Notebook: Faldo takes an Open record from Nicklaus

Nick Faldo now owns the record for most sub-70 rounds in the Open. Plus, Tony Jacklin has an emotional exit as well, the Shark is a victim of theft, John Daly still dreams of a double, David Duval struggles again, and more.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (PA) -- Nick Faldo took special pleasure in his second-round 69 in the Open Championship on Friday, because he took a record away from Jack Nicklaus.

Faldo's round was his 34th sub-70 Open Championship round -- one more than the Golden Bear managed in his 33 appearances in the Open.

"I wanted to beat that, and coming down the last I was thinking about it," said Faldo, 47.

After birdies at the seventh, ninth and 12th, all he had to do was keep a bogey off his card and he managed it.

How many more times Faldo plays in the Open and how much he can stretch the record remains to be seen, however. The three-time champion, at 1-under after two rounds, was asked if saw himself turning up for the Open at age 65 like Nicklaus.

"No," answered Faldo.

How about 55 then?

"Just," he said.

Now a TV golf analyst in America, course designer and player manager, Faldo is not sure yet whether to commit himself to seniors golf upon turning 50. Taking up yoga could help him make that decision.

"I'm serious about that," he commented. "If I am going to play, then I want to be in great shape. I've got to find a way of getting my hips supple. It's all about desire. You've got to have goals and you've got to be happy with yours goals."

Few players owe more to Nicklaus than Faldo. He took up golf after watching TV coverage of the Golden Bear at the Masters, and playing with him in San Diego a decade later in the early 1980s had a dramatic effect, too.

"He scored 63 and it made me understand shotmaking. I went away and rebuilt my swing," he said. "Thanks for that, Jack."

EMOTIONAL EXIT FOR JACKLIN: Former Open champion Tony Jacklin made an emotional exit from St. Andrews on Friday, too.

The winner at Royal Lytham in 1969 was only competing this week because it was his friend Jack Nicklaus' last major. He Jacklin was overcome by the warmth of the welcome from the huge galleries and later struggled to keep his feelings in check as he finished way down the field after an 11-over-par total of 155.

"I am glad I decided to play. I got a tremendous ovation. It was very heart-warming, very emotional," he said. "I enjoyed the front nine but struggled coming home both days. But when you are not playing any golf at all, it is to be expected."

Jacklin's preparations for the tournament were hardly ideal.

"I spent one week moving, lugging furniture and hanging pictures on the wall," he said. "Then the next week I was carrying my wife from the bedroom to the bathroom as she had a herniated disc. It was not the greatest preparation for the Open."

Jacklin is tipping Tiger Woods to go on and lift the Claret Jug on the Old Course, just as he did in 2000.

"He is clearly back in terrific form," he said. "Anyone who beats Tiger will win."

BALL BURGLARY: Greg Norman made the cut on Friday, but only after one of his golf balls was stolen while it was in play.

The 50-year-old Australian hit his third shot to the long 14th into the crowd gathered near the 15th tee, and a young boy picked his ball up and made off with it.

As there were eyewitnesses to the incident, Norman was able to drop another ball into play without penalty. He added a 71 to his first-day 72.

DALY DREAMS OF A DOUBLE: John Daly has not given up hope of joining his hero Jack Nicklaus as a two-time winner of the Open Championship at St. Andrews. But he feels Tiger Woods will have to have a rough weekend to do so.

"I think the weather needs to change," said the 1995 champion after his second-round 69 put him on 4-under, seven shots behind Woods. "If it stays like it is, I don't think anyone is going to catch Tiger. He's hitting the ball well and has so much confidence.

"The only chance is if the weather gets bad," he added. "Get some wind and then it might be more favorable for me."

COUPLES PUTS HIS BACK INTO IT: Fred Couples always sounds surprised when he's in the hunt at a major. This time with good reason.

Couples was only two off the lead when his tee shot on the par-3 11th sailed so far right it nearly landed on the eighth tee. Worse yet, Couples grabbed his back, which has been giving him trouble the last 10 years.

He not only finished his round, he shot 71 and was at 5-under 139.

"I ended up not really hurting myself, but my back kind of gave out," Couples said. "I never hit a shot like that in my life. I thought maybe that's a wake-up call. Then I played well coming in."

It wasn't easy. Couples spent the next several holes wondering if the pain would return.

"I don't know what happened, but it wasn't very much fun the next four or five holes with an iron, because I thought I was going to shank every shot. Now I know what an amateur feels like."

He is keeping his fingers crossed that further back trouble does not stop his bid to become the oldest Open Championship winner since 1867. He stands 5-under at halfway, but had a problem on the back nine of his second-round 71.

The former world No. 1 was fourth in his Open debut at St, Andrews in 1984 and sixth here in 2000. But he was played only three of the last six championships. The only older winner of the title was Old Tom Morris, who was age 48 for his fourth win 138 years ago.

MORE MISERY FOR DUVAL: Twelve events this year, 12 early exits. That is the stark reality for 2001 Open champion David Duval after rounds of 80 and 77 this week at St. Andrews.

The 33-year-old former world No. 1, who is now 679th in the rankings, had been level-par after seven holes of his first round, but bowed out at 13-over. Duval, who gave up the game for seven months, is now 146-over-par for the year.

WILD RIDE FOR VERPLANK: Scott Verplank wanted to be paired with Tiger Woods for the third round. If not for bogeys at Nos. 16 and 17, he would have got his wish.

Still, Verplank's wild ride Friday began even earlier. At the fourth hole, he went just over the green and chipped to 8 feet before the fun really began.

"Hit a nice putt, hit it too hard, lipped it about 2 1/2 feet past," said Verplank, who finished with a 70 and wound up five strokes behind Woods. "That one lipped out, only about a foot. Got up there to tap it in, and I tapped it right in the middle. And it hit the hole and spun back to about a foot. I had already bent over to pick it out and it came popping out on me."

That four-putt left the ugliest scar on a scorecard that also included two three-putts, although Verplank did plenty of things right to stay in the mix at 6-under 138. For example, he bounced back with an eagle on the par-5 fifth.

"Every hole was an adventure for me," Verplank said. "That is the nature of the golf course here."

This is the second straight year Verplank, a former U.S. Amateur champion, goes into the weekend in contention. He was three shots behind last year at Royal Troon. Still, he preferred to be playing with Woods, one shot closer.

"If he's out in the lead and I'm in the last group with him, it means I'm the closest giving chase," Verplank said. "If you don't want to play with him, you probably shouldn't come to this tournament."

TOMS OUT: David Toms disqualified himself when he couldn't decide if he'd made a mistake.

Toms opened with a 74, which included a double-bogey on the 17th hole. He wasn't sure if the ball was moving slightly when he tapped in, and figured he ought to take himself out of the tournament.

"It was just one of those iffy areas about whether or not a rule was violated, and I was the only one that saw it," Toms told the Press Association. "I just felt it was better that I disqualified myself."

CLOSING HOLE: Maybe the birdie by Jack Nicklaus on the 18th hole at St. Andrews wasn't so remarkable.

The 357-yard closing hole is among the easiest in championship golf, so short that players often wait for the green to clear before hitting their tee shots.

Only six players failed to make par or better, and at one point in the second round, there were 10 consecutive birdies, starting with Toru Taniguchi and ending with Angel Cabrera, who were separated by four groups.

The streak ended with Thomas Bjorn, who drove his tee shot to the right and out-of-bounds. He wound up with a double bogey and missed the cut by one shot.

FANTASTIC FINISHES: It was only fitting that Jose Maria Olazabal got into the Open when fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros withdrew. Olazabal repaid his debt by producing some Seve magic on the 18th green.

He drove into the hollow known as the Valley of Sin just short of the green, then used his putter to hit up the slope, onto the green and into the cup for an eagle.

Olazabal held both arms aloft before slapping hands with Tiger Woods as he walked by.

The only player who came close to matching that celebration was Tom Lehman, who also made an eagle from the front edge of the 18th green. At the time, he thought he needed that putt to make the cut.

"I left an awful lot of shots out there, and I was due for something good to happen," Lehman said. "I was playing so well, but I had zero to show for it."

Lehman had some help.

He played with Paul McGinley, and the Irishman had a similar putt on Thursday that he left short.

"I hit that shot a lot of times during the practice rounds, and you have to hit it twice as hard as you think you have to," Lehman said, who estimated the distance at 45 feet.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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