Thaindian News

By V. Krishnaswamy
St. Andrews (Scotland), July 15 (IANS) Tiger Woods shot a 67. Not a bad start for a man who is desperately searching for his 15th Major title and also hoping for redemption after all the off-course activity in his life over the past eight months or so.

He began with a par and then turned in three-under and was six-under through 16. Then came the Road Hole, where he bogeyed, but the quip of the day in the stands came on the 18th.

A wag commented, “That’s quite appropriate that he goes into the Valley of Sin,” when Tiger drove into the deep depression in the course before the 18th green. His approach from there was somewhat weak and he was about seven to eight feet for a birdie, which he missed.

Interestingly, it was from within the Valley of Sin that John Daly shot his famous 65-foot putt to force a tie-breaker in which he beat Constantino Rocca in the 1995 British Open.

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Scoring at St. Andrews and Four Seasons in a day

You can see and experience all four seasons in a single day, maybe less, in Scotland, they say. And for that reason alone, the weather is always a major factor at the Open. Rain, heat, cold, wind and whatever else you can think of. More so, because all the courses which stage the Open either run along the sea or are close to it.

Then the fact that the first tee off on the first day is as early as 6.30 am - the 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie had that time this morning and said he would jump over the fence from his hotel next door and get ready - and the last at 4.21 pm means the weather could change along the day.

But so far Thursday, the first day, the weather has been perfect for golf. Grey, it has been, but with no wind, the scourge of all golfers. The net result: the morning has seen more reds than blacks - under par as compared to over par -

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Purple Paisley Pants and Hooters girl for John Daly

Anna Cladakis. By the time the week is over, that name could well become even more famous than it is now. Daly, who has shot a bogey in four marriages, has had a new girlfriend, Cladakis for more than a year now. The former Hooters girl, who has been promoting Daly, is always seen a skirt in a design similar to the pants Daly wears. On Thursday, she wore a skirt in Purple Paisley design, just as it was on Daly’s trousers.

Interestingly, last week, Anna was asked not to sell memorabilia, while following her boyfriend at Loch Lomond. She was selling caps and golf balls and she claimed it was for a charity.

Daly has to pay the IRS a million dollars in past taxes.

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A Claret Jug has many uses

Stewart Cink was a bit emotional when he returned the Claret Jug, which he snatched from Tom Watson at Turnberry last year. That Jug, Cink revealed has seen a lot of use.

Cink, a master tweeter, has had Guinness from it; his kids have had cola from it and he used it during his American Independence Day celebrations and the trophy was covered in barbecue taste. He thought it had been cleaned but then found it had some sticking on it and cleaned it in Dublin while on way to St. Andrews. Finally, when he handed it over to R&A, it was in perfect condition.