Lefty and Luke early 4th movers at The Open
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Magical Monday is well underway at St Andrews.
And the most open Open for years became even more open – if such a thing is possible – after the fourth and final round’s morning exchanges.
With the leaders not due out for another hour or so, it was left to veteran ‘Lefty’ Phil Mickelson to make the big move. The 2013 champion at Muirfield stormed to -10 after a barrage of birdies which put him right back in the hunt.
A magnificent seventh birdie just slipped by at 16 and then disaster struck on the Road Hole with the American’s tee shot flying into the Old Course Hotel and landing on the balcony of one of the rooms!
It was a real triple bogey kick in the teeth for ‘Lefty’ who must have thought he had done all the hard work though he knows more than anybody that you can’t take the treacherous 17th for granted. It can be a real beast and so it proved again…and is guaranteed to cause more heartache later on this afternoon.
It might well prove a costly error: the winds are due to pick up later this afternoon around the time the leaders are due out so they probably won’t find birdies so easy to come by as the earlier starters.
England’s Luke Donald, still seeking his first major, could be in with a shout provided he finishes strongly and avoids doing a Mickelson on the 17th.
Donald (-10) soared up the leaderboard with three birdies on the bounce at the start of the back nine at least putting him in the frame.
Meanwhile, the leaders have done their warm-up and preparations and are now ready for the acid test – the fourth round of The Open.
It promises to be a rollercoaster afternoon with fortunes bound to swing like a pendulum. With so many players in the chase for the Claret Jug, don’t be surprised to see it go to extra holes.
My money is on Justin Rose to clinch his first Open closely followed by Aussie Jason day though I fully expect double champion Padraig Harrington to be scrapping in there too.
