Sandwich, England – British Open notebook:
As the sun set behind the 18th green Thursday at Royal St. George's, Jason Knutzon stood over a 5-foot par putt. He put a nice stroke on it, but the ball lipped out and the resulting bogey left Knutzon with an opening round of 5-over-par 75 and tied for 126th place. The time was 9:14 p.m., the sky was streaked in pink, and Knutzon's bogey was witnessed by about 30 die-hard fans sitting in the grandstands at No. 18.
"It's a bit weird," said Knutson, an American who splits his schedule between the Asian and European tours. "I mean, it still has the same feeling (of a British Open), but not quite the same. It was a pretty late finish and we were happy to get it done."
Knutzon, 35, played college golf at Iowa State and since 2003 has competed mostly on the Asian Tour, where he's a two-time winner. He gained status on the European Tour for 2011 by finishing 16th at that circuit's Q-School last fall. Knutzon is playing at Royal St. George's thanks to his fourth-place finish at International Final Qualifying in Asia.
So far this season, Knutson's far-flung tournament itinerary has taken him to Italy, Spain, Morocco, Malaysia, South Korea and the United Kingdom. His best finish in a combined 13 Asian Tour and European Tour starts this season is a tie for 17th at the Maybank Malaysian Open.
"I swear, there's not an American logging more miles than me right now," said Knutzon. "I basically go from Des Moines to Chicago, and then I don't know whether I'm going east or west. All I know is it's a long flight."
Knutzon's wife is due to have their third child sometime in the next two weeks. "It's getting tougher being away from home for such long stretches," he said. "But it's going OK, so I can't complain."
Knutson said it became difficult to read putts as the sun set Thursday. "I missed a couple of short putts the last couple of holes," he said. "That kind of stung a bit.
"Obviously it's cool to be here," he said. "But I would have liked to have played better."
• Thomas Bjorn, the first-round co-leader (with amateur Tom Lewis) at 5-under-par 65, wasn't optimistic about making the field when he arrived at Royal St. George's as the first alternate.
"Unless it's a serious injury, players will play through anything this week," Bjorn had said Monday, before learning he would replace Vijay Singh, who withdrew because of back spasms. "You do that with a major."
At least Bjorn had three days' notice. Ricky Barnes was informed at midday Thursday that he would take the spot surrendered by Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium, who injured his wrist Monday afternoon in a motor scooter accident.
Colsaerts played through painful – and abbreviated – practice rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday. But after he hit one ball on the range Thursday morning, he decided he'd had enough. By that time, Barnes had arrived from the States after being informed by the R&A the previous day that he had moved up to first alternate.
Barnes, the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion, took advantage of his good fortune, shooting a 2-under-par 68.
Asked if he had any inclination toward renting a motor scooter anytime soon, Barnes laughed and replied: "Negative!"
• European players may be more familiar with links golf than Americans, but they have nothing on Ryan Moore.
Moore, a former U.S. Amateur champion from Tacoma, Wash., lives about 10 minutes from Chambers Bay, the Robert Trent Jones II-designed links style course on the Puget Sound that's slated to host the 2015 U.S. Open. Moore spent several days leading up to the British Open working on his short game at Chambers Bay.
At the suggestion of his father, he began experimenting with a hybrid for bump-and-run shots around the greens. It's a strategy Todd Hamilton used with great success at Royal Troon when he won the 2004 British Open there.
"I didn't have a go-to club for those situations," said Moore. "It's almost like a putting stroke, but the ball comes off the club face a little faster. I've really gotten comfortable using it."
Comfortable enough to shoot an opening-round 69.
• Dustin Johnson was miserable during Round 1, despite scoring a hole-in-one at No. 16. His ace was sandwiched by back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th, and a birdie at the 17th. The 5-under flurry gave him an even-par 70 start.
Johnson woke up Tuesday with swollen glands in his neck – "They looked like golf balls," he said –and a sore throat. The condition was bad enough that his handlers at Hambric Sports Management had to find a doctor. Johnson began taking antibiotics Wednesday.
"I'm not very excited at all," the low-key Johnson admitted. "I just want to go home and sleep."
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