SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Eric Cole had his foot slip on a drive that went 25 yards and was never found. He hit a shank out of play from the rough. So the conversation with his wife after one forgettable round of the British Open was not about golf.
“We were looking at different flights home (to Florida),” Cole said.
No need to change the reservation. All the bounces that went against the 38-year-old American were in his favor Friday as he ran off three
straight birdies on the front nine, four in a row on the back nine and improved 12 shots from the previous day with a 6-under 64 to get back to even par for the championship.
He was not yet in position to contend. But he was not quite ready to leave.
“I was just trying to have a good day and relax and enjoy The Open Championship,” Cole said. “Hit some good shots and didn't get any weird bounces.”
Cole was the first example that Royal Birkdale was more vulnerable in the second round, with lighter wind and accessible pins. Lucas Herbert of Australia tied a British Open record with a 28 on the front nine.
Most peculiar about the 12-shot improvement was that Cole didn't feel as though he played all that much differently than his opening 76 that included three double bogeys.
The shocker was on No. 11 when his right foot slipped on his tee shot, he barely made contact and the ball tumbled about 25 yards away into thick, high grass.
“We never found the ball,” he said. “It just rolled into the gunch. So I had to re-tee. That was another double bogey.”
Then on the par-5 17th, his club caught a clump of grass and turned over, leading to a shank into the trees that forced him into taking a penalty shot and replaying the shot. Another double bogey.
“Tee to green yesterday, I felt like I played great. I know that’s weird to say, but I really did feel like I was hitting the ball where I was aiming and the swing felt good,” he said. “I’m just chalking it up to random outlier.”
This is Cole's second Open but he knew what to expect. His father is South African player Bobby Cole, who finished one shot out of the 1975 playoff at Carnoustie that Tom Watson won and twice has played at Royal Birkdale.
Eric Cole created some memories of his own over two days, good and bad. Friday was so good that Cole briefly thought about a record score when he was 6 under for the day with two par 5s ahead of him. Instead, he finished with five straight pars that figured to give him two more days at Birkdale.
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