Note To Smugglers: Know What A Handicap Is

Thanks to Putmedownfora6 for this priceless James Tozer story from The Sun detailing Kayti (huh!?) Dryer, who had checked golf clubs and paid a visit to Customs where they asked her what her handicap was.

When she was unable to answer, they seized the clubs and found £83,000 worth of cocaine hidden inside the shafts.

Yesterday the 23-year-old was starting a four-year prison sentence after admitting smuggling the drugs.

Dryer was questioned after her golf bag was X-rayed at Manchester Airport when she got off a flight from the Caribbean in April. She claimed to have taken the clubs on holiday to Montego Bay in Jamaica.

An airport source said: 'When asked about her handicap, she looked blank and asked them to repeat the question. They asked her again, she gave no response.

'She clearly did not know what they were talking about and had no idea it was even a golfing term. It appeared as if she thought they were asking her if she had a disability.'

Traces of cocaine were revealed when Customs officers swabbed her luggage, and when they cut the clubs into pieces they found a 1kg stash.

Daly's GF Offers Hints Of Possible Daly Wives Collection

Since platinum blond is the signature method for detection by most American Tour wives/girlfriends/partners/etc..., perhaps John Daly's girlfriend is signaling the next trend for getting noticed: matching outfits. Or perhaps it's the next clothing line, though something tells me Daly Wives Collection won't make the final name cut.

As captured by SI's Bob Martin, among other less disturbing first round images.

"Tiger Woods's nasty push into the burn on 16 is one of the worst shots I've seen him hit in a major. Ever."

Alan Shipnuck says that shot and his opening 71 add up to a "pretty ominous sign."

More importantly, Shipnuck notes this about his playing partner:

Round of the day might have been Ryo Ishikawa's 68, accomplished playing in front of his hero Tiger Woods and his nemeses--the hundred or so Japanese reporters that obsessively chronicle his every twitch. For his first spin around a true links course, to say nothing of the holy Open, the kid displayed admirable imagination and tremendous poise. Take that, Rory!

Bob Harig runs though the round highs and lows and the link also features video of Tiger's post round press conference.

For the day, he hit just 8 of 14 fairways, despite using mostly irons off tees. He did hit 12 of 18 greens and needed 30 putts.

Ian Chadband in the Telegraph offers a, uh, more detailed account of the round's saltier moments.

His confidence with the driver seemed so low that he used it just three times and found himself in the rough each time. Yet even his long irons from the tee let him down.

At the third, when he hoiked his drive left, he cried "Godammit!". On the 13th, when he ploughed one into a bank on the right of the fairway, the expletive was shorter and sharper.

Update on 2009-07-16 18:36 by Geoff

Jim McCabe on Lee Westwood and the circus surrounding the pairing:

“I can say a couple of times I stood off,” Westwood said, and for sure there were two moments when he shot an icy stare at the photographers. “But I didn’t play a shot where I wasn’t concentrating and wasn’t ready to play that shot.”

It was a head-scratcher when R&A officials announced the Woods-Ishikawa pairing. (Westwood was no surprise. After all, it’s the fourth time he’s been grouped with Woods in the opening two rounds of a major. Must be a “w” thing.) Woods easily commands the huge majority of camera and reporting interest no matter where he plays. Ishikawa? If he were paired with Happy Gilmore and Judge Smails the Japanese photographers would be out there three and four dozen strong.

So mixing the two media-magnets together, especially on a links golf course where so many of the pathways are narrow and demand slow, cautious travel . . . well, let’s just say that the R&A lads have made wiser decisions. (Of course, it must have thrilled the Japanese TV entity, but surely that’s a coincidence, no?)

Watson Seeks To Be Oldest Post Hip Replacement Non-Champions Tour Major Winner

Watson says he's not surprised by his round, which would be consistent with his pre-tournament comments. What makes it even more amazing is that he's just nine months removed form hip replacement surgery performed here in the Home of the Homeless.

Turnberry, Scotland. July, 2009 -- Tom Watson's first round of 65 put him at the top of the leaderboard of the British Open, nine months after he had anterior hip replacement surgery in October, 2008. Watson returned to competitive golf in January, 2009 just three months after the surgery performed by Dr. Joel Matta at the Hip and Pelvis Institute at St John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. Watson has participated in several Champions Tour events this year.

Turnberry in 1977 was the site of one of the most momentous duels in major championship golf history. Watson and Jack Nicklaus posted 66s on Saturday that year, then Watson bested Nicklaus by a stroke on Sunday, 65 to 66, to win the Claret Jug, the British Open trophy. Two years earlier Watson won his first Open victory at Carnoustie. He went on to win three more titles at Muirfield, Troon and Birkdale. “It’s good to play in an Open at Turnberry again,” said Watson after he returned to the site of his epic 1977 win. His 65 on Thursday defined how well he has recovered from last October's surgery. The March, 2009 issue of Golf Digest featured Watson's hip replacement surgery

The anterior approach surgery procedure is a technique that minimizes the pain and time from surgery to recovery. The anterior approach allows the surgeon to reach the hip joint from the front of the hip as opposed to the lateral (side), or the posterior (back) approach, both of which can cause significant muscular damage. With the anterior approach the hip can be replaced without detachment of muscle from the pelvis or femur during surgery. By way of this anterior approach the surgeon can simply work through the natural interval between the muscles, rather than detaching them. In this way the gluteal muscles that attach to the pelvis and femur are left undisturbed in the anterior approach. Therefore, these muscles do not require a healing process after the surgery.

The merits of the anterior approach procedure are several: 1) Less muscle trauma for the patient; 2) reduced hospital stay; 3) smaller incision - 4 to 5 inches as opposed to 10 to 12 inches; 4) faster recovery - 2 to 8 weeks as opposed to 2 to 4 months; 5) additional benefits include reduced pain, reduced tissue healing required, reduced risk of dislocation, and a more rapid return to normal activities.

Update on 2009-07-16 18:34 by Geoff

Nice memories from Dan Jenkins courtesy of Mike O'Malley about Watson and the '77 Open.

"Can't you keep your men in order?"

John Hopkins on the Monty-Lyle spat:

To outsiders, the tempest at Turnberry was baffling. "Can't you keep your men in order?" an American visitor asked. To others it was a bit like watching an army advancing on a Scottish castle and the generals turning round and seeing that fighting had broken out in their own ranks.

And love the photo accompanying the piece. Though Monty may not care for that profile view, it is worth it for the look on Lyle's face.

Watson Really Doesn't Want To Retire!

In going through Tom Watson's enjoyable interview yesterday, I bypassed his talk of believing he could win. But after a bogey free 65 to take the early lead, I guess I should have paid more attention! Just amazing.

Monty: "I've decided to say nothing" but since you asked...

Peter Dixon features Euro Tour chief George O'Grady's overwhelmingly supportive statement on behalf of Monty after Sandy Lyle's remarks and this from Monty.

“I've had time to digest it and I've decided to say nothing,” he said.

You know I respect that. He wants to put this to rest and, wait, what? Oh...

“I don't think his comments warrant comment. I've come here to play golf and have been hit with this. Just because he is disappointed not to be made captain, please don't take it out on me.”

Okay that's it. Controversy ende...what. He talked to Lawrenson too?

'It has to affect whatever friendship we had, doesn't it?' he said. 'I just think it is so sad after I had supported his candidacy to be Ryder Cup captain through the whole process. Why does he feel the need to take it out on me? Is it my fault that the committee decided that they would like a younger man?'

Asked if it had ended any chance of Lyle being a vice-captain, Monty replied: 'I think you know the answer to that one.'