Sport

Big SA challenge for The Open

Brad Morgan

16 July 2008

South Africa's chances of producing the winner at The Open Championship, which tees off at Royal Birkdale on Thursday, are better than they were at the US Open. There are a record 12 South Africans in the field - and Tiger Woods is missing.

The Rainbow Nation has already produced a major winner this season – Trevor Immelman captured the Masters title – and the absence of Woods, the best majors competitor of his generation, certainly boosts South Africa's challenge.

Former Open champion Ernie Els, writing on his website, says The Open is his favourite tournament of the year and he's travelled to Southport early in preparation for the tournament.

'Lush and soft'

The course, says Els, looks great. There has been a lot of rain and "the course is quite lush. The fairways and greens are actually quite soft by links standards. It’s definitely not going to play as hard, fast and bouncy as some Open courses in recent years."

Typically of The Open, accurate driving will be vital. "And if you hit it sideways out here, trust me you're going to really struggle to score," wrote Els. "The rough is up and it's pretty juicy after all the rain they've had. You're really going to have to hit some fairways out here."

James Kingston heads into The Open on a high. The SAA Open champion finished second in Scottish at Loch Lomond at the weekend. Tied for thirteenth after three rounds, Kingston fired a final round 66 to take over sole possession of second place, two shots behind the winner Graeme McDowell, on 11-under-par 271.

'Flawless golf'

After the completion of his final round, Kingston said he was thrilled with his form. "That's probably as close to flawless golf as I have played," he opined. "It felt like I hit almost every fairway. I really could not do much more. I had a great weekend to go from just making the cut to being in contention."

Kingston's excellent result vaulted him from 49th on the European Order of Merit standings up to 12th.

Els finished on 277 at Loch Lomond, Andrew McLardy on 278, and Hennie Otto on 281.

World number five Ernie Els carded a final round 69 to tie for ninth on seven-under-par 277. Five South Africans – Richard Sterne, Anton Haig, James Kamte, Louis Oosthuizen, and Charl Schwartzel – missed the cut.

Immelman's form

Trevor Immelman will be seeking his second major title of the season at Royal Birkdale. Since winning the US Masters convincingly, his form has been less than impressive and consistent, but he insists he is in a good frame of mind ahead of The Open.

He says while he worked his whole life to win a major title, when he won the Masters he was ill-prepared for what would follow and admitted that he didn't handle the extra demands on his time well.

Immelman says his life is easing up at last and he is ready to challenge at Southport. The course, he admits, is a lot greener than he expected it to be.

The answer to the challenges posed by the course can be answered by a simple sounding solution, reckons Immelman. "You had better drive the ball straight here because if you don't, there is no way you can contend," he says.

Qualifiers

Thomas Aiken, Josh Cunliffe, Darren Fichardt, and Hennie Otto all booked their places in The Open through the international qualifiers.

Among that group, Otto has had the most impressive season. Currently in twentieth place on the Order of Merit, he won the Italian Open, finished runner-up in the Madeira Islands Open, and, more recently, tied for seventh in the French Open.

Two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen will feel he is due another strong major performance. His form has been solid without being spectacular but, with consistent top-20 finishes occasionally interspersed with some top-10 results, he could break through at any moment.

The Goose has shown in the past that he is among the best players in the game when the conditions are at their least forgiving. He also has the experience of having won a major before and this could prove invaluable.

Accuracy

Tim Clark, with his accuracy off the tee and the fairways, might find the course to his liking too. He has, for a long time, been knocking on the door of a breakthrough victory.

Rory Sabbatini holds down the world number 18 ranking but, since a scintillating start to the year that included a second-place in the Sony Open and third in the Buick Invitational, his form has been patchy, with a best result of a tie for 27th in The Players Championship.

David Frost's form has improved during the course of the season. The 48-year-old enjoyed his best showing of the year in his most recent outing when he captured fourth at The European Open.

Richard Sterne completes the South African challenge. His form is a long way off what it was in 2007. Since winning the Joburg Open, he has done no better than a tie for 25th at the US Masters. However, as a regular competitor on the European Tour, he might be better suited to the conditions than many.