TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Duval (83) Still Upbeat

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 20, 2008

SOUTHPORT, England - David Duval finally put together two good rounds to get into contention at the British Open, raising the idea that he was close to breaking out of a mystifying slump.

Then came a triple bogey on the first hole at Royal Birkdale on Saturday, and an 83 on his card to match his highest score in this major. Yet none of that changed his outlook.

"I don't walk away from Saturday's round any less confident than Friday's round," Duval said. "If anything, I gained confidence with how I struck the ball and maintained my rhythm. You need good bounces on a day like this to have a good score. I just got behind it and couldn't get any nice things to happen."

Duval didn't make a par until the fifth hole and didn't make a birdie all day. But he wasn't alone. Duval had one of nine rounds in the 80s.

"It's about as hard as I've ever played in," Duval said. "I don't know how you can describe it. You have to be out there trying to hit a shot to appreciate it. How do you judge on one hole if a 2-iron is going to go 160 yards, and on the next hole a 5-iron is going to go 230 yards? There's a lot of guessing out there."
Royal Search
Paul Casey flared his second shot on the par-5 15th well to right, near a cluster of gorse bushes and into deep grass. Marshals already were searching for the ball when Casey joined them, and then came a mild surprise.

"I looked over and HRH was right there with them," he said.

That would be His Royal Highness - Prince Andrew - who had been watching him play and decided to help look. He mentioned to Casey that he also had hit his shot in the same area when playing Royal Birkdale last week.

"I said, 'Did you find it?' And he said, 'Didn't bother looking,' " Casey said.

Casey never found his ball, had to return to the fairway and made a double bogey in his round of 73.

No Regrets

Health Slocum flew to England as the first alternate and wasn't sure if he would be able to play in his first British Open until, thankfully, he got in Thursday morning.

He arrived in time for relentless wind and rain, and it shows on his scorecard with rounds of 73-76-74.

Any regrets? None at all.

"I don't remember a day when it was warm and sunny watching on TV," Slocum said. "It's a challenge."

That's not to suggest Slocum would have been disappointed had it been warm and dry, as it was at Hoylake, St. Andrews, Royal Troon and Royal St. George's in recent years.

"It would not have been what I expected," he said.

Lehman's Skin

Even with the tees moved forward, the par-4 sixth hole was the hardest at Royal Birkdale with a stroke average of just less than 4.8. There was only one birdie in the third round, that belonging to Tom Lehman.

"Do I get a skin?" he asked after his 73.

Turns out it was a fairly routine birdie - hit the fairway, hit the green, make a putt.

"I hit a good drive, then smashed a 3-wood and holed about a 60-foot putt," Lehman said.

Exchange Rate

British Open prize money of 4.2 million pounds will be converted at 1.9985 based on the exchange rate published by the Federal Reserve at noon Friday.

American translation: The purse is $8,393,700, with first place at just more than $1.5 million. That means if a U.S. player wins, he will get 3,020 points toward the Ryder Cup.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT