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SOUTHPORT, England: Greg Norman continued to roll back the years at the British Open on Friday, the veteran Australian moving into a share of the lead early in is second round at Royal Birkdale.
The 53-year-old, who married tennis legend Chris Evert last month, spends more time on the tennis courts than on the golf course these days.
He fits in tournaments when business commitments and injuries allow and he is making his first appearance at the Open since 2005.
But an impressive opening round of 70 demonstrated that the 1986 and 1993 Open champion still knows his way around a links course.
He can also still rival the world's best with a putter in his hand, as he proved by sinking a 50-foot putt for birdie on the first green to get to one under par.
Norman then holed a 15-footer to save par at the second and he briefly held the outright lead as overnight leaders Rocco Mediate, Graeme McDowell and Robert Allenby all dropped shots on their opening holes.
Mediate bogeyed the 499-yard 6th hole, a brute of a par four. But he reclaimed a share of the lead at the short seventh, where he landed his tee shot within six feet of the pin for his first birdie of the day.
Allenby got off to a poor start with bogeys on his first two holes to drop back to one over while McDowell dropped a shot on the second.
The first round leaders were fortunate to play their opening rounds late in the day on Thursday, by which time the atrocious weather that derailed the likes of Vijay Singh and Ernie Els had abated.
Conditions remained tough on Friday morning but not tough enough to prevent another experienced campaigner, France's Jean van de Velde, from reaching the turn at two under for the day, leaving him at one over for the tournament.
The weather was predicted to deteriorate over the course of the day, leaving later starters including South Africa's Retief Goosen facing the prospect of playing both their first two rounds in the worst conditions.
- AFP/vm
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