HIT AND MISS

* Hit: If Ben Curtis came to your front door one morning, you probably wouldn’t recognize him, but he’s the 2003 British Open champion and a whiz at this links riddle. He finished eighth last year, shot a remarkable 70 in the sunny horror Saturday, and wowed spectators with an eagle on No. 3 -- nine-iron from 165 yards -- that he presumed bunker-bound until cheering budded in the distance. “All of a sudden we walked 10 more yards and they went crazy,” he said.

* Miss: If you’re English and you’re going to shank your second shot on No. 15 and visit the gorse and lose your ball, it probably helps just a tad to find Queen Elizabeth’s second son standing there. Paul Casey went to the foliage and ran into Prince Andrew. “The Duke of York was there and he said he’d hit a ball in there the other day,” Casey said. “I said, ‘Did you find it, sir?’ And he said, ‘No.’ ”

-- Chuck Culpepper