Open Championship, Round 1- Observations

It's probably quite pretentious of me to comment on the Open Championship at this point... but I'm going to do it anyway.

I've been on the road...in the field, whatever...since dawn, traversing the Tri-state Region for a plethora of projects I'm trying to finish. And though I kept up with the leaderboard all day via Blackberry, I can't say I was really feeling it.

But... I've spent the past 45 minutes perusing a variety of online golf destinations and I now feel like I'm in a position to expound. ~ OK, I'm not really going to expound, that would be pretentious, but I do love this tournament. And, though they don't often reveal the ultimate champion, first rounds can be uniquely interesting; an unlikely winner climbs to the top of the board and for a few hours is the focus of an ethereal blitz of attention. Twenty-four hours later the hopeful hero may no longer even be a factor. What I'm saying is, there's something poignant about first round possibilities. And that brings us to Miguel Angel Jimenez. What's not to like about him?

I know, I probably shouldn't have asked.

There are a number of superficial things; his hair, his cigars, his beer gut, his Rico Suave - ex-porn star - euro-trash vibe... and some technical factors, like his restrained "plays like he gets paid by the hour" golf game, that some people hate don't like about him.

Late last year he inadvertently got a young compatriot in in some minor hot water by spilling the beans on a shared affinity for smoking and drinking. The fact is, M.A.J. is unconventional, and some might say a bit... roguish. I happen to like roguish.

So yes, at the end of a long day I was happy to see "An Angel on top" and I'd love to see him stay there for a while.

I also liked the idea that a whole bunch of guys born in the 50s and 60s were up towards the top of the leaderboard. Because the so-called young guns aren't everything...OK, Camillo sort of is...but they've all got decades ahead of them to do this. Tom Watson probably doesn't, but you'd never know that from watching him today. And his gray-tone argyle sweater was awesome too. Instantly iconic I would guess.

Then there was John Daly, who shot 68 in stunning Lime and Emerald argyle trousers. He was definitely stylin' which probably didn't surprise anyone, the fact that his girlfriend, the awesome Anna Cladakis, wore a matching skirt took the look up a notch...or ten. And speaking of Annas, what about beautiful Ana Ivonovic? She was there too...to watch boyfriend Adam Scott who happens to be celebrating his 29th birthday this week. At +1 he has a bit of ground to make up, but that's OK, this is the first round, and anything can happen.