Those esteemed members of the R&A have, through the ages, witnessed many sights from behind the window panes of the old clubhouse overlooking the first tee and 18th green. But nothing quite like the rivers and lakes which materialised on the Old Course to disrupt the second round of this 144th Open, a day which stretched to dusk with 42 players - among them championship leader Dustin Johnson - still left with unfinished business.
If nature proved to be a disruptor of all the best laid plans, losing three hours and 14 minutes of play, the drama which unfolded once squeegees and sheer muscle power rid the links of its floodwaters was, for all that, worth any wait. In the gathering gloom, old Tom Watson bid a last farewell, the R&A's clubhouse glowing by then in floodlights, and those younger men seeking to follow his footsteps towards lifting a Claret Jug of their own had laid down markers.
Danny Willett, the son of a preacher, manoeuvred his way to the clubhouse lead with a 69 for 135, nine-under-par, two strokes ahead of Marc Warren, Zach Johnson, Adam Scott and Robert Streb who also got to complete their rounds; whilst others, among them Pádraig Harrington, moved to the fringes of contention.
Out on the course, Dustin Johnson, at 10-under through 13 holes, and Jordan Spieth, chasing history of his own and still very much in the mix, were cut short by fading light.
Among them too, quite brilliantly, was Irish amateur Paul Dunne. A member of Greystones and a recent graduate in Business Finance of the University of Alabama, the 22-year-year Dunne signed for a second successive 69 for 138, six-under, that put him in exalted company and seemingly unfazed at that.
On a day which started as one borrowed from the darkest depths of winter, with floodwaters rolling down the road past the luxury apartments of Hamilton Hall and finding an outlet onto the 18th and first fairways, and as other parts of the links soaked in water as if it were going out of fashion, the decision to suspend play was entirely necessary.
Once the second round finally got under way, the winds whipped across the dunes and changed direction as if to tease players and to make shot execution a true art. There were half-shots and three-quarter shots and shots held up into the wind, all seeking to use the nuances of the course to great effect.
And, through it all, Dunne held firm and composed and as if born to the links. “It’ll be a new experience, I’m not 100 per cent sure how I’ll handle it. Hopefully I’ll just take it like second nature,” said Dunne, who intends to turn professional later this season after the Walker Cup. For now, it is about competing and contending in the biggest and oldest championship of them all.
Dunne secured birdies at the ninth, 14th and 15th holes to move to six-under for the championship, only to suffer his first bogey in 23 holes, going back to the 11th in the first round, when dropping a shot on the 16th. He parred the tough 17th and finished off with a birdie on the 18th that brought roars of approval from those gathered in the double-tier grandstand.
Not only had he survived the cut, and not only had he put himself in contention for the silver medal awarded to the leading amateur, he had put himself into a position to contend for the claret jug itself. “Amateurs are well capable of shooting the scores needed to do well, it’s just about controlling your emotions when you’re out there, not letting it get to you.
“I feel like myself and (caddie) Alan (Murray) got a really good game plan in the practice rounds, so we kind of have strategies to play different holes if the wind is off different sides, what targets to pick and when to attack pins and when to play conservative and just take par. I feel like once we know our strategy, it’s easier to kind of relax into it and just go about it like normal golf because it takes your mind off the fact that it’s The Open Championship and it’s a big event, so it just makes you think it’s normal golf again,” said Dunne.
He added: “It would be nice to get the silver medal, my last year as an amateur. It would be something I would remember forever. But there’s a lot of golf and a lot of bad weather to play in before that. I’m not going to think about it, I’ll put a new number in my head and go about business.”
For Harrington, a round of 69 for 141, three-under-par, moved him in the right direction. The Dubliner had answered a 5am alarm call and warmed up in the torrential rain on the range before the suspension was called. His response was to find a tour van to go back to sleep, before going out for the delayed second round.
And, typically, Harrington was not looking for any easy options in looking ahead to the weekend with the threat of further disruptive weather. Six shots behind Willett, Harrington said of the forecast: “Anything that creates havoc will do me. I’m way, way behind here; the more havoc there is (on Saturday) the better for me. It’s not like I’m defending anything, or I’m not leading the tournament. You’d want everything possible to be thrown at us.”
Graeme McDowell survived a double-bogey six on the 17th hole to sign for a second successive 72 for 144, which looked like making it on the cut mark, but Shane Lowry - despite driving the 18th green - couldn't muster the birdie necessary there and had a 72 for 145 to miss out. "I just didn't hole the putts and didn't get the breaks I needed," said Lowry.
