Missing links turns up to dramatic effect

So it was only an 18-hole British Open this year.

Brief that it was, it was highly entertaining.

Certainly, for the first three rounds of the 141st edition of the most flavourful of golf tournaments, it felt like a weekly stop on the pro golf circuits — be they in the US, Europe or Asia. The wind was down at Royal Lytham & St Annes, so the ball was up — way, way up, in the air, that is, and when it landed on the greens, more times than not it checked up, moved just a few feet, and came to a stop.

Target golf is the phrase that is often used — and yes, the reaction to cringe is there.

That’s because “target golf” pales in comparison to links golf, which is why we circle these four July days on our golf calendar each summer.

Sadly, however, we didn’t get the full effect, not with so much rain and so much plush grass and so many softer-than-usual fairways.

Oh, there was a little bit of a tease come Tuesday and Wednesday because “we had rain and wind and everything,” Matt Kuchar said.

There was a smile when he said it, too, which sort of shows you how players rather prefer it nasty and challenging when they take on this Major.

But when Kuchar pondered the weather of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the smile disappeared. Honestly. It was as if he had conceded the loss of the fiery fairways and fast-running style and now they were missing both of those two other elements central to links — wind and rain.

Chances are, that smile returned to Kuchar’s face yesterday, for while the fairways weren’t their customary speed and the rough remained too green, what re-entered the picture was the precious links wind. It wasn’t ferocious, of course, but it was present enough to bring back into play the heart and soul of a classic links course — the bunkers.

Now Tiger Woods might not agree that bringing the bunkers back into play was worth smiling about.

After all, his chances of a fourth Claret Jug were ruined by his triple-bogey at the sixth, a series of seven strokes that will forever be remembered by his bold decision to play a rather impossible shot even as he stood stiff against a steep face.

Ah, but Woods’ stature in the game is cemented forever, so let’s not fret over his concerns. Better to covet the fact that so much other pleasure spilled forth, thanks to the return of a little wind and a lot of links golf that produced intrigue and elevated the 2012 championship to unforgettable stature.

That Adam Scott, for 68 holes clearly the class of this field, succumbed to the perils of links golf and the pressure of Major championship competition will forever be the bottom line to this edition of the British Open. Left to be determined is how Scott, 32, will bounce back from the heartache, his four-stroke lead with four to play blown out to the Irish Sea, much to the joy of hearty fans who adore Ernie Els, who gladly walked through the door which the Aussie kicked opened.

Down the stretch, Scott fell victim to the teeth of a great links course — bunkers (at 15 and 18) and rough (at 17) — and his run of four straight bogeys was painful to watch. He is one of the sport’s class acts, Scott is, and one of his best friends, fellow Aussie Geoff Ogilvy, spoke the truth earlier in the day when he said: “Everyone likes Adam. There’s nothing not to like.”

What? You didn’t like the way he stumbled to the finish line and how he fumbled away his chance to win the sport’s most coveted trophy? That would be cruel, too cruel. The way the Claret Jug was handed from Scott to Els in a stunning sequence down the stretch is not an indictment of the talented Aussie. It is a testament to the glory of links golf, which may have been with us for just one day this British Open — but what a day it was.