a winter hat over his cap, just sunk a long putt for birdie on the 3rd hole.
Update at 9:20 – It has not been a good day for Kim. He missed a five-foot putt for par on 18 to finish 6-over. Kim’s undoing has been his putting. Meanwhile, Garcia birdied 17 and is 4-over. Peter Hanson nearly had a birdie on 18, but he missed to finish 3-over. Everyone is still chasing Norman.
Update at 9:40 – Garcia’s birdie attempt on 18 sailed slightly left of the hole. Then the unthinkable happened. The Spaniard missed a 12-inch putt. Unbelievable! He finished +5. Not bad, but it should have been +4. His missed putt on 18 will likely eat at him all day and night until he can redeem himself on Saturday. Garcia said he didn’t give his putt on 18 enough attention. “I made some good putts,” he said, “obviously the course was still playing tough. I felt like I struggled a little on the back, after 10 and 11. When I made that birdie on 17, I thought, let’s see if we can get one more on 18 or a par. We still have a chance, a couple of good solid rounds and he we’re still there.” ... Stuart Appleby parred 18 and is sitting three spots back at +3.
Update at 10:10 – It should be noted that Garcia wasn’t the only golfer to miss a gimme. Tom Watson missed a close putt -- maybe three feet -- which would have given him par on the 8th hole. Retief Goosen, who shot a +1 71 on Thursday, delighted the crowd at Royal Birkdale when his second shot on the 7th hole from the bunker birdied in. Speaking of birdie on the 7th, Harrington missed a four-foot putt and had to settle for par on 7.
Update at 10:40 – Mickelson, who likely took himself out of contention with a 79 on Thursday, just parred the 4th hole after narrowly missing a birdie on a long putt. He had two bogeys to start his day. Daly, who also struggled yesterday, parred hole 3. Daly seems to be just one of a few players wearing sun glasses.
Update at 11:00 – Here’s someone you might want to keep your eye on: K.J. Choi. He is 2-over after getting a par on the 7th. It will be interesting to see if Choi can keep it up and avoid fading down the stretch.
Update at 11:30 – Seems like every golfer is having trouble making putts. Mike Weir, who has seven top-25 finishes in 17 starts, scarcely missed a 10-foot putt for par on the 6th hole. He is 3-over. Justin Rose, who tied for fourth on this same course 10 years ago as a 17-year old amateur, is 5-over after 14 holes. The projected cut is expected to be at +9. 75 golfers are projected to make the cut. Els, who just sunk a long putt for a birdie on 11, is at 9-over.
Update at 12:00 pm – Goosen birdied No. 15 to remain at 3-over. It would be good to see the two-time U.S. Open champ get back on track and win another major. Goosen has not fared better than tied for 14th in any event this season.
Update at 12:20 – Norman is still leading at even par. Villegas, McDowell, Mediate, Allenby, Furyk and Alexander Noren are all 2-over. Choi is holding steady, also at 2-over, after 11 holes while David Duval is still in the mix at 3-over after 7.
Hey, wouldn’t it be great if Norman or Duval won this thing? With Tiger not competing, having one of these two players win would make a great story. You would have Norman, at 53, defining the odds and Duval, at 36, resurrecting his career after a seven-year hiatus. Either one is unlikely to happen, but we can still hope for it, right?
Update at 12:45 – Harrington reached the green on his second shot at No. 17. He eagled the hole to move to 3-over while Choi has jumped one spot and is one shot off the leaderboard at +1. Duval’s third shot at No. 10, which was a chip shot just beyond the green, rolled in for a birdie. He is in fourth at 2-over. Sentimental favorite, Watson finished at 10-over and will likely miss the cut.
Update at 1:05 – Harrington’s second shot at No. 18 landed about seven feet from the hole. He birdied the hole to finish 2-over. Goosen shot a 75 to finish at +6 while Duval is still playing well. He birdied No. 11 to climb within one shot of the lead. He is in a three-way tie for second place with Villegas and Choi, one behind Norman.
Update at 1:35 – Scott Verplank, whose tap in for par at No. 16 left him at 3-over, finished the day at +4. Els missed a five-foot putt for par on No. 18 to finish at +8.
Update at 1:40 – File this one under strange but true. Duval sunk a long putt on No. 14 to keep pace with Norman. He is one off the lead. If Duval is surprised he is playing so well, he isn’t showing it.
Update at 1:44 – Choi just birdie No. 17 to join Norman on top of the leaderboard at even par.
Update at 1:55 – We have a new leader folks! Choi just sunk a long putt and birdied No. 18 to move 1-under! He shot a 67 on the day.
Update at 2:20 – Ian Poulter finished at 18 with a 3-under. Mickelson shot a 68 and ended the day at +7. Maybe he isn’t done after all?
Update at 2:40 – This was sad to watch, but Daly missed a 12-inch putt at 18. He shot an 89 to finish at a whopping 29-over.
Update at 3:00 – Duval missed his birdie attempt on 17 and parred 18. He shot a 69 and is tied for fourth at 2-under. Duval, who has made one cut in 12 PGA Tour events this season, is looking for his first win since 2001.
Choi, who has never won a major, leads the pack with a 1-under. Norman is in second at even par and Villegas is third at +1.
Here is a current list of the leaderboard.