http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3496953&sportCat=golf SOUTHPORT, England -- Greg Norman poked a key into locker No. 103, swung open the wooden door and began clearing out his belongings. Golf shoes. Golf balls. Golf gloves. Norman stuffed them into a half-dozen different zippered carry bags. Just then a friend stopped by the Royal Birkdale locker room to say hello. "Hey, buddy, how are you?" the friend said. "Um, I'm like a whipped dog, man," Norman said. He said it with a smile, but he's right -- there was a hint of exhaustion in Norman's voice. You'd be tired, too, if you'd arm-wrestled golf history for four long days. Norman had come to Birkdale and the 137th British Open as an afterthought, a 53-year-old museum piece. He was supposed to stay long enough to shoot a couple of 80-somethings, miss the cut and turn in his courtesy Lexus by Saturday. Then it would be on to Scotland and next week's Senior British Open with the rest of the golf fogies. Except that Norman shot an even-par 70 on Thursday, a 70 on Friday, and a 72 in Southport's wind machine to -- pause for gasps -- lead the real British Open after 54 holes. First, Tiger Woods wins last month's U.S. Open on one leg, then Norman injects some Botox into his golf game. But leading a major after three rounds is like hitting five of the first six lotto numbers. You still need one more. Norman tried, he really did, but he couldn't overcome too many drives that dive-bombed into the ponytail-thick heather, or the four missed putts that came this close to dropping in, or most of all, Padraig Harrington and his final round of 69. ESPN.com 7/20/08