NOTEBOOK

Weekley unaware: Boo Weekley is no golf historian. He didn’t pay any attention to the sport growing up, didn’t consider any of the game’s legends to be his idol. So when he arrived at the 18th green Saturday with a chance to tie the record for the best score in a major at 63, he didn’t have any idea what was riding on his 30-foot putt. “Really?” he said, when told he’d had a chance at the record. “That’d have been nice.” Weekley’s putt ended up well short, and he missed again to finish with a bogey and a 5-under-par 65. Weekley said he read a lot of break in the first 20 feet of the putt and was trying to get it on top of a ridge and let it roll out toward the hole. “I moved my big head and kind of flubbed it a little with the putter,” Weekley said. But even if he had known what was at stake, Weekley said he probably wouldn’t have changed his approach. “If it was going to go in, it’s going to go in,” Weekley said. Weekley’s round pushed him to even par after three rounds, where he was tied for sixth and seven strokes off the lead. Of the three majors he’s played this year — including the U.S. Open at Oakmont and the British Open at Carnoustie — Weekley said he thought Southern Hills was the only course where a record-breaking 62 might be possible, but still not easy. “You sure ’nuff got to be on,” Weekley said in his Florida Panhandle drawl, a day after Tiger Woods lipped out a putt for 62 at the 18th green. Weekley said he isn’t driven by the chance to win majors and instead only wants to earn enough in the next decade or so to be able to retire early. He enjoyed shooting 65 at a major, but said “what would be funner if I’m sitting at the house catching about a 10-pounder.” Weekley is unfamiliar with the rules of the FedEx Cup playoffs, couldn’t tell you where he is in the Presidents Cup rankings and doesn’t know a whole lot about the Ryder Cup. But he’s finished in the top 35 at the past two majors, and is in position for an even higher finish this time.

Associated Press