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To: altair19 who wrote (45146)	7/14/2005 10:32:40 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 104157

The Open 2005: Donald puts old-timers in shade _________________________________________________ Briton shines in presence of Nicklaus and Watson, writes Paul Kelso Friday July 15, 2005 The Guardian sport.guardian.co.uk For 15 minutes yesterday morning memories of golf's most fabled day swirled around the Old Course. Framed by the sandstone facia of the R&A clubhouse and watched by a swelling gallery, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson both drained birdie putts on the first green. For a fleeting moment thoughts turned to Turnberry and the Duel in the Sun, the epic battle 28 years ago that helped cement both men a place in Open championship history. It did not last. By the time the great champions reached the third tee it was not 1977 but avoiding 77 that was uppermost in the minds of a pair battling the march of time as much as the flighty breeze buffeting them from the west. A pair of bogeys on the 2nd meant the scorers could pack away the red numbers for the day, and while the duo with a combined age of 110 and eight Open titles scrapped their way to twin 75s, three over for the round, it was left to Luke Donald, the third member of the group, to underline his status as the European-most-likely. The Englishman coped admirably with the distraction of playing alongside Nicklaus and Watson on the first of the Golden Bear's valedictory rounds this week, shooting a 68 that left him in contention and showered with praise from his playing partners. It goes without saying that Donald was steady. Lacking the length off the tee of the game's bombers, he has an old-fashioned approach that relies on hitting fairways and greens and trusting his putter to do the rest. For the most part yesterday his method held good. Five birdies were collected courtesy of straight drives and crisp short irons between the 3rd and the 14th, and despite a single shot dropped on the short 11th he recorded his first under-par round in 11 attempts at the Open, leaving him well placed to make his first cut. Donald's composure amid the sentimental clamour that followed Nicklaus from the 1st tee to 18th green was confirmation that he is riding an upward curve. Paired with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els in the last two Opens he played like a man overawed and distracted. Yesterday, after another year on the PGA Tour learning that even megastars are mortal, he was unfazed as he accompanied the most distinguished senior two-ball in golf. Initially he avoided distraction by trailing behind Nicklaus and Watson like a junior paired with the club captain in the monthly medal, keeping his eyes on the fairway while the old masters wise-cracked their way ahead of him. Gradually, as it became clear that he was playing a game with which his partners are no longer familiar, he lifted his head and marched at his own pace. "I thought after the first, I hope I don't get beat too badly," Donald said. "But I knew when I saw the draw that I was going to have to do a good job of kind of staying in my own bubble, not get caught up watching Jack or Tom play, and just concentrate on my own golf." Donald's focus and self-assurance were never more apparent than around the greens. One of his strengths is a short game made in America, and rather than over-adapt to suit St Andrews links, yester day he stuck to it. He profited most obviously on the par five 14th, where he and Nicklaus found themselves short of the green with a three-foot swale between them and the cup. While Nicklaus chose a classic links play, snaking a double-breaking putt 30 feet on to the green, Donald took the bank out of play, hitting his lob wedge to three feet to set up the birdie. It was his putting that most impressed his partners. "We played pretty poorly both of us but we got to watch a fine round of golf from Luke Donald," said Watson. "I want to learn a little bit about that putting stroke because he putted beautifully." The five-time champion could not say the same - "I putted awful" - but he did show the odd glimpse his brilliance. A chip off the track at the back of the 17th green, deliberately bumped into the bank to finish four feet from the pin, was sublime. That he missed the par putt was typical of his day but at least he was able to smile at his struggles. The same could not be said for Nicklaus, whose distaste for over-par golf was clear after each of three successive three putts around the turn. The competitive pride that brought him 18 major titles has not faded despite the decline in his game and he bridled at suggestions that today will see his final bow, focusing instead on the 68 he thinks he needs to make the cut. There will be plenty here to see him try. His every step was applauded by huge galleries desperate for a last glimpse of that familiar swing. The routine remains the same - three glances down the fairway, each one followed by a waggle before the trademark knee-hitch sets the club on its way - but the results have changed. "It's a little more difficult from the places I play these days," he said. "The places I used to play from were pretty good. The places I play from now are tougher." Wherever he finds himself today, it will be standing room only.