Random Open Championship Thoughts Day 1

Tiger had one of those sneaky good days. If I wasn’t keeping track of the scores on the internet, I would have been surprised at the end of his round.

I was impressed with the way that Tiger stuck to his game plan. He started off a little rocky, but didn’t alter it. No flash there, just patience.

I felt sorry for Nick Faldo. He’s over-the-hill, was paired with the world’s most-watched golfer and after his experience as a television commentator, had to know what they were saying about him in the booth.

Phil Mickelson didn’t look like he was suffering from post US Open blues.

I’m amazed at how tight it is on the leaderboard. There are 32 players at -3 or better; the leader, McDowell is at -6. Heck, there are 13 players tied at -4. It’s anyone’s round right now. But, I think, look for Fukabori, Owen, Wall, Crane, Fraser, Ho, Ilonen and a couple of other second-tier players to fall off tomorrow.

At the Open Championships, I am always impressed with how different that style of course is from the ones we play here in the States. Watching them play simply steels my resolve to get over there sooner rather than later.

Its interesting to see a course where the primary colors are shades of brown and not green.

From what they showed, David Duval looked pretty good. So did Ernie Els and Fred Couples.

The Brits are in a good position to get their trophy back.

I’m sticking with Jim Furyk as my pick for this major.