Tiger Woods practices at St Andrew as caddy Steve Williams looks on
Wed 14th July
This 139th Open Championship is Tiger Woods' best chance of winning a tournament this year. It is also his best chance of changing the agenda and the relationship that has built up between himself and the press and, for that matter, his fans.
This week's press conference saw Woods face the exact same questions - and in some cases they were asked by the very same people - as he did at the US Open in Pebble beach.
On this occasion the answers were delivered extremely politely by Woods. That was a contrast with Pebble, where he became clearly irritated at some of the questioning from members from the British press.
It may be time for that agenda to change.
There are many factors in Woods' favour. St Andrews is his terrain. He loved this place from the first moment he saw it and he is almost an ethereal being here. In scoring terms, he is -33 for his Open Championship victories and he won here by eight strokes in 2000 and five strokes on 2005.
I just keep thinking that the force Seve Ballesteros used to call 'Destino' might be in play.
Woods' driving has been his Achilles heel at times. But he has put a strong 2-iron into his bag and it is a terrific control club off the tee on a links golf course.
Woods stinger can keep him on course at St Andrews
It means Tiger can hit what he used to call his stinger, his wind-cheating shot, and that will be a great help to him. I don't think the wind will be as big a factor here for Tiger as it would be at high duneland courses like Turnberry and Birkdale where you can lose balls. Here, the bunkering is the main threat to wayward tee shots.
Woods has also changed his putter, taking out the Scotty Cameron that he has used for over 10 years and replacing it with a Nike model.
According to Woods, the reason for the change is that he has found slow greens difficult to judge pace on. These greens are not expected to run much faster than 9 or 9.5 on the stimpmeter compared to, say, 12 or 13 at Augusta or 11 at a regular US Tour event.
The putter he has in his bag this week has new technology that makes the ball roll more end over end and it also comes off the face quicker than his old putter so generating pace on slow greens will not be a problem with his standard putting stroke.
It is a factor worth watching.
Remarkable strength of the Irish challenge
If Woods is to win here, he will have to see off an extraordinarily strong Irish challenge. Of 11 players called to give preview press conferences on Tuesday, three (Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell) were Irish and that is an indication of where Irish professional golf stands at this moment.
Harrington is utterly inspired by St Andrews and has won two Dunhill Championships here - albeit in softer conditions in October. I have never seen him more relaxed or well prepared in his own mind before a Major. It is a positive that he is only talking about tweaking his equipment; not his swing. That has not always been the case and he has a lot of consistency in his game at the moment.
He missed a chance to win a third Open last year at Turnberry but victory at St Andrews would complete his legend in terms of this Championship.
It's a big week for him.
McIlroy must also be judged a contender. He has a stroke average of better than 69 around here, which is extraordinary, and he is extremely comfortable playing the Old Course. It may count against him that he hits the ball so high and if it gets very windy that might become a problem, although it was very windy in 1995 when John Daly won with a very high ballflight.
For Graeme McDowell, it is about shrugging off the hangover from the US Open. He is in brilliant, ultra consistent form and he has a game that is very well suited to this course. Everything about McDowell says confidence at the moment and if he can keep his concentration and manage the new demands on him as US Open champion, he could have a very good week. He is the joint course record holder, and was 11th here in 2005, shooting 67 in the final round on that occasion.
Everything about St Andrews suits him.
Shane Lowry is becoming a special player; just how special remains to be seen. He has never played here as an amateur but his form is so good and he is improving so quickly that if he gets off to a good start, anything could happen.
Darren Clarke - can new putting move give him a chance?
Finally, of the main Irish contenders, there is Darren Clarke and he is the one you just don't know about. He is a brilliant links player who was runner-up at Royal Troon in 1997 and 3rd at Royal Lytham and St Anne's in 2001.
His putting was extraordinarily in tune at Adare Manor and at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and that is thanks to a new move as he prepares to putt that has him getting his eyes over the ball and giving him a better feel for the line of the putt.
It is all about getting his head in the right place and getting his confidence going. He is, on his day, a brilliant links player.
For the other two Irish players in the field, Gareth Maybin and Colm Moriarty, the goals are not quite as high. Maybin is a very steady player and that should be rewarded around here while Colm Moriarty is a superb ball striker though his play around the greens has never quite lived up to the quality of his long game. He could make the cut and possibly get into a top-30 position and that would be a very good result.
There are, of course, lots of other big-name international contenders.
Mickelson - short putting the Achilles heel?
Phil Mickelson has rarely been involved at the business end of the British Open but he is so hot at the moment and when he is 'on' he can never be discounted. He missed the cut last week but if he brings his anything like best golf to St Andrews, his short game could get himself out of all sorts of sticky situations and move him into the real contending position.
The key is that his short putting is poor for a player of his calibrre. If he misses a few short ones early on Thursday, he might not even make the cut. It's really a case of which Phil turns up.Augusta Phil or Loch Lomond Phil.
Ernie Els is another man to watch. If he brings some of the form he has found this year - the Doral victory and his first three rounds at the US Open - he could obviously get into contention. For an outsider, Ryo Ishikawa is one that could get into contention and that would also be a huge story; he is just eighteen years old.
But the big story of the week could be a Tiger Woods victory. That would make it three Open wins in a row around St Andrews, a 15th Major and a badly needed change of script.
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