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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- Ah, the breakfast of champions.
Or late-night dinner, as the case may be.
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American Jonathan Byrd was one of the last men to gain entry to the British Open this week, earning the privilege by winning over the weekend at the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic. The victory touched off a mad logistics scramble for Byrd, who was not previously eligible for the season's third major.
Scramble might not be the right term. Maybe it was sunny-side-up.
After catching a ride home to Sea Island, Ga., late Sunday night on a John Deere corporate jet, Byrd and his wife had a celebratory dinner at a Waffle House, which was about the only restaurant open at that time.
Then he began piecing together how he could get to Scotland overnight with virtually no notice. Byrd arrived in Scotland on Tuesday and registered at 1:30 p.m., local time. He played his first practice round with fellow Sea Island resident Davis Love III.
"I can't wait to see what it's like out there and get a feel for it," Byrd said. "It's going to take me a couple of days to get used to it but I've got all the time in the world."
Well, sort of. He was one of the last players in the field to register. Some have been here since last week.
Odds are pretty good the week will turn out better than his last trip to the U.K. In 2003, he flew to England to play in a British Open qualifier and his wife's bag was stolen. Inside was some jewelry and a personal journal that carried great sentimental value.
"That was our most prized possession, that journal," he said.
Byrd hadn't even tried to qualify for the British this year, skipping the American qualifier a few weeks ago in Michigan.
"My game wasn't where I wanted it to be," he said.
He figured something out in a hurry, since Byrd had missed four cuts in succession before winning the Deere title, which made him the lone American under age 30 with three PGA Tour victories. Byrd, 29, laughed at how the world view of him has changed in such short order.
A writer from Byrd's home state, South Carolina, called after his victory. But had the call come a few days earlier, Byrd said he would have been drilled for being in such a lengthy slump. Now he's an American golden boy again.
"I swear if he had interviewed me the week before when I had missed four cuts, he would have been asking me if I felt like I was underachieving because I hadn't won since '04," Byrd laughed. "Now I'm the only American under 30 with three wins. It's just so fickle. One minute you all love us and the next minute you're all dogging me. That's just the way it goes."
