A star was born in 1976 at Royal Birkdale. Seve Ballesteros was unable to press home his 54-hole advantage due to a combination of a Sunday 74 and Johnny Miller\u2019s surge. Still, the swashbuckling style of the 19-year-old Spaniard captured hearts and minds. Ballesteros played golf \u2013 and successfully \u2013 from all parts of the famous links.<\/p>\n
The 50th anniversary of Ballesteros\u2019s emergence<\/a> comes with an uncanny parallel: back at Birkdale, the grass is parched again. Firm, fiery, unpredictable Opens are the finest. Standby, then, for a sporting feast over four days on the Sefton coast. Less green and pleasant land, more yellow brick road. Away from putting surfaces which have been lashed with water, the impact of a heatwave is laid bare.<\/p>\n This major will surely be defined by course condition. Rory McIlroy<\/a> paid a scouting visit to Birkdale weeks ago, where he discovered penal rough and a premium on keeping the ball on the short grass.<\/p>\n By the time the Masters champion<\/a> returned on Monday, those already treacherous areas had been baked to a crisp. While in theory this allows players to spray their shots with abandon, concrete-like surfaces will render it fiendishly difficult to control the ball.<\/p>\n Nine years ago here, Branden Grace plotted and spun his way around the course for a major record round<\/a> of 62. The contrast in environment as the Open makes its return to Birkdale could not be more stark. Think golf in a pinball machine.<\/p>\n Tiger Woods\u2019s victory at Hoylake in 2006<\/a> arrived in circumstances such as this. Eleven days before Woods lifted the Claret Jug for a third and surely final time, the emerging McIlroy shot 61 at Royal Portrush. As a grand slam winner, McIlroy can rightly claim to have passed almost every examination in this sport.<\/p>\n The recent hot weather has left Royal Birkdale dry and hard. Photograph: David Davies\/PA<\/p>\n What is missing \u2013 if that term can reasonably apply to one so eminent \u2013 is major glory on a scorched course. McIlroy came agonisingly close<\/a> at the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst. A year earlier, he was edged aside<\/a> in the same tournament at a burnt Los Angeles Country Club. McIlroy is dangerous when there is a professional itch to scratch.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is as linksy as links gets,\u201d said McIlroy of Birkdale. \u201cI think I can play the course a little more aggressively than I could, so I\u2019m excited by that possibility but it\u2019s a great test.\u201d Opens of this ilk typically reward the best players rather than delivering freak champions.<\/p>\n This tournament will inevitably be about how everything and everyone behaves: golf balls, golfers, golf fans. A code of conduct<\/a> has existed since the start of the year at majors in an attempt to limit or remove temper tantrums inside the ropes that have become all-too common.<\/p>\n Patience will be a virtue at the 154th Open, because of wild bounces that are a world away from the target golf of regular tours. The Ryder Cup, Players Championship and US Open are among US-based events that have been overshadowed by unruly spectators.<\/p>\n The R&A has warned there will be consequences for similar at Birkdale. While pre-empting a scenario that may not arrive feels silly, 300,000 attendees and the temptation to hydrate heavily brings obvious dangers. The belief that European golfers were unfairly treated by galleries at last year\u2019s Ryder Cup<\/a> could very audibly rebound on Bryson DeChambeau, et al.<\/p>\n Chuntering from competitors is to be expected. The new 15th hole, a brutal par three given a certain wind and tee position, has fuelled grumbles early in tournament week. Any such controversy would be a pity. Birkdale has rightly made its name while an Open site as a fair test that rewards elite players.<\/p>\n Jordan Spieth won here in extraordinary circumstances<\/a> in 2017. Padraig Harrington\u2019s triumph of 2008<\/a> was just as dramatic. Add in the fact that Miller, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer and Peter Thomson feature on the list of Birkdale Open winners and the picture is clear.<\/p>\n Home hopes rest on Tommy Fleetwood, a son of Southport. Fleetwood\u2019s widespread popularity is such that victory would resonate way, way beyond this parish. Matt Fitzpatrick\u2019s prospects are stronger than his fellow Englishman<\/a>. The experience of Justin Rose should prove hugely valuable.<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood was born in Southport and is a popular figure for autograph hunters at Royal Birkdale. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA<\/p>\n Yet this is, as ever, a difficult competition to predict. Scottie Scheffler\u2019s form has been inadequate by his own lofty standards. Could a Claret Jug defence inspire the world No1<\/a>? His iron control \u2013 even at recently reduced levels \u2013 means he should of course be part of the conversation. So, too, should Xander Schauffele and, if suitably recovered from back problems, Collin Morikawa.<\/p>\n