Afternoon delight at British Open

But Thursday in the opening round of the Open, the old saw couldn’t have been more appropriate, as a brisk wind at Royal St. George’s suddenly disappeared.

As a result, a 20-year-old named Tom Lewis shot an Open amateur-record 65 and was joined under par by plenty of players who also needed an introduction. Within five strokes of the lead are guys with the following names — Pablo, Floris, Yuta, Storm, Tadahiro, Jung-gon, Seung-yul, and Hed.

Most of them, like Lewis, had afternoon starting times. On Friday, those same players will tee off in the morning when weather in Sandwich is predicted to be mild, before the hawk returns in the afternoon.

If the weather plays out as anticipated, it will be interesting to see how many players with late/early starting times will make the cut opposed to those with early/late times.

“There is no other golf tournament in the world that is so affected by the weather,” said David Feherty of the Golf Channel.

You think?

Of the 17 players who shot 68 or better on Thursday, 14 teed off in the p.m. Making that stat more astounding is that more players teed off in the morning (87), than the afternoon (69).

Luck-of-the-draw is common in the Open Championship. Last year, Rory McIlroy was victimized by a 1:31 p.m. tee time in the second round, shooting an 80. His other three rounds were 63, 69, and 68. On that same Friday last year, Louis Oosthuizen was in the second grouping of the morning (6:41 a.m.) and was off the course by the time McIlroy teed off, in the clubhouse with a 67.

At least that tournament was played at venerable St. Andrews. This one, at bumpy, clumpy Royal St. George’s, is prone to even more randomness.

So don’t be surprised on Sunday to see someone you’ve never heard of hoisting the Claret Jug. Maybe even a Pablo, a Floris, or a Yuta.

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