12th no picnic for the players
Fresh breeze blowing towards the Irish sea, the low, hissing whine of grasshoppers hiding in the untamed clumps of grass, a butterfly or two fluttering by as spectators, between the odd smattering of applause, work on their tans. Is this setting idyllic enough for you?
It certainly was for one enterprising couple who decided to set up camp on the knoll above the 12th green, complete with picnic basket and chequered rug.
As John Bickerton struggled with the undulations of the new green, the couple chinked wine glasses in a manner that suggested life doesn’t look much better than when viewed from above the 12th green.
There was some golf too, though the triangled, sloping putting surface made precision vital from 160 yards away.
Little wonder, then, that there were as many grunts as cheers. No wonder one young fan was moved to shout “class shot” when Sandelin, who air-mailed the green, managed to chip his ball to within 10 feet of the cup from a stance that almost defied Issac Newton’s main theory. The pin was positioned in the only flat saucer on the green, but pin-hunting was not the order of the day.
The players deal resignedly with the overhead hum of jets, though one official was so disgruntled that he threatened to flash his ‘Quiet’ sign at the passing 737. Should the flight path have been closed for the duration of the Open? “Sorry, flight BA 654, you cannot get clearance yet, Ian Poulter is reading his difficult putt on the 12th green.”
Air traffic, however, wasn’t to blame for Jamie Spence’s travails. Motoring along nicely at -2, he was long with his tee shot, and his attempted recovery didn’t do much recovering. Thankfully, he holed a monstrous putt to walk off satisfied with bogey.
Occasionally, entire groups missed the green. Like Leslie Walker and his playing partners. The Irish pro was six over by the time he reached 12, but still seemed to be enjoying himself, cracking jokes with his caddy, despite being off the green. Peter Hedblom treated the transient gallery to a delightful bunker shot in the middle of his solid round.
Hedblom came into our sight about 20 minutes before another Swede, Robert Karlsson. His sneak up the leaderboard was briefly halted by a par on the 12th, where the more Swedish-looking Simon Dyson embellished his round with an excellent birdie.
If the 12th can punish, the 15th is supposed to reward. A shiny, tangerine-coloured Nissan sitting proudly at the tee is evidence of that. However, the 15th can be just as punishing an experience. The bluster from the right blowing across from the Irish Sea wasn’t helping. A pushed tee shot is only valuable to the beach-walkers netting a Pro V1.
While it looks unlikely, as the unheralded names saved their pars on the 15th, along came Welshman Mark Pilkington. For a second, we hoped that if anyone emerged from the anonymous bunch to win this tournament, a la David Carter in 1998, we were backing Pilkington.
His par-saving putt might have caught the eye, but not as much as his caddie’s hairstyle. If no other reason than his bag-carrier’s homage to Flock of Seagulls, Pilkington deserves a healthy finish tomorrow.
Speaking of unheralded, it looked, momentarily, like the 15th was going to halt Gary Emerson’s wonderful charge. However, he made a magical up and down, so much so that several members of the gallery got up and followed him for the final three holes.
And the highlight? Well, that would have to be Steve Khan’s monster putt from off the green at the 12th. It brought the crowd to their feet - even those feasting on the chequered rugs.
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