Wounded Tiger leaves it wide open
In the absence of Tiger Woods, this year's Open Championship can hardly be called an open and shut case.
Well...such has been the influence and monopoly of the undisputed world No1 golfer, that others are happy to play for the second place whenever he enters a tournament.
Less than a month back, it was the best chance to slay the Tiger. After all, he was hobbling after a knee surgery – and that too, it was the all-important left leg, which experiences a massive torque during the golf swing of a right-handed player – had not hit a ball in the first month of his two-month lay-off, and had not even walked 18 holes after his final round of the Masters till the first round of the US Open.
Yet, there he was, clenching his teeth through a prolonged battle that stretched to 91 holes, and then flashing that all-too familiar smile as he held aloft the Wanamaker Trophy, signalling yet another Major triumph for the American.
Rest assured, Tiger Woods remains the story – even if he is not playing at the Royal Birkdale this year. Woods' absence may not be good news for the fans, but it certainly is music to the ears of other players. And it throws the Open wide open.
Lee Westwood, Europe's leading hope to make it two champions in-a-row for the continent, probably got it right when he said: "When it goes down in the history books, there won't be a note beside it to say that Tiger didn't participate."
But while the golfing fraternity sympathised with Tiger, most would have felt their chances of winning the Open increase by leaps and bounds as soon as he made the announcement of pulling out for the rest of the season.
Even though in jest, 1995 Open champion John Daly was echoing their thoughts when he said: "At least that gives us a chance now!"
And with defending champion Padraig Harrington struggling a bit with his game right now, there is a definite chance of a new champion hoisting the Claret Jug next Sunday, and going by recent form and past experience, there is a good possibility it will either be Sergio Garcia, or Westwood.
The man who looks best placed at the moment to snatch Harrington's crown, is the one who was subjected to so much heartbreak by the Irishman last year – Garcia.
Winner of this year's Players Championship – considered by many as the 'fifth Major' – Garcia will definitely be on a high at Royal Birkdale after coming off a phenomenal final-round six-under 66 in tortuous conditions at the European Open.
For the Spaniard to win his first, and long awaited Major, he will have to putt at least half as decently as he did last Sunday.
After the round, Garcia said: "It was definitely the best putting round I have ever had. I don't expect to putt like this every round. I would love to though because it would make the game easy.
"Now I know what Tiger Woods feels like 98 per cent of the time he gets on the greens. It is a great feeling."
Another European star who has had a great learning from Tiger in recent times is Westwood, who finished third behind the American and Rocco Mediate in the US Open last month at Torrey Pines.
Westwood will have a sense of deja vu going into Royal Birkdale as one of the favourites. It was a similar situation when the Open was last held there in 1998 – Westwood had won on the US PGA Tour and thrice on the European Tour, including the Scottish Open the week before.
On the eve of the Scottish Open, the Englishman said: "The expectations from everybody else go up and I suppose they have this time after I played well at Torrey Pines. But it's not new to me now.
"Playing the Majors, you need a different mindset and approach. I've always been very aggressive from the start, but I played my way into the US Open and found myself in with a chance.
"I'll try to take that focus and approach into the Open and hopefully it will work.
"I'm full of admiration for Tiger coming out and playing the Majors well from the start. It's something that most of us have to learn."
While you can never count Phil Mickelson out of a Major equation, it would be difficult for Adam Scott, Ernie Els or Vijay Singh, mainly because their preparations have been hampered by injuries or illness.
Justin Rose has some of his best golfing memories at Royal Birkdale, but the reigning European Tour Order of Merit champion has not looked as sharp as he did last year.
Even though just 155 yards have been added to the course from the one used in 1998 when Mark O'Meara won, past history of Opens at Royal Birkdale show it has always produced champions of great pedigree – Peter Thomson (1954), Arnold Palmer (1961), Lee Trevino (1971), Johnny Miller (1976), Tom Watson (1983), Ian Baker-Finch (1991) and O'Meara (1998).
The quality of that roll of honour only proves one thing – only great champions are produced on great courses.
And next Sunday, it should not be much different.