ST ANDREWS — A week after getting his home fans all excited, Scotland’s Marc Warren is at it again this week in the 144th Open Championship.
Last Sunday, the 34-year-old Warren surged into contention late in the Scottish Open at Gullane with a brilliant closing round of six-under par 64, but that eventually fell short by two shots against Rickie Fowler’s late birdies.
But on the biggest stage in world golf – the Open Championship at St Andrews – he is making sure he stays in touch with the leaders and a round of three-under par 69 to go with a first-round 68 did not hurt his chances at all.
At seven-under par, Warren is just two shots behind the clubhouse leader Danny Willett.
On Friday, Warren dropped shots on the two par-3s on the golf course – both measuring 174 yards – but picked up five shots elsewhere in a day of solid ball striking.
In the US Open last month at Chambers Bay, Warren finished tied 27th and was on the first page of the leaderboard after the first couple of days. And the man with two European Tour wins said he was getting used to the bigger tournaments.
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“The more I am used to playing tournaments like this, and yes, the US Open was good, I got my name up there early on the first couple rounds and overall had a really good week there, a good week last week as well, really good finish, the more it gets comfortable for me,” said Warren, who is now ranked 56th in the world.
“I feel as if I’m pretty close to top 50 in the world. Just now played a lot of the world events and a couple of majors already this year. Well, this is my second major of the year. But I do feel comfortable. My game is in really good shape.
“I feel totally at ease on the golf course, just battling the golf course and the conditions more than anything else. Certainly, I wasn’t battling myself anymore out there.”
As Marc Warren spoke in the media centre he could hear the wind really getting up outside. A sweet sound, no doubt. The sweetest.
— Tom English (@TomEnglishSport) July 17, 2015
Even though The Open is one tournament Warren has been dreaming to win all his life, he said he was not getting too worked up over the possibility.
“I’ve got absolutely nothing to lose this weekend. I’m just enjoying the situation I’m in,” said Warren.
“Pretty relaxed at this moment in time. I’d say I’ve got a few years’ experience on the Tour. I know it’s very early days as far as the golf tournament goes. There are only two rounds gone. So, I am really just relishing the opportunity ahead of me this weekend.
“This is a situation and something everyone who has played golf as a kid dreams about. To live out at least a part of that dream is also pretty cool.”
