I BELONG to Glasgow? Well, not quite. The Scottish golf writers are renowned for digging out tenuous tartan connections amid global goings on.
If, for instance, there’s a PGA Tour player from Louisiana with a granny called Doreen from Muckhart then we’ll find him.
In this grand tradition of sticking a kilt on international affairs, there was an element of intrigue stoked up by Open competitor Kent Bulle from Glasgow. That’s Glasgow, Kentucky. Population, 15,000 and 11 sets of traffic lights. “We count them now,” he said.
Even the most ardent of golf followers watching proceedings unfold yesterday would have been surprised to see Bulle’s name in the upper echelons of the leaderboard during the second round of golf’s most venerated championship.
A two-over 72, to add to his opening 68, left the 28-year-old with a level-par aggregate of 140 and sitting pretty on the fringes of the top-10. “It’s crazy,” said the world No 632, who earned his place in the field by winning the Argentina Open on the PGA Tour’s Latin American circuit last season.
This is Bulle’s first Open and his local paper back home, the Glasgow Daily Times, is following his every step from afar.
“Growing up in Glasgow, Kent Bulle and his friends would imagine themselves walking the hallowed fairways of some of the most prestigious golf courses in the world,” read the editorial in the sports pages.
While over here in the UK, we’re assuming Bulle will be making the pilgrimage to Ruchill Municipal?
He has been to the Dear Green Place before during a “bucket list” tour in the cradle of the game which took in visits to St Andrews, Carnoustie and Prestwick.
And what did he make of the original Glasgow? “It was pouring down with rain,” he said with a smile. Now, that sounds familiar.
Bulle’s golfing business at Birkdale is far more serious. He sits down in 96th place on the rankings of the Web.com Tour, the second-tier in the US, but his career could change dramatically with a high finish in the Open.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” added Bulle, who started his second round with a birdie and at one point had crept up to fourth as others slithered backwards. “I think everybody in our position is looking for that chance. If you hang around long enough you all get that one opportunity.
“At one point I noticed my name up on the leaderboard. You do get a little surge but I tried to keep myself on an even keel.
“The moment you take your focus off this golf course, whether it’s to think about the leaderboard or the conditions or anything that’s happening, that’s when any hole can jump up and bite you.
“There’s a lot on the line. I played the US Open last year and I was like ‘man, this is really cool’. Yes, it was fun but I missed the cut. Getting a chance to play here made me think that I didn’t want to tell stories 25 years later that I missed the cut at the Open Championship.”
He didn’t miss the cut and Bulle’s Open fairytale continues.
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