A pair of housemates share The Open Championship lead

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – There will be an elephant in the room Friday night – and we’re not talking about Big Al, the mascot of the University of Alabama, which happens to be the alma mater of one of the housemates, Justin Thomas. Although upon reflection, sticking Big Al in an oversized Scottish kilt and have him kick soccer balls at Auburn grad Jason Dufner would definitely raise the level of absurdity in those backyard matches. Rather, this topic is more serious. Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson, two of the other seven PGA TOUR golfers who are sharing a compound this week close to Carnoustie Golf Links, are co-leaders at 6 under through 36 holes of The Open Championship. Kisner is seeking his first major win; Johnson is chasing his third. Both desperately want to get their hands on the Claret Jug come Sunday night. The pressure will be immense. To make it even more interesting – they will be in the final twosome in Saturday’s third round. What do Kisner and Johnson think about sharing a house and sharing the 36-hole lead? That’s the big topic – and nothing will be off-limits when the two see each other at the dinner table. In fact, no topic apparently is off-limits among these friends. “Absolutely not,â€� Kisner said after his 1-under 70 left him at 6-under through 36 holes. “The range of topics are vast.â€� Kisner expects he and Johnson – as well as Thomas, Dufner, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler – to discuss what they’ve been discussing all week. No dancing around any subject matter, although the majority of the conversation is pretty clear-cut. “Golf will probably be the tune,â€� Kisner said. “Everybody will tell their horror stories and good stories, and we’ll laugh and eat a big ol’ meal and sit around and watch something stupid.â€� Actually, not everything they watch is stupid. The other night they watched the Netflix movie “Icarus,â€� a fascinating documentary about the Russian doping scandal. Sounds like pretty heady stuff for a group of guys who otherwise play pick-up soccer, with Dufner playing all-time goalie. This is the third year of The Open Championship “fratâ€� house but the first time that Kisner has been in the group. He’s fit in nicely, and perhaps hanging out with a group of friends has helped alleviate the pressure of leading the first two days. Johnson, of course, already has shown he can successfully handle the challenge of winning a major. At 42, he’s the oldest member of the house, although the housing arragements didn’t exist when he won the Claret Jug in 2015. “I wasn’t in a fraternity in college, but it kind of feels like I’m going back to my alma mater,â€� Johnson said after his 4-under 67 in the morning. “And I’m the old guy stepping into the current frat house…. “It does make the week significantly easier because of the amenities we have and because I’m with buddies and because I’m with guys that, I mean, certainly I can feed off and vice versa. It’s never a bad thing to bond or hang out, whether you’re competing or not.â€� While Kisner and Johnson are the co-heads of the household right now, they’re not the only ones in contention entering this weekend at Carnoustie. Spieth shot a 4-under 67 and is now just three strokes off the lead as he attempts to win a second consecutive title at The Open. Fowler also has the same score as Spieth at 3 under after a 69, while Dufner made the cut on the number at 3 over. Thomas (4 over) and Walker (8 over) unfortunately will have to sit out the weekend. But Fowler and Thomas may have a side competition going this week – best scruffy beard. “I think he kind of followed my lead in a way,â€� said Fowler, who started growing his last week during a T-6 performance at the Scottish Open. “It’s just fun. We mess around with it. Obviously, not taking it too seriously. But like I said, ended up playing halfway decent last week, so I couldn’t really shave it off going into this week.â€� Back to the golf competition … a year ago, Spieth entered the weekend at Royal Birkdale with a two-shot lead over non-house member Matt Kuchar. Nobody else staying with Spieth was close to sniffing the lead, and after the third round, Spieth and Kuchar had clear separation from the field. This year could be different, especially if there are multiple co-leaders in the house entering the final round. “We’ll see how tomorrow plays out,â€� Spieth said. “Maybe tomorrow night or Sunday, it’s gets a little quiet. “But I doubt it.â€� A year ago, Spieth also had to pony up a substantial amount of money to pay the entire private jet fee for the housemates to return home to the United States. It was part of the agreement made if anybody in the house won The Open. According to Johnson, no such agreement exists this year, so he and Kisner – as well as Spieth and Fowler and even Dufner – are off the hook. “This year a bunch of guys are going elsewhere,â€� Johnson said. “So it’s not going to come to fruition. It’s not going to happen, but that’s fine.â€� Might be a topic worth revisiting now that so many housemates are in contention. Sounds like they have plenty to talk about.

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