A ROUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE.Byline: Brad Townsend Dallas Morning News Tommy Armour This article describes the early 20th century golfer Tommy Armour. If you are looking for the current golfer, see Tommy Armour III. Thomas Dickson Armour (September 24, 1894 – September 12, 1968) was a Scottish-American professional golfer. , Henry Cotton, Ben Hogan Noun 1. Ben Hogan - United States golfer who won many major golf tournaments (1912-1997) Hogan, William Benjamin Hogan , Gary Player Gary Player (born November 1, 1935) is a South African professional golfer generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the game's history. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. , Tom Watson. Jean Van de Velde Jean Van de Velde (born 29 May 1966 in Mont-de-Marsan, Landes) is a French golfer who is known mainly for his loss at The Open Championship in 1999. Van de Velde turned professional in 1987 and his rookie season on the European Tour was 1989. ? Formidable Carnoustie, which has hosted five previous British Opens and produced five legendary winners, has a most unlikely midway leader. He's Van de Velde van de Velde: see Velde, van de. , a Frenchman with one victory in 11 European PGA Tour The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the USA's main professional golf tours. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. Its name is officially rendered in all caps as “PGA TOUR". seasons. Van de Velde is 1 over for the Open, thanks to a tournament-best, 3-under 68 on Friday. Argentina's Angel Cabrera, who shot 69 on Friday, trails Van de Velde by one shot. Van de Velde and Cabrera? Leading arguably the most prestigious golf major, on what contestants are calling the most difficult course setup in recent major tournament memory? Unfortunately for Van de Velde and Cabrera, 36 holes remain and major- tournament-tested players such as Greg Norman Noun 1. Greg Norman - Australian golfer (born in 1955) Gregory John Norman, Norman , Tiger Woods and Jesper Parnevik lurk within four shots. And, Saturday's forecast calls for rain and 30 mph wind gusts. Van de Velde, 33, never has been in this position. Then again, few French-born players have. The last Frenchman to win the Open was Arnaud Massy, in the 1907 edition at Hoylake, England, with a score of 314. ``I've heard there's always a first time,'' Van de Velde said. ``Sure, I'm there, and I'm going to go out there and do exactly the same thing - try to enjoy. I know it's a major championship, but it's just a golf tournament.'' Perhaps. But Carnoustie continues to prove it is anything but just another golf course. Disaster is just a shot away. The contenders know their chances can be crippled on any given hole. Sometimes, bad holes and high scores snowball, and hopes can disappear altogether, like a shot into the knee-high hay. Exhibit A: Rodney Pampling. Remember him, the first-round leader? He followed Thursday's 71 with an 86 Friday. He became the first first-round leader in the Open's 128-year history to miss the cut, at 15-over. Exhibit B: Norman. He was 5 under for his Friday round, 1-over for the tournament, as he came to the 17th hole. After hitting his tee shot into the right rough, Norman couldn't even see his ball as he swung at his second shot. He whiffed. Norman took a triple-bogey 7 on the hole and fell to 4-over. Obviously, Norman, the '86 and '93 Open champion, is within striking distance. But he left the 18th green with more kindling kindling (kinˑ·dling), n change in brain function wherein repeated chemical or electrical stimuli induce seizures. kindling 1. parturition in the doe rabbit. for the Carnoustie bonfire. ``I don't think hitting a tee shot off the fairway by nine feet deserves something like that,'' Norman said. ``In my estimation, I don't think that's the way the game of golf should be played.'' Carnoustie has a history of weeding the weak, drawing the cream to the top. But some of golf's alleged cream already has curdled cur·dle v. cur·dled, cur·dling, cur·dles v.intr. 1. a. To change into curd. See Synonyms at coagulate. b. . Among those who missed the 12-over cut were Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson, Tom Lehman, Nick Faldo, Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, defending champ Mark O'Meara, Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia. Still, there are more than enough big names to make this an intriguing weekend. Can Norman, whose career was threatened last year by shoulder surgery, win another major, at age 44? Can either Woods or Justin Leonard, two of golf's ballyhooed 20-something generation, win a second major? Can Colin Montgomerie, who is seven shots back after a 76 on Friday, win his first major and become the first Scot since Armour in 1931 (at Carnoustie) to win the Open? Previous Carnoustie British Open winners - Armour, Cotton, Hogan, Player and Watson - combined to win 32 majors. Van de Velde does not fit that profile. His best European Tour Order of Merit Order of Merit Noun Brit an order awarded for outstanding achievement in any field (money list) finish is 18th, in 1996. ``I'm going out there and definitely enjoy it because I'm going to see everybody is having problems,'' Van de Velde said. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) The numbers tell the sad story for Vijay Singh, Rocco Mediate and especially Sergio Garcia. Elise Amendola/Associated Press (2) Naomichi Ozaki blasts out of the sand from a bunker on the 15h. Only five golfers broke par Friday after none did in the first round. Associated Press BOX: LEADERBOARD lead·er·board n. A board that displays the leaders in a competition. leaderboard Noun a board displaying the current scores of the leading competitors, esp in a golf tournament Scores from the second round at Carnoustie |
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