In the air, on the ground, wind wreaks havoc at Royal Birkdale

"They let it go because I think they wanted to finish today," said Jacobson, who said he would have waited all day for the wind to die down before absorbing a penalty stroke.

An official R&A explanation wasn't offered, but if they were indeed drawing up rules in the dirt to get through the day, it seemed apt given the Cirque du Birkdale scene.

Rising American star Anthony Kim endured a carnival on the 10th green, when his ball kept rolling away from his marker as he attempted to begin his putting routine. After the ball moved a couple of times, he called for a rules official. "I went and marked it, and after putting it back down, as I was reading it, the ball was blown about a foot back," he said. "So I kept waiting and it blew another foot back and I called the rules official, and he said, when it stops, mark it and we'll call a rover (official) over.

"So I marked it and I put the ball behind my coin for the official to see and it rolled probably five or six yards off the green."

It took forever for the matter to get settled partly because communication was difficult above the wailing wind.

"The wind was blowing so much he (the official) couldn't really hear in his ear piece," Kim said. "I want to say it took about half an hour."

The wind was so stiff, as he waited for a determination, Kim put his cap on backward to keep it from blowing into the seas. When the wind briefly settled, he putted out.

Saturday morning presented a strange tableau. Trees that had popped loose in midsummer foliage were shorn of their leaves. British Open flags hoisted earlier in the week had become badly frayed at the edges. Not quite as much as the players, mind you.

Norman had a 12-footer into the wind for a bogey on No. 10 and left it two feet short, and the wind moved the ball backward before he could mark it. He had to wait 20 or 30 seconds to mark the ball because it wouldn't stop wobbling.

Playing partner K.J. Choi, faced with a 30-inch putt on the same green, stood over the ball for an eternity on his second shot, afraid to ground his club or formally address the ball, because he was afraid it would move and he would be assessed a one-shot penalty.

The rest of the field looked like a parade of beer brewers, out inspecting the hops and grain. There was Harrington, chopping the ball from a sidehill lie so steep, he almost fell down. Jim Furyk was spotted searching for his ball in hay so high, you could not see his knees. After he extricated his ball, Furyk stopped to pick the burrs out of his socks.

David Duval parked his second shot of the day into the gunch, had to take an unplayable-lie penalty and made a triple bogey. He skied to an 83. "It felt like we went through a war," Kim said.

Hope he saved a few bullets.

More high winds are expected for Sunday.