Weekend Whispers

What a tough final day for Greg Norman in the 137th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The Shark struggled to a 77 as Padraig Harrington brilliantly shot 69 and won his second straight Claret Jug. So once again, Greg Norman led a major after 54 holes. And once again Greg Norman failed to win the big one. But 1996 this was not. That was the last time we saw Norman fail in such a huge spotlight, in the '96 Masters. Yesterday at sunny Birkdale, Norman quietly went off into the sunset after collectively playing the four best days of golf he had played in a long, long time. And this time, unlike all the other times he would sign is scorecard as the bridesmaid, Norman could be content with the end result. While he may not have won his third Jug, he proved to golf fans longing for a quick recovery from Tiger that drama can indeed still be provided by a 53-year-old man tempting history. If only a few of those putts could have fallen...

I have to hand it to Daniel Snyder. Seemingly minutes after Phillip Daniels' season ended on the first day of 7-on-7 drills, the Redskins owner brought in highly sought Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor to fill the void and give new coach Jim Zorn a dynamic pass rusher. I still have questions about that 'D' even with Taylor, but I credit Snyder for actually making a smart big-money decision. I really thought Jim Fassel was the right hire in Washington, but perhaps Zorn's enthusiasm will rub off on the players.

Norman Standing Tall at the British

After two rounds of play, the old man who wooed Chris Evert to be his boo is perched near the top of the leaderboard at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Now I know it's early. And I'm sure Moving Day on the course tomorrow will provide plenty of other great stories. But something tells me that the more laid-back and serene 'Shark' has something left to give his fans. I remember the '96 Masters vividly. Unfortunately. Here's hoping I'm waking up Sunday morning at 8am to see him teeing off in the final group...

Oh Phil. How you love to break my heart when I have 200 friendly dollars riding on you (and Sergio) in my fantasy golf league. After carding a brutal 79 on Thursday, you sucked me back into believing with your 68 today that leaves you only eight back going into Saturday. Please remember one thing: this is a links course and it is not necessary to loft the ball so much. Have fun and play for par.

And Serge. He's certainly in position, sitting at six shots behind leader K.J. Choi. I really believe Sergio likes his position going into Day Three. I'm having visions of a Harrington-Garcia playoff on Sunday. Just throwing it out there. Harrington, by the way, showing that he may indeed be the second-best player in the world after shooting a 68 Friday to move to +2. The defending champ looks healthy and primed for a big weekend. What wrist injury?

And last but not least, Greg Norman isn't the only former number one shockingly present on the first page of the leaderboard. Family man David Duval shot a sizzling 69 to put him at +2 for the tournament. The self-described "country club golfer" looks content and carefree on the course. Could this be the beginning of a career revival? I think we all know the answer to that one, which is why I'm just planning to enjoy watching a guy playing golf for all the reasons that he started to play in the first place. But to his credit, he stated today that his goal is not just to make cuts and to play decent, but to strive for and reach greatness again. Perhaps his 2001 triumph at Royal Lytham & St. Anne's can be duplicated this week. Should be an exciting weekend of golf.