Forgotten man Hamilton enjoys rare moment in the sun

Forgotten man Hamilton enjoys rare moment in the sun

Like
Dislike







Ed Osmond July 18, 2013 8:48 AM

.

View gallery
Todd Hamilton of the U.S. hits his tee shot on the second hole during second round play at the 2009 Masters …


By Ed Osmond

GULLANE (Reuters) - American Todd Hamilton, shock winner of the 2004 British Open, was briefly the clubhouse leader of this year's tournament after shooting a first-round two-under-par 69 on Thursday.

Playing in the second group out, the 47-year-old showed glimpses of the form that brought him the Claret Jug nine years ago with four birdies around the Muirfield links.

It was a rare moment in the spotlight for the unassumingHamilton who has never won again on the U.S. or European Tours since beating Ernie Els in a playoff to claim the Open title at Troon.

"I definitely thought my golfing career would have been better after that than it was," he told reporters.

"(It has been) terrible," added Hamilton. "I try not to reflect on it. It's been trying, I guess. There's been days where I didn't want to play."

Hamilton was a prolific winner on the Japanese circuit before earning his U.S. PGA Tour card at the eighth attempt in 2003.

He won the Open and the U.S. Tour's Honda Classic in 2004 but was unable to maintain his form and has had only three top-10 finishes on his home circuit since.

"Looking back I had done a lot of good things overseas at places that people probably wouldn't know that golf even exists," Hamilton said.


"I played a lot in Japan, I played a lot in Asia. So when I won the Open I was kind of at the end. I think I was 38, so I was kind of close to the end of the decent career," he added.

"I thought it was decent, I just didn't do it on the European Tour or U.S. Tour."

Hamilton never achieved celebrity status in the United States, even in his sleepy former home town of Oquawka, Illinois.

"I think I get recognized more over here than I do in my home country which is kind of an oddity," he said.

"I walk down the street, had dinner the other night, and we were sitting outside of a little fish and chip place. The owner knew who I was."

Hamilton felt comfortable on the Muirfield links, even though he has only twice made the cut in eight British Open appearances since Troon.

"I enjoyed it," he said. "I do enjoy this style of golf. I think it takes a person that is very happy with not only their game but themselves.

"You've got to be very confident and do stuff that you feel you can do, otherwise you try to chase the game. And on courses like this it is very difficult. "

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

Miguel Angel Jimenez off to another fast start at Open Championship

Miguel Angel Jimenez off to another fast start at Open Championship

Like
Dislike








.

View gallery


Miguel Angel Jimenez is looking to become the first Spanish champion at the Open since Seve Ballesteros in 1988.(Getty Images)

PGA.COM July 18, 2013 9:45 AM


By Steve Douglas Associated Press

GULLANE, Scotland (AP) -- Leaning on his putter and gazing out toward the Firth of Forth, Miguel Angel Jimenezhad the look of a contented man as he waited his turn for a birdie attempt under sunny skies on the 11th green.

The pony-tailed, pot-bellied, cigar-smoking Spaniard had birdied five of his first nine holes -- including the first three -- and was leading the Open Championship by three strokes early in the first round.

Not bad for a 49-year-old man who recently returned to action after breaking his right leg in a skiing accident.

He couldn't quite keep it up, though, missing that putt and making two bogeys on his back nine to shoot a 3-under 68. But the charismatic Jimenez is still on the leaderboard.


"I would love to have a major in my career," Jimenez said. "I would love to have one of these. I don't know how much longer for me on the tour. I'm 49, you know."

Unless a Scot goes on to lift the claret jug, there would likely be no more popular winner than Jimenez, a Ryder Cup stalwart and the owner of a frame that could generously be described as portly.

He would become the oldest winner of the oldest major -- Old Tom Morris holds the record at 46 from back in 1867 -- as well as the first Spanish champion at the Open since Seve Ballesteros in 1988.

But Jimenez won't be getting ahead of himself. He has been here before at Opens, where his fast starts are now commonplace.

At Turnberry in 2009, he was the first-round leader but came home tied for 13th, and he was one off the first-round lead at Sandwich in 2011 after a 66.

This year's showing is even more impressive since he missed the first three months of the season after his skiing fall while on vacation in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Andalucia, southern Spain.

"If you break your leg at 30 years old, you can say, `OK, I'm going to have a sabbatical year,' but at 49 you don't want to spend any sabbatical day," Jimenez said, laughing. "It's tough so many months without hitting. Just knowing the competition that is around."

Jimenez, who is playing with padding under his left elbow because of tendonitis, became the oldest winner in European Tour history when he won the Hong Kong Open last year at 48 years, 318 days.

He's looking to make more history at Turnberry.

Golf-Rory's story is a sad one as he balloons to a 79

Golf-Rory's story is a sad one as he balloons to a 79

Like
Dislike







July 18, 2013 10:21 AM



By Tony Jimenez

GULLANE, Scotland, July 18 (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy's woes continued in the first round of the British Open on Thursday as the world number two slumped to an ugly opening 79, eight over par.

The 24-year-old Northern Irishman, whose form has deserted him since he changed clubs at the start of the year after signing a mega-bucks deal with Nike, sported a look of sad resignation when he walked off the 18th green at Muirfield.

The scorching sun may have been beating down on the banks of the Firth of Forth but the storm clouds hovered over McIlroy's head from the start.

The double major champion dropped strokes at the fourth and fifth before getting one back with a birdie at the seventh.

McIlroy then dropped four shots in three holes from the 10th before he produced a wonder stroke from the knee-high rough at the 14th, coaxing the ball to within six feet of the pin from a seemingly impossible position.

It was, however, a rare moment of delight amid the overall gloom. He then proceeded to putt the ball straight into a back bunker from the front of the 15th green to card his second double bogey in four holes.

Two more dropped strokes at the 17th and 18th means he now faces a battle to make the cut on Friday. (Editing by Pritha Sarkar)