Steve Marino can thank his dad for making sure he got to the British Open. Marino, a 29-year-old American who scuffled to qualify for the PGA Tour, looked right at home at Turnberry with a 2 under 68 today — a most impressive score in windy conditions that put some bite in the course. He had the lead all to himself at 5 under, safely in the clubhouse while most everyone else surrendered ground with the breezes whipping off the Firth of Clyde.
Tom Watson, 59, the star of Day 1, followed a 65 with bogeys on four of the first six holes. Japan’s Kenichi Kuboya had the lead for a while, but lost it — along with his ball — when an errant tee shot at No. 13 led to double bogey.
First-round leader Miguel Angel Jimenez struggled to a 73. The 2003 Open champion, Ben Curtis, took an even bigger hit, going from challenging for the lead (he opened with 65) to possibly missing the cut (he soared to an 80 in the second round).
Overwhelming favorite Tiger Woods started today’s round with a couple of pars, desperately needing to make up ground after facing the largest 18-hole deficit of his Open career. Two-time defending champion Padraig Harrington plodded to a 74 and had a lot of work to do in his quest to keep the claret jug for a third straight year. He was at 3 over 143.
