HOYLAKE, England – Max Homa prepped by logging on to YouTube and watching Tiger Woods’s dominance in 2006. Rickie Fowler said it would be a pretty good idea for him to do the same and soak in the memory of finishing second to Rory McIlroy in 2014. Adam Scott enjoyed a late Monday evening stroll alongside defending champion Cameron Smith to reacquaint him with a place where the vibes are good — he’s the only player in the field this week to finish top 10 in the last two Opens here.
Royal Liverpool is this week’s host of the 151St British Open and it has been nine years since it last hosted the championship when McIlroy prevailed. Before Woods won in 2006, the course had been out of the Open rotation since 1967, when Roberto de Vincenzo beat Jack Nicklaus by two shots. Count noted writer Bernard Darwin among the legions of fans of the course: “Hoylake, blown upon by mighty winds, breeder of mighty champions.”
Indeed, it is a place where the cream typically rises to the top, including where Bobby Jones won the Open in 1930, as part of his unmatched Grand Slam year.
Shot-making and creativity, two features that have been on the endangered species list in the American game, will be at a premium this week. Here’s how some of the contenders have prepared for the unique challenge that awaits them.
Rory McIlroy, 2014 champion
It’s a very strategic golf course off the tee. It’s very, very well bunkered and you sort of have to — that’s I think the biggest challenge of this golf course, is avoiding those pot bunkers off the tee.
Just getting really comfortable with the clubs you’re hitting off certain tees and whether you challenge the bunkers or not or lay back, it’s a very strategic golf course, which I like. You really have to think your way around it.
Rickie Fowler
Links golf is my favorite. I’m looking forward to getting back to a place where I played well before. I don’t remember all of it that well, but a decent amount and it will be fun to refresh my memory on it.
I feel like it can play so differently based on the wind and the weather leading up. When Tiger won, it was super-fast and burned out. It’s nice having had a good finish there and I know what I’m capable of there.
There’s only so much prep you can do because those courses can change so much day to day based on weather and wind and you can have a game plan and it’s completely thrown out the window. You just have to go figure it out.
Padraig Harrington, 2007-08 champion
i I feel I can challenge anyone on a links golf course. From years of playing, it comes naturally to me. And I don’t have a problem coming back and playing with the young guys on any golf course, but obviously, links makes it a little easier for me. So I am comfortable, no doubt.
Zach Johnson, 2015 champion
I think there is an advantage that I’ve played a lot of links golf. To what degree and how you measure it, I have no idea.
I missed my first three cuts in that event and then made my next 14 cuts (missed in 2019 when Shane Lowry won). I just think there is something to be said for understanding the nuances of those golf courses. What sets that tournament apart and, in my opinion, makes it the best is that you legitimately have to have every shot in the bag. You need to be able to use the ground, hit it high, spin it and take spin off, you’ve got to be able to hit it left and hit it right and be able to do everything on difficult terrain. It magnifies your weaknesses more than any other tournament. You have to fully embrace that it’s different and pure, because whatever Mother Nature intends is what you’re going to get.
My focus is on acclimating my body more so than my game. What I have is good enough and I’ve always felt that. I don’t need to try to go over there and hit a high fade when I like to play a draw. You don’t have to manipulate your game. Once I fully understood that and what their golf courses demanded, it came down to understanding how I can acclimate to sleep and prep.
I don’t remember disliking anything about (Royal Liverpool). I remember I started on No. 10 one day. Nothing specific. One other thing I learned is that there are certain shots you have to challenge. You can play conservatively and work your way around those golf courses and eliminate a lot of the pot bunkers. But at some point, you have to challenge and ‘sack up’ and execute a golf shot.
Adam Scott
I think the course is better than I remember, which is nice. There are no real tricks. It’s very straightforward. You just have to execute. I remember playing well actually. If you do that you can stay out of trouble and big numbers. Some of the links have more luck than the bounce.
An edge? My edge is just overall experience. Eight rounds over 20 years isn’t a lot of knowledge, but the experience of playing a lot of links golf over the years certainly gives me an edge.
Max Homo
I know very little about Hoylake actually other than Tiger’s dominance hitting one driver in 72 holes.
Other than St. Andrews, I feel like (PGA Tour pros) don’t know much about there unless you’ve already played them. I’ve watched it on YouTube.
The Open courses are so unique. Here, you can walk out and figure out where to go. There, you’ve got to do so much research.
Sam Burns
I think it can be pretty difficult if you’re not prepared for (links golf). I think for me playing in the Scottish Open, it was just expected that and know that you could get some difficult weather. You know in links golf you can get some crazy bounces and hit some good shots and don’t end up where you think they should.
For me, it’s just trying to be a little more flexible and adapt to these conditions and the golf course, and kind of just take whatever it gives me.
Collin Morikawa, 2021 champion
I am still learning, but I think I’ve played enough now to know what I need to do…
You have to just learn how to control your golf ball out here, and not just height but also control spin. I think going back to last year, I remember Jordan talking about creativity. Creativity is the biggest thing out here, but also knowing how creative you can be, not getting really stupid with it, but being able to hit your shots, fly it where you want, hit your windows, and I think that’s why you see some great players and you see a lot of good players come out of Open Championship wins is because they have to be able to create different shots.
Especially out here, how 1 through 9 kind of goes out, comes back. You’re going to have a prevailing wind I think for the first few days off the left coming off that back nine. Being able to control your golf ball, hitting shots, whether it’s drawing it up into that or playing the wind and staying out of those bunkers.
It really is how much you want to take on the bunkers, how aggressive you want to be off the tee. Is that going to give you a 9-iron versus a 6-iron. Out here, it could be the shot penalty that costs you that momentum swing one way or the other. It could be for your benefit, or it could be the other way.
I think it’s a blend of certain ways. A guy like Rory, how far he hits it, yes, he’s going to be carrying some bunkers that I can’t carry, so he might be playing a little different strategy.
For me, it’s really to stay away, plot my way around this golf course, and take advantage of certain holes where I might have a wedge in.
Story originally appeared on GolfWeek