Mild winds greeted players at the Old Course for Saturday’s start of the third round of the British Open, where Tiger Woods was among those taking aim at leader Louis Oosthuizen.
Oosthuizen, a 27-year-old South African who missed the cut in seven of his eight prior majors, stood on 12-under par 132 after 36 holes, five strokes ahead of 50-year-old American Mark Calcavecchia, the 1989 Open champion.
Both men took advantage of early Friday starts to post rounds of five-under 67 before rivals were hammered by breezes gusting to 65km/h, winds so strong they stopped play for 65 minutes and forced a Saturday finish to round two.
Oosthuizen enjoyed the largest mid-point lead at a British Open since Bobby Clampett led by five in 1982 at Royal Troon. The American collapsed at the weekend and only finished in a share of 10th as Tom Watson took the title.
World number one Tiger Woods and first-round leader Rory McIlroy were among those who struggled in Friday gales. Woods fought to a one-over 73 and is eight strokes back. McIlroy fired an 80 after an opening 63 to fall 11 off the pace.
“We didn’t get what Louis got. He got it 16 holes downwind,” Woods said. “That’s just the way it goes. If you get a good break you have to capitalise on it. He certainly did. Everyone else, we had to grind it out, gut it out.”
Unpredictable winds are par for the course at the birthplace of golf, where Woods won British Open titles in 2000 and 2005 and hopes to become the first three-time Open winner at St Andrews.
“Everyone is dealing with the wind and everyone is playing the same golf course — just got to go out there and execute,” Woods said.
Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, has not won since last November when a sex scandal engulfed him and led to a five-month lay-off.
While the world number one has made a comeback and shared fourth at both the Masters and US Open, Woods has not shown the overpowering form that made him a sporting icon in the wake of his admitted infidelity with multiple mistresses.
Englishmen Lee Westwood and Paul Casey, South Korean amateur Jin Jeong and Spain’s Alejandro Canizares shared third on 138, six off the pace.
British Open debutantes Jeong, a 20-year-old who won the British Amateur crown last month, and Canizares, the son of four-time Ryder Cup starter Jose Maria Canizares, each finished Saturday morning with birdies at the 18th to move up.
Seven others began the round on 139, including reigning US Open champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen of South Africa and 51-year-old American Tom Lehman, the 1996 British Open winner.
A total of 77 players made the cut at two-over 146. Those missing the mark included five-time Open champion Watson and three-time major winners Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington. – AFP