The angry winds whipped off the English Channel on Wednesday and they’ll be back on Thursday, gusting up to 30 mph to create havoc at the 140th Open Championship.
Nick Watney’s one of the best players in the world and is coming off his second win of the season at the AT&T National, yet he looked shellshocked when he trudged off Royal St. George’s on Wednesday.
“I found it very difficult today,” he admitted.
“I think if the wind blows like this and they kept the tees back, you could see some extremely high scores.”
Martin Kaymer was similarly grim in predicting that, unlike last month’s US Open, no one will be breaking major scoring records.
“The greens are very slopey, very difficult, and some approaches seem to be impossible sometimes,” the German said.
“It’s a big challenge.
“Every single shot is difficult, even the short putts.”
Jim McArthur, chairman of the Royal and Ancient’s championship committee, conceded that the “the wind perhaps is a wee bit stronger than we would like at the moment.”
Just a wee bit?
Many players couldn’t reach fairways from the back tees.
On Tuesday, Phil Mickelson said he “busted a driver short” on the 11th.
The 11th is a par 3, measuring only 210 yards. Mickelson would normally use a 6-iron to cover that distance, yet into the teeth of a fierce wind one of the longest hitters in the game couldn’t get his driver to the green.
Luke Donald, the world’s No. 1 player, said he couldn’t reach the fairway on the seventh hole.
“That (tee) would need to be put up if the wind was as strong as it was today and in the same direction,” he said.
“Eleven and 13 were also very tough. Eleven was a driver to the par 3, and it was two good shots to get to the front on 13.”
Peter Dawson, head of the R&A, admitted that “we do have some wind issues out there” and that tees may have to be moved up for the start of the tournament.
“I think players should be able to reach the fairway and reach the par 3s, frankly,” he said.
Given the forecasted mayhem, Mickelson said he doubted the winning score would be under par.
“I don't think the scores will be ridiculously low here at all,” he said.
“I think that calling (the fourth hole) a par 4 now immediately knocks four shots off the score relative to par. So already we're going to have a tough time breaking par over four rounds.”
The absence of rough, however, will make this Open an easier task than it was the last time Royal St. George’s hosted, when high rough led to an outcry from all except, perhaps, the shock winner, Ben Curtis.
“I wouldn't say there's an absence of rough, but it's certainly not the wedge-out thick rough that we had in '03, and to me the subtleties of this golf course come through now that we're able to keep playing and not have to wedge back to the fairway,” Mickelson said.
Lefty said he was bringing a new outlook to a tournament where he’s historically struggled.
“I actually really enjoy it, but I also enjoy golf in the States and I enjoy being rewarded for hitting a precise shot and having the ball end up close to the hole if you hit it really well, and land it where you want to land it.
“So I enjoy both elements. But I'm really coming to enjoy and appreciate the challenge that links golf provides.”
While many looked despondent as they finished their practice rounds, one man not complaining is Lee Westwood. To many he’s the favorite here this week, playing in his home country and on a course on which he won two amateur championships.
“Links golf is determined by the weather, so you don't want it flat calm,” he said.
“These golf courses are designed with, I guess, a 15, 20-miles-an-hour wind in mind, so you don't want it flat calm.
“I certainly want it so ball-striking is a prerequisite, really.”
He predicted that the winner will have been the player with the most patience.
“More than anywhere on the Open championship rota, I think there’s a couple of fairways out there which you can get bad breaks. I suppose you can get good breaks, as well, but I think at some point during the week you're going to need patience; it's going to be tested.
“But I've got plenty of that.”
In the end, this promises to be a wild and woolly week.
But it is, after all, the Open championship.
“We’ve always said,” Dawson concluded, “That we’ll take what nature gives us.”
