Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/13379
Thursday Golf — The Open Championship, 2 a.m., ESPN MLB — Dodgers at Cardinals, 5 p.m., MLBN MLB — Mets at Giants, 7 p.m., CSNB Tour de France — Stage 11, 5:30 a.m., VERSUS PGA — Reno-Tahoe Open, 1 p.m., TGC MLS — Seattle at D.C., 5 p.m., ESPN2 Sports 1B ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — The locals are famous for saying that if it’s ‘‘nae rain and nae wind then it’s nae golf.’’ There was rain. And there was wind. There just wasn’t much golf being played Wednesday on the eve of the British Open. Kenny Perry wanted to play one more practice round, and the miserable weather wasn’t about to stop him. It just made him think about how long he really wanted to be in the kind of elements St. Andrews hasn’t seen in 15 years for the British Open. Three holes after he teed off, with raindrops on his glasses and water dripping off a black rainsuit that had turned slick and shiny, he cut across the Old Course to play two holes back toward the club- house. As he stepped onto the 17th tee, Perry noticed a man grinning at him from beneath an umbrella. ‘‘Are you enjoying our weath- er?’’ the man said in his thick brogue. ‘‘What’s there to enjoy?’’ Perry replied. Worse yet was leaving the 17th tee with Nick Watney, rain pelting them sideways and the sound of laughter above them. There was Ian Poulter, dressed in shorts and a shirt, taking pictures of them from the comfort of his third-floor room in the Old Course Hotel. ‘‘Having fun down there, boys?’’ Poulter called out to them. The fun doesn’t begin until Thursday, when the 139th version of golf’s oldest championship gets under way at St. Andrews, with weather that likely will as much of a factor as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or any of the players. And it’s about time. The last time the Open came to St. Andrews, there was only one round of a stiff breeze and Woods won by five shots at 14-under 274. Ten years ago on a sun-baked links, Woods set a major champi- onship record at 19-under 269 for an eight-shot win in perfect weath- er. But there was nasty weather in 1995, when John Daly finished at 6-under 282 and won a playoff. The Royal and Ancient, which runs this tournament, doesn’t get wrapped up in scores. It lets nature decide that. ‘‘The forecast for the champi- onship is changeable — blustery, showery conditions,’’ R&A chief executive Peter Dawson, barely able to contain a grin. ‘‘Pretty good for links golf.’’ This is what Woods will face as he tries to make more history at the home of golf. No one has ever won the Open three times at St. Andrews, and this stage could be an important test for golf’s No. 1 player. Woods has never gone this far into the calendar without winning. He has never gone more than seven tournaments to start a season without a victory, and the Open marks his seventh event. His preparations included playing Sunday in gusts that approached 50 mph, and the next two days in wind out of different directions. He also endured a press confer- ence in which about half of the questions were about his personal life. Among his chief critics has been Watson, who has said that Woods needs to ‘‘clean up his act.’’ Given a chance to elaborate Wednesday, the five-time Open champion declined. ‘‘I said what I needed to say about Tiger Woods,’’ Watson said. ‘‘The one thing that you should be writing about Tiger Woods right now is that he’s won the champi- onship the last two times he’s played here, and that he’s probably the odds-on favorite to win it again.’’ The challenge figures to be much greater, a result of Woods’ unpredictable form, the growing number of contenders — especial- ly a European resurgence led by U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood — and the weather. Defending champion Stewart Cink played eight holes Wednes- day on what felt like two courses. ‘‘The opening nine, you’re headed straight downwind with a Olympic caliber training Thursday July 15, 2010 An Open with all the elements little off to the right, and it’s like a dream,’’ he said. Every shot you hit, no matter how bad you hit it, it’s a nice draw. We played four holes and decided to turn around, and as soon as we hit 14 tee box, it was the exact opposite. You could- n’t do anything except his a huge slice. It’s hard to describe how dif- ficult it is.’’ The only disappointment Wednesday was the hard rain and cold wind leading the R&A to can- cel its ‘‘Champions Challenge,’’ a four-hole exhibition with past Open champions like Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Ben Curtis. ‘‘I was on the range this morn- ing and it’s just brutal out there,’’ Nick Faldo said. ‘‘It wouldn’t have been entertaining for anybody.’’ It wasn’t much fun for the mar- shals or the fans, wrapped in rain gear, walking back from the loop on the far end of the links toward the clubhouse as they searched for players, realizing most of them were doubling back after a couple of holes. There wasn’t much to gain on a day like this. See OPEN, page 2B Renegades handle Shasta Trojans 5-1 The RB Renegades handed the Shasta Trojans a 5-1 loss, Wednesday, during a USSSA 18-and-under baseball at Red Bluff Union High School. David Radcliffe singled and scored in the first inning to give the Renegades an early lead. Storm Lewis singled and scored in the third inning to expand the lead to 2-0. Scott Avery and Zane Medeiros both scored in the fourth inning helped by a Lewis single to make it 4-0. The Renegades tacked on one more run in the sixth inning when Avery led off with a walk and stole second and then scored on a Medeiros sacrifice bunt. Renegades pitchers held Shasta to just a lone run in the seventh inning. Udoh to miss 6 months OAKLAND (AP) — The Golden State Warriors say top draft pick Ekpe Udoh will miss six months after undergoing surgery on his injured left wrist. Courtesy photo Red Bluff Spartans track and field athlete Meaggan Rector took part at the Ironwood Throwers camp at Whitworth University in Spokane,Wash. Rector was one of 240 throwers, who spent a week with Olympic medalists. She even ate lunch with Olympic medalists, Mack Wilkins. Rector set junior varsity records in the discus throw and shotput in 2010. Udoh underwent the operation on Wednesday in San Francisco to repair a torn ligament in his wrist. He will have his wrist immobilized for about 10 weeks. Udoh injured the wrist at a supervised workout at the team’s facility earlier this month. He was selected sixth overall out of Baylor in last month’s draft. Red Bluff 11-12 girls finish second at district Courtesy photo The 11-and 12-year-old Red Bluff Little League Softball All-Stars finished as District 1 runners-up.The team was comprised of (from top left): coach Ken Reineman, Bailey Akins, Cheyanne Johnson, Madison Waelty, Rena Fox, coach Sam Wellman, Kaitlyn Miranda, Jenny McCluskey, Ashleigh Fox, Hailey Reineman, manager Scott Igarta, Kristen Lasby, Stefanie Brunello, Caitlyn Igarta, Natalie Duggins and Danielle Mueller.