Westwood grabs British Open lead with eagle, Watson still chasing history at Turnberry

Westwood grabs British Open lead with eagle

TURNBERRY, Scotland — England’s Lee Westwood has surged into the British Open lead with an eagle at the par-5 seventh hole, knocking back 59-year-old Tom Watson.

Westwood birdied the sixth to pull into a tie for the top spot, then pulled off a brilliant second shot at No. 7 that stopped about 15 feet from the hole. He rolled in the eagle putt to push his score to 4 under — two ahead of Watson.

The five-time Open champion was trying to become the oldest major winner in golf history. He bogeyed two of the first three holes, then settled himself with a string of pars.

Ross Fisher of England grabbed a two-shot lead early on with a birdie-birdie start, but tumbled down the scoreboard after getting into Turnberry’s treacherous rough at the fifth and taking a quadruple-bogey 8.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

TURNBERRY, Scotland (AP) — Tom Watson has reclaimed a share of the British Open lead after England’s Ross Fisher took a quadruple-bogey 8 when he got caught up in Turnberry’s treacherous rough.

The 59-year-old Watson, trying to become golf’s oldest major champion, bogeyed two of the first three holes Sunday and slipped out of the overnight lead. But Fisher’s woes at No. 5 allowed Watson and surging Englishman Chris Wood to move back to the top of the leaderboard at 2 under.

Fisher birdied the first two holes, the second with a chip-in from behind the green, to get to 5 under — two shots clear of the field.

Then an errant drive led to bogey at No. 4. Another poor drive landed in the thick grass right of the fifth fairway. He needed two swings to hack it out, but the ball shot sideways into even more trouble in the left rough. After taking an unplayable, Fisher finally reached the fairway with his fifth shot.