Warren Little/R&ASOUTHPORT, England — “He's not quite Jeff Knox.”
I couldn't believe my ears. Not just because I was standing approximately 4,000 miles away from Augusta National Golf Club, but because the fan had said it with a thick British accent. Jeff Knox, the man who has gained a cult following as a non-competing Masters marker, is now an international star as well? Incredible.
But on Saturday at the 146th British Open, it was a different golfer playing the role in which Knox has been cast starred many times. So who was this mysterious man playing with Shaun Norris inside the ropes at Royal Birkdale?
Maybe that's his mate, one fan said. Nope.
I think it's just a random guy, another guessed. Wrong again.
I'm assuming this guy is a local player. Getting closer. . .
Actually, the man playing alongside Norris in the third round was Royal Birkdale assistant pro and Southport resident Gregg Petersen, who got the call for Saturday's earliest tee time while..

Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesDustin Johnson hits his second shot from the rough on the 16th hole during the third round of the 146th Open Championship.SOUTHPORT, England — So here’s the state of craziness at Royal Birkdale on Saturday at the How Low Can You Go Open Championship. Dustin Johnson shot a six-under 64, his lowest 18-hole score in a major championship in 119 rounds played, and he walked off sounding mildly disappointed.
Granted, the World No. 1 prefaced his remarks by noting that he hit the ball a heck of a lot better this afternoon than he had the two previous trips around the links. (On Friday, for instance, he hit just four greens en route to a two-over 72.)
But when you stand on the 16th tee at six under for the round, six birdies already on your card, and you know a 62 has already been posted by Branden Grace less than an hour earlier, the thought of something really, really low does come to mind. Which makes the three pedestrian pars—leaving an eight-foot birdie try sh..

Matthew Lewis/R&ASOUTHPORT, ENGLAND – JULY 22: Branden Grace of South Africa walks onto the 18th green during the third round of the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 22, 2017 in Southport, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)SOUTHPORT, England — Move over, Johnny Miller.
Branden Grace became the first player to shoot 62 in a men's major championship, eclipsing the mark first set by Miller by a stroke in windless, soft conditions on Saturday at Royal Birkdale.
The 29-year-old South African, meanwhile, had no clue.
“I didn't know what was going on on 18,” he said. “I promise you.
“I was just so in the zone of playing, hole after hole. I knew I was obviously playing really well, and making the turn in five-under was pretty special. And I thought if I could make a couple more on the back nine, then it's going to be a great score.”
Grace, playing in the 13th group out on a day littered with low scores, began his day with a birdie on the..