Calm Carnoustie still a formidable challenge

Fred Couples has a bad back, Scott Hoch a sore foot. Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw and former U.S. Open champion Tom Kite don't think they're playing well enough to compete in the British Open.

By the sound of it Monday, countless others might be wishing they stayed home, too.

Carnoustie Golf Links offered an amiable welcome during the first full day of practice for the British Open -- sunny skies and only a mild breeze off the Firth of Tay. No one was fooled by the rigors that await on what is generally regarded the toughest course on the British Isles.

"Someone is going to win," Colin Montgomerie said. ``But at the same time, it will be no fun."

Lee Janzen, a two-time U.S. Open champion who plays his best under the most severe conditions, chose his words carefully when asked for his first impression of Carnoustie.

"I think it's in great shape, and that's the best thing I can say about it," he said. "I think it's the toughest course I've ever played. Par would be a great score, but I think higher than that will win -- and that's under good conditions. I can't imagine what it would be like if we have tough conditions."

Colin Montgomerie owns the course record, a 64 during the 1995 Scottish Open. That should be safe this week.

"Somebody is going to win. But at the same time, it will be no fun," said Montgomerie, who predicted scores in the 90s if the wind blows hard. "We all hope and pray that it doesn't become a wind. If it becomes a wind, you'll see scores higher than we've ever, ever seen before in any British Open.

Considering that John H. Taylor won the Open in 1894 with a 72-hole score of 326, that might be a bit of a stretch.

Still, the one consensus at Carnoustie is that it figures to be the toughest test of the year. The course is playing at 7,361 yards at a par of 71. The greens are large and firm. The fairways are narrow enough to make the USGA jealous. The rough is so high that Duval missed the green on the par-3 13th and measured a full 12 inches from the top of the grass to the bottom of the ball.

"Only 6 or 7 inches was really thick stuff," he said.

In short, Carnoustie is everything the U.S. Open wants to be.

"This is the first time I think players will say the U.S. Open was more fair than the British Open," Janzen said.

The British Open was last played at Carnoustie in 1975, the year Tom Watson buried his reputation as a choker in the majors by making a birdie on the 72nd hole and winning the last 18-hole playoff in Open history. So much has changed since then, except for one thing.

"It's going to be a struggle," Watson said. ``If we get the blow they are predicting on Thursday, you might see some real tears out there."

While Duval, Tiger Woods, Payne Stewart and defending champion Mark O'Meara were among those who prepared for the Open by playing links golf in Ireland, PGA champion Vijay Singh arrived at Carnoustie last week.

He played his first round on Saturday and said it was nearly impossible. By Monday, Singh had changed his tune, even though it still sounded like a dirge.

"Each time I play, I seem to know a little bit more about the golf course," he said. "It will be OK, I think, if you drive the ball in play. I think the key is to have a game plan in your mind and just stick to it. That way, you don't go out there guessing what you're trying to do."

Singh stopped short of saying it was "unfair," but clearly that was on the minds of several players on Monday.

"Is it fair? It's the same for everybody," Stewart said. ``We played today in conditions that just don't exist. If we get weather like this, it's possible under par could win. If we get blowing conditions, there's no telling what wins this golf tournament."

What about a 300?

"I said there's no telling," Stewart said.

Ernie Els hit two balls off the first tee to one of the most generous fairways on Carnoustie, then walked over to the side and engaged in playful banter with Jack Newton, who lost in the 1975 playoff and now works for an Australian television station.

He and Watson finished at 9-under 279, but that was when Carnoustie played to a par-72 and was 296 yards shorter. The wind only blew in the final round, when one player broke 70.

"Was the rough this high?" Els said.

Newton shook his head.

"You guys had it easy," Els said.

AP