British Open / Bill Elliott / 19 July 2009 / Leave a comment

Bill Elliott would love to see Tom Watson win The Open but fears age will catch up with him sooner or later and a Top 10 finish is probably the best he can hope for. Unike Jim Furyk, who has a real chance of winning his first Open title.

Never mind where we are at this Open Championship, the big question is WHEN are we?

Something has happened here at Turnberry over the last three days. Tiger Woods has turned all normal human being on us while Tom Watson has made a pact with somebody's devil.

How else to explain what is going on in Ayrshire? Certainly there is a feeling that this something might be quite spooky. Tom Watson says he feels a spiritual glow about the whole thing. Well, older men can get a bit maudlin now and then but a lot of us in the Cynical House, otherwise known as the Media Centre, are feeling the same sort of thing.

So let's cut to the chase here. Can Watson, at 59, win this Open? Yes, of course he can. What is there to lose? Sure he will be excited but not nervous, never nervous. He says he actually feels 'serene' and he is certainly playing with serenity.

However, while he can clearly win a sixth title to tie Harry Vardon's apparently impregnable record of victories, I fear reality must kick in at some point. Tom's weakness is a fragile putting stroke from around the 5ft mark. So far he has putted almost flawlessly but he knows, and we know, that over a stellar back nine this afternoon the pressure will be on. Really on.

So while the romantic in me is hoping that the self-confessed 'old geezer' pulls off the most improbable sporting, never mind golfing, triumph of my lifetime I suspect it just won't happen. Like Greg Norman at Birkdale last year I expect Watson to graciously slip away to a top ten finish.

Instead I see the man I placed money on at the beginning of the week being acclaimed the champion golfer for 2009. Step forward and take the applause, Jim Furyk. Probably after a play-off against Lee Westwood. Ross Fisher? If Mrs Fisher does not call him home to meet his first child then Fisher could well be in the mix.

What is certain is that this Ailsa course is proving once again to be a major star. This is not because it is super difficult when compared to, say, Carnoustie but because it is a subtly challenging track, a course that demands imagination and patience and, yes, experience.

This experience stuff brings us back to Watson but it also brings us back to Furyk and to Westwood. The Englishman is now a far better player technically than he was when he seemed to be winning for fun a decade ago but, perversely, as his game has improved, his ability to win has declined. Changing this trend here today is a huge ask.

I would be delighted if the man from Worksop proved me wrong but, instead, I go for Furyk whose last three Opens have produced a 4th place, a 12th place and a 5th place. This is some record for consistency. Can he go even higher today. You bet your sweet life he can. I think.