Phil Tataurangi: Course shaped only by nature

Phil Tataurangi

The Old Course at St Andrews - you either love it or loathe it.

Sam Snead made his first pilgrimage to the home of golf nearly 60 years ago and his initial impressions have been echoed by many to come behind him.

When his train pulled into the township of St Andrews he inquired, "That looks like an old golf course on that farm, what was it called?"

After going on to win his only British Open later that week he still declared that it was land not worthy of giving away.

Freddie Couples rates it in his top three and Scott Hoch reckons it's the worst piece of mess he's ever played.

It is unique if not quirky, and from my own experiences it is still the benchmark for modern design.

The 134th Open championship starting tonight will be contested around the most famous layout in golf. Of course, in this day and age the follow up question would be, "Who was the designer?"

Unlike such rivals as Augusta National and Pebble Beach, this track was shaped by Mother Nature alone.

The first rounds were played in a clockwise direction and if it were not for the grandfather of St Andrews folklore, the routing of the course may have been entirely different.

The late, great "Old" Tom Morris decided to build the first and only man-made green on the whole property on the west side of the Swilken Burn, thus reshaping the first hole and making way for the hallowed links to be played the way it will be over the next few days, counter-clockwise from the first tee on.

This Scottish jewel has played host to the Open 27 times since 1873. Being a links course and within a bad slice off the first from the Firth of Fife, it has changed nearly every time the tournament has gone there. This year the Royal and Ancient has intervened and added some new tees lengthening the par 72 layout by adding 149m to now play at 6656m.

The elements - wind and rain - have turned this into one of the most revered courses in major championship history. Other than the huge and undulating double greens that serve 14 of the 18 holes, the 112 bunkers that are all individually named command the utmost respect from any competitor hoping to succeed. It's a little known fact that most are out of sight off the tee and are revealed only once you have reached the putting surface and are looking back.

One of the champions to have negotiated the bumps and bounces that are part and parcel of links golf is Jack Nicklaus, who won two of his three Open titles at St Andrews. Sadly, this year will be Jack's last.

He may be making his final trip over the Swilken Bridge, which fronts the 18th tee, early Saturday morning (NZ time) at the halfway point. But with any sort of luck he may delay it until Sunday night's final round.

Who may be in the last group on Sunday? The perennial favourites for starters.

Ernie Els is hoping to rediscover the form from 2003 at Muirfield that saw him join the list of illustrious names on the Claret Jug.

Vijay Singh has long thought his game is suited to the links style of golf. However, he is now in his early 40s and still Open-less.

Sergio Garcia comes in with top-10s in the last three British Opens and can hit it under the wind all day if need be. How do you say "beware" in Spanish?

Northern Irishman Darren Clarke, whose wife is suffering from cancer, has an outstanding record and a victory would be highly emotional.

Of course, Michael Campbell has got to garner some attention, returning to the scene of his previous best performance in a major where he tied for third and finished only a shot out of a playoff in the John Daly Open of 1995.

Now riding the high of his emphatic win at the US Open three weeks ago, the only reason Cambo won't be a part of the action is that he may still be celebrating. You can't blame him for that.

However, the overwhelming favourite at this venue, at this tournament, with this sort of nostalgia around has got to be Tiger Woods.

As I stated, this is Nicklaus' last Open and all his previous major farewells - the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, the PGA at Valhalla later the same year and the Masters this year - were won by Tiger.

In 2000, the last time the Open was at St Andrews, he waxed the field, not getting sand on his boots once and at 19-under signed for the lowest scoring total in Open history.

Combine all of that with his three wins this year, runner-up finishes in his last two starts - including Campbell's party at Pinehurst - and I'll let you make up your own mind.