NOTEBOOK British Open

Boo’s back: Look out, Britain. Boo’s back. One year after charming the country with his folksy ways, Boo Weekley returned for his second British Open and should have quite a following at Royal Birkdale this week. Just be sure to keep an eye on his ball. During a practice round Monday, Weekley yanked his tee shot at No. 8 onto a mound where several fans were standing left of the fairway. The ball whizzed over one man’s head — luckily, he ducked — and hit another guy in the back of the left leg on one bounce. The man was OK, but Weekley looked very concerned when he walked up. “Who’d I hit?” he asked. This guy, everyone motioned. Assured no one was seriously hurt, Weekley whipped out his pen and signed the offending ball. “Sorry ’bout that,” he said. “I apologize.” “That’s Boo Weekley,” one of them said after he stopped to sign autographs behind the third green. “He’s the best. I really hope he does well this week.” Weekley shrugged off his cult following on this side of the Atlantic. “I don’t know about that,” he said, pulling a dip of tobacco from his bottom lip after finishing up in the early evening. “I just try to have fun and let the rest take care of itself.”

Father-son trip: Scott Verplank already has had a memorable trip to Britain. It began last week with a trip to Scotland to play Royal Dornoch, Cruden Bay and the Old Course at St. Andrews, where on the famous Road Hole, he hit a driver and a 4-iron to 3 feet for birdie. And on Monday, he celebrated his 16th birthday. The more famous Scott Verplank, a five-time PGA Tour winner and his father, was along for the ride. Verplank’s wife and his three younger daughters stayed in Oklahoma for this trip, leaving father and son quite the vacation. After a week of golf in Scotland, Scottie spent Monday walking alongside his father during his first full practice round at Royal Birkdale. Playing was more fun. They had matches on all three courses against Verplank’s caddie, Scott Tway, and Oklahoma City businessman Everett Dobson. “He bailed me out a few times,” Verplank said of his son. “I think they were getting a little hot when he kept making putts.” The only downside to the trip was having to pay full fare at St. Andrews — $1,040 for a foursome.

Associated Press