Weekend at Birkdale

Outside of football season, there are a few weekends that stand out on the annual sporting calendar. First round of March madness. The Derby (especially when parlayed w/Cinco de Mayo). And possibly my favorite - the British Open.

Each year in July, I afford myself the opportunity to damage my sleep/work patterns for a week rolling onto the couch at the crack of dawn Saturday and Sunday morning to watch the best golfers in the world have a go at the best links courses the Isles have to offer. Watching golf at my grandfather's cottage in Maine each summer was somehow exciting. The Open harkened back to my family's roots in the Maritimes, even if none of us are really links golfers. Well, I'm still keeping it on, and at some point added the spectacle of the early morning Guinness pints, which are clearly unnecessary, but I only have so many days to justify drinking before 8 am, so I take it when I can. (there are too many commas in the preceding sentence) This is more difficult now that I live on the west coast, and the leaders will be teeing off in the neighborhood of 6 am. But a tradition's a tradition, damnit, and I'll carry it on tomorrow just the same.

People are down on the tourney this year with Tiger lounging poolside, but it's still one of the most exciting weekends in golf, mostly due to the total unpredictability of the outcomes. Greg Norman one stroke off the lead? Sure. The Open always turns into a battle between man and course and weather, which is tremendous theater. The wind will howl, the rain will blow sideways, and pro tour lifers will make horrific swings out of 5 foot waves of heather. I find it fascinating. Current forecasts call for "Strong wind hazard" for the weekend. Sweet.

So anything can and will happen. Of the players making the cut, 14 had at least a 7 stroke difference between their first and second round scores, led by Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els who bested their first round totals by 11 today. 11! If the wind goes nuts, par will be an elusive number, and those who hold it may find themselves shooting up the leaderboard. There are some excellent players who just scraped into the 3rd round. If they get lucky and the weather is OK in the morning but turns in the afternoon, picking up 7 or 8 strokes on Saturday is a reasonable possibility. So I have no predictions. I don't think Mr. Norman will keep up the pace, but won't be shocked if he does. (and by the way Greg, I like some of your wine, but not at $20 a bottle)

I'll be enjoying it, beer in hand, bright and early. I won't try to emulate the amazing Jason Sobel live blog, but may post some pint-by-pint thoughts, if the mood strikes me.