THE OPEN: Nagle’s spirit lives on with Aussie charge

BY BRENDAN JAMES AT ST ANDREWS

The spirit of Kel Nagle feels strong during this Open Championship at St. Andrews.

It was here in 1960 that Nagle, who passed away in January, fended off a late charging Arnold Palmer to win the Centenary Open Championship by one stroke in the Auld Grey Toon.

Signage in memory of Kel Nagle behind the 18th green of the Old Course.
PHOTO: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

In tribute to one of the game’s great gentlemen, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club had Nagle’s name posted on the wall beneath the main grandstand overlooking the 18^th green as a mark of respect to his achievement. On the eve of the tournament, with the likes of Palmer and Kel’s old mate Peter Thomson on hand, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson prompted the gallery to stand and applaud in memory of Nagle.

Two days on, and four Australians – Adam Scott, Jason Day, Steven Bowditch and Geoff Ogilvy – are well poised to emulate Nagle’s feat at the Home of Golf.

The second round of the 144^th Open Championship got off to a stuttering start with heavy rain flooding the course, which led to a three-hour and 15 minute delay. When play restarted at 10am (local time) it was Englishman Danny Willett who emerged from the chasing pack. He added a three under-par 69 to his impressive 66 to hold the clubhouse lead.

Dustin Johnson marks his ball on the 14th hole as play ends for the day. PHOTO: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images.

By the time first round leader Dustin Johnson was called to the 1^st tee at 5.48pm, he had been joined at seven under by Scott, local favourite Marc Warren and American Zach Johnson, and was two shots off the lead.

Johnson birdied the 4^th, 5^th, 7^th and 10^th to catch and move above Willett by two strokes on the leaderboard. However, at the par-3 11^th he stumbled with a bogey when he hesitated twice over a three-foot putt because of the wind. When he eventually stroked the par putt it rimmed the edge of the cup and stayed out.

Louis Oosthuizen attempts to keep warm during the late stages of the second round. PHOTO: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

When play was called due to poor light, Johnson was lying just short of the green on the par-4 14^th hole in two shots. He will return at 7am (4pm AEST) with 41 other players to complete their second round.

While Johnson looks in good touch at the top of the leaderboard, Australia’s best players continue to give themselves a shot at winning here.

Jason Day is eight under for the championship through 12 holes, with three birdies on the front nine being offset by his first bogey of the tournament at the par-4 2^nd hole. He continues to impress with his ability to salvage par when caught out of position on the Old Course and then take full advantage of his good shots.

Fellow Queenslander Steven Bowditch put himself in the picture with a three under 69, which could have been even better had several putts on the front nine dropped instead of burning the edge of the hole. His game from tee to green on day two was outstanding. In blustery conditions he missed just two greens in regulation and three fairways from the tee.

“It's going all right,” he said. “I feel like I'm hitting it out of the centre of the club most of the time. I feel like I’ve got pretty good distance control with conditions.

“I don't feel like I've made a putt yet. I feel like I've just sort of – not plodded it around but hit it in the spots I've needed to hit it most of the time with my iron play.”

The crowd watches Geoff Ogilvy play his second shot on the 4th hole. He fireed a second round 68. PHOTO: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images.

Geoff Ogilvy, who improved on his opening round of 71 with a 68, was more upbeat about his putting.

“The putting it's been trending the right way most of the year I would say, with good patches and bad patches,” he said.

“It's just nice to hit the ball really well, and now I'm hitting the ball well enough to compete every week, and if I make a few, then I'm going to do that. Today I think I putted pretty well, really. I holed a nice one on 15, a nice one on 17. It's always nice to see a ball go in the hole when you're putting.”

Ogilvy’s birdies at the 15^th, 17^th and 18^th saw him play the tough back nine in 33, six strokes better than his inward nine in the first round.

Of the other Australians, Matt Jones is three under and tied 25^th, while Greg Chalmers playing in the worst of the wind and cold is three under through 10 holes of his second round. West Australian Brett Rumford continues to play well and his a further shot back at two under. Victorian pair Marc Leishman and Marcus Fraser are both at one under.

Steven Bowditch's game from tee to green has been superb. PHOTO: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images.

John Senden, Adam Bland and Scott Hend are all one over and will be fighting to make the cut when play resumes on Saturday morning, as will Scott Arnold, who is a further stroke back at two over. The cut is currently at even par.

Scott Strange (six over) and Rod Pampling (eight over) missed the cut.

The biggest move by an Australian on day two, however, came from Scott.

He got a lucky break with the rain delay. By the time he teed off at 12.25pm, the rain was gone and he only had to contend with the gusting 20mph wind, which he did with aplomb.

His five under 67 was without blemish. He had two birdies heading out from the clubhouse and, when he turned into the strong wind, he used all his experience to patiently grind out three more birdies. It was a clinical display of ball-striking with just one green missed in regulation during the round.

“Any time you can go bogey-free at a major, it's going to be a good round, and in these conditions it was really good,” Scott said. “I kind of chipped my way around the golf course and never really seemed to get too far out of position, so I didn't have to scramble too hard.

“I made a few good putts today because I left a couple out there yesterday, so it all kind of turned around, and very happy putting together 67.”

It doesn’t take much to motivate Scott when he begins his preparation for a major championship, but there is some extra drive that goes into trying to win The Open. And they’re all related to the events of the past three years.

Back in 2012 he bogied the last four holes at Royal Lytham & St Annes to lose The Open by one stroke to Ernie Els. The following year, as the reigning Masters Champion, he led the field at Muirfield with seven holes to play, only to dropped four shots and finished tied third behind Phil Mickelson. Last year, he was caught on the wrong side of the draw at Royal Liverpool, but rushed home in the final round with a 66 to finish tied for fifth.

Three top-fives in his last three Claret Jug campaigns and now Scott admits he’s playing with a “chip on his shoulder.”

“I'm very motivated,” Scott said. “I definitely let that one slip (2012), and I would love to be sitting here having won The Open, but I'm going to have to work hard for it. I've had a couple good looks at it since then.

“I played really well last year and was just too far behind, and then at Muirfield I was leading on the back nine, and Mickelson finished great and I didn't. You know, I think I'm playing with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder.”

Adam Scott tees off on the 18th hole during the second round.
PHOTO: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images.

There will also be, in the back of his mind, thoughts of Kel Nagle.

Scott wrote a touching letter to Nagle’s family that was read out at as part of the eulogies at his funeral. In that letter he said he spoke to Nagle after winning the Masters and recalled how as a 10-year-old growing up in Adelaide he had the chance to watch Thomson and Nagle play.

"It was an experience I will never forget, I was fortunate to be able to watch two of Australia's golfing pioneers play," Scott said in his message.

"An experience like this has stayed with me and helped me appreciate all the gentlemen-like qualities Kel put in the game, so that the foundations would be rich for future generations, like me."

After his second round, Scott met briefly with Nagle’s granddaughter, Alicia, who has travelled to St. Andrews to experience the place where her “Pop” won the Open. He told her of the time he caddied for Nagle when he played at the course where his father, Phil, was the PGA professional.

Memories of Nagle and the reminder of him each time he plays the 18^th hole during this Open Championship might be enough to inspire Scott to grab his own slice of greatness at the Home of Golf.