Bodog Sportsbook 2009 British Open Recap
The British Open is the hardest event in golf – hardest to win, and hardest on the soul, as Tom Watson can tell you.
Watson went to the 18th tee at 3-under and one stroke ahead of Stewart Cink, who earlier drained a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole to stay within shouting distance of the 59-year-old legend. Needing only to make an eight-foot par putt to claim his sixth Open Championship and first since 1983, Watson came up short. Then Cink easily put away his opponent by six strokes over the four-hole playoff to hoist the Claret Jug for the first time.
“It would have been a hell of a story, wouldn’t it?” Watson told reporters Sunday. “And it was almost. Almost. The dream almost came true.”
It was a dramatic event for handicappers as well as the participants. Cink was a 100-1 longshot going into the Open at Turnberry; Watson was part of the field to begin with, then moved to 100-1 after carding a 5-under 65 in Thursday’s opening round, one stroke behind Miguel Angel Jimenez. After three rounds of play, it was Watson in the lead at 4-under and holding court as the 3-1 favorite to finish the job. Cink was three strokes back at 14-1; Jimenez had fallen back into the field (16-1) with a 73-76 during the middle rounds. He finished with a 69 to sit at 2-over.
Although Cink and Watson carried the banner for the United States into their playoff, there was a distinct European flavor at the top of the leaderboard.
Lee Westwood (25-1 at the open) and Chris Wood (field, 4-1) ended the tournament at 1-under to tie as the top English golfers at Turnberry. Another stroke behind them was fellow Englishman Luke Donald (80-1), along with Australia’s Mathew Goggin (field) and South Africa’s Retief Goosen (30-1), the two-time U.S. Open champion.
The drama surrounding Watson’s improbable quest for glory helped take the attention off Tiger Woods, who didn’t even make the cut after going into Thursday’s opening round as the 2-1 favorite, well ahead of Sergio Garcia (20-1) and two-time defending champion Padraig Harrington (22-1). Woods followed a frustrating round of 71 with an ugly 74 on Friday, dropping seven strokes between the eighth and 14th tees. That was the worst stretch of six holes in Woods’ entire career as a pro.
Woods is now 0-for-3 in major events this year with only the PGA Championship left on the calendar in August. “I just haven’t put together all four rounds, and you have to play clean in order to win a major championship,” Woods admitted after missing the cut at Turnberry. “I haven’t done that.”
Garcia’s chances at his first major took a turn for the worse on Saturday when he joined Jimenez in the clubhouse with a 76. A final-round 71 left Garcia at 6-over for the tournament and tied for 38th place. As for Harrington, his annus horribilis continued with a 69-74-76-73 to finish 12 strokes over par. But at least he made the cut. Among those who didn’t: Woods, Adam Scott, Mike Weir, Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan and Geoff Ogilvy.
The next event on the PGA Tour calendar is the Canadian Open, starting Thursday at the familiar Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. This will once again be a very thin field with Woods and nearly all the top golfers in the world not scheduled to appear – which means it’s go time for value shoppers.
