Strange looking leaderboard

What is it about the British Open that allows for such great comeback stories? Seemingly, this is the one golf major at which old guys and has-beens (two groups which obviously are not mutually exclusive) turn in the kinds of scores that make you think, “Wow, he’s still alive?”

This week’s cases in point: Tom Watson and John Daly.

Watson, 59, won back-to-back British titles in 1982 and ’83 and has won this major five times in his career. He was the leader in the clubhouse when he finished the first round on Thursday.

Daly, who shocked the golf world by winning the Open in 1995, was at even par after two rounds. And at the British, that puts him very much in the hunt. At this time last year, some probably wondered whether Daly, who has struggled with alcohol and gambling problems, would live to see 2009.

Watson’s success brings back memories of Greg Norman, who at 53 led through three rounds at last year’s British Open.

Of course, these Cinderella stories out of nowhere seldom finish the championship holding the Claret Jug. But they do beg the question as to why, at arguably the most difficult major, players who are all but vanished from golf’s radar, can grab headlines again.