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Scotland yardage: the last time the British Open was played at St. Andrews, Tiger Wood's mastered the Old Course with unearthly distance control. If the weather cooperates, Tiger will roar once more

Sporting News, The, July 15, 2005 by Reid Spencer

Are you ready for a shocker? Tiger Woods will win the Open Championship--the tournament we Americans still insist on calling the British Open (July 14-17). Woods will claim the Claret Jug for the second time on the layout that gave him his first Open title, the Old Course at St. Andrews. In the process, he will join Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers who have won the professional career Grand Slam more than once.

For his 2000 victory, Woods and his brain trust at the time, caddie Steve Williams and swing guru Butch Harmon (remember him?), developed a game plan designed to avoid the diabolical traps the Old Course sets for the unwary. Playing to precise yardages, Woods negotiated 72 holes without landing in a single bunker--unheard of at St. Andrews. He flirted with the sand on a couple of occasions, but not even a side trip to the Sahara would have derailed his 8-shot win over Ernie Els and Thomas Bjorn.

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There are two other major players that could thwart Woods' quest for the title. One is Lady Luck. In a close championship, a bad bounce here or a plugged lie there can mean the difference between a major title and a major disappointment.

The other, more significant one, is Mother Nature. The weather in 2000 couldn't have been more cooperative. The wind was down, temperatures were positively balmy (for Scotland, anyway), and an occasional patch of blue peeked through the overcast. Bails weren't blown sideways off the Old Course's double greens the way they can be. Accordingly, Woods finished with a 19-under-par 269, one shot better than Nick Faldo's previous tournament record at St. Andrews.

Although Tiger insists he prefers conditions that make playing as difficult as possible, he has not proved he's a bad-weather player. Three years ago at Muirfield, in third-round conditions better suited to the Abominable Snowman than tournament golf, Woods shot himself out of contention with an 81.

Ernie Els, on the other hand, survived the brutal weather at Muirfield and went on to win the title. Certainly, no discussion of the possible champions in 2005 can exclude the 2000 runner-up, particularly if the wind blows.

Sergio Garcia, with his rejuvenated putting stroke, is another player to watch if the weather turns ugly. His 71 on Saturday in 2002 was one of the most underrated rounds of the year. Don't discount Vijay Singh, either, who would like nothing better than to add an Open Championship to his Masters win and two PGA titles.

And don't forget Michael Campbell, the long shot from New Zealand who survived sectional qualifying to win the U.S. Open. Campbell hasn't made believers of the British bookies (he's still a 40:1 shot to win), but remember, it was Campbell who held the 54-bole lead at St. Andrews in 1995, then missed joining the playoff with John Daly and Costantino Rocca by a stroke.

The 10 coolest things about St. Andrews

1. The Open's open-door policy. There's no limit to the size of the galleries, and there are 21,000 grandstand seats to accommodate them.

2. The Road Hole bunker. This insidious maw on the 17th hole has been widened slightly, but new contours at the green encourage the ball to roll into the sand.

3. The huge yellow scoreboards. Manually operated, they're the Fenway/Wrigley scoreboards of golf.

4. The beach. The landing point for those in rubber Zodiac boats lucky enough to be anchored in St. Andrews Bay. Chariots of Fire was filmed there.

5. The large clock on the Royal & Ancient clubhouse. It serves as the aiming point from the 18th tee.

6. The nicknames. Bunkers on the Old Course are true hazards worthy of their soubriquets: Principal's Nose, Spectacles, Coffins and, simply, Hell.

7. The Old Tom Morris impersonators. They're as common as Elvises in Las Vegas. Grow a beard, grab a kilt and an unruly wig, develop a little Scottish patter and you've got an act.

8. The Old Course Hotel. The sign still provides the target line off the 17th tee. The price of a room during Open week is prohibitive for all but royalty, but a stroll through the lobby is mandatory.

9. The Old Tom Morris Golf Shop. The world's oldest and most famous golf shop stands across from the 18th green, where it has opened its doors to golfers and tourists since 1848.

10. The way it grows on you. In the 1921 Open, Bobby Jones tore up his card after three futile blasts from a bunker on No. 11. He vowed never to return to the Old Course but broke his promise and won the Open there in 1927. --R.S.

Nicklaus says goodbye

On Friday--or Sunday if he shocks the world and makes the cut--Jack Nicklaus will pause on Swilcan Bridge for the obligatory 18th-hole farewell photo on the Old Course. This will be Nicklaus' final appearance in a major and, barfing an unlikely return in his own Memorial tournament, the final time he competes in earnest against the youngsters of the PGA and European Tours.

In deference to Nicklaus' farewell, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club moved the Open's return to the Old Course from 2006 to 2005. Although Nicklaus has picked Pebble Beach as the course he'd like to play if he had only one round left, it's appropriate that St. Andrews will be the site of his farewell appearance. Nicklaus, 65, won two of his three Open titles at the Old Course--in 1970 in an 18-hole playoff against Doug Sanders and in 1978 by two shots over the formidable foursome of Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Simon Owen and Raymond Floyd.

Scotland yardage: the last time the British Open was played at St. Andrews, Tiger Wood's mastered the Old Course with unearthly distance control. If the weather cooperates, Tiger will roar once more

Sporting News, The, July 15, 2005 by Reid Spencer

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