Muirfield An Open Preview

NICK FALDO ground out 18 pars in dreadful conditions in the final round to win the 1987 Open Championship at Muirfield. It can be that kind of a golf course. It can also be the sort of links that will yield 65s in the final round and 84 in any round if the weather gods take a fancy to beating up the best players on the planet. Colin Montgomerie suffed such ignominy at the 2002 Open.

It is a course that favours shotmakers and there is none better in the game today than Phil Mickelson. It remains to be seen, of course, whether the American has managed to get over the bitter disappointment of finishing second in the US Open for the sixth time at Merion. It also remains to be seen whether he can again be as disciplined at Muirfield as he was then. Lefty played all 72 holes without a driver in his bag.

The rough at Muirfield can be punishing, and everybody will want to avoid finding out just how harsh it can be. But the thing with Muirfield is that if the wind gets up, tackling its 7,091 yards without a driver is not an option. Mickelson can make every club in the bag talk but whether they will be speaking the same language as him remains to be seen. At least he has finally abandoned his use of the claw grip and gone back to convention with the putter in his hand. When he gets on a run, Mickelson can hole putts for fun and, as he proved at Royal St George's two years ago, he can cope with the worst of what the British summer weather can throw at him.

Tiger Woods can still bring the target golf courses that predominate on the PGA Tour to their knees, but there must now be serious doubts as to whether he will ever add to his 14 majors. The elbow injury he suffered at Merion means he will not play again until The Open, and he may yet be forced to withdraw. It is now more than five years since his last major win. He is 37 years old and is still struggling with the swing changes he and coach Sean Foley have been working on.

If Muirfield really is a shotmaker's course, then it should suit Graeme McDowell. The 2010 US Open champion was much fancied this time but struggled from start to finished and failed to make the cut. That he has the game to win The Open is beyond doubt, but his confidence has taken a battering.

Winning successive majors is as rare as hen's teeth but Justin Rose will arrive on the east coast of Scotland as US Open champion (how good does that sound) and in a rich vein of form. Rose is streaky golfer but when he hits form he usually keeps it going for four or five tournaments, and that must augur well for his chances this time. And he was only five shots behind the winning score of Ernie Els in 2002, so he will have positive memories of the course.

Rose is destined to win more majors, and it would be no surprise so see him contend again, but another victory may just be beyond him.

And what are we to make of the chances of Rory McIlroy. The wonder golfer from Holywood has had a wretched year, variously blamed on changing his clubs, his relationship with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki and the fact that his new-found wealth has gone to his head. You can disregard all of the aforementioned. McIlroy has always been a streaky player and if he has been guilty of anything in 2013 it it trying too hard.

Form is temporary, but in McIlroy's case class in permanent. And there is no more classy golfer in the world. In saying all of that, if the wind gets up, you can discount him because he hits the ball so high.

Muirfield has a reputation for producing great champions - Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Faldo, Walter Hagen, Harry Vardon and Ernie Els. And what of Els, who is the defending champion?

Image Credit: www.tourprogolfclubs.com

Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]

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