GOLF:THEY CAME in their droves to hail golf's newest superhero. Instead, they got a great Dane who over time has suffered his share of demons. This time, in this 140th edition of the British Open, Thomas Bjorn, eight years on from his calamitous finish to the 2003 championship, strode the fairways with a purpose and brilliance in shooting a 65, five under par, to get a small measure of redemption for the travails of old.
Payback? Not quite yet, but, on a day which started with the sort of morning chill more reminiscent of a winter slot in the calendar rather than peak summer, Bjorn’s endeavours – coming just over a month after the death of his father – warmed the hearts of the huge galleries who filed over the dunes and hillocks in this corner of south-east England.
Bjorn wasn’t alone, though. Far from it, in fact. Late on, there was a sting in the tail.
Tom Lewis, a 20-year-old English amateur, half the age of Bjorn, benefited from a late tee time – by when the winds which buffeted the morning starters had all but disappeared – to join the Dane on 65.
That left them a stroke clear of Webb Simpson, Miguel Angel Jimenez and former US Open champion Lucas Glover.
The callow Lewis played with the nerve of a veteran.
So the weather and the course combined to create numerous twists and turns. And, as heart-warming as Bjorn’s renaissance and the unlikely contention of Lewis, who earned his ticket through the minefield of qualifying, there were sufficient numbers lurking with intent.
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Among them were Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, who each shot 68s.
Clarke, who has rediscovered the unique characteristics since moving home to Portrush last year, and McDowell, who again showed his fortitude by recovering from a potentially damaging double bogey at the first hole, moved into positions to challenge.
Rory McIlroy, playing in the more difficult morning conditions, opened with a 71.
Pádraig Harrington, though, shot a 73, including a double bogey on the 15th, that left him “disappointed”.
It also left him with work to do to survive the cut.
Clarke, who has seen mind guru Bob Rotella in recent days, is an avowed lover of seaside golf.
“Anytime I step back on links, I always enjoy it. This one is particularly difficult because of the undulation in the fairways and the demand that puts on the second shots. It’s just a real, real tough and stern test.
“You’ve got to stay patient, which has not always been one of my strong points,” he said.
Clarke, who mixed five birdies with three bogeys, appears invigorated any time he plays in this championship.
“The Open is the biggest and best tournament in the world. It’s the only major that’s played on the turf that the game was started on. Why wouldn’t I enjoy it?”
Nobody played as well on the homeward journey as McDowell, who covered the back nine in a mere 31 strokes.
“The putter kept me in there. So, back in 31 was a pretty nice effort. It should make dinner taste pretty good. Thankfully I managed to get things back on track,” he conceded.
The men everyone are chasing couldn’t be more different, one a veteran of the tour – Bjorn is chairman of the European Tour players’ committee – while Lewis, who left school at 16 to play golf full-time, is an amateur intent on making the Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team this year.
Of his decision to swap schoolbooks for the course, Lewis remarked: “I was dyslexic and didn’t really enjoy that side of it. I’m just trying to live as normal a life as possible, but golf is my career and that’s what I needed to do and work hard at it.
“So, hopefully I can carry on doing what I’m doing because it obviously seems to be working right.”
In shooting the lowest round by an amateur in the Open, Lewis also became the first amateur since Michael Bonallack in 1968 to lead the event.
Bjorn, at 40, has history with this place. In 2003, he seemed destined to win the Claret Jug when leading by three shots with four holes to go. The run for home proved to be a catalogue of errors. It was to be the closest he ever got to winning a major, although he did finish runner-up to Phil Mickelson in the 2005 US PGA.
That was the year – 2005 – when Bjorn, 12 months after walking off the course at the K Club citing demons in his head, also contrived to run up a septuple-bogey 11 at the 17th in the final round of the European Open when he had the title in his grip.
Yesterday was like a blast from the past for Bjorn, who only got into the field as a reserve when Vijay Singh withdrew through injury. “I’ve always promoted myself, I will keep going and keep going. You try to make the best of every single day and that’s what I have done.
“I don’t play the golf that I used to, but I did today. But most of the time I don’t. That’s down to a lot of issues, I think. Losing the golf swing over a couple of seasons where I found golf extremely difficult, where when you were younger you probably found it a little easier. There’s a lot of issues.
“But I look ahead and I always look ahead. I’m 40 years old, and there might just be a little bit more in me.”
The next few days will tell.
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