Straight-hitters will prosper on sodden links

R&A chief executive Peter Dawson is confident this week’s British Open will not suffer from the “unprecedented rainfall” the course is currently absorbing.

With the first round of the year’s third Major due to get under way on Thursday morning and more heavy rain forecast for both today and tomorrow’s practice rounds on the Lancashire links course, golf’s leading players are bracing themselves for near unplayable conditions in Royal Lytham’s 206 bunkers and the thick, penal rough outside the fairways.

“We are all very confident that we will be playing golf,” Dawson said yesterday, when rain fell on the Fylde coast almost constantly throughout the day.

“It may be a little difficult. The rough is up but the course is reasonably generous on width and most of the players seem happy with it, at least those I have spoken to, maybe 20 or so.

“The issue is the water table is very high. They have a pumping station at the far end of Lytham which pumps everything out into the inlet and that had not been switched on.

“Now it is on and pumping furiously, but the whole area here has a very high water table, unprecedented rainfall, never had a summer like it.”

The pumping and other drainage systems at the course will cope according to Dawson and straight play off the tee would continue to be rewarded while errant shots into bunkers and rough would merit punishment.

“This course has proved itself to recover from rain very quickly. The water table can be higher than the floor of a couple of bunkers here, if that’s the case you pump it out and it just comes back in, we will have to see what we get.

“The rules are written for such circumstances. You can drop in the bunker, drop it back at a penalty or you can declare a bunker out of play. I hate all three options, especially the last one. It’s not fair on the guy who hits it straight.”

Dawson also said he hoped spectator enjoyment of the championship would not suffer in the same way as the recent British Grand Prix Formula One race when ticket holders were asked to stay away from the Silverstone circuit on practice days due to the impact of heavy rain.

“We have rain, a wet week but we will cope with it.

“Our car park contingency is very strong. There is only one of our car parks that could be a problem and have hard standing contingency elsewhere so we are not into a Silverstone situation.

“We lost a day’s play in 1988 at Lytham but drainage here is much better now.

“I am not sitting here saying we are not going to have a problem. We might.”