Wide open at Car-nasty!

Tomorrow morning on a windswept coastline of Scotland, 156 golfers will try and tame ‘the beast’, more commonly known as Carnoustie Golf Course.

It was here in 1999 that many of the top names in golf were dragged down to the levels of most Sunday morning hackers, notably the up and coming Spaniard Sergio Garcia who shot rounds of 89 and 83. The rough was so severe that while players complained, fans loved watching these meticulous sportsmen struggle on the Links fairways.
It was also the year of one of the most dramatic collapses in an Open Championship when Jean Van de Velde let a three shot lead disappear on the final hole when finding trouble in the water.
Scotsman Paul Lawrie went on to win the event in a play off against the Frenchman and American Justin Leonard.
This was also the last time any European has won one of the majors which is an appalling record and the pressure is mounting to put an end to it.
Some of the Europeans considered most likely to end the drought include Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and Thomas Byorn all of whom have the talent to win but their records suggest that temperament might let them down.
 It is often what happens between the ears that can make the crucial difference in major championships and not how the club is swinging and this is more so when the final nine holes are being played.
This is what separates the world of golf players and Tiger Woods, a man so focused on his game that he actually loves and thrives on the pressure of being in contention at the end. Afraid of winning he is not, while his peers struggle to find the nerve and composure to stumble over the line.
It might be left to the perennial nearly man to make the breakthrough and finally lift the Claret Jug, namely, Colin Montgomerie.
He has managed to finish second five times in majors including a second to Woods at St Andrews in this competition.
It is claimed that he lacks the bottle to become champion but this does not fit with all the pressure moments he has come through especially in Ryder Cups.
Of course, he has let opportunities slip at the crucial moments but then what player, Woods aside, has not?
Ernie Els, considered to be one of the best players in the world has struggled to win his majors and to be honest he is not alone.
It is a very fine line between success and failure and it is absolutely plausible to see the likeable Scot holding that precious trophy come Sunday evening, no golfer would deserve it more and he would finally get the recognition his achievements merit.
Tiger Woods, who recently became a father for the first time, is the obvious favourite having won the last two Open Championships and is trying to become the first man since Peter Thompson in 1956 to complete a hatrick of wins.
Fatherhood often gives perspective to golfers, as Phil Mickleson found, and allows them to relax during the heat of battle so rather than be a distraction this new responsibility might well be an advantage to the man who really does not need to be given another one over his rivals.
Woods biggest ability is never to panic, to see the leader board for what it is, focus on the present and plot a path to move back up it to be in contention on Sunday afternoon and not Friday night. Anyone finishing in front of Woods this weekend will certainly have a chance of winning.
I have a feeling that it won’t be his year though and two players with good prospects are Retief Goosen and KJ Choi.
The South African Goosen has a good record in this event finishing in the top ten on six occasions since 1997 and has two majors to his name. His game is well suited to the links style of play and as long as he gets the luck in tee times and weather then he should be thereabouts on Sunday. KJ Choi meanwhile is in great form winning twice on the American tour in the past three weeks and his current standing of 13th in the world suggests he is ready to make the break through so look out for the South Korean over the weekend.
Whoever wins will be a happy man as they will walk away with the considerable amount of £750,000, not bad for four days work.
Even the man who finishes last will win £2,100 and the total prize money of £4.2million is the highest of the four majors.
Difficult really to have any sympathy with these players then when they claim the conditions are too tough. I, for one, am hoping the pins are awkward, the fairways are hard and the wind is blowing so the Scottish course lives up to its second nickname, ‘Car-nasty’.

By Patrick Cummings
patrick.cummings@blueyonder.co.uk