British Open bluster trumps technology's drive

Woods has called for compulsory testing of drivers to ensure that "illegal" clubs aren't being used. But so far, his calls have fallen on deaf ears. And meantime, the distances that players attain from the tee just keep getting longer.

"Trampoline-effect drivers and composite balls have meant that 300-yard-plus drives are becoming the norm not the exception," says Allan Kelly, a golf writer covering the British Open for Agence France-Presse.

"The Royal and Ancient admits that they are basically powerless to prevent illegal equipment and that this week's Open might well be won by a player using an illegal driver," Mr. Kelly adds.

Enter nature. The Royal St George's course typifies the challenge of the capricious British links course: unpredictable fairways undulating over a sandy, almost lunar landscape ominously exposed to North Sea gusts.

The par-71 course is not the longest in the world, but what it lacks in distance it makes up in guile and mystery, so much so that Ian Fleming (a member of the Royal St. George's) used it as the inspiration behind one of the most famous golfing scenes in cinematic history: a confrontation between James Bond and Goldfinger.

British Open organizers have stopped short of deploying international villains and lethal Korean manservants to make the course tougher, but it has made some design changes to keep the big hitters guessing.

New, deep bunkers, blind tee shots, and the most formidable rough all mean that players might be wiser going for position rather than distance.

"Distance isn't going to be the number one thing," Sandy Lyle told reporters. He won the Open on this course 18 years ago. "It's going to be pretty much keep it in play, a lot of irons off the tee."

Last year's champion, South African Ernie Els, agreed. "To hit the fairways here in some places, it's impossible," he told reporters. "If we get bad weather this might be the toughest one of the lot."

It was certainly looking that way as the tournament began Thursday. A week-long heat wave giving way to damp blustery conditions that left many golfers looking as if they'd rather be somewhere else.

One contender, Jerry Kelly, took 11 strokes on the opening hole. Woods finished the first round Thursday with a two-over-par 73, after a rocky start. He let rip with his big drive on the first tee and immediately lost a ball in the tall grass to the right of the fairway. Despite the frantic efforts of players, caddies, officials, and spectators, they failed to locate the ball and Woods suffered the embarrassment of having to return to the tee in a buggy. He recorded a triple-bogey seven on the open hole.

It's unlikely to be the last debacle in the four-day championship if nature and tradition have anything to say about it.

• Material from the wire services was used in this story.

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