British Open Days 2-3 "Great Scott"

My disdain for the belly putter in pro golf knows no bounds. Adam Scott takes it even further with the broom stick he implants under his face each time he goes to putt. I hate it. Fundamentally it's wrong, but as I eluded to in an earlier column, it looks awkward. Don't golfers look goofy enough half the time as it is? My reservations for oddities on the golf course aside, Scott has been great. He's played about the most boring golf you can watch and leads by four headed into the final round. Everything in history -- Aussie's blowing the 54-hole lead at the British (it happened three times) -- suggests Scott will slide on the Open's final day. The pressures of leading not only the Open Championship but also your first ever major can mount quickly. It happened to Brandt Snedeker Saturday, and I wouldn't at all be surprised if it happened to Scott. I'd be more surprised if he kept up the clinic he's put on for three days. Tiger Woods nearly face-planted Saturday but managed to hold it together to stay in the hunt. He's got a lot of work to do and also needs help. If Scott posts even a 71 or 72 Sunday, it's going to be tough for Tiger to make up five shots. He's still not quite all there, which makes me wonder just how good he'll be when he is. He's playing some mediocre golf by his standards, and yet again here we are writing about him going into the final day of a major. He's got to get out early and birdie at least two of the first four to make some kind of statement to Scott and the rest of the leaderboard. It should be an exciting final round. Stay tuned for my wrap-up Sunday evening.

How they fared My picks through three rounds. 1. Tiger Woods - 6-under, 4th place 2. Phil Mickelson - missed the cut by eight (!) 3. Graeme McDowell - 7-under, T2 4. Lee Westwood - 4-over, T54 5. Ian Poulter - 3-over, T43

Wild Cards 1. John Daly - 10-over, 82 2. David Duval - missed cut 3. Vijay Singh - even, T18

Mr. Anonymous Francesco Molinari - 2-over, T33