GOLF EUROPEAN TOUR:FUTILITY TAKES many forms, but there is surely no greater waste of human endeavour than trying to pick a British Open Championship winner based on events at Loch Lomond.
Yet as the first round of the Scottish Open headed towards its conclusion in last night's gloom, the temptation to anoint Lee Westwood as the prime candidate to walk away with the main prize at Birkdale next week was proving hard to resist.
Admittedly, the Englishman was not leading the field after 18 holes - that honour fell to the underrated Thai Thongchai Jaidee and the talented young Swede Alexander Noren on seven under par - but an effortless 67, featuring 14 pars and four birdies, gave weight to the feeling that here stands a golfer in the prime form of his life.
Last month Westwood came within one-holed putt of joining Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate in a play-off for the US Open Championship at Torrey Pines. Since then the Englishman has played once, finishing fifth at the French Open. More to the point, the world number one has ended his season because of injury - an unfortunate occurrence for Woods, no doubt, but one that has set the hearts of others beating.
Even Westwood, who has elevated taciturnity into an art form over the years, struggled to suppress his anticipation in advance of next week's trip.
"I have never been as confident going into an Open as I am at the moment. Obviously I have been confident going into others because I had won the week before. But I feel right now like I have got enough game and no weaknesses in my game," he said, sounding on the bright side of optimistic before striking a more dutiful tone. "But this is a very big tournament in its own right and I am trying to concentrate on putting in a good performance."
Wise words, but the fact is good might not be good enough this week. Rain swept across central Scotland yesterday morning, delaying the start of play by more than an hour. It also took the sting out of the course, the evidence of which was apparent in a leaderboard that showed 73 players under par.
Jaidee led for most of the day with his 64, before Noren came in in the evening, good enough to give them a one-shot advantage over Angel Cabrera and a three-shot edge over a phalanx of players including Henrik Stenson and Graeme McDowell, both of whom are battling to secure a place in Nick Faldo's Ryder Cup squad later in the season.
McDowell got off to a blistering start, with an eagle at the third helping him to reach four under par after five holes. But he cooled down after that, with two bogeys and two more birdies keeping him at four under.
Damien McGrane and Gary Murphy were next best of the Irish, just a shot back after fine 68s.
Also on three under par was the young Englishman Ross Fisher who, along with Oliver Wilson, played with Phil Mickelson. It was a plumb, if potentially daunting, draw for both players and it was to their eternal credit that they refused to be overawed.
It is safe to assume the American lefty, who finished the day on level par, will lose little sleep at losing his 18-hole contest to Fisher and tieing with Wilson, but the Englishmen will draw enormous confidence from standing up to the scrutiny that comes with playing alongside the world number two, regardless of the circumstances. And so they should.
There is an irresistible sense around the European tour that the balance of power now lies with a brigade of young players led by the likes of Wilson and Fisher and that the Praetorian guard of past Ryder Cup glories - the likes of Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn and Colin Montgomerie - may have had their day.
This is not to say that they cannot still contend in, and even win, tournaments, as the Dungannon man did so valiantly in China earlier this season. But will they ever be a factor in a major championship again?
Montgomerie has embarked on a quixotic effort to earn a spot on Faldo's team following his second-place finish in France two weeks ago. As is always the case in Scotland he attracted larger galleries and greater affection than any other player in the field.
The devoted hordes were rewarded with a typical Monty display that mixed the good, the bad and the frankly comedic. The lowlight was a bogey at the par-three eighth - a hole he played 18 times on the eve of his recent wedding in the grounds of Loch Lomond. Yesterday, he missed a three-footer for par. Classic.
Guardian Service
