The Open Championship Royal St. George's, England, July 2003 Missed cut for Bernhard
	I had the great pleasure of watching Bernhard play his opening shot at this year's Open. Bernhard was warmly welcomed on to the first tee and sent a good opening drive down the fairway. His approach missed the green by just a couple of paces, and from a good lie he chipped to around 6ft, but missed his par put. That opening bogey was to set the trend for the remainder of Bernhard's round. He played well from tee to green, put failed to make any significant impact on the greens. He drove consistently well, and although the stats may suggest he missed more fairways than he found don't be fooled - at this undulating Royal St George's links even the sweetest drive finding the centre of the fairway could be thrown into the rough via an unlucky bounce. Tee to green he was patient and impressive, and the best of the three ball (Langer/Estes/Janzen). Highlight of the first round (and the second round - more later) was at the 8th hole - a long par four playing into the wind with a blind second shot into the green. It was unreachable in two for almost all the competitors and playing the toughest in the first round. Bernhard’s approach came up just short of the green, leaving him a horrible uphill, left to right put or chip of around 70 feet. He decided to put and struck the ball sweetly. Up the hill it went, almost coming to a stop, and then on, meandering towards it's final resting place no more than 4 inches from the hole. A magnificent put that brought gasps from the considerable crowd gathered around the green and in the grandstand. A tap in for a rare par at the eighth. Following Bernhard on the back 9 was a strange experience, because by about the twelfth hole the large galleries were disappearing. Bernhard was one of the last out on the Thursday (2.38pm start), and with Tiger and many of the other big names having been out in the morning most of the crowd were heading home. The wind had really got up by now, so it felt like Bernhard was having his own private battle against the elements. Lowlight of the first round was, without question, the 17th. Through 16, Bernhard was 3 over par and probably lying around 30th position - only a handful of players were under par and if Bernhard could keep his score at 3 over he would be very nicely placed. A good drive found the right hand side of the fairway, but the lie was a poor one - below his feet and on the sharp upslope of a small mound. His approach came up well short of the green, leaving a 'bump and run' of around 30 yards up the green to the pin. From a flat lie on the fairway Bernhard sent his chip crashing through the green and into the base of the grandstand beyond. A rare and ugly blemish. Bernhard took a free drop and chipped his fourth shot to round 8 feet, but failed to sink the put. A double bogey six - and one which must have hurt after a hard day's battling in windy conditions. A good par at 18 left Bernhard on 5 over, but I wonder if he felt, like me, that it should have been two shots better. Bernhard spent some time giving media interviews after his round (probably to the German media I guess) and then came over to sign autographs for the few eager fans hanging around the score hut (me included, so I now have a signed hat - thanks Bernhard!). The second round would be all about making the cut, and Bernhard was again unlucky with the weather. His Friday start time of 9.42am put him onto the course in the windiest of the conditions, with the weather forecast promising calmer conditions in the afternoon. I didn't start well for me either - despite leaving my guest house (which was less than 15 miles from the course) at 7.45am I didn't get to the course in time to see Bernhard tee off. So bad was the traffic that Bernhard was on the 7th green by the time I got there. It was just as well for me that I wasn't ten minutes later, or I would not have witnessed the highlight of Bernhard's Open. On the 8th hole again, Bernhard’s approach came up short of the green but this time some 20 feet short leaving a chip of around 25 yards to the pin. After eyeing up the shot he 'jabbed' the ball forward. It was travelling at some pace, and memories of yesterday's 17th flashed into my head. But this time he had judged it to perfection - the ball looked set to fly into the rough beyond the pin but instead grabbed the turf on the third bounce and gently rolled toward the hole. Just as the gallery were starting to cheer and applaud the ball fell lazily into the cup. The noise level really went up - so much so that all around the course others would know something special had just been witnessed. A birdie at the 8th hole! Now anything seemed possible. But alas more bogeys followed and a second 77 left Bernhard on 10 over par - 2 shots the wrong side of the 8 over par cut. The double bogey on 17 on day 1 really made a difference. It could have been so different if the putter was hot. With the exception of that wonderful long put at the 8th during the first round, I didn't see Bernhard hole anything of real significance. From the short par put missed on the opening hole on day one, it seemed as if every other hole Bernhard would stand over a put of 8 to 15 feet for birdie or par, but none dropped. Two examples of this during the second round - the 242 yard par 3 11th; a towering long iron to a distant speck of a green, a gem of a shot leaving a birdie chance from around 12 feet - missed, and the 17th again; a poor drive and an unplayable lie meant a drop and a mid iron third shot, a superb approach to within 6 feet brought gasps and applause from the gallery, but the par put was missed and with it all chance of making the cut. So Bernhard's open ended after two rounds, but this didn't spoil what was for me a great honour and thrill to follow him playing in The Open - a tournament he has always cherished, which he has come so close to winning, and which he just maybe still can win. I will remember the great approach shots well after the memory of the missed puts has faded. I would like to end this piece with a short word about Bob Estes - Bernhard's playing companion for the two rounds along with Lee Janzen. Bob played a different game entirely, visiting all parts of the course from the tee but sinking some awesome puts to make the cut on Friday. He impressed me very much with his manner after he completed his round - he spent plenty of time signing autographs, answering questions and chatting about his round with the spectators. It was good too see, so well played Bob Estes. He couldn’t get me Pete Coleman's autograph, but that's another story . . . Posted 1/8/2003.