Ian Woosnam hasn’t won a tournament since 1997. Things got so bleak for the 43-year-old that he was talking of giving up the game.
But Woosnam kept plugging, and now he has another shot at winning the British Open. At 6-under par, he is in a four-way tie for the lead with David Duval, Bernhard Langer and Alex Cejka.
Afterward, Woosnam bristled when asked if the round made him love golf again.
“I think I shouldn’t have opened my mouth,” Woosnam said. “I am in love with golf. I think the game is fantastic. I’m going to play 52 weeks of the year, Christmas Day as well.”
Woosnam started feeling better about his game two weeks ago when he finished in a tie for second at the Smurfit European Open.
For Woosnam, a native of Wales, winning the British Open would mean as much or more than the Masters title he won in 1991.
“Anybody who is a British player wants to win the Open championship,” he said. “There’s a lot at stake. I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself. I’m going to go out and do it. I’ve done that before.”
Hero: Cejka keeps a German passport, but he has lived in Prague for the last 3 1/2 years. He was born in Czechoslovakia and escaped to Germany with his father when he was 10. His parents were divorced.
Cejka, 31, didn’t remember much about the experience, other than his father saying, “We did it.”
Cejka does remember rooting for German golfer Langer.
“When I grew up and started my career in Germany, Bernhard already was a top player,” Cejka said. “He’s sort of my idol. I’m glad I get to play the tour and play in the same events he does.”
On the move: Sergio Garcia is among six players at 4 under, two shots back. The Spaniard warmed up as the conditions warmed up at Royal Lytham, shooting a 67.
“I’ll probably have to shoot 64, 65 Sunday, something like that,” Garcia said. “But if you had asked me this question [Friday], I would say it was impossible. Right now I can tell you I can do it.”
Ernie Els is in the same position as Garcia after shooting 67. Even with a good round, he was grinding towards the end.
“I tried to squeeze as much as I could out of the course,” Els said. “Even though I was a few strokes from the lead, there is still a lot of pressure to push yourself. I still think I have a chance.”
The hottest player in golf, U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, took a jump up the leaderboard with a 67, going to 4 under. But for his opening-round 74, Goosen could be leading the tournament. Considering the way he is playing, nobody will write him off.
“For a couple of years I have been working on keeping patient, to forget about things that happen when I hit a bad shot,” Goosen said. “It has helped me a lot. I’m much more relaxed than I used to be.”
Unnatural: Former British Open champion Sandy Lyle, whose game has been off for years, has taken up Natural Golf. He is serving as a spokesman for the Hoffman Estates-based company.
Things looked good for Lyle during the first two rounds, when he made the cut at 1 over. But he reverted to his struggling form Saturday when he shot 77.
“I hit a couple of bad shots and absolutely got hammered both times,” Lyle said. “My putting was abysmal, absolutely abysmal.”
