user: Text: U.S. golfer Stewart Cink has promised a "fiercely competitive" defense of his British Open title at St Andrews next week. Cink, the world number 34, was a surprise winner of the Claret Jug last season, beating veteran Tom Watson in a play-off to land his first major title. The British Open will celebrate its 150th anniversary at the sport's spiritual home in Scotland when the event gets underway on Thursday, July 15. "St. Andrews will be special," Cink told CNN's Living Golf. "Obviously it will be my third Open that I've played there. I just have so much respect for it, the way it has developed over the years and it's [...] amazing that it's remained this good for this long. "It will also be a time to be fiercely competitive because I really don't want to give that up again." A year ago at Turnberry, Cink finished level with five-time champion Watson on two under par, before storming to a six-shot victory in the four-hole play-off. Ranked 33 at the time and with only one previous top-10 finish at the championship, Cink says he was inspired by fellow American Lucas Glover, who shocked better-known rivals to land the U.S. Open title last year. "I looked back and thought, well, if Lucas Glover can win the U.S. Open then why can't I win a major? What's stopping me? "At the end of a major championship, there's always one guy that just seems to have the poise to come and step through the threshold -- that was me that Sunday. It was humbling and satisfying." Cink will playing at a St Andrews Open for the third time and thinks he knows the secret to success on the Old Course. "You need to avoid the bunkers, that's the main thing" he said. "It's probably got the most severe set of bunkers of any Open venue. You really have to position your second shots." While Watson will be making another bid for his sixth title at St Andrews, another of the sport's legends won't be there. Australia's Greg Norman, the 1986 and 1993 winner, has pulled out of the tournament because of a shoulder injury. The 53-year-old, who finished joint third at Royal Birkdale in the 2008 Open, has not played an event since undergoing shoulder surgery in September. "I'm disappointed that I will not be able to participate in this year's Open Championship, but unfortunately, it is taking me longer than expected to regain my competitive form," Norman told the Open's official website. Norman has been replaced in the field by his fellow Australian Jason Day, who won the Byron Nelson Championship in May at the age of 22.
Highlights: Stewart Cink promises "fiercely competitive" British Open defense at St Andrews. Cink says he was inspired by Lucas Glover in 2009 Turnberry success. The Open will celebrate its 150th anniversary at the home of golf next week. Two-time winner Greg Norman pulls out of tournament with a shoulder injury.
in: By. Paul Harris and Francesca Infante. PUBLISHED:. 18:24 EST, 10 March 2013. |. UPDATED:. 07:11 EST, 11 March 2013. After the Tube train had disappeared into the tunnel, you could still find Dr Margaret McCollum sitting on the platform bench, lost in thought. A few minutes later, another train would arrive. 'Mind the gap!' said the voice on the loudspeaker to disembarking passengers, and Dr McCollum smiled... and still she stayed. For although that announcement became familiar to millions travelling on the London Underground at Embankment station, the voice had a special significance for Dr McCollum, a recently widowed GP. Scroll down for video. Poignant moment: Margaret McCollum for her late husband Oswald Laurence's voice at Embankment. The voice was her husband's, and in countless, poignant moments since actor Oswald Laurence died in 2007, she has remained on the platform just to hear him speak. Then last year, Transport For London finally brought the curtain down on Mr Laurence's only remaining stage – the northbound Northern Line platform at Embankment – in favour of a bland, digitised announcement. Dashing: Actor Laurence Oswald - 'Mr Gap' But the delightful love story that threw Dr McCollum and Mr Laurence together for 15 'blissfully happy years' is about to get a happy ending. As the Daily Mail reported on Saturday, TFL bosses are working to return Mr Laurence's voice full-time to Embankment after Dr McCollum wrote to them asking for a recording of her husband's announcement. It first aired in the late 1950s but few had any idea who Mr Laurence was; fewer still what he looked like. Until today, that is, after the Mail tracked down his widow and uncovered the identity of the man whose voice made him 'Mr Gap'. 'He was never very far away in my head and in my heart,' she said. 'And knowing that I could go and listen to his voice was simply wonderful. It was a great comfort. 'I would go and sit on the platform, and sometimes miss a couple of trains just so I could hear it. Although he could do accents, it was his natural speaking voice – clear, precise, authoritative. 'His announcement didn't say 'please' – it was perfectly minimalist. So that was what I would do, right up until last November, until one day, I heard a different voice.' Dr McCollum, now 65, wrote to TFL to ask for a recording of the announcement, and to her delight, a CD arrived just before Christmas. 'Blissfully happy': Dr McCullom and Mr Laurence were together for 15 years, having meet in 1992. Then London Underground's unpublicised plan to reinstate Mr Laurence at Embankment was revealed after it was broadcast once again on Thursday. Train buffs and internet sites excitedly reported Mr Gap's return. But who was he? Mr Laurence was a wartime evacuee who joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the age of 17. Mind the gap: TFL bosses are looking to reinstate Mr Laurence's voice after axing it from the Tube last year. The dashing young actor went on to secure a string of roles in films that included Three Men In A Boat, a 1956 comedy starring Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, and a young Kenneth Williams playing a bit-part; The Dirty Dozen; and TV episodes of The Saint, starring Roger Moore. Ironically his voice reached a far wider audience than any of those films. It also helped to win him a wife. Dr McCollum, who spent 39 years in the health service, regularly commuted by Tube from her north London home, as did her future husband. They did not meet until 1992 when she was flying out of Heathrow on a guided tour holiday – with Mr Laurence as tour guide. She heard 'the most gorgeous voice' behind her and the pair were instantly attracted. They later became partners and married in 2003 after more than 11 years together. She kept her maiden and professional name but 'adored' being Mrs Laurence. Mr Laurence lost his battle against long-term cardio-vascular problems nearly six years ago when he was in his 70s. 'Knowing he was going to die gave a kind of intensity to our last years together,' she said. 'But I always knew that even when he was gone, I could go and listen to him whenever I wanted.' Yesterday staff at the station said there had been technical difficulties broadcasting Mr Laurence's recording over a new PA system, which was why commuters heard the old and the new intermittently. But TFL said it was hoping to let him take centre stage soon.
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assistant: The recording of Oswald Laurence first aired on the Tube in the late 1950s. But few had any idea who Mr Laurence was; fewer still what he looked like. Until today, that is, after the Mail tracked down his wife Margaret McCollum. He starred in numerous films and TV episodes, and died in 2007 in his 70s. Dr McCollum would sit on the platform at Embankment to hear his voice. It was the last station where it was used until TFL bosses axed it last year. But transport chiefs are now working on returning his voice to the station.