TOLEDO, Ohio — The coolest thing at the U.S. Senior Open hasn’t been the air conditioning in the clubhouse or the ice in the drinks at the corporate tents.
Olin Browne, of all people, has been one cool customer.
Battling high heat and staring down veteran major winner Mark O’Meara, Browne had all the answers for the third day in a row Saturday, shooting a 6-under-par 65 to forge a two-stroke lead over O’Meara (66) heading into today’s final round.
“The truth is, I haven’t been thinking about what I’ve been doing. I’m thinking about what I’m going to do,” Browne said.
Never a winner in his three years of competition since turning 50, Browne set the tournament record for lowest score through 54 holes. Thanks to a record-tying 64 followed by a 69, he’s at 15-under 198.
He didn’t even want to contemplate what winning a major championship would mean to him, even though he knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in for much of his 27 years as a touring pro.
“I really don’t have any idea,” he said. “It would be great, obviously. I would love to have one.”
Browne is trying to join Simon Hobday, who won at Pinehurst No. 2 in 1994, as the only wire-to-wire winners in the tournament’s 32 years.
