AS THE first major in 14 years to tee off without the towering presence of Tiger Woods, the rest of the world's golfing elite might well have expected great things from this year's Open championship. In the end, however, just about the only thing below par was a typically bleak British summer.
On a calamitous Lancashire day, unforgiving weather conditions meant that some of the game's most prodigious talents posted scores that would be a source of shame even to the bank manager who plays a nine-hole round every second Sunday.
With wi
nds reaching speeds of 35mph and driving rain as cold as it was unrelenting, what should have been a stern test of skill and finesse became a merciless examination of one's temperament and capacity for suffering.
Even a former champion of British golf's foremost tournament was forced to throw in the towel early, on a day when most of Britain endured only light showers.
Sandy Lyle, the 1985 Open champion, was the first to succumb to the storms which rolled in off the Irish Sea. Having reached as far as the tenth green after two gruelling hours, he found himself 11 over par. Knowing the conditions were unlikely to prevent him from further embarrassment, the Scot cut short his 33rd Open appearance, claiming it could take him three weeks to recover – whether to dry out his clothes, or get over the psychological torment, he did not say.
"It's probably my shortest Open ever," the 50-year-old said afterwards. "I got off to a miserable start and around the third or fourth, hit a couple of shots which rattled my fingers and they went a little numb.
"I've played in heavier rain, but the course is so demanding and the rough is so wet, it is just hard to get any momentum."
Another major winner, Rich Beem, who won the 2002 USPGA championship, followed Lyle by abandoning his round, having raced to 12 over par after just nine holes.
With more strong winds forecast before the championships draws to a close, there is a distinct possibility that play could be suspended at times, not because the players don't like the wind and rain, but simply because the balls may not stay still on the greens, as was the case for one of the pre-tournament favourites. Lee Westwood's rollercoaster ride left him bemused many times during his round, but particularly when he faced a putt for bogey on the sixth green.
The Englishman lifted and replaced his ball on the green, but before he could play it, the wind blew it back down to the slope off the green.
Complaints about the weather were a recurring theme when players trudged off the broken-umbrella strewn course with Colin Montgomerie-style scowls on their faces.
But Peter Dawson, chief executive of the R&A, the tournament organisers, said the wind and the rain were worse than had been predicted and added: "We will have to get better stuff from the Met Office than we have at the moment."
As the day went on, however, the foul weather at last began to ease, allowing late starters a far more forgiving time.
Exceptions to the day's high scoring were few and far between, but Monty actually managed a smile afterwards when he realised his 73 was not too far off the lead.
"The morning starters had the worst of it today," he said after his round. "The first three hours were awful. The later starters might do a bit better."
The full article contains 594 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
