THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page The Open Scores Round 4: Harrington defends Open title Round 4: Ian Poulter impresses with second place Round 4: Greg Norman proud of achievement Round 4: Henrik Stenson happy with best finish Round 3: Norman takes a two shot lead Round 2: KJ Choi edges a shot clear at halfway Round 1: Late starters share first round lead Course Guide: Royal Birkdale 2008 European Tour Schedule Open Champions 1860-2007 Tee Times and Pairings Prize Fund/Purse Open Championship scoring and other records Open Championship quotes - Wise and witty words about golf's oldest Championship Wind the biggest threat at Royal Birkdale Injuries aboud around the 137th Open Without Tiger many look to score Major success Unhappy John Daly back at The Open Kenny Perry defends absence Justin Rose returns to scene of 1998 drama Padraig Harrington still a doubt Sergio Garcia favourite for The Open Tiger Woods the hot topic of conversation Lee Westwood praises Royal Birkdale Graeme McDowell looking to continue good form Players puzzled by Kenny Perry's absence Wrist worry for Padraig Harrington Phil Mickelson dodges the Tiger factor Green Royal Birkdale greets players Open not devalued by Tiger absence says O'Meara Furyk confident of better Royal Birkdale fortunes Phil Mickelson confident of adding to Major tally Luke Donald out of Open with wrist injury Justin Rose looking forward not back 137th Open Championship Summary GREAT GIFTS FOR GOLFERS Huge savings on Festive gifts! A golf break in France - just £89! Half Price Golf Vouchers Take 10 shots off your scores! Best Value Golf Insurance

Lee Westwood praises Royal Birkdale

Royal Birkdale represents one of the fairest tests on the rota of British Open courses, European Ryder Cup points leader Lee Westwood said on Tuesday.

“It’s strengths are it’s incredibly fair,” the 35-year-old Briton told reporters on Tuesday. “Most of the fairways are flat and it tests most aspects of your game.

“If you’re a good driver of the ball, you can take on a few of the holes. It’s obviously had some length added to it which makes it quite a demanding test.”

Westwood said the 7,173-yard, par-70 links course on the north-west coast of England was one of his favourite British Open venues.

“It’s probably in the top three for me personally,” said the Englishman.

“Carnoustie is a big favourite of mine and then here and Muirfield would be my other two favourites, with Royal Lytham very close behind.”

Westwood, however, believes Birkdale has one outstanding flaw.

“I think everybody has accepted something has gone wrong with the 17th green,” he said. “It is just out of character with the rest of the course.

“It is not to the standard of the rest of the greens. The rest are brilliant.”

Westwood, a winner of 29 tournaments worldwide, goes into Thursday’s first round possessing one of the most consistent recent records in world golf.

He has recorded eight top-10 finishes in 12 completed tournaments including third place in last month’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, California.

“The U.S. Open gave me a good deal of confidence, the fact I got into contention and didn’t back off,” he said.

“Any time you experience something like that in golf and the experiences and emotions, it’s got to be something you can fall back on in future tournaments. I’m hoping to do that this week.”