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We said it yesterday, we'll say it again today.  If you told Vegas oddsmakers that by today, Saturday, you'd have a 59-year-old Tom Watson in the lead at the 2009 British Open, and Tiger Woods on the plane home, they'd most likely have laughed you right out of town.  Looks like Watson is the one laughing now as he continues to battle it out at Turnberry, fighting to hold onto his top spot.

Oldest Winner in PGA Tour History?

In the event hat he DOES hold on, he's currently tied for the lead at -3 and through the 14th hole today at +2 for the day, he'd be the oldest winner in the history of the PGA Tour.  In a word, a word we use a lot here:  Wow.  Nevertheless, it's not like the top of the leaderboard is exactly a lonely place this year at Turnberry, at the start of round 3 today, there were a gigantic amount of players within striking distance of the lead.  Currently, there are 39 players all within 6 strokes of the lead and inside of that, 10 players that are only three strokes away.

Weather Changes Everything, Who Can Cope?

Given the extremely flighty and ever-changing weather conditions at Turnberry, absolutely anything could happen to close out today, and even MORE ups and downs could be seen in the final round on Sunday.  The question of who will win will most likely be answered by the same answer to another question:  Who can play consistent, accurate golf no matter what the conditions are doing?

British Open is Wide Open

To say that this tournament is wide-open is a bit of an understatement.  Anything, and I do stress ANYTHING, could happen.  If you're not tuning in to the final round tomorrow, you might want to have your head examined, as it's going to be one of the most exciting finishes so far this year.  Tune in, you won't regret it.

As for us, we'll be rooting for Watson, all the way.

(image via pgatour.com)

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Ryo Ishikawa, only 17 years old, has enjoyed one heck of a roller coaster ride the past few months.  Considering he's basically been famous since he was 15 years old and became the youngest winner on any Tour, anywhere, that is sanctioned by the Official World Golf  Ranking, and has since seen more countries and tournaments than just about any teenager, ever, to say he's about to face his first true test must really mean something.

Ishikawa, Woods & Westwood

That's right, Ishikawa, the Japanese wunderkind and newest media sensation, is paired with none other than Tiger Woods for the very first round of the British Open at Turnberry, in Scotland.  Interesting, as Tiger knows exactly how it feels to be in Ishikawa's shoes, and might have some good advice and who knows, even a calming presence to the torrent of reporters and media he's used to as of late.

Humbling & Exciting

Tiger, who has gone on record as saying that Ishikawa is handling the media support and the pressure extremely well hasn't gone unnoticed to Ishikawa.  Here's what he had to say concerning Tiger Woods, and his upcoming pairing with him and Lee Westwood:

“It’s unbelievable that Tiger is talking about me...And it is like a dream come true. Ever since I got into the British Open it’s like a total dream. I’m surprised to see Tiger in the same group.”

How he'll handle Tiger remains to be seen, but the other big question waiting to be answered is how he'll handle the golf course.  He's never seen anything remotely like the style of course he'll be facing at Turnberry and it will be beyond interesting to see how his game adapts to it, or rather, how quickly.  If it does adapt quick enough, we might be seeing Ryo in all four rounds this British Open, if not, it might be a 36 hole dream.

TUNE IN, This Will Be Good

Stay tuned, this is one of many reasons it's going to be so good this year.

(image via Damian Dovarganes/AP)