Royal Lytham and St Annes To Take No Prisoners At 141st Open Championship

14 years ago tomorrow the late great Seve Ballesteros shot a breath-taking six under par 65 in the final round of The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes to take the Claret Jug for the third time. His final score of -11 gave him victory by two strokes ahead of Zimbabwean Nick Price. The links course in the North-West of England continued to yield low scores the next two times golf's biggest tournament was held there. In 1996 Tom Lehman shot 13 under par while a number of low scores were shot, including three 65s. Five years on and Colin Montgomerie lit up the course with a magnificent opening day 65 before falling away as American David Duval won by three strokes on ten under. 

If it was a tough course then it has become even harder to negotiate over the last eleven years. Subtle changes have been made as the course has been lengthened by 213 yards and the sixth hole changed from a par five to a par four; meaning that it now plays as a par 70, not 71. Add 206 bunkers over the eighteen holes and this becomes a real test with good or bad weather. The forecast suggests some sun and some rain with a definite breeze but not overly disruptive winds. Sunday could be the day when the rains really come and the wind increases in speed and this could make for carnage on the final day. 

Much has been made of the rough at the course so far this week with many of the top players saying after their practice rounds that it is almost unplayable. Tiger Woods said: "It's just that you can't get out of it. That bottom six inches, in some places is almost unplayable, I've never seen the rough this high or thick and dense." Defending champion Darren Clarke said that there 'could be some lost balls in there'. 

Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the Royal and Ancient has defended the rough on the course saying: "The rough is up but the course is reasonably generous on width and most of the players seem happy with it, at least those I have spoken to, maybe 20 or so." Links courses are always difficult and the players should be prepared for a tough examination of their game. World number two Lee Westwood agreed with Dawson: "I'm sure there are some unplayable places in the rough. It's pretty thick and brutal, but if you don't go in it then you don't have a problem with it." 

Whoever wins this weekend they will have to be hitting the ball very straight and that is what The Open is about; only players with the best ball control can hope to be successful. Westwood was quietly confident about his chances: I played the golf course last night, which was a genius move because it was nice weather and there was hardly anybody out there, it was one of the best Open Championship practices I ever had.

I was going around yesterday trying to figure out where the birdie opportunities are, and I'm still trying to figure that out. Rather than pick out the birdie opportunities, there's going to be holes out there where par is going to be a good score. That's the way to approach it." The Englishman will go into Thursday as one of the favourites and rightly so after eight top ten finishes in his last 12 major appearances. 

Despite there being the usual suspects in the field, the likes of Donald, Westwood, Woods, Mickelson, Harrington and McIlroy, it could be anyone's Claret Jug this year. With the rough high and the course littered with bunkers all the players will struggle if they cannot keep the ball on the fairway. While good putting is always key during an Open championship the accuracy from tee-to-green will be most important this week. This is why Westwood will go in as a hot favourite, as will Woods. Nevertheless any player who can hit form will be in with an excellent chance. Two-time champion Padraig Harrington goes into the tournament in good spirits after top 15 finishes in his last four PGA Tour events and a tie for 16th in the Scottish Open last week and many will tip him for glory.

This year's Open championship is sure to be decided by who can combine precise hitting with solid putting.  The winner could well be a first-time winner, like the previous nine major tournaments, or a person with experience of victory, possibly Woods or Harrington. Anyone who fails to keep their swing in good order will be found out by a Royal Lytham course that will clamp down its jaws on any erratic shots. 

Golfing Big Guns Warming Up For The Open At Scenic Castle Stuart

With the Open Championship less than a week away the attention of the golfing world is firmly placed on Castle Stuart, the venue for the Scottish Open which effectively serves as a warm-up event for the Open. The big guns are out in force at the picturesque golf course with world number one Luke Donald, four-time major champion Phil Mickelson and three-time major winners Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington among those going for glory this weekend. 

Francesco Molinari and Alexander Noren sit joint a-top the leader-board at -12 after Molinari shot 62 on Thursday while Noren hit consecutive 66s. The likes of Matteo Manessero, Ricardo Gonzalez and Shane Lowry are very close behind at -11. Defending champion Luke Donald is also well in the mix at -9 after two rounds in the 60s, although had more putts dropped he may have shot even lower. Former world number one Martin Kaymer held the lead at one stage today but dropped back to -9 after dropping two strokes in his last three holes. He was clearly disappointed with the end of his round: "Yesterday was good but today the back nine was a bit of a struggle; a bit of a s***** finish." 

American four-time major champion made a special flew over especially for this week's tournament but looked unlikely to make the cut after a 73 yesterday. However today he looked right back on form as he shot a magnificent 64. He said that 'when the wind starts blowing 20 or 30 knots it becomes difficult'. Despite the good scoring conditions he wants better preparation for the Open next week: "I hope we get some bad weather as it is meant to be very wet and windy next week." He is right in the mix and no one will rule him out at just five shots behind going into the weekend. 

Ernie Els has had a mixed start to the tournament consistently trading birdies with dropped shots for his first 36 holes. The 'Big Easy' has hit some magnificent shots but his putting has continued to be erratic and yesterday he took four shots to get out of a green-side bunker. Padraig Harrington has looked in ominous form recently and has been there or thereabouts in recent weeks. The two-time Open champion hit two 69s to take a seat well-placed at six shots back. 

On the opening day Molinari hit an imperious round of 62 which featured ten birdies and eight pars. This followed on from his closing 64 at last week's French Open that stole him second place. Of his recent run of form he said: "I know it's not going to last forever, but I hope to keep this going a little bit longer - obviously next week, but the next month or so is really big for Ryder Cup." Today he could not quite match yesterday's performance but he still shot a two-under-par 70 to claim a share of the lead. 

This tournament has given the spectators an excellent first two days with plenty of low-scoring. However if the wind picks up then the dropped shots start to appear on a more regular basis which would shake up the leader-board. Having said this, if the weather stays benign then it is still sure to produce a thrilling last two days as all the players continue to attack flags and hunt for birdies.