ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — The Latest from the 144th British Open on the Old Course at St. Andrews (all times local):
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1:55 p.m.
It looks like Tiger Woods will get a chance to play on the weekend at the British Open.
Just not the way he planned it.
A rain delay of more than three hours Friday pushed tee times back, meaning Woods and playing partners Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen almost surely will not finish their second round before dark.
For Day and Oosthuizen, that means getting up a bit earlier than planned on Saturday to finish their second rounds and prepare for their remaining 36 holes. For Woods, it likely means turning in his scorecard and telling his pilot to gas up the private jet for a late morning getaway.
Woods, who missed the cut badly after an opening 80 at the U.S. Open last month, played almost as poorly in the first round of the British on Thursday on his way to a 4-over 76. That left him in a tie for 139th and in need of a huge rally to make the cut.
Woods acknowledged as much after his first round, saying he hoped that bad weather would force a lot of players into making mistakes and that he would be able to move up on the scoreboard. Unfortunately for Woods, the rains that caused the round to be postponed further softened the course and it was playing relatively easy for the early players.
It will be two years next month since Woods last won a tournament, and he hasn’t won a major since capturing the U.S. Open in 2008.
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12:50 p.m.
Former champion Paul Lawrie isn’t the only Scot with an eye on winning a British Open on home turf.
Marc Warren, a journeyman who has made only one cut in two previous Opens, moved into contention Friday with a string of early birdies on an Old Course that once again was there for the taking.
Warren made three birdies in a four-hole stretch beginning at No. 4 to get to 7 under on the front nine, after opening with a 68. Lawrie, who won at Carnoustie when Jean Van de Velde famously imploded in 1999, had a later tee time after his opening 66.
The sun came out occasionally and winds were generally tame when play began after a 3 hour, 14 minute delay caused by heavy rains that turned areas of the 18th hole into small ponds.
Warren was among those on the course enjoying early success, briefly tied for the lead at 7 under with Zach Johnson, Danny Willett, and first-round leader Dustin Johnson.
Dustin Johnson was in a pairing with Jordan Spieth set to tee off late in the afternoon, when winds were expected to pick up. Spieth is chasing the third leg of the Grand Slam of golf majors, something no modern player has ever accomplished.
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12:10 p.m.
Phil Mickelson wants an even playing field, or at least as even as you can get when the luck of the draw can play a big role in where you stand going into the weekend of the British Open.
Mickelson had an afternoon tee time in his first round Thursday, forcing him to play in the worst of the wind. While the early starters took advantage of soft and mild conditions, he struggled on the incoming holes for a 2-under 70 that left him five shots off the lead held by Dustin Johnson.
Mickelson was supposed to go out Friday morning, but a rain delay pushed his tee time back just past noon. Still, the winds were relatively calm as his time approached, though they were expected to pick up in the afternoon.
“You need an element of luck if you’re going to do well in this tournament,” Mickelson said after the first round. “You need the luck of the draw. You just can’t be given a disadvantage, a significant disadvantage the first two days.”
The last time the Open was at St. Andrews in 2010, Mickelson thought he was put at a disadvantage when play was stopped for players behind him in the afternoon on Friday because winds were so strong that balls weren’t staying on the greens. He warned after his first round that he would be unhappy if tournament officials did that again, when the leaders from Thursday were scheduled to play.
“If it picks up and blows and gusts like it could very well in the afternoon, it could even itself out,” Mickelson said. “But if they call play, that would be very disappointing.”
Mickelson’s last win was at the Open two years ago, when he roared from behind with four birdies in the last six holes to get his name on the claret jug for the first time.
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11 a.m.
Tom Watson thrilled massive crowds here over the years, winning five British Opens and nearly pulling off a victory for the ages when he lost in a playoff in 2009 at Turnberry.
With a weather delay Friday, he could play his last Open with just a smattering of fans to watch him cross the Swilcan Bridge for one final time.
Watson doesn’t figure to make the cut after shooting 76 in the first round on an Old Course that played long for the 65-year-old. With a weather delay of more than three hours, he will either finish his last round when it is nearly dark or else have to come back early Saturday for a few final shots.
Either way, it could be anti-climactic for the player who cried on the 18th hole at St. Andrews a decade ago when he was paired with Jack Nicklaus in his final Open round. This will be Watson’s last Open after 38 appearances, the first of which he won in 1975.
“There is a certain sense of melancholy. You can sense that. The regret that it’s over,” Watson said this week. “It’s a little bit like death. The finality of the end is here. But what tempers that very much are the memories and the people I’ve met along the way.”
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10:10 a.m.
They’re off again at soggy St. Andrews, after a rain delay that means the second round of the British Open won’t be completed until Saturday morning.
Play was suspended for 3 hours, 14 minutes Friday after storms moved in and dumped large amounts of rain on the Old Course. Parts of the 18th hole were so flooded that teams of workers with push brooms swept ankle-deep water into the Swilcan Burn.
Forecasters are predicting more inclement weather, including some blustery showers later in the day along with strong winds.
The delay will force some players to return Saturday morning to complete their second rounds. That will almost surely include first-round leader Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, who originally had a mid-afternoon tee time but are now scheduled to go off just before 6 p.m.
Johnson shot a 65 on Thursday to take the early lead, while Spieth, who is going for the third leg of a Grand Slam no modern golfer has ever won, had a 67.
Tiger Woods was two groups behind Johnson and Spieth, and in danger of missing the cut after a first-round 76.
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9:30 a.m.
A little rain — make that a lot of rain — isn’t going to stop the best players in the world in the British Open.
Play is scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. in a second round that earlier lasted only 14 minutes before being postponed because of heavy rains that soaked the Old Course and flooded parts of the 18th hole.
The delay of a little more than three hours means all players won’t complete their second rounds Friday. That will likely include first-round leader Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, who originally had a mid-afternoon tee time.
Johnson shot a 65 on Thursday to take the early lead, while Spieth, who is going for the third leg of a Grand Slam no modern golfer has ever won, had a 67.
Tiger Woods was two groups behind Johnson and Spieth, and in danger of missing the cut after a first-round 76.
Heavy rains in the early morning hours left large pools of water on the 18th, forcing workers with brooms to try and sweep it into the Swilcan Burn, which before Friday was the only water on the course.
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8:45 a.m.
The huge grandstands are deserted. The area around the famous Swilcan Bridge looks more like a lake than a links.
Heavy rain forced postponement of play Friday at the British Open, where weather always seems to play a factor one way or another in the outcome.
The good news in the forecast was that the rain would ease by late morning, and the ground of the Old Course tends to dry quickly. The bad news for the players is the rain is supposed to be followed by winds of up to 35 mph (55 kph) and possible blustery showers in the late afternoon.
First-round leader Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, who is going for the third leg of the Grand Slam, might do well sleeping in. They had mid-afternoon tee times to begin with, and the delay will push those back even further.
Forecasters say Saturday will bring more rain, with wind gusts of up to 45 mph (70 kph). Things are supposed to be a bit better on Sunday, though there’s still a good chance of some rain to make things interesting.
But this is Scotland, so that’s nothing new.
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7:20 a.m.
The second round of the British Open lasted all of 14 minutes before play was stopped on Friday.
Those players who had to face the stronger, tougher wind in the first round didn’t get much of a reprieve when they returned to the Old Course at St. Andrews. It was still blowing. And it was raining.
It’s all about being on the right side of the draw in the British Open. And at the moment, it looks like Jordan Spieth was on the right side as he goes for the third leg of the Grand Slam. The Masters and U.S. Open champion played Thursday morning in the easier scoring conditions. Spieth shot 67 and was two behind Dustin Johnson, who played in the same group.
