Open season (Part Two)

It may seem trite to say so, but the only type of player Carnoustie will really suit is a good one. Certainly, good drivers will be rewarded while plenty of putts will be holed on greens that are mercifully much flatter and not nearly as fast as the surfaces at Augusta and Oakmont.

One key to success will be avoiding the bunkers, if that is not stating the obvious. No other Open venue has quite so many that are exactly where the players least want them to be namely adjacent to where the perfect drive lands. It is hard to imagine Vijay Singh not enjoying the test, for one. So too should Phil Mickelson, wrist permitting, because his work with Butch Harmon looks to be improving the consistency of his driving.

If the left-hander can reproduce the dedication he applied at Troon in 2004 and plot his way round Carnoustie rather than attempt to batter it into submission, then this could be his year. Certainly he has the skills to do so if only he can make the commitment to a fortnight away from home with complete dedication.

Tediously, the most boring issue in pro golf will once again loom large over the week. We have now come full circle and gone 31 Majors since Paul Lawrie became the most recent European to reign supreme. This statistic is increasingly becoming an anomaly because, unlike in the early part of the decade, there is no lack of our players being in contention come the last
day.

At the US Open, Niclas Fasth, Nick Dougherty, Justin Rose and Paul Casey each featured on the final day. At the Masters, both Rose and Padraig Harrington went close. And Luke Donald and Garcia played in the final pair in last year's USPGA and Open respectively.

So it is surely not a case of burying heads in sand to say that there is every chance that this eight-year famine will end, rather poetically, where it began back in the last Millennium. Quite where to look for our new hero is harder to say, the problem being it is possible to besmirch the reputation of each and every hopeful.

Casey is becoming a notoriously slow starter, see his opening 77 at Oakmont while Rose has a tendency to wilt, rather than bloom, on the final day. He is the bravest and most willing of competitors but the truth is he still seems to have a few too many loose shots in his repertoire when the pressure is really on. Winning a regular PGA Tour event first would surely help in his quest for Majors.

Harrington should go well at Carnoustie but then the same applied to Oakmont, where he inexplicably missed a cut after a solid opening 73. Lee Westwood is playing well enough but looks uncomfortable on the greens. David Howell's season has been ruined by injuries. Henrik Stenson has gone quiet after a fabulous start to the season.

Which brings us to the enigmatic Garcia. Nobody denies his talent, but his form is so inconsistent and his putting now a long-term concern that it is currently hard to believe in his prospects. Yet all are more than capable, and so are the likes of Fasth, Poulter, Olazabal and Montgomerie.

There is plenty of hope, then, as we head towards Open week, especially given the early arrival of Tiger Woods daughter, Sam Alexis. Born the day after the US Open, her timing already seems as good as her father's, who will be hoping to celebrate by claiming a third consecutive Claret Jug. Few would bet against him.