Rory McIlroy Sees British Open Fairways as 'Double-Edged Sword'

Rory McIlroy sees British Open fairways as 'double-edged sword'

Rory McIlroy said the recent UK heatwave that has transformed conditions ahead of this week's British Open is a "double-edged sword". The fast-running fairways at Royal Birkdale course in north-west England, baked hard and fast by soaring temperatures, may benefit players who often lag behind their rivals for driving distance. However, it also means that anyone wayward off the tee may not face the same consequences as they would have in the past.

What happened?

The 37-year-old Northern Irishman, the reigning US Masters champion, began his quest for a second British Open title on July 16 after triumphing at nearby Hoylake back in 2014. McIlroy said: "All this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way, but when I was here a couple weeks ago the rough was a lot more penal than it's going to be this week. It's definitely burnt out a lot."

Why it matters for Rory McIlroy

The big thing, especially off the tee here, is avoiding the fairway bunkers. You might see some guys being more aggressive off the tee, taking driver, trying to take the fairway bunkers out of play. McIlroy, one of just six golfers to have completed the career Grand Slam of Major titles-the British Open, US Open, Masters and PGA Championship-explained: "It might be in the rough, but it's not that penal, so you get a wedge in your hand and you can figure it out from there."

What comes next?

The British Open is played on a links or coastal course, with defending champion Scottie Scheffler's most recent experience of those conditions seeing him miss the cut-the American's first in four years-at last week's Scottish Open. Scheffler said: "The ball's just going to run for forever pretty much (at Birkdale), there's a lot of thinking off the tee on whether you want to just hit driver up there somewhere and play from the rough most likely or start hitting some irons, getting it in some fairways and hitting some longer shots into the greens."

The impact on the game

It sets up significantly different conditions than when Jordan Spieth won the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale. Then, he and the rest of the field spent four days battling wind, rain and tangled fescue so sodden that iron wrists were required to hack errant balls from it. While Spieth's rain gear and umbrella are unlikely to see much use this week, the American says the sea breezes combined with unforgiving hard fairways will give the course teeth. "It's almost impossible to overestimate the wind," he said this week. "I feel like I underestimate it every single time the first three or four days that I'm playing golf here. The effect on the golf ball is magnified almost double what it is in the States."

The challenge ahead

McIlroy will face a challenging course that will require him to be precise with his shots. The fast-running fairways will make it difficult for him to recover from wayward shots, but he is confident in his ability to adapt to the conditions. As he said: "I think it's a double-edged sword, but I'm looking forward to the challenge."

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