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Norman, Watson End British Open in Style

Posted on: Sunday, 20 July 2003, 06:00 CDT

Former champions Greg Norman and Tom Watson finished the 132nd British Open in style on Sunday while Ernie Els felt his title slipping away.

Norman, who won the last Open to be staged at Royal St. George's 10 years ago, returned a 3-under 68 for a 6-over finish of 290. Watson, a five-time Open winner who has never triumphed here, made 69, also for 6-over. Although neither score threatened leader Thomas Bjorn, they had plenty to smile about.

This is only Norman's third tournament of the year because of a persistent back trouble while Watson's performance soon after his first round 65 at the U.S. Open at Olympia Fields, shows he's in great form ahead of next week's British Seniors Open at Turnberry.

Els, by contrast, has failed hold on to the form that earned him a five-stroke victory at last week's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.

After erratic rounds of 78, 68 and 72, he went into the final 18 holes at 5 over - seven behind leader Thomas Bjorn of Denmark. He bogeyed the first and, although he birdied the fourth, he went bogey, birdie, bogey from the sixth.

Reaching the turn in a 1-over 37, Els could feel his time as British Open champion was running out.

Among other low scores among the early starters on the final round, Stewart Cink made 68, while Rich Beem, Bob Estes, Sweden's Adam Mednik and Ireland's Padraig Harrington returned 69s on a course which has yielded few below par scores in the previous three rounds.

Bjorn has a chance to win his first major championship on Sunday, going into the final round with a narrow lead over several of the world's best golfers.

Bjorn finished with 11 straight pars Saturday for a 2-under 69 at rugged Royal St. George's, giving him the lead for the first time in a major.

He feels like the underdog, and well he should.

Right behind is a roll call of the best players in golf - Davis Love III, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Kenny Perry and Sergio Garcia.

"There's some big names up there," said Bjorn, who was at 1-under 212 and was the only player under par. "I've got to play solid golf to beat them."

Among the top players on Saturday:

- Love, a three-time winner this year, recovered from a bad start to make an eagle and four solid pars down the stretch for a 72, leaving him at even-par 213 and one shot behind.

- Woods dazzled the crowd with two eagles, but four bogeys over his final eight holes dropped him to a 69 and left him two shots behind.

- Garcia chopped out of the rough twice on the 17th hole and was on the verge of posting a big number until holing a 60-yard wedge for "the best par of my life" and a 70.

- Singh turned in the streakiest round of the day with only two pars over his final 12 holes. An eagle-birdie-birdie stretch was followed by four straight bogeys, and the big Fijian showed enough heart to birdie three of the final four for a 69.

"I thought I was totally out of it," Singh said. "Quite happy with the way I finished."

- Perry might be the most dangerous of all. He is the hottest player in golf with three victories in his last four starts, and even a rare trip to the British Open - his first since 1991 at Royal Birkdale - didn't change that. He shot a 70.

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