IF, POOR SOULS, a goodly number of players were forced to lick their wounds and soothe damaged egos after yesterday's first round of the 137th British Open championship at Royal Birkdale, there were others - admittedly few in number but including none other than the in-form Graeme McDowell - who worked out an answer to the day's conundrum.
On a wicked day borrowed from darkest winter, this links with its reputation for fairness behaved with all the deviousness of a crooked poker player; and among those dealt poor hands - sent out on the wrong end of the draw - were Phil Mickelson (79), Vijay Singh (80) and Ernie Els (80), who have been left with a battle to survive the cut, never mind negotiate a route toward challenging for the famous trophy.
Other notables didn't struggle as much. Sergio Garcia, the pre-championship favourite, came in with a 72; Adam Scott, despite a bogey-bogey finish, signed for a 70; Retief Goosen - playing in the worst of the conditions - had a 71.
In this major, more than any other, the luck of the draw is a factor. Yesterday, the morning starters were most affected by driving rain that at least dissipated for those fortunate to claim afternoon tee-times. Consequently,McDowell, Rocco Mediate and Robert Allenby - who conjured up 69s, one under - to assume the overnight lead, all benefited from later starts and, while still asked to battle winds, could at least leave their waterproofs tucked away.
For McDowell, this is familiar territory. Two years ago, at Hoylake, he was also the first-round leader. Unlike then, he is now ready; a more mature player.
"I felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights (in 2006)," recalled the 28-year-old Ulsterman of that experience. "I was like, 'what's this all about?' Now, I feel like a different player (from) two years ago, when I didn't have a whole lot of belief in my game. It caught up with me on the weekend, and Tiger left the field in his dust."
Things are different now. After his win in the Scottish Open last Sunday, coming a week after a third-place finish in the European Open, McDowell has reached new heights. He is ranked 29th in the world, and the contrast with the 2006 British Open down the Lancashire coast at Hoylake is stark.
As he explained, "I couldn't really string four rounds together but I've obviously been showing some form for the past 10 to 12 months, stringing four rounds together, and I've got belief. I'm a lot more comfortable in this position than I would have been two years ago."
Yesterday provided confirmation of McDowell's maturity. Although he was required to hole a 30-footer for bogey on the sixth, a monster par four of 499 yards, he stayed patient and had made 15 pars when he reached the downwind par-five 17th.
There, he hit a drive of 350 yards and a five-iron approach to 25 feet and two-putted for birdie. He knocked a nine-iron approach to 12 feet on the 18th, to finish with a brace of birdies.
Although he shot a 66 at Hoylake, McDowell rated this 69 a better round of golf: "I was so happy with the way I controlled my ball in tough conditions, playing in 25- to 30-mile-an-hour crosswinds. I was really happy with my execution."
Indeed, on what was a tough day for the vast majority, McDowell - who hit 13 greens in regulation and had 30 putts - was first to admit he had got the better side of the draw. He had sat at his rented house in the morning, breakfast cereal and cup of coffee in hand, and watched the early television coverage. His mind raced.
"'God, do I really have to go out there?' I thought. Obviously, we got lucky, we can count ourselves very fortunate," he said.
McDowell acknowledged time spent as a youngster on the links at Portrush gave him an advantage.
"Links short game is a completely different fish from the short game we're faced with week in and week out . . . it requires imagination, and playing golf in the wind requires flight control. It is all about shaping the ball against the wind, understanding how the wind affects the ball.
"I'm not the best shaper of a ball, but I've got a pretty good understanding of how the wind affects shots."
The wind was certainly a factor here. Colin Montgomerie told of how a three-iron into the wind was not going 160 yards, when it would normally fly 210 yards in the air. "It's guesswork, really," he said.
Lee Westwood suffered a more dramatic effect. On the sixth green he had marked, lifted and replaced his ball when it was blown off the green and down the slope. He had to chip from its new position, and holed the shot for a bogey five.
Els imploded on the back nine, covering that stretch in 45 strokes that included a triple-bogey six on 14 and a double-bogey six on 16.
Singh started with a double bogey and followed with a sequence that went bogey-par-par-bogey-bogey-bogey-bogey-bogey.
Mickelson lost a ball on the sixth, making triple bogey.
But others passed the exam.
"I have no explanation for that whatsoever," quipped one of the leaders, Mediate. "It's just so hard out there, with those narrow corridors (on the fairways) and the wind blowing."
It looks like he better get used to it. The R&A's Peter Dawson went so far as to predict tomorrow's third round could be played in a "big, big wind", adding, "If the wind is colossal, we wonder if we can play at all."
