Reuters - Holder Tiger Woods, who will be chasing a third Open title this week, expects low scoring at Hoylake's Royal Liverpool Golf Club if conditions remain benign.
The World Number One and some of his fellow competitors have been speaking about the third of the year's four Major Championships:
Woods: "If the wind doesn't blow, you can make some birdies out there. The par fives are reachable and there are some short par fours. You can get the ball in pretty close. The golf course is definitely fast and it's hard. But you can make a few bogeys here quickly, just because the fairways are so fast and the greens are definitely firm. They are springing a little bit."
US Masters Champion Phil Mickelson, who has probably played more practice rounds at Hoylake over the last month than anyone else in the field: "I really enjoy the course. I think it's terrific. The bunkers are so well placed in the movement of the holes and the little intricacies. The more I've played here, I really appreciate how well the golf course was designed. Most of the holes have at least two ways to play, sometimes three."
Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, runner-up behind Woods in last year's Open at St. Andrews: "This is the driest links course we've ever come to on a Monday, Tuesday. Although it's some 7,200 yards on the card, it must be playing about 5,500 in real terms. So length isn't an issue. It's just the control of the ball that has to be found around here."
South African Ernie Els, the 2002 Champion at Muirfield: "It's not a very long course so you can go with an iron or the aggressive route with the driver (off the tee). So it really suits all players. But you've still got to be careful about running into some of these pot bunkers in the fairways. Right now, I'll take four rounds of 70 and you'll be very close (to winning)."
England's Luke Donald, who won his second title on the US PGA Tour at the Honda Classic in March: "The course is playing very, very short right now which makes it tricky in a way because you're running through into bunkers and running into rough. The ball is rolling 40 to 60 yards off the tee, once it lands. Anyone can play this course; length isn't an issue."
American Jim Furyk, who finished fourth in his second Open at Royal Troon in 1997: "It's certainly not a place you want to come to play for the first time. You need to have an idea of how to play this golf course. It's very different from what we see on a regular basis in the U.S. and also a lot different from what the European guys play each week now. It's a big adjustment for the week."
