The British Open 2010 had a blazing start yesterday. Yet, the British Open 2010 was bound to get tougher today, on account of a wind delay. St. Andrews laid down for the world’s best golfers yesterday, even letting John Daly return to contention. As such, St. Andrews had to get tougher, so that 63’s, 65’s and 66’s would be in shorter supply. With that, the British Open 2010 got delayed for an hour because of wind, setting the stage for high scores to come.
Just after 9:30 a.m. est, the wind at St. Andrews became too strong to live with. Gusts went up to over 40 mph, as golf balls on the green were being blown around. They had to wait an hour for play to resume, which may be a good and bad thing for the contenders.
The British Open 2010 had a record-setting pace yesterday, with a few dozen players shooting in the 60’s. However, many of them played in the first half of the day, before conditions got a little harder. Thus far today, those who started early are once again reaping the benefits, especially Louis Oosthuizen.
Yesterday, Oosthuizen was one of the surprises on the British Open 2010 leaderboard, after shooting a 65. He was in second place behind Rory McIlory, but he got to go first today. Oosthuizen took advantage by shooting a 67, before the wind got really bad.
Currently, Oosthuizen is the clubhouse leader by far, at -12 through two rounds. McLlory is still at -9 through three holes, but has to resume play in 30 mph winds. Daly and Tiger Woods are also struggling right now, with Woods bogeying his first two holes.
For those on the British Open 2010 course right now, they are in a nightmare scenario. Not only are they playing in difficult winds, they could go from being contenders to missing the cut altogether. Oosthuizen has set the bar high for the cut at -12, so those at -2 and -3 are in real danger.
Woods has already gone down to -3, which means he could be playing for his life. Phil Mickelson is already out, having finished at even par. Justin Rose, Ernie Els and more are just trying to survive at the moment.
Others have benefited from playing the British Open 2010 second round early. Mark Calcavecchia shot a 67 to get to third place, while Lee Westwood stayed in contention with a 71. Paul Casey, Graeme McDowell and Miguel Angel Jimenez also shot in the 60’s to hang around.
The British Open 2010 leaderboard is bound to look less red than it did yesterday. Oosthuizen could have a gigantic lead by the end of today – yet that means he has to go last tomorrow. Thus far, starting off in the afternoon has been unfortunate, so the competition isn’t over yet.
Sources
Yahoo Sports- “2010 The Open Championship Leaderboard”
SI.com- “Play resumes at British Open after weather delay”