HOYLAKE, England - The 135th British Open Championship gets underway here tonight, with American left-hander Phil Mickelson among the favourites to lift the famous Claret Jug.
Mickelson has never won The Open and has changed his preparations to try to rectify that.
He made a trip to Hoylake after throwing
away his chances of winning the US Open, and has been back on the golf course since last week rather than playing at Loch Lomond in the Scottish Open.
Mickelson says he has previously played the week before but has not had the success he would like, so he is hoping the extra time on the course will help him learn some of its nuances of the course.
The course is fast and dry, which will bring out a variety of tactics with players needing to choose between aggression and control.
South African Ernie Els missed last year's Open with a knee injury but is back and is looking forward to playing a course that will be attacked differently by different players.
Els says it is not a very long course so there is a choice between going with an iron or being aggressive with a driver, which can suit all players.
Scotland's Colin Montgomerie is, like Mickeslon, looking to put behind him the disappointment of making mistakes in the closing stages of the US Open.
Montgomerie says controlling the ball will be a major factor on the dry and and bouncy course and the ball will roll into some unintended places, "but that is golf."
The 43-year old still thinks he has plenty of majors left in him to try to get his first win.
Michael Campbell and David Smail are the only New Zealanders in the Championship, which gets underway this evening, our time.
- NEWSTALK ZB
