SOUTHPORT, England--The fact that Padraig Harrington sprained his right
wrist probably was the best thing that happened to him last week en route to
winning his second straight British Open. That's what Bob Rotella,
Harrington's sport psychologist, would have you believe, even if it is with
the benefit of hindsight.

Standing beside the 18th green at Royal Birkdale moments after Harrington
finished a final-round 69 for a four-stroke victory, Rotella agreed with
the idea that the distraction of the injured wrist--suffered when Harrington
swung a club into an impact bag during a training session the previous
Saturday--allowed the 36-year-old Irishman to focus more on the process of
hitting good shots, even if it curtailed his pre-tournament practice
routine.

"He just decided to take it as a blessing," Rotella said after Harrington
learned it wasn't something that he could injure further by playing: " 'I'm
not going to over-practice. I'm not going to over-prepare. I'm not going to
get worn out in the practice days.' He really handled it beautifully."

"It was a great distraction for me," Harrington admited in his post-round
press conference. "It pushed everything about coming back to defend to the
side. It took a lot of pressure off me. It took a lot of stress off me."

Throughout the week, Harrington was in complete control of his emotions,
according to Rotella. "I was saying to him before, 'We can talk every night'--
and we did--'but you know what, you really understand what I want you to do.
There's nothing new.'

"He's so lost in the process, seeing the shot he wants," Rotella continued.
"He's absolutely got it clear in his head: 'My ball always goes where my
last thought is. If I can just get my last thought in the right place, I'm
wonderful.' He's prepared himself to win this week."

Though the injury kept Harrington's attention on his swing, the difficult weather
conditions kept him from thinking too much about the wrist.

"What happens is, you either dwell on the pain or you think about something
else," Rotella said. "I think he thought about the conditions. And you know,
he plays all the time in the wind. He knew he could handle this."

--Ryan Herrington

SOUTHPORT, England--In a week filled with visits from the ghosts of British Opens past, it's only appropriate Ben Curtis would make an appearance on the leader board Saturday afternoon.

One of the more unlikely men to win the claret jug in recent history, the 2003 champion golfer of the year looked nothing like a contender two days earlier when he went triple bogey/double bogey on the first two holes of the tournament, then made back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 en route to 78 on Thursday. Bouncing back to shoot a one-under 69 on Friday to make the cut by two strokes, Curtis, 31, followed it with a sublime third-round 70 amid winds of roughly 30 to 40 mph, the fiercest competitors faced all week, to become a factor in the 137th Open.

Just how good was Curtis' Saturday stroll around Royal Birkdale? Aside from equaling the day's lowest score, it allowed him to jump from a tie for 38th at the start of the round to T-15 when he finished on the 18th hole, two minutes after the final twosome of Greg Norman and K.J. Choi teed off on the first. Five hours later, when the rest of the field had finished windswept rounds, Curtis was tied for fifth, five shots back of Norman.

"I probably didn't hit it as good as I did yesterday, or in the second half of my round on Thursday," Curtis said, "but I got away with a few putts out there, and that's the hardest part of the day."

The strangest moment of Curtis' third round became the most pivotal: his eagle 2 on the par-4 third hole. After missing the fairway and finding the ball below his feet for his second shot some 165 yards from the hole, Curtis slashed at it with a 9-iron. From the moment he made contact, his face showed a look of disgust.

"I thought it was going in that front-right bunker, because when I looked up it was right of the pin basically halfway there. My caddie said the same thing; he thought it was in the right bunker as well," said Curtis, unable to see that the ball had landed on the front edge of the green and was tracking toward the hole.

"When they started clapping, I thought, well maybe it carried the bunker and it's on the right edge of the green. Than all of a sudden we walked 10 more yards and [the crowd] went crazy."

The momentum-creating eagle led to two more birdies in the next four holes, Curtis making the turn in three-under 31. He spent the rest of his round "hanging on for dear life" after making three straight bogeys starting at the 11th before finishing with five pars and a seven-over 217 total for 54 holes.

Of course, much has happened to Curtis since his victory at Royal St. Georges five years ago. The then-PGA Tour rookie has won two more tour titles--the 2006 Booz Allen Classic and the 2006 84 Lumber Classic--as he has attempted to shed the label of a "lucky" major-championship winner.

"Back then, I didn't put any pressure or goals on myself, just wanted to have fun and enjoy the tournament," Curtis said. "Obviously I had one of my best weeks I've ever played. [But] I'm a better player than I was then. I know if I get hot, I can have a chance to win any week."

Maybe even this one.

-- Ryan Herrington

SOUTHPORT, England--Heavy wind played havoc with Anthony Kim's ball on the 10th green and created a big backup on the tee during Saturday's third round, and the combination of conditions and the long wait was no help to four leaders who made double bogeys on the 408-yard par 4.

Kim's ball "blew seven or eight feet back" on the green, he said after a 71 left him seven over par for the Open. "I'd marked it and put it back down, so I couldn't replace it," he said.

David Rickman, the R&A's director or rules, said Kim "had difficulty getting the ball back in play" because winds kept the ball oscillating.

"We stood there for about 30 to 40 minutes," Kim said. "It felt like forever, but we got through it."

In the first round Lee Westwood marked, lifted and replaced his ball on the sixth green, but before he could play his next stroke, his ball was blown down a slope in front of the green. Westwood had to play the ball from its new position, off the green, but holed the chip shot for a bogey 5.

Kim, paired with Ross Fisher almost 2 1/2 hours in front of the leaders on Saturday, finally was able to putt and made his par 4, but a number of those who followed didn't have such luck.

After Greg Norman and K.J. Choi, the final group, had putted out on the ninth green at 4:51 p.m. local time, they were notified that they were the third twosome on the 10th tee, joining the pairings of Jim Furyk/Graeme McDowell and Rocco Mediate/Camilo Villegas. Norman and Villegas chatted amiably on a bench next to a hut about 75 yards from the tee, and minutes later Furyk and McDowell departed, Furyk on his way to the first of the 6s. Mediate and Villegas followed, Villegas blowing his drive to the right and suffering another 6. Norman and Choi finally departed the 10th tee 20 minutes after they had arrived, and both made double bogeys to drop to four over par, still in a tie for the lead at the time.

Rickman, asked whether officials were considering suspending play, said, "It's difficult; it's a judgment call. . . . Mainly based on the greens. They've dried out in the sun, and if we get situations where we get balls consistently moving, are not staying where they came to rest or players can't replace them having marked, lifted and cleaned, then they would be indicating signs that if they became consistent problems then we would have to suspend play."

Kim wasn't the only player experiencing difficulty on Saturday. Part of the backup came when Simon Wakefield, who shot a 70 and is three strokes out of the lead, watched his sand-wedge approach to the eighth hole finish off the green, only to see the wind move the ball. "The wind blew it three or four inches onto the green, so I was obviously able to mark it but then was not comfortable with playing the putt or hitting the putt because we were getting gusts," Wakefield said, concerned that the ball would move after he addressed it. "I spoke to one of the referees who called in, and they had had the same situation on the 10th, so we just sort of hung on and basically waited for the wind to die down."

Paul Casey, asked if the conditions were perfectly playable, replied, "No. The balls are moving on the green. I had one move on the eighth today. They're certainly oscillating on the greens, and it makes it very, very difficult. Looking at the scores, I can't believe I'm being interviewed, and I'm 12 over. That makes you realize how difficult it is out there."

Added Robert Allenby after his 76: "Two occasions I put my coin down on the green, and the ball decided to go for a run. It was just hard. . . . I feel like I've done 36 holes."

--Mike O'Malley

SOUTHPORT, England -- For all its boring but necessary requisites--one shot at a time, one round at a time--golf can pull a great surprise party every once in a while.

Just when many people were worried that a major championship without Tiger Woods was going to feel as bleak as a cold British beach between dry spells, the marquee brightened.

They were 10 deep along the dunes on Royal Birkdale's back nine on a dreary Friday morning, adults old enough to remember, children too young to know. For them all, for the second day in a row, Greg Norman gave them something to remember.

Norman didn't win as many major championships in his prime as many people thought he should have. Now, when no one expected him even to threaten the lead in the British Open, he is in superb position at the halfway point to pull off a historic victory.

Julius Boros was 48 years, fourth months and 18 days old when he won the 1968 PGA Championship and remains the oldest winner of a major championship. Norman is 53, playing like he's 35, invigorating the Open with the kind of texture that only a great run by a former great can provide.

Not since Tom Watson at the 2003 U.S. Open has a senior golfer created so much excitement at a major. Watson faded from contention that year at Olympia Fields after his emotional first-round 65 in the company of his dying caddie and friend Bruce Edwards. But thanks to fantastic scrambling, Norman shot his second consecutive 70 to take the clubhouse lead by one over the young Colombian, Camilo Villegas.

It makes you think of when Jack Nicklaus challenged at the 1998 Masters when he was 58 a dozen years after winning a green jacket when he was 46. "Forty-six and 53," Norman said, "there's not much difference in age right there."

Norman could have let things slip away down the stretch Friday, but he didn't. He saved par with an eight-footer at the 11th and with a seven-footer at the 16th after a fantastic sand shot from an awkward stance. A 12-footer at the par-5 17th salvaged a bogey. At the 18th, he ran a long birdie putt past the hole and off the green but sank the 20-footer for a par.

Ladbrokes had him as a 200-to-1 longshot before the tournament began. But the oddsmakers didn't know how good he was feeling about himself, about his life in the wake of recent marriage to former tennis great Chris Evert. "My life is great," he said. "I've got a wonderful wife and my whole being . . . is just wonderful, to tell you the truth. So obviously it makes you feel more relaxed, makes you feel more comfortable about what you're doing and where you are."

The odds are still long that Norman could take this sweet surprise all the way to Sunday evening, to a claret jug he has won twice, but stranger things have happened. The golf gods ripped a few majors from his hands. Maybe they're in a generous mood this week. So far, he is doing his part.

--Bill Fields

SOUTHPORT, England -- Just when you thought Greg Norman had the Blast from the Past Award locked up at the 137th British Open, another long-lost tour pro was seen creeping up the leader board Friday afternoon at Royal Birkdale: David Duval.

Ah, yes, remember David Duval. The 2001 British Open champion who had made just one cut in 12 starts on the PGA Tour this year. The former World No. 1 who had broken par just twice in his last 32 rounds. The now World No. 1,075 whose last top-10 on tour came in October 2002.

So what has the 36-year-old done differently this week to explain his 73-69 start, good enough to share fourth place with six other players at two-over 142, three strokes back of leader K.J. Choi? Duval insists the answer is nothing.

"I said it when I've been asked over the course of this year, I'm playing a lot better than my golf has shown," Duval explained after four birdies and three bogeys in the second round. "I just frankly needed to gain some confidence and get a few good things to happen. It's amazing what a good break and a good bounce can do for you."

Rather than point to something that has occurred during the previous five days, Duval says it's the work he has put in since returning to the tour 10 months ago after the birth of his daughter Sienna that's finally coming to fruition. Duval reunited with his former college coach and long-time instructor, Puggy Blackmon, with the goal of finding his form not from the late 1990s/early 2000s, when a creeky back led to swing flaws that ultimately derailed his career, but rather from his college days at Georgia Tech and his early years on tour.

By his own admission, Duval is a different person than he was seven years ago when he claimed the claret jug at Royal Lytham and St. Annes. He has a family now, one that has changed his priorities but also given him perspective.

"I probably don't live it and die it like I did back then," he said. "But I also haven't sought a return to be mediocre. I know what greatness is about and I know what it takes to have greatness. I won't settle for mediocrity. I've been working toward greatness, not just getting back to making cuts and managing to play halfway decent. I've been taking the long route, the hard route and trying to get back to greatness. That story has yet to be told as to whether I can get back to that point, but I'm trying."

A few more pages no doubt could be written this weekend.

--Ryan Herrington

SOUTHPORT, England -- Despite all the buildup of Phil Mickelson coming to the British Open as the No. 2 player in the world in a field without Tiger Woods, he was really much closer to longshot than favorite.

For a player with 34 PGA Tour victories, including three major championships, Mickelson's British Open record is abysmal. Starting with his first in 1991, he has been inside the top 20 only twice--a tie for 11th at St. Andrews in 2000 and a solo third at Troon in 2004.

It was at Troon that Mickelson proved he is capable of winning the British Open. His problem is that he has to make a radical deviation from his normal game to do well.

Mickelson is a high-ball, high-spin player. It's the result of the steep angle of his downswing and a compensating handsy-ness in the hitting area. Without his best timing (which he had at Troon), in a high wind it is difficult for him to get the ball to hold the line or to go the right distance. In short, on a windy links, he lacks sufficient control of the ball.

Mickelson has been working on lowering both his spin and his ball flight for awhile now. With both Rick Smith and currently Butch Harmon on the full swing, and Dave Pelz on shots inside 125 yards, Mickelson has strived to shorten his swing and quiet his leg action through the ball, creating more of a sweeping action with the clubhead.

Sometimes it has been noticeable, particularly at last year's Players Championship, in some ways Mickelson's most impressive win ever because it required him to truly implement some dramatic changes. But in 2008, Mickelson's backswing still seems long at the top, and his legs still sag more through the hitting area than almost any of his peers.

For the most part, he hasn't played well. On the PGA Tour, he has been erratic, his tie for fifth at the Masters and victory at Colonial his only top 10s in his last 11 events. In his trans-Atlantic tuneup for Royal Birkdale, he finished T-38 last week in the Scottish Open.

At Birkdale, Mickelson caught an unlucky morning of severe weather in his opening round on Thursday. In high wind and high rough, he is at a higher risk of a big number than most, and he suffered a triple-bogey 7 on the sixth hole on his way to a nine-over-par 79.

It also occurs that though Mickelson's greatest strength is that he is so often able to erase ball-striking mistakes with his short game, he seems to have more trouble doing so on a championship links. Although he has proven himself great at all kinds of chips and pitches of varying heights, they all usually carry a lot of spin. Links greens are almost always less receptive to spin than even the much faster surfaces of the Masters or U.S. Open, and Mickelson seems less than a master of the subsequent bounce and roll.

Mickelson came back strong with a two-under 68 on Friday to get within eight shots of the lead. After a bogey on the seventh hole, he was 10 over for the tournament and looking like he would miss the cut. But he birdied three of the last 10 holes, hitting 14 of 18 greens on the day. It was one of Mickelson's best stretches of play ever in a British Open, but remained more notable for being rare than for a sign of things to come.

--Jaime Diaz

SOUTHPORT, England -- You can always tell who's playing well at a British Open--the same guys who refer to the huddled semi-masses as golf's best galleries. "The roars are different over here," says first-round leader Rocco Mediate. "They're deeper. I don't know how to explain it to you. Maybe it's the wind, maybe it's the stands. Who knows, but it's cool."

Or maybe it's one of those overcooked fallacies that doubles as a positive stereotype, as opposed to the perception that Americans are rude, inattentive and allergic to any form of cultural sophistication. The roars here might be deeper because far fewer women are in attendance than, say, at the Players, where a hillside full of lightly dressed females at the island-green 17th certainly factors into my definition of golf's premier spectator gatherings.

It's a very different vibe at the Masters, where the superb atmosphere is fueled by exalted snobbery and the "You Da Man!" count ranks among the lowest on the PGA Tour. In Dallas, they might get 50,000 to show up on a Friday afternoon, although 48,775 never make it past the beer garden. Where the price of admission, one might suspect, is waived for those wearing white halter tops and sporting ankle tattoos.

Last month at Torrey Pines, 22,000 people showed up for a Monday playoff, many of whom must have called in sick for work, all of whom got their money's worth. Four weeks later at the Barclays Scottish Open, Phil Mickelson was addressing his second shot at the third hole when a woman patron gasped, "Oh, goodness, he's left-handed!"

On a practice range in the U.S., many tour pros note the "great scenery" at the FBR Open near Phoenix. They aren't talking about the handsome desert landscape or the vista from the ninth tee. As for pure audio, last year's final-round duel between Mickelson and Tiger Woods at the Deutsche Bank Championship produced the most electrifying ambience I have ever experienced at a golf tournament. Nobody turns up the passion dial higher than a ballpark full of immersed New Englanders.

Having walked a few holes in my day, I could only imagine what was going through the minds of the 30 or so people sitting in the bleachers behind the fourth green here Wednesday. More than 20 minutes would pass between practice groups; a vociferous crosswind and temperatures in the low 50s could not have made that idle time feel any shorter.

I'd tip my hat to these British folk if a three-club breeze hadn't blown it into the fifth fairway. Yes, Birkdale's galleries are hearty, knowledgeable and well-behaved. Not only are the roars deeper, they are delivered with a more appropriate sense of timing, and to Americans such as Mediate, the cheers must be very rewarding. To any Yank on the Other Side, if what you hear isn't a boo, it probably sounds pretty good.

--John Hawkins

SOUTHPORT, England -- After slugging through two rounds in difficult conditions, the players who survived the cut don't want to hear this: They might not have seen anything yet. Saturday in particular sounds like it could be crazy, though for anyone who gets through that, Sunday might seem relatively balmy. The weather forecast for the remainder of the week:

Saturday: Blustery showers, frequent in the morning but more scattered in the afternoon. Strong winds NW 30-35 miles per hour; gusts to 45 mph.

Sunday: Scattered showers at first, otherwise dry with sunny intervals. Fresh NW winds 25 mph gusting to 35 mph, easing in the afternoon to 15-20
mph.

--Mike O'Malley

SOUTHPORT, England -- Comments from Friday's second round:

Camilo Villegas (76-65), on needing only 23 putts after taking 34 the day before, helping him finish with five consecutive birdies: "Just trying to even it out, man."

Villegas on how the wind affected play: "Downwind you can hit a drive that goes 370 yards, and then you get into the wind and you're hitting a driver 230. I mean, on the sixth hole I believe I had 205 to the front, and I killed a 3-wood, perfect, and it pitched two yards on. My 3-wood normally carries 260."

Jim Furyk (71-71), on playing with Villegas and watching his five consecutive birdies: "I can see it happening, but just as quick as that happens, I can understand five bogeys in a row, too. It's a tough golf course."

Greg Norman (70-70), asked during a press conference whether, given his minimal expectations entering the Open, he had made any alternative plans for the weekend in case he missed the cut: "No. [Laughter.] Boy, I missed you guys." [Laughter.]

Norman, estimating his tennis expertise after marrying Chris Evert: "I'm about a 20-handicap or 18-handicapper. I'm just learning how to get it back across the net."

Adam Scott (70-74), on Norman, a fellow Aussie 25 years his senior: "When he was one under through nine and I was still around the mark, I was trying to get myself up there so I could maybe play with him over the weekend. That would have been awesome--paired with him late in an Open at the weekend would be great. I'll have to play well tomorrow, and hopefully I'll catch him Sunday."

Rocco Mediate (69-73): "I hit the ball a million times better today, shot four shots higher. Go figure."

Sergio Garcia (72-73), on three-putting the 18th: "While I appeared calm on the outside, the things I was saying to myself were not very nice."

Mark O'Meara (74-77), the Open champion at Birkdale in 1998: "I putted so badly for two days... I'm not a real happy camper right now."

Robert Allenby (69-73): "You can't attack this golf course. As soon as you start attacking it, it'll grab you and chew you up, that's for sure."

Graeme McDowell (69-73): "Four or five days swinging the golf club in this kind of wind I think inevitably takes its toll a little bit, and I felt my rhythm wasn't quite there the first 10 or 11 holes."

Jean Van de Velde (73-71), on waking up at 4:30 a.m. for his 6:30 starting time: "It's been a while since I've done that, but when I play the Open or other big tournaments, I'd be happy to come down at 6:30 every day if I could keep playing golf for many years to come."

--Mike O'Malley

SOUTHPORT, England -- They call it the luck of the draw, but if you were among the players to have an afternoon tee time during the first round of the British Open on Thursday, you were particularly fortunate--not to mention in much better position to play Royal Birkdale on the weekend.

Gusts of 25 mph bustled throughout the day, but those teeing off after 11:41 a.m. (the "afternoon" wave) avoided the heavy rains that greeted the threesomes in the morning.

Just what a difference was there from morning to afternoon? Try almost three full strokes. The scoring average for the 76 morning players who completed their rounds (Sandy Lyle and Rich Beem withdrew) was 77.39.The 78 afternoon players posted an average of 73.40.

An even closer look shows that if you teed it up before 9 a.m. it was even more punishing; the average for the first 40 players Thursday was 77.55 with 11 players shooting 80 or higher.

Another way to look at the difference in difficulty from morning to afternoon is a simple look at the leader board--and when those on top began play. Notice only two of the top 14 started before 12:14 p.m.

69 -- Rocco Mediate, 12:14 p.m.
69 -- Graeme McDowell, 12:36 p.m.
69 -- Robert Allenby, 1:09 p.m.
70 -- Greg Norman, 12:58 p.m.
70 -- Adam Scott, 1:20 p.m.
70 -- Bart Bryant, 2:20 p.m.
71 -- Retief Goosen, 7:58 a.m.
71 -- Mike Weir, 9:31 a.m.
71 -- Jim Furyk, 12:47 p.m.
71 -- Gregory Havret, 1:31 p.m.
71 -- Fredrik Jacobson, 1:42 p.m.
71 -- Peter Hanson, 2:20 p.m.
71 -- Simon Wakefield, 3:04 p.m.
71 -- Anthony Wall,  3:37 p.m.

-- Ryan Herrington

SOUTHPORT, England -- Last week, when he was hanging out in Los Angeles getting ready for the British Open, Rocco Mediate decided to watch a TiVo'd version of the U.S. Open he lost to Tiger Woods. While the sentiment is that he gained more by losing, Mediate doesn't look at it that way. Instead of inspiration, he found depression.

"He was pretty bummed out," said his physical therapist, Cindi Hilfman, walking the 17th hole at Royal Birkdale on Thursday. "I told him to quit thinking about that Open. To start thinking about winning this Open. He said, 'How can I win the British Open? I can't even walk.' "

Hilfman got Mediate physically able. Mentally, he started wrapping his mind around the idea early in the round, when the rains that were coming down sideways on the practice ground abated and it was just windy and cold. These were not the conditions for a bad back, and neither was the two-group wait that Mediate had on the par-5 17th, but what happened up by the course's most controversial green indicated that Rocco hasn't used up all his magic from Torrey Pines.

Off a steep bank behind the green, he chipped in for birdie, then followed up with a closing-birdie at 18 to share the lead of the 137th British Open with Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and Robert Allenby of Australia. "Cindy is a big part of the story, and she hates when I say that, but I'm going to say that," Mediate said. "She's the one who put my back into where it belongs.  I didn't want to play over the last two years."

Mediate could have been more specific to the last two days. Hilfman came out on the course during the practice round Wednesday and on the 11th green Thursday to make adjustments on Rocco's back and keep the 45-year-old going. "There was definitely dread, yes, there was dread this morning," Mediate said. "I don't know, there's always dread it seems, at least in my case, a couple hours before I play. It's always worrying and wondering what's going to happen."

You'd never know it from his on-course demeanor, but one element that did perk up Mediate was that if he makes it through Thursday, Friday, Saturday and finds himself in position going into the final round, the guy who bummed him out so bad watching a replay of the U.S. Open is nowhere in sight.

"I'd rather him be here than not," Mediate said, speaking of course of Woods. "But the difference in this major, the first one without him in who knows how long, is whoever is there on the weekend does not have to look him in the eye. That's different.  I can assure you of that. I've seen it. It's totally different."

--Tim Rosaforte

SOUTHPORT, England -- Sergio Garcia's opening-72 wasn't perfect, but all things considered, it was enough to slightly strengthen his position as the championship favorite.

Garcia is a truly exceptional ball striker, and though he had the advantage of playing Royal Birkdale in the afternoon, the wind remained severe enough that all but the purest contact was punished. Because Garcia combines extraordinary body speed, a near perfect downswing plane and an innate gift for hitting the ball in the center of the club, his shots have a palpable integrity and hold their line in the most unforgiving winds. It's no accident that Garcia has finished in the top 10 in six of the last seven British Opens, and on Thursday his ability to play bad weather links golf was reflected in impressive numbers--11 of 14 fairways, 13 of 18 greens in regulation.

His putts, however, generally lack the true roll of the gifted putter. And as he has in too many majors, the 28-year old Spaniard committed untimely three-putts and missed all his birdie chances in the 10- to 25-foot range. His only birdie was achieved with a two-putt on the 544-yard par-5 15th. All told, he had 33 putts, and to win he will need to average no more than 30 per round.

Birkdale's greens are relatively flat, the kind that give great putters a chance to run the table. Since 1960, its winners have been Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Ian Baker-Finch and Mark O'Meara--all known in their primes as wizards on the greens--which doesn't bode well for Garcia.

But the wind on Thursday was heavy enough to make green reading guesswork, and prevented the players from keeping their bodies absolutely still during the stroke. In Garcia's group, Ryuji Imada, considered one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, had an erratic day on the greens in shooting 77.

Garcia has been working with putting guru Stan Utley, and after years of switching between left hand low and the belly putter, seems to be reducing putting to its simple essence. "It's just trying to get back to the way I used to putt," Garcia, who used a regular length putter and a conventional grip in the first round, said on Tuesday. "It's making sure that I can move the club nicely back and forth, releasing it, just to make sure that we give it a good roll so the ball has a chance of going in." Two weeks ago while finishing second at the European Open, Garcia he needed only 21 putts in a closing 66 that he called the finest putting round of his life.

But on Thursday, he too often reverted to some bad tendencies. On the par-4 eighth hole, his 15-footer for birdie ended up two feet short and a foot wide right, but rather than acknowledge a poor stroke, Garcia's reaction was to look skyward as if the gods were against him, displaying the same kind of victimhood he exhibited in his post-playoff press conference last year after losing to Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie.

Garcia missed another in the same range on the ninth, and then on the par-4 10th, after negotiating a heavy headwind with a perfectly punched 6-iron that never got more than 20 feet high, he guided more than stroked his remaining downhill 18-footer, missing on the left by a full three feet. Garcia then pulled his next one for an extremely annoying bogey.

Perhaps as a result of being upset, he hooked his drive off the 11th into high grass. But to his credit, Garcia dug deep to save par from the hay, and then played flawless tee-to-green golf the rest of the way. Still, he was less than flawless with the putter, three-putting from 50 feet for par after hitting the 572-yard, par-5 17th in two.

Afterward, Garcia chose to emphasize the positive, and focused on the reception he received from the galleries. "I've said it before, to me what's most important here is the people out there. It was unbelievable. We were getting an ovation on every green here. That's why I love this event so much."

If Garcia can use the encouragement to free up his stroke, he knows the roars will get much, much louder.

--Jaime Diaz

SOUTHPORT, England -- There was no denying Adam Scott was in better physical condition Thursday at the 137th British Open than a month ago at the U.S. Open, a broken bone in his right hand having had time to heal since his T-26 finish at Torrey Pines.

Still, after an opening-round 70 at Royal Birkdale to sit tied for fourth, one stroke off the lead, it was the Aussie's mental state that seemed even more sound. Despite hitting just seven of 14 fairways and nine of 18 greens in regulation, Scott was the only player to get to two under par at any point during the windy, rainy day before bogeys on the 16th and 17th dropped him back to even par.

"My game I felt ball-striking wise wasn't 100 percent, my swing wasn't 100 percent," Scott said. "Today was more about figuring out a way to get it around. That's what I did, and my swing came around. It was one of those days where you have to grind. Sometimes those are better [than when] you have to go out and hit it pure and knock it close and make birdies."

Scott said he knew from the moment he woke up and looked outside at the blustery conditions that the round would be a test more of stamina than strength. He noted it wasn't ever going to be about hitting perfect shots.

That Scott put himself on the leader board Thursday also was a psychological relief compared to the way he typically starts a major championship. In Scott's previous 28 appearances at majors, only three times has he opened with a 70 or better, carding a first-round scoring average of 73.39.

"For me it always seems like I'm so far behind after Thursday it's a lot of work for me to do on Friday and the weekend," Scott admitted. "If I can keep pace with the leaders the next couple of days, I'll enjoy being in contention. It always seems like at a major I'm coming from behind and need to have the round of my life to get it done."

--Ryan Herrington

SOUTHPORT, England -- Graeme McDowell is only 28, but this isn't his first time in the lead at the British Open.

McDowell shot a one-under-par 69 Thursday to match Rocco Mediate and Robert Allenby at Royal Birkdale, two years after a first-round 66 led the Open at Hoylake. And that was 59 years after Fred Daly, from McDowell's golf club in Portrush, won at Hoylake to become the first Irishman to take a major championship.

"Yeah, I certainly felt like a rabbit in the headlights a couple of years ago at Hoylake," said McDowell, who tumbled to a T-61 finish there behind Tiger Woods after following the 66 with rounds of 73-72-79. "I certainly feel like quite a different player than I was two years ago, and I didn't really have a whole lot of belief in my game."

The difference might be McDowell's maturity as a player, evidenced by a victory in last week's Scottish Open and a playoff win in March at the Ballantine's Championship. Those victories and five other top-10 finishes this year have helped McDowell to fourth place on the European Ryder Cup standings entering the Open, trailing only Lee Westwood, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Robert Karlsson.

"I've obviously been showing some form for the last 10 to 12 months," said McDowell, who won the 2002 Fred Haskins Award at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and won on the European Tour in only his fourth start. "I've got more belief in my game and what I'm doing. I'm certainly more comfortable in this position than I would have been two years ago."

At Hoylake, a young man recognized McDowell in a bar and gave him a tip before the first round.

"He said, 'You get it pretty laid off at the top, don't you?' " McDowell recalled. "I said, 'Yeah, I guess I do.' He said, 'Get a bit of work done on that, will you?' I said, 'Fantastic; thanks for that.' "

McDowell's British Open record also includes a T-11 in 2005 at St. Andrews, that run ruined by a quadruple-bogey 8 at the Road Hole in the third round. Earlier that year McDowell finished T-2 at Bay Hill, rebounding from a 2004 car crash. "I was a rear-seat passenger in a car that spun and hit a tree head-on at 45 miles per hour," he said. "I had some whiplash of the spine, and it was four or five weeks before I felt reasonably match-fit. Then I jammed it again."

At Birkdale, McDowell believes he has an edge with his Portrush pedigree.

"There's absolutely no doubt about it," he said. "Links short game is a completely different fish from short game that we're faced with week in, week out, especially for the American players. You can play shots with anything from lob wedge right through to hybrids and 3-woods, and it really does take a lot of experience and, like I say, a lot of imagination. . . . Ten, 15, 20 years' golfing at Portrush, I think stands me in good stead when I come to the British Open."

--Mike O'Malley

SOUTHPORT, England -- How tough was it Thursday in the opening round of the British Open? Some selected comments:

Boo Weekley (80): "If this is summer, I couldn't live here."

Retief Goosen (71): "I don't mind tough conditions. In a way you feel that maybe half of the field is sort of not trying anymore."

Lee Westwood (75): "You'd like to go and have a bath and watch people struggle on the TV. I'm afraid that doesn't work. I have to go and figure it out myself." (On the sixth hole, Westwood marked, lifted and replaced his ball on the green, but before he could play his next stroke, his ball was blown down a slope in front of the green. Westwood had to play the ball from its new position, off the green, but holed the chip shot for a bogey 5.)

Vijay Singh (80): "It was miserable, miserable, miserable weather. . . . I didn't play badly."

Heath Slocum (73), who got into the field when Toru Taniguchi withdrew because of a back injury: "I didn't pack appropriately."

Ian Poulter (72), when asked if the conditions were the toughest he'd ever experienced in the Open: "No. Saturday at Muirfield in '02 [when Tiger Woods' Grand Slam bid ended with an 81]. We all remember that one, don't we? That was a lot worse than this, but it lasted only nine holes."

Padraig Harrington (74): "I think I had 88 yards on the par-5 15th, and as it turned out, I thought I was being clever hitting 9-iron. I probably should have hit 8-iron. There were other shots out there, 170 yards, and you're saying, 'Well, I can't get there with 4-iron; I have to hit 3-iron.' . . . It was a big golf course today."

David Duval (73), on keeping the ball low, including while making a birdie-3 at the 346-yard fifth hole: "Frankly, there's no other way to play today. . . . I hit it really low off the tee with a 2-iron, hit it six feet off the ground with a 6-iron, and it rolled onto the green."

Mike Weir (71), when asked to compare his round with a second-round 71 at Carnoustie in 1999 after opening with an 83: "Pretty similar. I probably played a little better in that round in Carnoustie, given the circumstances after an awful first round."

Justin Rose (74): "You can't feel the putter, and there's no feel."

Colin Montgomerie (73), saying a higher power was at work: "Unfortunately, He's in charge, and He messed up today."

--Mike O'Malley

SOUTHPORT, England -- Few golfers appeared to be having any fun during the first round of the British Open on Thursday, but David Duval was not among them. Even a bogey at the 18th after a drive into a pot bunker couldn't spoil the mood of Duval, who recorded an impressive 73 in dreadful conditions.

Duval, once the world's No. 1 player and the 2001 Open champion, has made only one cut in 12 PGA Tour events this season. However, he remains expressive and optimistic, saying to reporters that he stood before them "with a lot more confidence" than anyone should expect after his prolonged sentence in golf's black hole.

"I probably played a shot or two better than my score, but I controlled the ball and hit it where I was looking," said Duval, who laughed and yakked throughout the storm with playing partners David Frost and Simon Khan. Duval was followed by sons Deano, 18, and Nick, 15, who hopped the charter with him from last week's John Deere Classic. Also in the gallery was Puggy Blackmon, Duval's coach at Georgia Tech, who marveled at his former pupil's use of the stinger in stiff winds and slanting rains.

Duval rightly reasoned that keeping the ball in the air was no way to post a decent score Thursday. Thus, he drilled a low four-iron into the 162-yard No. 12, where he birdied. Khan struck the same club, turned it over, and the ball flew well left of the green and long. That's how it went Thursday, but Duval, who is fighting the fight to regain his form, felt rewarded to a point. He's had too many days when he leaves the course having posted the highest score he thought possible.

Duval experienced varying weather during this round.  The front nine was brutal, but by the 14th hole, he removed his jacket. The sunglasses stayed on, though, because he says he would rather his shades absorb the rain drops than his eyes. Duval's vision of the big picture, though, is hampered by lack of opportunities to perform. To play well again, he must play often.

"I'd like to play more than once in the next eight weeks," he said, "but all I've got on my schedule is Greensboro (Wyndham Championship in mid-August.) I could play Reno (two weeks prior) but that's my daughter's (Sienna) first birthday."

Duval, the family man, would not miss that. He wants to get back into the mix among the world's elite golfers, but not at any cost.

--Bob Verdi

SOUTHPORT, England -- No doubt a few players woke up today and thought that Kenny Perry had the right idea all along. Perry is skipping the British Open, of course, and those who made the trip were greeted with miserable weather as the 137th Open began with rain and whipping winds.

Dan Jenkins first came to the Open in 1962 and last missed one in 1969. We asked him to recall the worst weather he'd ever experienced over here, and only half-kidding, he responded, "Today."   

Craig Parry was the first player out and shot a 77 in conditions he called "bloody miserable." Parry, an Australian from Sunshine, Victoria--insert your own joke there--said 16 holes played into the wind. "My 3-wood was going about 180 yards," he said. "You could probably putt it farther than that."

Sandy Lyle, the 1985 Open champion, withdrew after 10 holes at 11 over par, including a double bogey at the par-3 seventh. "It plays at 167, and I took a 3-iron and still came up short," Lyle said. "It's normally good for about a 7- or 8-iron."

Two hours into the Open, the top-20 players on the leader board had made a total of four birdies. The forecast called for temperatures of 53 to 59 degrees, but with rain clearing later in the day. If you have a player you're pulling for and are wondering whether he got the bad end of the draw, here's the forecast (all times local):

5-9 a.m.: Showery rain, persistent and heavy at times. Feeling cold in the wind and rain. (We can verify they got this part of the forecast correct; garbage bins all over the course are filled with broken umbrellas.) Wind SW 15-20 miles per hour but gusts of 30 mph in heavy rain.

9 a.m. to noon: Further spells of showery rain, still the odd heavier burst at first. Wind SW 15-20 mph, gusts to 25 mph.

Noon to 4 p.m.: Cloudy with rain at times. Wind SW 15-20 mph.

4-8 p.m.: Cloudy with some dry and bright spells. Wind SW 15 mph.

Here's the outlook for the rest of the week (no sunscreen needed until Sunday):
Thursday night: Cloudy with outbreaks of mainly light rain or drizzle. Wind SW 20 mph.

Friday: Cloudy with outbreaks of rain, perhaps heavy through the morning. Brighter for a time in the afternoon, but heavier showers in the evening and overnight. Wind SW 25, gusting to 30 mph turning West in the afternoon.

Saturday: Showers, perhaps heavy at times. Wind SW 25 mph, gusts of 30-35 mph becoming NW in the afternoon.

Sunday: Dry with bright or sunny spells. Wind NW 25 mph, decreasing to 10 mph.

If, that is, they survive and get to Sunday.

--Mike O'Malley and Ryan Herrington

Royal Birkdale has a rich history in the British Open, and we've captured much of it in the pages of Golf Digest and Golf World. Here's a look back at some favorite anecdotes culled from the pages of our magazines.

O'Meara's Break in '98
Mark O'Meara won the claret jug the last time the Open was played at Birkdale, a decade ago. In his story for Golf World that week, John Hawkins noted that the week did not pass without a rules controversy:

"On the sixth hole of the third round, O'Meara lost his approach second shot in the right junk. After a three- or four-minute search failed to turn up his ball, he began walking back to the fairway, at which point an unknowing patron found the ball and stuck it in his pocket.

"If there was a point of contention to the matter, it was whether O'Meara returned to the ball and identified it within the five-minute allotment. After much hand-wringing, the referee in the match decided he had, and thus, O'Meara was granted a free drop.

'There was a lot of miscommunicating,' said O'Meara, who admitted he'd gotten a huge break. 'The USGA was on the phone, the R&A was on the phone. It was like Watergate out there. Nobody would make the call.' "

The Land of 40-Yard 8-Irons
Ian Baker-Finch won at Birkdale in 1991 with rounds of 71-71-64-66, but seven years later the wind wiped out the field in Saturday's third round. Birkdale played to a stroke average of 77.49, and as Golf World reported, there were nine holes that day--Nos. 1 and 2, 6 through 9, 11, 16 and 18--that had a total of only 11 birdies.

"When I got to the range I was amazed at how hard it was blowing," Jim Furyk said. "Fred Couples was hitting next to me, and he was hitting 8-irons, joking around and teeing them up, and they would go about 40 yards and then start coming back at us."

A Classic from Dan Jenkins
Dan Jenkins, writing for Golf Digest during the 1991 Open at Birkdale:
"The lobby of the Prince of Wales Hotel was where you could observe crusty old
R&A officers, who are easily identified by their gray hair, gin-red faces, navy blazers and neckties of dark blue gaily speckled with oxtail soup. You stand and stare at the gorse and thatch in their noses and hear one say to another, 'Yes, quite so. That was the year of Henry Cotton, Lord Derby and that business with the casual water.' "

--Mike O'Malley

SOUTHPORT, England -- Well, that Olympic golf cart is fast becoming an Olympic train. Which doesn't mean cumulative efforts to place the sport in the 2016 Summer Games won't be wrecked. Whatever, during a gala press conference Wednesday before the British Open at Royal Birkdale, a few of golf's big hitters declared that they are uniting as never before to enhance the "globality" of their game.

Using that word early and often, the group announced the appointment of Ty Votaw, executive vice president of the PGA Tour, to head up a newly formed International Golf Federation committee to negotiate with the International Olympic Committee, which has two vacancies available for 2016. In October of 2009, the IOC will decide how they shall be filled. While chairing this committee to meet with that committee, Votaw essentially will be on loan to organize the Olympic proposal and presentation.

Peter Dawson, chief executive of the R&A, said he has received enthusiastic vibes from the IOC about golf becoming part of the Olympic fare. "But there is much work to do," said Dawson, noting that the IOC clearly would want only the best players available (i.e. professionals, not amateurs).  Also, there are other sports vying for those two slots, including baseball and softball, which will be part of next month's Olympics in Beijing but are dropping out for 2012 and reapplying. The other candidates for 2016 are karate, roller sports, squash and rugby seven.

I asked Juan Antonio Votaw to explain rugby sevens, and he said, "It's a quicker version of the sport, which usually has 15 players per side, instead of seven." I guess it would be like having a basketball game of three-on-three instead of five-on-five. Votaw assured me, however, that if golf makes it, each match will last the regulation 18 holes, not nine, or six. Votaw concluded that he is honored to accept his new position, which does not mean he is severing any ties with the PGA Tour or moving to China.

Tim Finchem, commissioner of the PGA Tour, said he has gleaned upbeat responses from his players on the Olympic ideal. He did not, however, name names, which is just as well because in eight years, there's a decent chance neither of his marquee members, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, will still be active. Why, in eight years, one of them might be commissioner. But the major point of Wednesday's confab, if there was one besides Votaw's role, is that golf's governing bodies now speak with one voice when talking Olympics.

The race to host the 2016 Summer Games is down to Tokyo, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Chicago. Finchem's league has abandoned America's third-largest market this season as the former Western Open, now BMW Championship, will be staged in St. Louis. But he and Votaw are sure the Windy City would be wonderful in 2016 if the pieces fall into place.

"Chicago has a lot of great golf courses," said Finchem. And a lot of great squash courts.

--Bob Verdi

SOUTHPORT, England -- For a non-contact sport, golf certainly seems to have its fair share of walking wounded as the British Open gets ready to commence Thursday at Royal Birkdale. There's Tiger Woods, of course, missing his first major as a professional because of his bum left knee/leg. Last week Englishman Luke Donald, No. 21 in the World Ranking, pulled out of the Open because the left wrist he hurt in the final round of the U.S. Open hasn't healed.

Now there's a real possibility that Padraig Harrington, the defending British Open champion, could miss his Thursday tee time as well because of an injury to his right wrist suffered Saturday. No, it didn't come when R&A officials tried prying the claret jug out of his hands; Harrington says he hurt it while swinging a golf club into an impact bag during a practice session.

To avoid further damage, Harrington had shut things down for a few days and played only nine holes at Birkdale Tuesday, avoiding hitting any shots from the thatchy rough. He walked the remaining holes with his foursome that included Woody Austin, Stephen Ames and Damien McGrane, hitting only shots around the green. (Harrington's caddie, Ronan Flood, dropped off the bag at the turn and carried only a few wedges and the putter.)

"Obviously I have to manage it between now and then," Harrington told reporters Tuesday when asked about whether he might have to withdraw from the tournament. "I've got to make sure I don't do anything to it. If I do nothing to it between now and Thursday, I'll be able to play."

Harrington wound up doing close to nothing on Wednesday. While hitting balls on the driving range, he hit only a handful of full shots on the course before deciding to stick with chipping and putting again for the rest of his practice round.

-- Ryan Herrington

Royal Birkdale has a rich history in the British Open, and we've captured much of it in the pages of Golf Digest and Golf World. Here's a look back at some favorite anecdotes culled from the pages of our magazines.

Seve Ballesteros recalled his memorable week in 1976 at Birkdale with Golf Digest/Golf World European tour correspondent John Huggan in a September 2000 Golf Digest Interview, recalling that after taking a lead through 54 holes he went out to a disco the night before the final round. A segment from that Q&A:

Huggan: "You were still a teenager when you finished second to Johnny Miller at that Open. What do you remember about that?"

Ballesteros: "I caddied for my brother Manuel in the qualifying at Hillside. He played with Doug Sanders. But my brother did not make it. I did not have a caddie, but Dave Musgrove found me someone. The guy was a policeman. He had not idea about the game--in fact, I didn't have much idea myself--and I spoke no English. A good combination!

"I shot 69 in the first round. I was enjoying myself. I knew it was the Open, but I had no idea it was that important. In the second round, I shot 69 again. Then I was playing with Johnny Miller in the third round.

"The night before the last round--I was leading--I wasn't worried about the next day. I was only 19, remember. I thought I could win. I was convinced. Anyway, I went out to a disco with my brother. We were dancing there until maybe midnight. Then we went back to our bed-and-breakfast place. As we were walking back, I could see that my brother was a little worried. He was obviously thinking, 'My God, my brother could win the British Open; this is unbelievable!' "

Huggan: "Let's get this straight: You were staying in a B&B, you didn't speak English, you had a caddie who didn't know anything about golf, you'd been out to a disco the night before, and this was how you went into the last round of the Open?"

Ballesteros: "That's right! [Laughs.] And I was going out with Johnny Miller, who was the best player in the world at that time."

Huggan: "And you really thought you were going to win?"

Ballesteros: "I was convinced! On the first hole I made a 10-foot putt for par, and Miller made a bogey. I looked at him, and he seemed worried. With all his experience and all his talent, he knew that this guy has no idea what's going on--he was thinking, 'He might play unbelievable and win the tournament.'

"After leading by three shots, I disappeared from the leader board, but I was still enjoying myself. Even after all that, I wasn't down or upset. I was not worried about anything. And I made a couple of birdies and an eagle.

"Coming to the 17th green, all of a sudden Johnny Miller started talking to me in Spanish. I didn't know he could. For two days we hadn't spoken a word. But once he knew he was going to win, all of a sudden he was speaking Spanish!

"He said, 'It is very important that you play well on the next two holes. If you do, you can beat Mr. Nicklaus,' who was in with whatever score he had. He said, 'You can finish second.'

"I was thinking, 'S---, this guy speaks Spanish perfectly!' That was very interesting. It was just competition, I guess. Anyway, I finished eagle-birdie and was second [Ballesteros shot 74 to Miller's 66 and tied for second with Nicklaus]. I was very happy.

"In his speech afterward, Johnny said it was the best thing for me to finish second. I thought he was mad--stupid! But not long after, I understood. He was 100 percent right. It would have been too soon. If I had become a superstar that early, it might have been too much for me. If I had signed a lot of big contracts and gotten so much attention, I wouldn't have had the career I have had."

--Mike O'Malley

SOUTHPORT, England -- When the Open was played at Birkdale 10 years ago, players were having so much difficulty reaching the fairway at the 16th hole during practice rounds that a crew of workers was dispatched to cut back the long grass and give the so-called shorter hitters a chance. (The USGA didn't exactly follow suit when players had similar problems at Bethpage Black's 10th hole during the 2002 U.S. Open.)

Well, a decade later there's a new back tee at Birkdale's 16th, extending the hole to 439 yards (about 25 yards longer than in 1991), and even though players are finding short grass off the tee into a stiff wind, a 4 remains a very good score.

"I didn't know that that was a new tee box," said Phil Mickelson, who played the hole a few times last week during a brief stop before the Scottish Open in Loch Lomond. "Into the strong wind you know it's a good drive and about a 3- or 4-iron. So it's going to be a hard par. It's probably just as hard a 4 on 16 as a 4 on 17 [a 572-yard par 5]."

Most players had anywhere from 180 to 200 yards left for their second shots at 16 (well back from the spot where a plaque commemorates Arnold Palmer's famous escape from a bush during his 1961 Open victory). Which brings to mind a story from another visit to Birkdale.

A group of us ducked over to play here the week of the 2001 Open at nearby Royal Lytham. After a few wrong turns we showed up about a half-hour late for a 3:45 p.m. tee time, and when we asked about caddies, we were told they were all gone, save a willing but rather inexperienced lad.

That experience showed on the first green, when a member of our group hunched over a 10-footer asked, "Which way does this break?"

"It goes a little left . . . or maybe a little right," came the halting reply from our man, who was maybe 14 years old and hoping to buy new sunglasses with his caddie money. (Our friend split the difference, played it straight and missed the putt.)

But our favorite memory came when we played the 16th. As we approached the plaque, our caddie called us over and, eager to enrich our experience, asked, "Have you gents ever heard of Arnold Palmer?"

We confirmed that the name sounded vaguely familiar, and in short order we heard the story of Arnie's famous shot. And, as I recall, we overtipped the storyteller to make sure he was able to buy the sunglasses.

--Mike O'Malley

SOUTHPORT, England -- News that Kenny Perry won another golf tournament in the United States has only compounded the befuddlement factor at Royal Birkdale, where he will not participate in the British Open starting Thursday. How could the hottest player skip the sport's most venerable major because he would rather be in Milwaukee?

"I find it rather amazing he is not here," said Justin Rose, the young Brit. "He said his goal is the Ryder Cup, but that is virtually signed, sealed and delivered. This would be a trip that wouldn't hurt his Ryder Cup chances, would it? It is strange he is not playing and is not testing himself at the highest level. I couldn't personally imagine myself opting out of a major. It is what I want to judge myself on at the end of my career."

Even fellow American Jim Furyk gently jabbed by quipping, "to the best of my knowledge, you can't win if you don't play," but he promptly defended Perry by adding, "the beauty of this game is we get to make our own schedule, and if it works for him, then all power to him."

Perry's third victory in five starts, Sunday at the John Deere Classic, did not seem to impress my colleagues in the media working in and around the United Kingdom. Most of them think Americans are isolationists who find traveling an inconvenience to be avoided at every opportunity. But, for goodness sakes, the Deere folks lined up a chartered flight that landed at Manchester Airport Monday morning. All Perry would have had to do was book a seat.

I kind of like the idea that Perry, a big ol' country boy who is set in his ways, would defy convention and ignore everybody's instructions about what he should do with his life. After all, if you don't listen to us experts in the media, to whom will you listen? Unfortunately, many of those British journalists will be in Louisville come September, and they can't wait to get a piece of Perry. By the time they're done interrogating and scolding him, he might wish he hadn't made the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

-- Bob Verdi