According to Peter Dawson, the man in charge of preparing Royal Birkdale for the 137th British Open, the famous old links is anything but a “monster” of a course.
Sandy Lyle, Simon Dyson and Vijay Singh would all have begged to differ yesterday as miserable weather conditions rendered the reshaped lay-out virtually unplayable for some of the most experienced competitors in the field.
Former winner LylAe was the first to crack. By the time he had got to the 10th green, the 1985 champion had simply had enough as he succumbed to the lure of a hot shower and a hot toddy after more than two hours of misery.
PHOTO: AP
The Scot had dropped seven shots in three holes to reach the half-way stage in 45, 11 over par. He managed to par the 10th but then decided to call an early end to his 33rd Open appearance.
“It’s probably my shortest Open ever,” he said. “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 just couldn’t swing the golf club in the end and I thought I was going to do myself more harm than good by continuing,” the Scot said. “It was best to call it a day.”
“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,” he said.
Ben Curtis meanwhile had the kind of start to his day that must have left him wishing he had stayed in bed. The American, who finished joint eighth at Carnoustie last year, followed a treble bogey seven on the first with a double bogey on the second on his way to reaching seven over by the turn.
Two-time major winner Singh was not having it any easier and the Fijian star cut an extremely dejected figure as he trudged to 10 over after 12 holes.
Australian Scott Strange was propping up the leader board after a 14-over par 84 and his compatriot Craig Parry (77), who had hit the first shot of the tournament at 6.30am, summed up the conditions in two words: “Bloody miserable.”
Simon Dyson had the biggest disaster of the day, running up a nine on the par four 10th on his way to an 82.
“I wish I was back in Asia now,” he admitted with a smile as he explained how the wind had carried his second shot on the 10th onto a rough-covered bank, from where he needed five shots to hack his way to the green.
Dyson’s good humour was not affected by his experience however. Asked what had gone wrong on the 10th, he joked: “I missed the putt for an eight.”
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