BRITISH OPEN / DAILY REPORT : Odds on Watson Have Attracted Some Hefty Bets

Listen hard around Turnberry, Scotland, and you can hear the wringing of hands at the Coral bookmakers’ shops.

That’s because Tom Watson is only three strokes off the lead and talking as if he can win the British Open. If he does, Coral stands to lose 1.5 million pounds.

“Am I making the bookies nervous?” Watson said.

Watson wouldn’t say if he had bet on himself, but if smiles count for anything he probably did.

The circumstances reminded Watson of a story told him recently by Lee Trevino. It seems Trevino went to Muirfield in 1972 to defend his British Open title and took with him 12 friends from the United States. The friends went to the local bookies, took advantage of the unusually high odds for a defending champion, and then watched as Trevino won the tournament.

“They had suitcases full of money,” Watson said. “Literally, suitcases full.”

After Thursday’s round, Watson’s odds had dropped to 14-1. He was at 50-1 earlier in the week.

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So much for aura.

Both Jonathan Lomas and Loren Roberts are playing in their first British Open, though you wouldn’t have known it Thursday. Lomas shot a 66, Roberts, who finished second at the recent U.S. Open, a 68.

Back in 1980, before Roberts was even a touring pro, he went to Muirfield and tried to qualify for the Open. He missed and never returned. Until now.

“I kind of regret that decision now,” he said. “I wish I would have come over sooner.”

Roberts found British Open religion, all right. He now calls the tournament “the championship of the world.”

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Don’t bother mentioning nationalism to Andrew Magee. Asked if he thought a victory here by an American was meaningful, Magee waved no flags.

“I’m not representing the United States,” he said. “I’m representing me.”

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Nick Faldo’s two-stroke gaffe on No. 17 wasn’t the first time that sort of thing has happened to him. Back in the 1970s, Faldo mistakenly hit the wrong ball during a tournament in South Africa.

This time he hit playing partner Jim McGovern’s ball. It happened after their drives settled about 20 yards apart. Faldo walked up to the ball but couldn’t see his identifying logo.

“All I could see was white,” he said.

Figuring it had to be his ball, Faldo whacked away. Error.

The third player in the threesome, Ernie Els, called it “very unfortunate.”

Greg Norman was less charitable.

“You always bend over and check,” said Norman, who suggested that a player can always bend a few blades of grass to check for the logo mark. “It’s just one of those deals you should be meticulous about.”

Added Norman: “The game of golf is a four-letter word. I’m sure a few four-letter words were said out there.”