Padraig Harrington Leads the Field Against Tiger at Turnberry

It’s no secret that The British Open Championship is one of the most difficult to win. Americans who are used to long, straight courses get ripped up by the snapping winds. Southwest Scotland is no exception, nor is Turnberry Golf Resort, the location of this year’s Open Championship. While all eyes are on Tiger to see if he can match Roger Federer’s 15th major victory at Wimbledon, there is an entire field of characters to bet on as well.

Padraig Harrington will be the European golfer called upon to challenge Tiger Woods. After all, he is the two-time reigning Open Champion and won it the first time despite Tiger’s presence. The last time he won, at Birkdale, he did it with Tiger on the sidelines. Tiger and Padraig have accumulated the last five (3 for Tiger, 2 for Padraig) Open Championships. But Harrington is not alone in his pursuit of the Open Championship.

The field is getting -350 odds against Tiger Woods (+325) to win The Open Championship. Those are pretty steep, yet fair, odds that someone other than Woods will take home the esteemed Claret Jug. However, regardless of Woods’ presence, this will not be an easy task . The winds and the bunker placement at Turnberry are ready to tear some unsuspecting golfers apart.

Turnberry is a links course, meaning that it’s entirely different to play than standard American courses. The holes are not longer, or shorter, but they are marred with tragedy at every angle. The seaside wind, for one, can take your ball for a sudden ride at any given moment. Even the lay of the land presents a fairway shot differently than most courses do in the States.

To make matters much, much worse for the PGA field is that Turnberry has hosted the Open Championship just three times. Given the hectic schedule of the PGA Tour, only a handful of golfers at the 138th Open Championship this coming weekend have played at Turnberry before. Sweeping changes to its landscape over the last few golfing seasons have made Turnberry the kind of monster course that nobody is prepared for.

Yet it’s this kind of tournament that brings out the best in the best. Padraig Harrington has the advantage because of his vast experience playing on links courses (which are defined by their seaside geography, and the buildup of natural sand dunes which belie the course itself, making the turf fairly unique). To give you a fair idea of how difficult the adjustment to links golf is, Woody Austin and Kenny Perry, two top-ranked pros, declined invitations because of their unfamiliarity with the course. Could a chance at nearly $2 million be that costly for these guys?

The answer is a definite yes. In America, the ease of playing a shot is laid out by the sweeping landscape of the usually lengthy course. Guys like Tiger and Phil succeed based on their long, accurate drives. At courses like Turnberry, the natural landscape is so dynamic, that you can approach any hole quite differently. It’s like trying to pick out a movie at a video store, except you’re playing golf and trying to choose your next shot. It’s that dizzying. Add in the pressure, the peers and fans watching, the money on the line, your tour ranking in jeopardy and the gusting winds off the cold, harsh sea and you upgrade from “dizzying” to “absolutely mortifying” in the swing of a club.