Lipouts

What they were saying before the start of the British Open at Turnberry

By Mark Soltau

July 15, 2009

TURNBERRY, Scotland -- On the eve of the 138th British Open Championship, players are making final preparations for Turnberry, where first round play begins on what is expected to be a rainy Thursday.

Here's what competitors are saying about the course:

"It definitely suits somebody who's going to drive the ball very well. You need to hit driver on this golf course. It's a long golf course, especially if there's a little bit of wind. You're going to have to hit driver, and you're going to have to hit it straight." -- Padraig Harrington, seeking his third-consecutive Open title

"When you compare this to Carnoustie, it's very likely that the differences are that Carnoustie you can attack a few holes over there. You can hit the driver off the tee more often. Here you have to be cautious all the time." -- Masters champ Angel Cabrera

"You really do have to hit your ball well here. And you have to drive the ball well. You have to hit your irons well. You just can't fake it around this golf course. You just have to hit good shots." -- Three-time Open winner Tiger Woods

"It's the toughest I've ever seen it play. I think it's very much a tee shot golf course that's going to be very demanding for tee shots. I looked at some of the stats, and the way Nick Price (1994) and Greg Norman (1986) drove the ball when they won here, that was the key to their victory, getting the golf ball in play off the tee." -- Paul Casey

"This is what it's all about. I said on the tee, 'I love my office.' I'm really grateful to be able to play a game for a living,'" -- Five-time Open champion Tom Watson

"The one hole that is disappointing is 17. They moved the tee so far back that it's going to be a very boring hole, a par 5, unless you get a pretty strong wind from the north, which we're probably not going to have. It plays so long from back there that you can't reach the green in two, or there may be a handful of players that can reach the green in two. But there's death up there; if you're trying to go for the green and you miss it right, there's two pot bunkers up there." -- Watson, who thinks 17 will be a forgettable lay-up hole for most players

"A professional golfer who doesn't feel a kindred spirit here in Scotland probably doesn't have an understanding of the game. If you're a professional golfer and you play the game for a living, it's the fabric of your life." -- Watson on his long love affair with Open galleries

"I don't think that will be uncommon. I think you're going to see a lot of guys pulling out a strong 3-wood or long iron just to chase the ball down there. It's imperative that you dodge those bunkers, but you can't be too cautious. You have to be aggressive to the sort of conservative areas." -- Casey, who says he will likely hit driver only three or four times

"I think the golf course is tremendous. It seems like you're more penalized for your off-line tee shots here. The rough is very severe just off the golf course in places, so to me this is more of a ball-striker's tournament. You've got to hit a lot of fairways this week.

"The greens are in great shape; they're holding anything you throw in there. If the wind and the rain -- it all banks on the weather, what kind of tee time you have. The guy who hits it well this week is definitely going to have more of an advantage than I think the guy who is spraying it a little bit and surviving out of the rough." -- Kenny Perry

"I think there's opportunities where you can be aggressive on this golf course, but there's also holes where you just need to know that par is a good score for the week and if you take four pars there, you're not going to lose ground in the field." -- Rory McIlroy