A few comments:
The early guys REALLY had an advantage. So many of them scored low, but its hard to say if they actually were playing better than the guys who teed off the second half of the day. On the second half, I think par was a good score.
But the early guys are SO low—witness McIlroy at an astonishing -9—that it’s going to be hard for the second half players to catch up tomorrow. I actually felt sorry for the late starters who, on the first tee, realized that they were nine shots behind and the weather had turned against them.
I wouldn’t be surprised at this point if McIlroy isn’t the coast to coast leader.
Here’s how bad it is. Els was -3 and is tied for 31st as of this writing.
I got really excited early this morning as John Daly surged into the lead. He’s still just three off the pace. It was interesting to watch him in his post round interview. He was sober, respectful.
Tiger looked pretty good. But I can’t help thinking that the Old Tiger would have shot a 60 in the favorable conditions today. We’ll see how it looks for him tomorrow when he has to play like a mudder.
No magic for Watson. The +1 in those conditions was truly an opportunity missed.
Phil has shown once again why he won’t win an Open Championship. There’s just something about his game that’s not conducive to this sort of golf. He might not even make the cut.
Stricker is even, and tied for 74th as of this writing.
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I am reserving for middle of the round on Saturday whether or not I will start getting excited about Daly.
Often, it is hard to follow-up on a great round like McIlroy’s 63. He will likely come a bit back to the pack after round #2 so players at even par should still be in it with a solid round tomorrow.
It was interesting to see John Daly on the leader board. Based on prior form, he will shoot himself out of it some time on Friday or Saturday.
I only saw Tiger play the last 3 or 4 holes and while I expect him to hang around, his messing up several of the closing holes further confirms he is not the same player as a couple years ago.