On The Open

Mostly The Open, sometimes The Open Championship, but never The British Open. The oldest and most august (which is odd, because it is held in July) of golfing challenges is with us once again.

Where better than Turnberry, the home of the famous Duel in the Sun, as opposed to The Jewel in the Sun, as one erudite kiwi golf writer put it this week (actually a rugby writer but they double up).

Tiger Woods, the housewives choice (presumably because they believe the legend) is the hot favourite. Once upon a time, 100 white men chasing a black man around a field was called a Klu Klux Clan witchhunt, now it is simply referred to as the PGA Tour.

Can the freakish, ugly swinged Woods continue his dominance and chase for The Golden Bear's majors record?

Number One Sports Fan thinks not.

Instead it is time for one of Europe's young guns to emerge from the "best players yet to win a major" pack and claim the Claret Jug. Kaymer of Germany is busy conquering Europe in a manner which belies the history of his race, Garcia may find links to his liking again, young McIlroy is a prodigious possibilityand could once again have the Irish exploding into the headlines, and Europe's forgotten man, Justin Rose, is showing signs of the touch which took him last year to world number 6. A Rose win, or least a good challenge, will lead to an outpouring of headlines relating to horticulture.

If it is to be a Yank who licks 'em on the links, look no further than Nick Watney or Steve Stricker. I think they are the only ones coming.

The weather will be the fifteenth club in every players bag (maybe the sixteenth in Ian Woosnam's).

According to who you believe, the forecast is for sun with light winds, scattered showers with winds, and torrential rain with gales. Forecasters have achieved concensus in ruling out tidal waves in Oxford and avalanches in Norwich, but otherwise opinion seems to remain sharply divided.

On this basis, one must assume it will be wet and windy every day, so the grinders, rather than the shotmakers, may come to the fore, which will clearly not favour Woods, as he is not the organ grinder.

In the words of old Tom Morris, the first of the great Open Champions : " Aye, there's nae thing so bad as getting the wind at Turnberry"