After 54 holes of play, Greg Norman has a two-stroke lead at the British Open. No, it is not 1988. Yes, THAT Greg Norman, the one who used to be the best player in the world about a million years ago.
He used to be #1, but now he's 53 years old, and he isn't even ranked in the top 600. He's won the British Open before (twice) so he is invited to play every year through age 65. But his appearances have been largely ceremonial. He hasn't won a tournament in ten years, and hasn't even played in a major championship in three years.
He recently married Chris Evert, and their Open Championship (that's what the British call it, as though there were no others by that name) was just a stop on his honeymoon. The British Open is always played in July in the hope that there might be at least a couple of days of good weather. But even in the middle of summer, that's not a good bet in England or Scotland.
This year they started playing in the rain, and today they had almost gale force winds. Afterwards, Norman said the conditions were such that he would have to hit a 5-iron from 120 yards, or aim his shot 60-80 yards left or right of target, depending on the wind.
The nice thing (or awful thing if you like to sleep in) about the British Open is that it's over by noon. Thanks to the eight-hour time difference they start coverage at 5 or 6 AM Pacific time.
The reason I am writing this blog entry today instead of waiting until the tournament is over is my lack of confidence. As much as I want to see Norman win the Open, his history is what it is. No one can blow a major championship like Greg Norman. His ability to collapse on Sunday in legendary.
Good luck, Shark, because I think that two-shot lead could be gone halfway through the front nine.
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