Nightmare clubs error costs Woosnam dear

Ian Woosnam nearly aced the opening hole in the final round of the Open, only to discover an extra club in his bag that turned a tap-in birdie into a devastating bogey.

It was not immediately clear how the former Masters champion wound up with 15
clubs in his bag. Once he realised the mistake and was given a two-stroke
penalty, Woosnam took a wood out of his bag and threw it across the tee in
disgust.

The penalty was assessed by John Paramor, chief referee of the European Tour.
Players with more than 14 clubs in the bag are penalised two strokes per hole, with a maximum penalty of four strokes in the round.

"I think it was an extra wood that Ian found in the bag on the second tee, but I don't know the circumstances of how it wasn't taken out before he teed off," Paramor said.

The birdie putt at the first from just six inches had put Woosnam in a tie for the lead with Niclas Fasth of Sweden at seven under par. Moments later, Woosnam was back to five under and in a tie for sixth. Clearly upset by the incident, he also bogeyed the third and fourth before settling down with an eagle at the fifth. He kept battling to the end and finished up in a six-way tie for third place on 278, six under par.

Hugh Campbell, chairman of the championship committee, said it may have happened because Woosnam was late arriving at the first tee.

"Ian got to the first tee only 30 seconds before he was due to start,"
Campbell said.

"Some players like to leave it that late rather be hanging around there. But it meant there wasn't the usual conversation between the official and either the player or his caddie.

"Usually you ask them to check the number of clubs just in case an extra one
has been put in there by somebody else by mistake, but most times they look
at you as if you are a congenital idiot for asking.

"It obviously would have helped Ian on that occasion, though. Lytham is also
the only course on the Open rota which starts with a par 3 and that probably
did not help either because you are reaching for an iron rather than concentrating on the woods in your bag."

David Rickman, the Royal and Ancient Club's rules secretary, sympathised with
Woosnam, saying: "It's such an obvious thing it seems ridiculous that it has
happened. And for it to happen at the very moment he took the lead is such a
terrible shame for him."

If Woosnam never forgets the day, nor will his Irish caddie Miles Byrne.

"You are going to go ballistic," said Byrne, who has been the Welshman's
caddie for only two months, on the second tee. "We have two drivers."

As a gaffe it was on a par with Robert de Vicenzo signing for a wrong score and losing the 1968 Masters by one and Hale Irwin having an air shot over a three-inch putt and finishing one behind Tom Watson at the 1983 Open.

"Team Woosie" had not spotted that after practising with two drivers both were still in the bag.

"I felt like I had been kicked in the teeth," said Woosnam. "It's hard enough being level with the world's best, but to give them a two-shot start... I was not feeling very enthusiastic about it. It took me a few holes to recover.

"I suppose I should have checked, but that's what you pay a caddie for. It's the biggest mistake he'll ever make, but I'm not going to sack him. He's a nice lad and good caddie.

"It's the ultimate sin for a caddie. I am surmising that he's feeling as sick
as a parrot."

Bryne said: "No excuses. The buck stops with me. End of story. If I knew how
it happened it would not have been there."

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