Norman Ready to Recreate Last Year's Magic

TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 15 -- A year ago, Greg Norman arrived at the British Open on what he described as an extension of his honeymoon to tennis great Chris Evert. He was 53, and he somehow became the oldest player to hold the lead after three rounds.

Now, Norman is back for another Open, this one after he lost that late lead to Padraig Harrington in brutally windy conditions at Royal Birkdale. And he said he has no clue about whether he can produce another tale like he did a year ago.

"I wish I could sit here and say yes or no," Norman said. "It's not just the fact that I don't feel good about myself or my game. It's just that I don't know."

Last year, Norman barely prepared for the Open. This year, he practiced in the heat near his Florida home, but then traveled to Ireland to play in what he hoped would be adverse conditions. They turned out to be too ugly -- "It was blowing and raining about 30 miles an hour," he said -- so he is fresh for the tournament's Thursday start.

Others, though, have taken notice of what Norman, a two-time Open champion, did a year ago in attempting to become the oldest major champion. Tom Watson, who won five Opens himself, played a Tuesday practice round with Norman.

"Right now, Greg is rolling the ball very, very well," Watson said. "And he's driving the ball well."

Woods Headlines All-Star Group

Tiger Woods is more than accustomed to the flurry that surrounds his group at nearly every tournament in which he plays, but it could be at a new level when he opens the tournament Thursday paired with Japanese teen sensation Ryo Ishikawa and England's Lee Westwood, one of the most popular players for the Open's home fans.

"It will be interesting," Woods said.

Ishikawa, 17, is usually followed by a legion of photographers, but the swirl here will be different. "He's been there, but he hasn't done a major championship yet," Woods said.

Ishikawa's reaction: "It's unbelievable that Tiger is talking about me."

Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the R&A, golf's governing body in Europe which stages the Open, said he was "obviously cognizant of the amount of media interest there is in that group," but that he had spoken to both Woods and Westwood since the pairing was announced.

"They're entirely happy about the grouping," Dawson said. The R&A tries to group a North American, a European and a player from elsewhere together for the first two rounds, Dawson said.

Lyle, Montgomerie Tiff Causes a Flap

Scotland is in a tizzy over remarks made by two-time major champion Sandy Lyle last week in which he brought up an old accusation of a form of cheating against Colin Montgomerie, the best Scottish player of his generation.

The charges -- that Montgomerie dropped his ball in a more advantageous position after a rain delay in Jakarta in 2005 -- have been well-digested, and the European Tour long ago absolved Montgomerie of wrongdoing. But Lyle said he felt like he had been forced to defend himself about withdrawing from last year's Open -- which he left with a hand injury -- and wanted to point out that he was not the only Scottish golfer whose honor had been questioned.

"I'm not at war with Colin Montgomerie," Lyle said by way of apology Tuesday, though he did not back down from his statements about Montgomerie's actions.

Montgomerie was chosen over Lyle to captain the European team in the 2010 Ryder Cup, a situation with adds intrigue to the British press. Montgomerie told reporters he was "not happy" about the disturbance leading up to the Open.

The incident caused enough of a flap that George O'Grady, the chief executive of the European Tour, issued a statement Wednesday, saying the tour "debated the Jakarta situation extensively and made a full statement at that time."

"The Tour fully understands Sandy Lyle's disappointment at not being elected captain, but deeply regrets his comments which are considered wholly inappropriate and ill-timed," O'Grady said.