Golf4uAlicante Blog

Open at St Andrews
The Open will be staged for the 150th time and will be watched by one of the biggest TV audiences in The World over the four days of fierce competition.

The Old Course at St Andrews has had some modifications for this year’s Championship, most notably to the world famous 17th The  Road Hole. The tee has been moved back on slightly to the right for The Championship so that the hardest hole in golf will play as it was originally designed to. The hole will play long and will require some imagination and almost any player in the field would take level par over the four days at this hole. In the past we have seen some of the best golfers totally humiliated in the green side bunker, where some have run up serious double-digit scores.  Other holes will see far less dramatic modifications but the bunkers that were almost redundant in recent years will now come back into play as the course is lengthened to combat how far the modern greats are hitting the ball.

In it to win it

There are very many players who state The Old Course is their favourite course in The World.  All will fancy their chances and be full of confidence when the event starts on Thursday morning.

 Rory McIllroy will be amongst the bookies’ favourites and has played well around the course several times as an amateur, the professional game is different though and it is thought that he’ll have to wait a few years to pick up The Claret Jug. 

Padraig Harrington will contend and has the experience of winning The Open but he will only contend if the weather gets bad and makes others struggle. Tiger Woods took the course apart 10 years ago and loves the atmosphere but whether his head is in it or not only time will tell. Tiger won it at the last two Opens – 2000 and 2005. 

Ernie Els has come back to form and could be a good outside bet. Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey could all win it for England if they bring their ‘A’ games with Poulter seemingly the most determined.

KJ Choi could become the first in many years from Asia to compete and is due a good result in a major championship; I don’t think he’ll be far away at the end. 

 Of the Americans Phil Mickelson is perhaps the most fancied but I think he hits the ball too high to contend if the wind gets up and this is probably the hardest of all the majors for him to win.

What about the oldies: could we see Watson, Faldo, Lyle or Norman compete again? Probably not in all honesty but Watson got very close last year so the experience of winning the most important event in sport could play a very big part at the end of the scheduled 72 holes.

Whatever happens, the whole of the golfing public await the morning of the Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th July 2010. and the four days of The Open in great anticipation. Keep everything crossed for a European winner.