| AP Sports Headlines |
Sunday, July 21, 2002
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
GULLANE, Scotland (AP) - The real British Open began Saturday. The real Grand Slam ended.
Whipping winds raged off the Firth of Forth, spewing cold rain that sent Tiger Woods to his worst round as a professional - an 81! - and swept away his chances of winning all four majors in the same year.
Ernie Els survived with a 1-over 72, the best score among the final 10 groups that took the brunt of the brutal conditions at Muirfield. That gave him a two-stroke lead going into the final round, and a little more comfort knowing Woods was no longer in the picture.
"I can't take tomorrow easy," Els said after finishing at 208. "I've got to play as hard as I can, like I've done all week. There is a lot of work left."
Soren Hansen of Denmark shot a 73 and was at 3-under 210, while Sergio Garcia, Justin Leonard and 21-year-old Justin Rose were in the group at 211.
Woods was 11 strokes behind, far enough to offer a rare concession when asked whether his bid for the Grand Slam was over.
"Yeah, probably," Woods said. "There are too many guys between me and the lead. All I can do tomorrow is shoot a low number and see what happens. It was frustrating to put myself this far behind."
He wasn't alone in his misery.
Woods was among 10 players who failed to break 80 as the Muirfield links struck back with a vengeance.
"This is the British Open. This is the way the weather is supposed to be," said Scott McCarron, who joined former Open champion Justin Leonard as the only Americans among the top dozen players chasing Els.
Woods went through nearly 12 new gloves trying to keep his hands dry. Shigeki Maruyama ducked behind a wooden backstop on No. 8 to stay out of the cold, raw wind. Visors and baseball hats gave way to stocking caps.
The wind was so vicious that some players had to hit drivers on the 213-yard fourth hole, and still couldn't make it all the way to the green. Colin Montgomerie, who had a personal-best 64 in the British Open on Friday, was 20 strokes worse in the third round, the biggest turnaround in the 142-year history of the tournament.
"These were some of the toughest conditions I've ever seen in an Open championship," Els said. "On the front nine, there almost was not a par to be made out there."
The wind finally eased when Els got to the 12th hole, and he took advantage. He surged into the lead by hitting a 5-iron within 5 feet for birdie on No. 16 and reaching the par-5 17th hole in two shots to set up a two-putt birdie.
That's where Woods made his only birdie of the day. When his 4-foot putt disappeared, he raised both arms in mock celebration and took a bow.
"It just wasn't meant to be today," Woods said.
Starting the third round only two strokes out of the lead, Woods was poised to climb into contention for the third leg of the Grand Slam. Simply the sight of his name on the leaderboard is usually enough to get everyone's attention.
On a day like this, that was the least of anyone's worries.
"This was the first time I really didn't think about Tiger," Els said. "I was just trying to survive. Today wasn't a day for Tiger watching."
Besides, Woods never made it to the board.
He hit only one fairway on the front nine and made his first double bogey in a major championship since the first round of the PGA Championship last year. When he missed a 21/2-foot putt on No. 14, he already was 11 over for the day.
"Thank God I was grinding," he said. "It could have really been a high number."
Another testament to the miserable weather: No one was terribly shocked by seeing an 81 next to his name.
"You're seeing the best player in the world, possibly the best player to play the game, have a very difficult day," McCarron said. "It can make anybody look silly."
Until Saturday, Woods' worst round had been a 79 when he was a 20-year-old rookie playing in the 1996 Australian Open.
This was far most costly.
The first player in 30 years to win the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year, Woods lost any hope of winning all four professional majors in the same season - and quieting critics who don't recognize as a real Grand Slam his four in a row over the 2000-01 seasons.
Els won't have to worry about Woods, but the British Open remains just that: open.
Hansen, whose first career victory came last month in the Irish Open, holed crucial par putts to stay in contention and will play in the final group at a major for the first time.
The real threat could come from the collection of players behind him, especially Garcia, who is making a habit of contending in the majors. He had to endure nine holes of the wicked weather, but still escaped with a 72.
Leonard and Rose got into the mix through the luck of the draw. They were tied for 50th when the third round began, and each posted a 3-under 68 before the leaders teed off and the rain started coming down sideways.
With every shot the wind carried into the waist-high weeds, with every ball that bounced wildly into the pot bunkers, with every bogey - or worse - suffered by the final 10 groups, their position improved.
Now, they are only two back with 18 holes to play, along with Thomas Bjorn, McCarron, Maruyama and Des Smyth, the 49-year-old Irishman who is trying to become the oldest player to win a major.
Even defending champion David Duval, who left Muirfield thinking he would need a 62 to have a chance, was only five shots behind.
Indeed, the silver claret jug could belong to any number of players.
Just not Tiger Woods.
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