British Open 2012: Latest News and Notes from Start of Final Weekend

Believe it or not, but a 31-year-old that has never made the cut at the British Open is in contention to make history at Royal Lytham.

Brandt Snedeker, a Nashville, Tenn. native, has registered two bogey-free rounds in route to a score of 10-under and sole possession of first place. In the last 20 years, only two players have been bogey-free through the first 36 holes of a major (via ESPN’s Jason Ray). He has tied Nick Faldo for the lowest 36-hole score in the history of the Open.

That’s all fine and dandy, but does he have the ability to sustain this torrid pace?

Who’s in the Hunt?

While Snedeker is the man to beat, there are three players breathing down his neck.

2. Adam Scott (-9)

Scott has notched 12 birdies thus far and has a much more decorated past on the tour than the leader.

Arguably, he’s the one to beat aside from Snedeker. I say arguably because…

3. Tiger Woods (-6)

Ever heard of him?

Woods has been incredibly consistent through 36 holes and enters the weekend with some serious momentum after birding the final hole of the day from a bunker.

He seems to be relaxed and is not over-thinking his swing, something we haven’t seen at a major in quite some time.

He isn’t making mental errors, isn’t losing his cool and has hit 26 of 28 fairways and 29 of 36 greens thus far (via TheOpen.com).

Bovada has him as the favorite to win the whole thing, and if he continues his steady play, it’s hard to argue against it.

4. Thorbjorn Olesen (-5)

A first-round double-bogey really hurt Olesen, but he’s come on strong, shooting a four-under 66 to find himself in sole possession of fourth place.

The Denmark native has never made the cut at the British Open, and is a real wild card heading into the final two rounds.

Weather

(Courtesy of Weather.com)

A big talking point going into the tournament, so far the weather has been a non-issue for the golfers.

It rained in the middle of the night on Friday, but the main issue was mud for fans to deal with. The fairways were lush and not every player was able to adjust, but overall, it wasn’t a major factor.

Saturday's forecast has temperatures in the low 60’s. Winds are expected to reach up to 11 mph and there’s only a 10 percent chance of rain.

Sunday is when things really get interesting.

While the temperature could reach 70 and there is currently a zero percent chance of rain, it’s the wind that will be the big problem.

Beginning the day at 11 mph and expected to reach speeds of up to 20 mph, there are going to be some incredibly high scores with plenty of players desperately trying to make a move up the leaderboard.

Expect wind to be one of the main storylines of the final round of this tournament.  

Saturday's Tee Times

(via TheOpen.com)

(All Times ET)

3:10 a.m. — Joost Luiten

3:20 a.m. — Tom Watson and Lee Westwood

3:30 a.m. — Chad Campbell and John Daly

3:40 a.m. — Adilson Da Silva and Rickie Fowler

3:50 a.m. — Keegan Bradley and S.M. Bae

4:00 a.m. — Ross Fisher and K.J. Choi

4:10 a.m. — Gary Woodland and Charles Howell III

4:20 a.m. — Pablo Larrazabal and Juvic Pagunsan

4:30 a.m. — Brendan Jones and Troy Matteson

4:45 a.m. — Aaron Baddeley and Vijay Singh

4:55 a.m. — Rafa Echenique and Matthew Baldwin

5:05 a.m. — Justin Hicks and Alexander Noren

5:15 a.m. — Fredrik Jacobson and Jim Furyk

5:25 a.m. — Padraig Harrington and Rory Mcilroy

5:35 a.m. — Nicolas Colsaerts and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano

5:45 a.m. — Harris English and Branden Grace

5:55 a.m. — Richard Sterne and Greg Owen

6:05 a.m. — Warren Bennett and Dustin Johnson

6:20 a.m. — Yoshinori Fujimoto and Nick Watney

6:30 a.m. — Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Jeev Milkha Singh

6:40 a.m. — Francesco Molinari and John Senden

6:50 a.m. — Hunter Mahan and Lee Slattery

7:00 a.m. — Bob Estes and Dale Whitnell

7:10 a.m. — Bubba Watson and Ian Poulter

7:20 a.m. — Jamie Donaldson and Miguel Angel Jimenez

7:30 a.m. — Thongchai Jaidee and Garth Mulroy

7:45 a.m. — Anirban Lahiri and Ted Potter Jr.

7:55 a.m. — Retief Goosen and Geoff Ogilvy

8:05 a.m. — Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Laird

8:15 a.m. — Thomas Bjorn and Zach Johnson

8:25 a.m. — Bill Haas and Kyle Stanley

8:35 a.m. — Simon Khan and Greg Chalmers

8:45 a.m. — Mark Calcavecchia and Andres Romero

8:55 a.m. — Peter Hanson and Toshinori Muto

9:10 a.m. — Simon Dyson and Carl Pettersson

9:20 a.m. — James Morrison and Steve Stricker

9:30 a.m. — Luke Donald and Steven Alker

9:40 a.m. — Ernie Els and Thomas Aiken

9:50 a.m. — Jason Dufner and Graeme Mcdowell

10:00 a.m. — Matt Kuchar and Paul Lawrie

10:10 a.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen and Tiger Woods

10:20 a.m. — Adam Scott and Brandt Snedeker

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