The British Open: Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood set up a thrilling finale
On a beautiful summer day in Gullane, Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood held centre stage as they enthralled the thronging fans at Muirfield to a fine exhibition of classy golf. The two shunned the extravagant and embraced rudimentary golf to respond to the tumultuous course with a glorious calm. Some of the golf was so serene it reduced the wickedly racing glass of a surface to a quiet accomplice.
At the end of an intensely engaging day at the 142nd Open Championships, there were just three players under par, with Woods (72) and Westwood (70) poised for an epic duel on Sunday.
The excitement reached a crescendo at the 17th with both Woods and Westwood locked at 2 under. The American went for it with his second, trying to reach the green, but instead sank in the bunker, guarding it to court trouble. Westwood was no less aggressive, but fortuitously avoided the sand to find a clean line to the flag.
The crowd roared their approval as soon as Westwood sank the birdie at the same place where Tiger gave one back to the course. Two strokes separated the gladiators and the engrossing battle will resume on Sunday as the quest continues to discover the King who shall drink from the iconic Jug.
The pair ended the day with Westwood in the driver’s seat at 3 under, but Tiger was still lurking as he has this whole week at 1 under. Hunter Mahan stabbed Muirfield with the low round of the day, an impressive 68 that gave him the box seat to the excitement tomorrow.
There was a passage of play that epitomised why one man was chasing his first major and the other had 14 stowed away in his bag. Westwood missed a makeable par putt at the 8th, eventually three putting for an untimely bogey.
Probably rattled by the setback, the Englishman cut his stroke into the right side bunker off the ninth fairway. Sensing an opportunity, Tiger had a go at the flag only to settle in the bunker near the right of the pin.
Out of the bunker, Westwood needed a good approach to save from another bogey. He managed to skirt around the bunker, but the ball ran away to the outside edge of the green. Westwood ended up with a six on what has been the easiest hole of the week.
Tiger went up and down from the bunker to draw level with his partner at two under for a share of the lead. The American threatened to snatch the outright lead at the 10th, but the ball flirted briefly with lip before spurning the kiss.
Hunter Mahan had a memorable Saturday – his 68 contained five birdies and brought him right into the mix for the final round. Mahan had a lengthy par putt at the final hole, but the American read the green to perfection to nail the pin and reach the clubhouse content that he did his best.
Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who was near the very top of the leader board for two days, slipped down the ladder with a hat-trick of bogies from 12th through 14th to join Phil Mickelson at two over. It was a pity for the Spaniard who had recovered well from a couple of bogeys at the start of the round with birdies at 5 and 9.
Meanwhile, the intense battle between Westwood and Woods took another interesting twist at the 14th. The Englishman got his iron to sing, but Woods could not get club to join the chorus. Westwood had his approach roll nicely to just within a few feet from the pin, while Tiger sank into the bunker behind the flag.
After letting a three stroke lead melt away, Westwood took sole possession of the lead with a birdie at the 14th, even as Woods saved par from a greenside bunker for the second time on the day. Elsewhere, Adam Scott, the man who developed greasy palms last year with the Jug almost in his grasp was having a good round too.
The Masters Champion almost made a birdie at the 18th from 25 feet away. The ball stopped tantalisingly short of the pin despite the Aussie reading the line to perfection. He had to settle for par and that is exactly where he will begin on Sunday. Not a bad place to be on a monster of a course.
For all we know, Mahan might be the outsider that jumps out to grab at that Jug. But with Adam Scott, Woods and Westwood all in the neighbourhood, one thing is certain. Sunday is going to make for one of the finest final round shoot outs in recent memory.
Scores:
-3 Westwood
-1 Mahan, Woods
Par Scott
+1 Moore, Cabrera, Z Johnson, Stenson
+2 Mickelson, Molinari
+3 Garcia, Snedeker, Donaldson, Matsuyama, Day, D Johnson, Jimenez