‘GOOFBALL’ AUSTIN MAKES A SPLASH AT CARNOUSTIE
AMERICAN Woody Austin avoided the water torture that befell Colin Montgomerie and Tom Watson at the 18th yesterday in the Senior Open at Carnoustie. But while the 52-year-old firstround leader from Tampa, Florida managed to steer clear of the Barry Burn, he knows from personal experience what it feels like after falling into a lake during a President’s Cup match. It happened to Austin in 2007 — his most successful year on the PGA Tour — when he slipped while attempting to play a shot. Compared to Monty’s bogey and Watson’s double-bogey finishes for matching 76s, Austin made a far greater splash, as he recalled after posting an opening 68 to establish a one-shot cushion over seven players. He said: ‘I’m the goofball that fell face first in the water and I hear about it all the time: “Where are my goggles?”, “Stay away from the water”, “Oh, don’t fall in”.’ The incident turned the four-time PGA Tour winner into an Internet sensation. But Austin would prefer to be remembered for the quality of his golf and, after getting off to the perfect start yesterday when he sank a 35-foot putt on the first, he appears capable of claiming a fourth Champions Tour victory this year. However, he warned: ‘I forgot how to play after April. There’s been a long trek of ugliness since then.’ But regardless of how he fares this weekend, Austin — runner-up by a shot to Tiger Woods at the 2007 US PGA Championship — regards the over-50s circuit purely as his retirement fund. He said: ‘I’m not into grinding and beating a bunch of balls any more. I did that for 40 years and I’m done. ‘I go home and play with the kids and help run the golf course I own. ‘You’ll find me sometimes weeding and mowing, and I hit balls maybe the Saturday and Sunday before I go back out. ‘That’s my preparation. The only other time I work on my game is when I get to the tournament.’ Compatriot Joe Durant covered the back nine in a hugely impressive 32 blows to share second with the likes of former Open champion Mark O’Meara, while prolific European Tour winner Miguel Angel Jimenez is lurking menacingly on two-under. Jesper Parnevik, bidding to become the third consecutive Swedish winner on Scottish soil in the wake of Alex Noren and Henrik Stenson, is on the same mark as Jimenez and two better than John Daly, the third member of the Watson-Monty marquee three-ball. Bernhard Langer, meanwhile, is three off the pace after an opening 71 in his quest to win an eighth senior major and a third Senior Open title, following his previous successes at Carnoustie in 2010 and at Royal Porthcawl two years ago. Jean van de Velde’s return to the scene of his 1999 Open meltdown, when he squandered a three-shot lead at the last before losing to Paul Lawrie in a three-man play-off, resulted in an 11-over 83. The Frenchman said: ‘I love this course because it’s a tough ask. But if you don’t hit the right shots, you are going to hang yourself.’
CATRIONA MATTHEW has been named as one of Annika Sorenstam’s vice-captains for the European team at next year’s Solheim Cup.