Up & Down Cinderella stories, stupid holes and Monty. The highs and lows of the British Open

[UP]

TODD HAMILTON He took the Ben Curtis route, going from Q school
to the British Open winner's circle with a surprising and gutty
performance.

PHIL MICKELSON Lefty tallied his first top 10 at the British Open
and has now finished first, second and third at this year's
majors. Any bets he'll come in fourth at the PGA?

KAYLEE HAMILTON The winner's four-year-old daughter provided the
freshest and funniest moment of the broadcast by calling the 18th
"a stupid hole" on air after her dad bogeyed it.

ROYAL TROON The winds off the Firth of Clyde never really blew,
but the course still provided a strategic challenge that brought
out some great golf and another tense finish.

AMERICANS They've dominated the British Open, chugging from the
jug after the last six Opens at Royal Troon and eight of the last
10 overall.

NICK FALDO He showed great promise during his TV debut by
offering a nice mix of insight, history, humor and just plain
wackiness. Oo-la-la!

COLIN MONTGOMERIE Besieged by personal problems and a slide in
the World Ranking, the Mrs. Doubtfire look-alike showed he still
has some game and gave the locals a thrill with a run up the
leader board on Friday.

STEVE LOWERY A trip to Scotland wasn't in his plans, but after a
good finish at the Western got him in, Lowery jumped at the
chance to zip across the Atlantic and take a shot at major glory.

[DOWN]

BEN CURTIS Showed that the second leg of the Ben Curtis route
detours through a seven-over missed cut in his return engagement.

ERNIE ELS The Big Bridesmaid got his second runner-up in a major
this year and the sixth of his career, putting him on the verge
of Greg Normanhood.

ALEX HARVEY The 79-year-old engraver was once again shown poised
with his etching tool for what's become one of the most tired and
cliched moments in televised golf.

SHINNECOCK HILLS An obsession with protecting par drove the
course to the brink of ruin and made the U.S. Open entertaining,
but ridiculous.

EUROPEANS No one from the continent has won a major in this
century. Even the little country of South Africa has three
victories. Maybe the Euros simply aren't that good.

HAL SUTTON We don't want to say that the humorless Ryder Cup
captain is repetitive, but we do want to point out that he often
repeats himself.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE Besieged by personal problems and a slide in
the World Ranking, he once again teased fans with the possibility
of winning a major, then faltered, shooting a final-round 76 to
finish 25th.

FRED FUNK He qualified for the British Open but blew off golf's
oldest championship so he could rack up Ryder Cup points against
a weak field at the B.C. Open, then finished 40th.

THREE COLOR PHOTOS: AL TIELEMANS (TODD AND KAYLEE HAMILTON, CURTIS, MONTGOMERIE)

COLOR PHOTO: DAVID CANNON/GETTY IMAGES (LOWERY)

TWO COLOR PHOTOS: ROBERT BECK (ELS, FUNK)

Trust Me

Call off the attack dogs and unlock the door to the ladies'
locker room: John E. Morgan and his backward rally cap won't turn
the PGA Tour into the NBA--or the NFL.