07/17/26 06:39:00
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07/17 06:38 CDT Eric Cole was checking flights home from the British Open. Then
he shot 64 at Birkdale
Eric Cole was checking flights home from the British Open. Then he shot 64 at
Birkdale
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
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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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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