Open Championship Sunday Reads

Perhaps the lack of air conditioning, paltry ice cubes and no SportsCenter has caught up to the inkslingers, because after a week of inspired writing Saturday's third round did not create much in the way of great reads. Most of the stories are built around the Wood and Cabrera comments appearing in the posts below this. 

Alan Shipnuck wins for best lead of the week, and not because he gave this site a really nice plug in the same post.

Crikey, I can't believe these people ruled the globe for so many years. You've already heard my sob story about the air conditioning (or lack thereof) in my hotel. Tonight the elevators went out, too. Upon trudging up the stairs to my room after a grody dinner I discovered that the Internet service was also kaput. This second-round wrap-up is hours overdue, but don't blame me, blame the Queen!

Rich Lerner delivers his hooks and cuts from Liverpool, and like Shipnuck, is just loving the accomodations.

I miss the 500 channel American television universe. Our hotel features five stations. I watched The Golden Girls in German last night.

Kevin Mitchell in the Observer reports what the bookies think about Sunday's showdown:

Cabrera, 36 and sporting a belly that betrays a love of life, will have to conquer the considerable presence of Tiger Woods, the precocious, unreliable talent of Sergio Garcia, the eccentric putting of Chris 'Claw' DiMarco, the equally odd whirlwind golf of Jim Furyk and the icy science of Ernie Els. The bookies think he has little chance. He is at 14-1. Odds on the others are predictable: 4-5 Woods, 4-1 Els, 6-1 Garcia, 7-1 DiMarco and 10-1 Furyk.

Golfonline's Cameron Morfit looks at the on the variety of styles that work at Hoylake and links golf in general.

Ed Sherman is the first to give Hoylake a passing grade.

It is hard to argue with the quality and the variety of the leaderboard produced at Royal Liverpool this week. The big names are in the hunt, and there's a good combination of power players and short hitters.

"It's a very fair golf course," Tiger Woods said. "You can play it so many different ways and it lends itself to a bunch of different styles. [If you hit] quality golf shots around this golf course, you're going to give yourself plenty of opportunities."

Here's a birdie for Royal Liverpool. It may not be flashy, but it is getting the job done.

Lorne Rubenstein writes about ways to enjoy the Open on the web and kindly mentions this site. In case the link doesn't work, here's a Google Canada search link that should let you find the article that will direct you to some sites you may or may not know about.

And Will Buckley checked out Ben Crane's game Saturday.

Watching him in on the 1st tee, it was easy to see why playing with him might be wearisome. There was a wiggle, a look, a wiggle, a look, a wiggle, a look, a double wiggle, a look, a wiggle, a look, a wiggle, a look, a final wiggle, and then he hit the ball.

Off the fairway, he was no quicker. A test for wind, a chat to his caddy about yardage, a club selection, caddy tests for wind, Crane positions himself two yards back from the ball, a couple of practice swings, he approaches the ball, a look, a wiggle, a look, a wiggle, a look, a wiggle, a look, a wiggle, a look, a wiggle, and the ball is struck.

And, sad to say, he is no faster on the green. Here he spends plenty of time in the crouch position with his hands cupped round his ears for maximum concentration, then, once he is composed, makes five little practice swings before after five trademark looks finally putting the ball.

All in all, he has the potential to be one of the slowest players seen for a while, right up there with Bernhard Langer at his most phlegmatic, Sergio Garcia at his twitchiest and Glen 'All' Day.