Preview Golf: The Open


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Through the gates, and just in on the right, with all England were a

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golf course, this would be the golf course, this would be the

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first tee. And, the 18th green. 13 times the great and the good have

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strode out from this quirky corner, It can show its fear at the very

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ferst or the very last. I reminder of the enduring truth of sport.

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It's not how you start, but how you Endings, and beginnings. This

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golfing year, the Open returns to Hello, we are all set for more

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tales of the unexpected here at a breezy Royal St George Georges and

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the 14th Open Championship. This orn corner of Kent has produced

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cracking stories each time it has hosted the world's best golfers.

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They don't come much better than the most talked about man in the

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game, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy. He hasn't yet laid hands

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on the famous Claret Jug, he is the clear favourite after his runnaway

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victory at the US Open last month. The creation of Rory McIlroy, Major

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champion, is a story often told. The youngster with magic in his

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hands. His life, it seemed, was all preparation for the victory. How do

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you prepare for all that comes with I didn't expect it to be as hectic

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as it was, but you know, I think always, when you do something you

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sort of feel like, it's not as big a deal as everyone is making out.

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It's nice. It's great to have that support. Have you had to become

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harder - You have to. My life has definitely changed in the last

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three weeks. And, I, yeah, I just have to... I just have to deal with

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everything that goes on, you know, outside the ropes. When I'm inside

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the ropes and on the golf course, I try and play the best golf that I

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can. The demands on my time now, outside the golf course, are - it

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will become much harder to still, you know, do or be the same person

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that I was, you know, before I won the US Open. It's just - it's just

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something I'm going to have deal with. I wanted to be a Major

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champion. To gain a Major championship if you have to live

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your life out in the public eye, you know, it's not a bad tradoff to

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have. How did it come to this? Has there been a greater turnaround in

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sport from collapse in a springtime. I don't think anyone...

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dominating the world at the US Open? Mentally, I changed a lot on

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the golf course. I learnt a lot from that final day at Augustine.

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COMMENTATOR: My goodness me. combination of the Masters and the

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Open last year at St Andrews and getting into contention at the PGA.

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Learning something different each time from those events, it took me

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a little bit of time to put all the pieces together. You know, when I

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was able to do that, you know, I won the US Open. I don't feel as if

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I've changed that month. -- much, mentally on the golf course I feel

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I'm better. Winning one Major was never enough, you I wanted more. I

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have one my first Major, let's win my second, let's win a career Grand

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Slam. When I do that, let's do it again. Do you find the hype

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strange? I have won three times in my career. I want to win more than

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that. The way I con at -- won at Congressional, that is why the hype

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has been so much. But, you know, I don't know, I don't know what way -

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I think golf golf, you know, the golfing public in general are

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looking for that next player to come up and, sort of, dominate.

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Whether that is me, you know, we don't know yet. Hopefully, it is.

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If it's someone else, you know, that's great. And, this is our home

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for the next four days with a spot over looking the practice putt

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green and the 1st tee. How comfortable do you think Rory is?

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What expectation is he strongholding this week, Ken?

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think he will be, obviously, nervous. He will be very confident.

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He couldn't be more confident coming to this championship.

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Winning the US Open. Played marvellous golf there. He has had a

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practice rounds. Winning Majors, if you have done it you know you can

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do it again. With Tiger out golf seems to need a new hero to focus

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on. He has been menged mentioned in the same bracket as Tiger, that is

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an awful lot to have on young shoulders, isn't it? When you talk

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about jack Nicholson and Tiger Woods you are talking of the

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Premier League, he is not there yet. He is a naturally gifted player. He

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reminds me of Sandy Lyle. It comes to him easily. Pressure doesn't

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seem to get to him. He has that ability. Not Tiger Woods yet. He

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has the ability to be a great player, no doubt about it. What did

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you make of the way he responded to Augustine at Congressional? Thats

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with a terrific effort. Augustine could have really knocked the

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wheels off his motorbike, as it were, he came fighting back. It was

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exceptional, I thought. To win by eight shots. Beautiful golf. It

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didn't seem to affect him. To be a great golfer you have to go with

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the rough and smooth. That proved a lot to him, that is for certain

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that he can do that. No first time Major winner has come back and won

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the next one on the calendar since the Second World War. It is a tough

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ask for Rory McIlroy. Northern Ireland has two Major winners in

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the last 12 months. It is an extraordinary feat. What about

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England, no Major winners for the host nation since Nick Faldo in

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1996, surely, with five Englishman in the higher levels of the table

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there has got to be a better chance. This to be champion. There you go.

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England expects every man to do his duty. Thus spoke Lord Nelson at

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Trafalgar. Nick Faldo was the last to claim the claret in 1992. With

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the top two players in the world and four in the top 16 should

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England expect a victory in the battle to slay St Georges?

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there been such a good a feeling about English golf? Certainly not.

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We have a number of people, myself, Lee, Ian and Paul Casey and Justin.

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The list goes on and on. So, you know, hopefully we can breakthrough.

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How fedup are you with the questions about when, with regards

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to Majors and when with regards to English winners of this great

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tournament? Well, you know, not really fedup. You can soon stop

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them by winning this week, can't you. A number of players can

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capable of pulling of a victory. I don't need to Biophilia the names.

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You know who they are. It's a wide open tournament this week. No

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particular favourite, I would say. It's going to be the usual suspects

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of which England has quite a number in there who can win the claret and

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lift the Claret Jug. Golf is an individual game. You see guys Luke

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who I have grown up playing amateur golf with. I can see what he has

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done to get where he has got. That is through hard work, determination,

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there is no reason why other players can't follow that same line.

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So many guys at the top of the world rankings which have done an

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incredible job over the last 18 months. It would be fitting for one

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of the guys to come through this week. It would be great to have an

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English winner. Ins you have been playing golf there can't be so many

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weeks going into an Open where there are so many contenders from a

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home-grown perspective? Why not. I have finished top three in in five

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of the last seven. That ought to win you a Major sooner or later.

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Luke is coming in off the win. Westy playing well. This could be a

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year. I like the English chances, for sure. It wasn't that long ago

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there were one or two guys in the top 100 representing England in the

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world rankings. And, you know, now it's getting frustrating if it's

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two or three in the top ten. I don't even know how many we have in

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the top 100. It's a lot. That's brilliant. It really. Has been a

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Former Ryder Cup captain Mark James is with me. Do we make enough of

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the world ranking of Donald and Westwood. Is there too much

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emphasis these days on Majors? times, yes. When a guy gets to

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world number one you shouldn't ask questions questions of whether he

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is worth it. The fact that Donald and Westwood are one and two they

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have played a huge amount of high quality golf. If you look back over

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13 years, only a handful of people have been world No 16789 there have

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been 30 or 40 Major winners. there anything missing from his

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game, is there a case of luck? about luck. The right starting time.

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A few putts go in. No-one else gets hot. You can get lucky in Majors

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and very unlucky. He has been so unlucky. Luck Donald, the most

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dominant player across the year. How is his game cute suited to this

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course in particular? I don't know if it gets windy, I don't know how

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low he can hit or whether he shapes it that well. Earlier in the year

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he was down greens and regulation in the States, he moved up into the

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top 50. That means the last couple of months he has been playing very,

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very good golf. That will hold him in good stead here. If it is to be

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a an English winner, which one? number of players from England who

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could win. Obviously, Donald Westwood, cream at the moment. You

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have Poulter, Casey. They are high quality. And, Justin Rose. He has

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been hitting the ball well this year. Who knows. Thank you. It

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doesn't get much more English than Royal St Georges, does it? This

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course in 184 was the first upon which the Open was staged outside

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Scotland. It really is an area that is totally fascinating in a

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historical sense. We have been St George's itself has its place in

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Open Championship history. It was the first course in England to host

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the Open Championship. Before that had been Prestwick, St Andrews,

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Muirfield came in 1892. It moved south to St George's in 1894. You

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can great a close up look at the white cliffs at Dover here. They

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are being washed away and eroded all the time. Ian Fleming had a

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house down here. He was a member of Royal Saint Georges. The reason

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that James Bond is supposed to be called 007 because Ian Fleming

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liked to go up to cant Canterbury We talk about this corner of

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England being a gateway to the country. Down there is a Roman fort,

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where the Roman invasion in 14AD began. -- 43AD began. From the

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ancient to the modern, beside the fort is a modern Castle of

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invention that's the Pfizer factory, it was here they developed viagra.

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I have no idea what that is but I am told it's very useful.

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The Open championship adds another chapter to the long and varied

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history of this corner of England and at the heart of it all the most

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English of courses, Royal St George's.

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One man who loved this event was Alex Hay who for 26 years sat

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alongside Peter Alliss in our commentary box. Alex sadly passed

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away this week and we will all miss him, but none more so than his

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friend and colleague behind the microphone.

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I knew Alex for more years than I care to remember. I saw him through

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the phase of when he was a golf professional, I saw him arriving

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when he was a club professional. He was a good companion, amusing,

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entertaining, could have a temper at times but I loved him dearly and

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shall miss him. But, of course, he will be mostly remembered for his

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work in the commentary box with phrases like this:.

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One could almost say he will need history iron now.

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-- his foretree his -- his tree iron now.

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There's never a day goes by for him that something wonderful doesn't

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happen. What a wonderful shot that is. It

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gets better and better. It can't possibly, it can! We are a

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privileged couple to get to come He had the most infectious laugh in

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the business, didn't he? And our thoughts are with Anne and the two

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boys right now. Alex will have within thrilled with the resurgence

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of European golf. Rory McIlroy has followed a trail blazed by Graeme

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McDowell and Martin Kaymer. There has been a major shift in the world

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game. One year ago he was the

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unpronounceable outsider, now he is a familiar face, dreaming of a

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double. If you can stay calm and patient and enjoy yourself, that's

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a big part of Major weeks. There was mentally that belief in

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yourself that helped me a lot and I am sure when I am in that position

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again to win a major I know that I have done it before

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and just have that belief that it People say when are you going to

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win a first Major? Then the next question when are you going to win

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your second? It's horrible to say a Major championship is a burden. Six

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or eight months afterwards, I loved every second and played very well.

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It was more as a defence of the title got near that the three or

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four months leading up to that everyone wanted to talk about 2010

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and I wanted to kick on with 2011. I don't put too much pressure on

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myself, I just kept playing my game the way I have been playing the

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whole week. There's nothing else you can say

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I think I have learned about myself under pressure situations and

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hopefully this week just get the game right and this golf course be

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quite patient. That's what it's all about here, to grind it out, to

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fight and to wait for your chance. It's not about beauty golf, it's

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about scoring well. Preparation. Being prepared for anything.

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Realising it's going to be a big, long tough weekend ahead, really

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grinding tough golf and you have to be really mentally prepared to be

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patient and be mentally prepared for a real test of golf. It does

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help if you have done something before to remind yourself you have

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done it, it's possible to do it again. You can get a good deal of

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confidence out of that. Are there sometimes you sit there and you put

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your feet up and you think I have won the claret Claret Jug? A lot of

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times, you think wow, it was quite good. It was unbelievable spaoerps

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and I would -- experience and I would love to be known as Open

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champion again. Whoever does walk away with the Claret Jug will have

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to conquer the most sourtly course on the rota. It has a reputation as

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one of the most hazardous courses of them all. Ken Brown can tell us

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what awaits them. Royal St George's is in perfect

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condition. The players are going to love it. There's more spin than

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usual so you have half a chance of playing shots out, but if you go

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wide you are in the thick stuff. A real feature of the golf course

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this week are these undulating fairways. Bunkers peppered around

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the course, with the lovely golden sand. Look wonderful but tough to

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get out of. The greens, well, they're velvet. A lovely carpet of

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green grass, just about holding enough. A good shot on the fairway

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you will be able to spin the balls. This week it's all about the breeze.

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If the breeze is about, Royal St George's is a tiger. This week the

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course is set up perfectly for the Open championship. If the sunshines

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there will be good numbers, but if it doesn't it will be a brute. It

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may have been an American who tamed the brute the last time. The last

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five Majors have been won by non- Americans so a golfing superpower

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in decline? There are 52US players on the field this week who would

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refute that, the most high profile I have been around a long time. I

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don't feel old but I have been around a long time. I have enjoyed

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playing and competing and I feel like right now I have been able to

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get my game at a level I feel as is high as it's been even though my

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results have not been there. Wonderful distance control again.

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love to compete and always have. It gives me an opportunity to play and

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compete against the best players and try to win championships that I

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have dreamt about as a kid and that fire never goes away. I will be

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playing just about every week all the way through the end of

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September, gives me an opportunity to get some of my best golf out and

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an opportunity to play the way I know I have been playing, I just

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haven't gotten the scores in the last year or so but I think it's

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about to turn. Golf has become a global sport. We need good young

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players and good young global players to promote the sport on an

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:22:37.:22:38.

international basis. Fowler at the 17th and on and on and on. That's

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ridiculous. I feel like American golf is in good shape. We have a

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lot of good young talented players, as well as older established

:22:46.:22:51.

players who have done it year after year. I feel like American golf is

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fine and our players will end up winning some tournaments but it's

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important that we have good young players like Rory McIlroy. We need

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these guys to step up and play. In the US we have guys like Ricky

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Fowler that are coming on, a kid in college. Dustin Johnson has

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something that you can't acquire, which is clubhead speed. Players

:23:17.:23:22.

like that give international golf a strong flavour.

:23:22.:23:29.

Jake Townsend is a star-spangled kind of guy, you will be on Radio

:23:29.:23:35.

Five Live this week. Is the power base diminishing now, is this a

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blip or major shift? There's been cycles, you have Seve, Ian Woosnam,

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they were the power base. It's shifted to the Americans in the 90s

:23:48.:23:53.

and early 2000s. It's gone back to this side of the Atlantic and it's

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ready for Westwood to win, Donald to win his first and certainly you

:23:57.:24:02.

would expect McIlroy to win a bunch of them. This is a global game now.

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Is there anything that's inhibiting US golf, maybe even Tiger's

:24:07.:24:12.

absence? Tiger has created a vacuum nobody's rushed to fill. Fowler is

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the guy the Americans want to come in. I think he is a way off yet.

:24:21.:24:25.

Glover has won the Open but hasn't contended in other Majors. Those

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are the guys probably going to do it but they're going to have to

:24:29.:24:33.

contend before they win. Thank you very much. Some of the the younger

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mans you ventioned haven't won a Major yet but they're winning fans

:24:38.:24:48.
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with offcourse and ticks. This # Smash, bang, you got to hit the

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ball far and the crowd goes # I want my birdies all day long,

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but the bogeys go hey # You want to play with the pros

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# You got to hit it in the hole now # You want to reach the top

:25:16.:25:26.
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# You got to give it all you got Honestly, what do you make of that?

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Tputsy? -- gutsy? Not sure what hurt more, my eyes or ears having

:25:32.:25:38.

to listen to that. Not my kind of music. We have just about covered

:25:38.:25:43.

all the main contenders in our preview. What knows maybe another

:25:43.:25:49.

300-1 shot could do a Ben Curtis on us. Let's look at how things will

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transpire tomorrow. They'll be teeing off from 6.30am and these

:25:54.:26:04.
:26:04.:26:04.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 65 seconds

:26:04.:27:09.

All sorts of interactive options available to you via the red button.

:27:09.:27:15.

If you can't be with us for all that time, then the BBC website and

:27:15.:27:21.

5 Live will have full coverage of all the latest news. The great Seve

:27:21.:27:27.

Ballesteros claimed this Claret Jug three times and got his first taste

:27:27.:27:34.

of lynx golf here. The R&A have honoured him this week by putting

:27:34.:27:38.

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