Turnberry’s revenge: Marino surprise leader of British Open as the ol’ course shows its bite

A surprise leader as Turnberry strikes back

TURNBERRY, Scotland — Steve Marino can thank his dad for making sure he got to the British Open.

Marino, a 29-year-old American who scuffled to qualify for the PGA Tour, looked right at home at Turnberry with a 2-under 68 Friday — a most impressive score in windy conditions that put some bite in the ol’ course.

With props to his father for sending along his passport, Marino claimed the lead all to himself at 5-under 135, safely in the clubhouse while most everyone else surrendered ground to the breezes whipping off the Firth of Clyde. Tiger Woods was just hanging on, still at 1 over as he approached the turn and showing no signs of making a move.

Fifty-nine-year-old Tom Watson, the star of the opening round, followed a bogey-free 65 with bogeys on five of the first seven holes — including four in a row. Just when it seemed he was fading away, the five-time Open champion bounced back with two birdies around the turn, leaving him two strokes back.

Mark Calcavecchia joined Watson in representing the old-timers. The 49-year-old American has put together two solid rounds on the 20th anniversary of his Open triumph right up the road in Troon, shooting 67-69 to get within a shot of the lead.

Marino, who struggled for years to earn his PGA Tour card, got in as an alternate though he had to improvise to make it happen.

“I didn’t have a passport,” he said. “I had to fly my dad down to Florida so he could get my passport and FedEx it to me. … I wasn’t even expecting to play in this tournament.”

His father dashed down to the sunshine state from his home in Virginia, sent along the passport to his son playing in the John Deere Classic and flew back — all in the same day. When Shingo Katayama withdrew from the Open last weekend because of an injury, Marino received the spot.

Though he had never played on a true links course, Marino felt his game was suited to a style of golf that requires imagination and low ball flight.

“I would consider myself a feel player,” he said. “I kind of see shots before I hit them. I don’t really hit the same shot every time. Over here, you kind of have to be that way a little bit and hit some low shots and some high shots and bounce them in there and use the slopes. I’ve really been enjoying the golf over here, for sure.”

For most, this was a day for surviving.

First-round leader Miguel Angel Jimenez struggled to a 73 but wasn’t too upset about it. The ponytailed, cigar-smoking Spaniard got off to a grisly start — a 4-over 39 on the front — but held it together and joined the pack at 137.

“I’m pleased the way I finished, not very pleased with the way I started,” Jimenez said. “You need to put it on the fairways, and I started missing the fairways for a little bit.”

Japan’s Kenichi Kuboya had the lead for a while, but lost it — along with his ball — when an errant tee shot at No. 13 led to double bogey. A 72 kept him in contention among that crowded group at 137, which also included England’s Ross Fisher (68) and South Africa’s Retief Goosen (70).

John Daly, who won at St. Andrews in 1995, made it to an Open weekend for the first time in four years when a 72 left him at 140.

“It was brutal out there,” moaned Daly, who might have said the same about his psychedelic green pants. “The pin placements were extremely tough. The way the wind was blowing, it was impossible to get at them.

“The course — whether it is calm or blowing — your are always 5 feet or 5 inches from a disaster.”

Just ask Ben Curtis, the 2003 Open champion, who was unlikely to miss the cut after an opening 65 had him challenging for the lead. Curtis soared to an 80 in the second round.

“I just hit it bad,” he said. “I got lucky yesterday with the weather. That helped me keep it in play. Today was different.”

Indeed, this was nothing like the first day, when partly sunny skies and barely the hint of a breeze made the course rather defenseless. Fifty players broke part and another 17 were right on the line.

Not Friday.

The morning dawned gray and damp, and the gusty winds turned things treacherous along the craggy Scottish coast. The wind died down a bit in the afternoon, though a hard rain struck briefly, forcing the players to scramble for their umbrellas.

After a disappointing 71 to start the tournament, Woods faced the largest 18-hole deficit of his Open career. Two-time defending champion Padraig Harrington will need a big comeback as well if he’s going to make it three in a row, struggling to a 74 that dropped him to 143.

On a day when low numbers were hard to come by, Marino pulled off one improbable shot after another.

He holed out a sand wedge from 116 yards at No. 3, and did the same with a bunker shot at the sixth for another birdie. There also was a 30-footer for birdie at No. 5, not to mention a 20-footer for eagle at the 17th.

“It was probably one of the best scoring rounds I’ve ever had,” Marino said. “There were points in the round where I felt I was one-putting every hole. I really don’t think I could have shot one stroke less today, to be honest with you.”

Hey, someone deserved to have a little good fortune.

“We were hitting 3-woods into the wind from 210 yards,” said Mike Weir, who went from 67 to 78.

Curtis’ day started promisingly enough — a birdie at the first — but quickly went south when he turned back into the teeth of the breeze. He bogeyed six of the next seven holes before a double bogey at No. 9 sent him around the turn in 42. It didn’t get much better from there, with two more bogeys and another double.

Australia’s Daniel Gaunt had the best score of the second round with a 67 — nine strokes better than his opening 76.

“It suited me to have tough conditions,” said Gaunt, a 30-year-old journeyman ranked 1,212th in the world but in position to make the cut at 143. “I had nothing to lose after being 6 over yesterday. I’m delighted with that round.”