If you are a golf fan, this may be one of the best weeks of the year. Everyone knows that we're two days away from crowning a champion of the 2010 British Open, but there are other big headlines within the Open. For one, Tiger Woods may be getting closer and closer to his normal form. Tiger fired a 67 yesterday, his first sub-70 round since the US Open, and he was just four back of 21-year-old Rory McIlroy, who's first round 63 was the best opening score in British Open history. Woods still has a chance to win, but he took a step back after a 73 today with back-to-back bogeys to start the day. McIlroy, on the other hand, followed his bogey-free round with a birdie-free 80. The notorious John Daly also gained recognition after Day 1 with a surprising 66. Daly, like Woods and McIlroy, couldn't put together another terrific round, as he went into the clubhouse at -2 after a 76. The halfway point has South African Louis Oosthuizen at the top. Oosthuizen, who has missed the cut in six of the previous seven majors he had played in, has a five stroke lead at -12. I feel that picking a winner for a golf tournament is near impossible, but here are a couple of guys who I think we'll be hearing more about this weekend.
Lee Westwood
Is it just me or is Westwood always in contention at the end of majors? I feel like I'm always watching Westwood down the stretch of the final round, never winning, but always coming close. He's got six Top 10s this year, including a win just a month ago in the St. Jude Classic. Westwood was 3rd in last year's Open Championship and has three Top 3 finishes in his last four majors. Top it off with a most-recently bogey-free 71 in today's second round and I think you've got a contender.
Retief Goosen
Retief Goosen is 41 and I don't think he's going to win, but he's quietly in sixth at -5 and I think he's got a good chance to stay in the Top 10 come Sunday. He's been fairly consistent this year and finished tied for fifth in last year's Open and in 2005, the last time the event was held at St. Andrews. He's also a two-time US Open champ, so he knows how to handle the weekend of a major championship. With a 69 and 70 after two days, I think Goosen can stay towards the top of the leaderboard.
Paul Casey
Casey shot a 69 yesterday and today to put him in a tie for third in the tournament heading into the weekend. The one difference is today's round was technically "bogey-free". Casey had 6 birdies...and a triple bogey on 17. He finished tied for seventh in the 2008 Open, his best major finish since 2004. The Englishman started off the season with four consecutive Top 10 finishes and I think that he'll have another here.
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