Kendall Sticks Light Up Troon

Right up until the moment he shot a 66 to take the second-round lead of the British Open at Royal Troon, here’s what Skip Kendall was famous for: cutting off part of his finger while trying to slice a frozen bagel, playing 310 tournaments without winning, waiting tables at an Italian restaurant to make ends meet as a struggling mini-tour player, and for having a pool party at his house break up early when a tornado touched down nearby.

At 39, he’s not exactly the new kid on the block, and even if this is only his third stop at the British Open, who’s counting?

Kendall started playing the PGA Tour full-time in 1993, but no knife, dinner order or twister could have prepared him for how he handled Troon on Friday when he took a one-shot lead over Thomas Levet and a cadre of the game’s biggest names, or for what danger may lie ahead in the suffocating pressure of a major championship.

Maybe it doesn’t matter.

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” Kendall said.

Better saddle up anyway, because it promises to be a bumpy ride.

Kendall holed a bunker shot at the third hole and said he started feeling relaxed, but when he rolled in a 50-foot eagle putt at the 16th, he really got loose. Because of the way it made him feel, Kendall swiftly identified his key to success as avoiding as many distractions as possible.

“I think if I can stay relaxed ... I think I’ll be fine,” he said.

It’s a nice philosophy, but the cold reality is that distractions are all they’ve got around here. If it’s not jumbo jets from Prestwick Airport screaming overhead or the train clattering down the tracks beside the 11th tee or nasty bunkers or nastier wind, then there are a few other distractions too.

They are called Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Mike Weir, Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson, who are close enough to Kendall to skip past him at any moment.

Kendall’s 69-66 adds up to a seven-under total of 135, a step ahead of Levet and two shots ahead of Barry Lane and K.J. Choi. But after that, you find the bluebloods. Singh is three shots back after a 70 and tied for fifth with Els, Colin Montgomerie, Michael Campbell and 38-year-old grinder Todd Hamilton, who won the Honda in March.

Mickelson’s 66 matched Kendall for the day’s low round and moved him from a tie for 75th to a tie for 10th.

“I still have a lot of work to do trailing by four shots going into the weekend,” Mickelson said. “But it’s a lot better position than I was after last night.”

Tiger Woods improved his position only slightly, from a tie for 26th to a tie for 18th, but that’s what a round of par 71 does. In fairness, Woods had the toughest weather, an unruly crosswind that dominated the morning tee times only to fade away in the afternoon.

Weir had a 68 and is tied with Goosen, Mickelson, Kenny Perry and Scott Verplank.

Els, who won the British Open at Muirfield two years ago, said he should have scored better, then veered out of his way to praise Kendall.

“The game Skip’s got, he’s perfect for links golf,” Els said. “He hits the ball pretty low, he hits it straight and he’s a good putter.”

But Els correctly pointed out that Kendall isn’t exactly alone out there.

“You know, you’d think those top players should be right there, but let’s wait and see. We’ve put ourselves in contention. Let’s see what happens.”

Weir said he feels at home on links courses, possibly because it’s in his blood. Weir is Canadian, but his great-grandfather was born in Scotland, played golf and shot his first hole in one at 87.

“Until he passed away, he carried his own bag,” Weir said. “We used to hustle to catch up with him.”

Weir has a little catching up to do of his own, although he says his task may become slightly easier if he’s able to get the ball close to the hole and putt the way he did Friday. He birdied three consecutive holes, the fifth, sixth and seventh, from three feet, four feet and 15 feet.

Weir dropped a shot when he made bogey at the ninth with a three-putt, but he got it back with a birdie at the 16th. He pitched to four feet and made the putt.

“I need to kind of plot my way around the golf course and I did that well today,” Weir said. “I hit the ball low, anyway, so I don’t have to fight that, to keep the ball down.”

Perry’s first two days have amounted to a 36-hole thrill ride. He eagled his first hole Thursday, shot 31 on the front and was four over on the back. He double bogeyed the Postage Stamp on Friday and shot two over on the front, then birdied four of the last five holes.

“I’m telling you, it’s tough to get comfortable on this golf course,” he said.

Speaking of comfort levels, Woods made his way around the back nine by making par at every stop and that’s not a bad way to play, especially when you’re dealing with a wind that wasn’t what anyone expected, blowing mostly left to right instead of straight in his face.

“It would have been difficult to try and pick up shots coming back in,” Woods said. “Going in on today’s wind, I could probably get there in two on 16 [a par five], that’s the only opportunity to get one back if you hit good shots, but when the pin is on the left, it’s difficult to get real close.”

Woods was two under through six holes but made bogeys at the seventh and ninth. He said he was proud of his patience.

“I’m right there with a chance going into the weekend,” he said. “That’s right where I want to be.”

Kendall wouldn’t trade his position for a thing. This is his 13th major and his best result is a tie for 10th at the 1998 PGA at Sahalee. This year at the Bob Hope, he nearly broke through for his first victory, but Mickelson beat him in a playoff, the third Kendall has lost.

He says he’s close to winning, though, and he couldn’t always say that when he was living in Orlando in 1989 and working a split shift at the Olive Garden, knocking golf balls in a field during his break while still wearing his waiter’s bow tie.

“I really think it’s just a matter of time,” Kendall said. “Hopefully, this will be mine.”*

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Leaderboard

Second-round scores on the par-71 Royal Troon course in Scotland:

Skip Kendall...69-66--135

Thomas Levet...66-70--136

Barry Lane...69-68--137

K. J. Choi...68-69--137

*

OTHERS

Vijay Singh...68-70--138

Ernie Els...69-69--138

Colin Montgomerie...69-69--138

Retief Goosen...69-70--139

Phil Mickelson...73-66--139

Tiger Woods...70-71--141

*