With the first threesome only an hour away from teeing off at Royal Lytham and St. Annes to start the third Grand Slam golf tournament of the year, it's time to make a few more predictions, accurate or not.
First, I believe the American streak of three consecutive Grand Slam wins will be snapped. Why? For the most part, the Americans are allergic to inclement (read: rainy and windy) weather and pot bunkers. While they don't handle nasty roughs well, neither do the internationals, based on recent memories of the U. S. Open last month at Olympic.
Second, I believe Tiger Woods will not finish in the top ten here, but he has a great chance of winning the PGA Championship next month.
Third, I believe Webb Simpson and Jason Day withdrawing due to non-emergency family events says more about their fear of links golf on wind-battered terrain than their love of family.
Fourth, I believe Jim Furyk will recover from his Olympic meltdown last month and at least make the cut.
Fifth, I expect at least one over-forty golfer, someone like Phil Mickelson, defending champion Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, Vijay Singh, or the ever-wiley Tom Watson, to enjoy a top five finish.
Sixth, I expect some very good golfers to get the jitters because of the Thursday-Friday pairings. I see Tiger wilting when paired with Sergio G. and Justin Rose. I see mad bomber Bubba Watson losing his cool and going ballistic when paired with rock-steady and majors-hungry Lee Westwood. Similarly, I see long-hitter Dustin Johnson failing to make the cut when paired with used-to-the-elements-and-links set-up Graeme McDowell.
Seventh, in contrast to sixth, I expect some power pairings to elevate the play of talented golfers having a less-than-stellar 2012. Darren Clarke will be steadied by the crowd and by playing partners Ernie Els and Zach Johnson. Phil Mickelson will rise to the occasion not only with vivid memories of his runner-up finish last year, but by playing shot for shot with current world number one, Luke Donald. Rory McIlroy will regain his game not only by temporarily forgetting about his Miss Danish Tennis, but by going toe to toe with other recent majors champions Keegan Bradley and Louis Oosthuizen.
Eighth and finally, I expect the 2012 British Open champion to come out of a pool of two dozen names. Please note only a third of the names are American. In no particular order, they are as follows:
Zach Johnson (A) Charl Schwartzel
Ernie Els Justin Rose
Graeme McDowell Phil Mickelson (A)
Louis Oosthuizen Adam Scott
Martin Kaymer Steve Stricker (A)
Luke Donald Lee Westwood
Keegan Bradley (A) Francesco Molinari
Darren Clarke Hunter Mahan (A)
Ian Poulter Rory McIlroy
Davis Love III (A) Sergio Garcia
Padraig Harrington Matt Kuchar (A)
Jason Dufner (A) Paul Lawrie
Could a dark horse like Webb Simpson at the Olympic Club last month emerge at Royal Lytham this weekend? Of course. All 156 golfers entered are so talented that even an amateur like Alan Dunbar or a has-been like John Daly could take it. Here's hoping for more surprises.
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