ESPN

• Vote on the opening round as it continues.

As ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski revealed this week, Tiger Woods lets caddy Steve Williams -- a Kiwi used to driving on the wrong side of the road -- handle the driving when Team Tiger hits the British Isles. But unless they rented a DeLorean, Woods isn't going to be able to match Tom Watson's experience at Turnberry.

When Watson fired a first-round 68 at the course in 1977 en route to victory, Woods hadn't yet celebrated his second birthday (granted, he probably still had a better handicap than 95 percent of us). And with what appeared on television to be rather serene conditions, Watson turned all that knowledge into a first-round 65 and the early lead in this year's Open Championship.

Watson hits the big 60 (age, not score) in a couple of months, which is why he wasn't even a candidate when SportsNation ranked its top Open contenders. And while a majority of SportsNation would still rather see Woods hoist the Claret Jug, anyone who can take close to 40 percent of the vote from him in anything is doing something right.

Edit (11:05 a.m. ET): Maybe Watson sticks around for a Sunday charge, or maybe he doesn't. But he put together a run on Woods after both were off the course. Early on, a majority wanted Woods to win more than Watson. But now? Not so much.

• SportsNation's early forecast for Watson calls for a top-10 finish.
• Chat: Bob Harig takes your questions live from Turnberry at 11 a.m. ET
• Beyond the 'Nation: The man, the myth, the blogging legend -- Jason Sobel

“

C'mon ESPN, get up a picture of Watson. What a story!

” -- spartygator

“

If the wind stays down under 20 mph, it will certainly favor Tiger. I can see where Sergio could have trouble making the cut.

” -- THE BOOTGUY