A firm, fast Royal Birkdale - what are players making of 'unprecedented' Open challenge?

Mathieu Wood

It's dry, fiery, firm and fast at Royal Birkdale.

Not since Carnoustie in 2018 and Muirfield before that, arguably, in 2013 have the fairways at an Open Championship appeared so parched.

But who will plot their path along the yellow brick road to a Claret Jug?

While temperatures are set to fall as the week progresses, the forecasts suggest the sun and cobalt skies are set to persist with wind gusts set to drop in strength to a relatively gentle breeze across all four rounds.

Despite the prolonged spell of hot, dry weather across much of England over recent weeks, there has been a surprise among many players at just how scorched the general appearance of the course is.

Rory McIlroy, who came to Royal Birkdale two weeks ago as part of his preparations for the final men's Major Championship, said: "I think 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."

Scottie Scheffler won The Open last year at a comparitively green and lush Royal Portrush, and the World Number One is prepared for a different examination.

"The ball's just going to run for forever pretty much," he said.

"The fairways this week are really tight, so you get a lot of cross-winds. They can be difficult to hold just because they're so fast and they're so firm."

As such, the importance of strategy is only emphasised.

After undergoing a two-phase project of renovations since last hosting The Open in 2017, the par 70 Royal Birkdale is 67 yards longer.

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Bunkers have been removed, added elsewhere, green complexes altered, but most significantly there is a new par three, the 15th, a redesigned par four fifth, while what was previously the 15th has been redone to become a long par five 14th.

"On each hole there's a good bit of strategy; there's a decent amount of thinking," added Scheffler.

"If it wasn't as firm as it is now, there wouldn't be as much decision-making, but I think with the firmness, it creates a whole lot more challenges, I think, for us as players, just to try and control your ball and figure out where it's going to end up.

"You'll get a couple weird bounces here and there as well."

Birkdale has a history of rewarding good golf, with greats of the game such as Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson among an A*-class list of past champions.

"I think one of the common things you hear about Birkdale is it's very fair for a links golf course," said McIlroy, who won The Open in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.

"The fairways aren't overly undulating, so when you land the ball in the fairway here, it seems like it stays on the fairway.

"There's not a ton of blind shots, which I've never really had a problem with in other links courses, but that's quite a common thing people say.

"If you were to poll every player in the field, I'd say it would be up there in terms of being everyone's favourite Open venues to play for sure."

For Jordan Spieth, the last player to win The Open at Birkdale, the direction of the wind and its impact can't be overestimated.

"When it's firm like this, it can be even more so downwind. Five irons are running out to 300 yards," said the three-time Major winner.

Jon Rahm was in his first full year as a professional when he played in golf's oldest championship at Royal Birkdale nine years ago.

The Spaniard, who has three top tens in his last five Open appearances, is one of several who has spoken in pre-tournament press conferences about the tactical dynamics players are weighing up during their practice rounds.

Is it best to ratchet back the distance off the tee in preference for the accuracy an iron can, for many, provide?

"If it keeps getting firmer and stays warm with the same wind direction, you could have quite a few holes where that six iron is going 280 yards," said Rahm.

"It's unprecedented for sure."

While irons may be the club on several holes, particularly the tenth, 11th and 16th, the redesigned par four fifth measuring 321 yards on the card means the green can be seen off the tee unlike in 2017.

With that, along with the addition of fairway bunkers to the left and right of the fairway, players - ranging from career Grand Slam winner McIlroy to Open debutant Angel Ayora - have been going for the green in practice.

But with a severe run-off to the left and through the back of the green, a question is posed off the tee.

Hometown hero Tommy Fleetwood is the popular pick among many, and the World Number Nine is keeping his options open.

"For me, if the wind was any kind of hurt, it's definitely not worth me going for it," he said.

"But if you can get it greenside, I think the bunkering around the green is really, really good, so if you go for it you could be fine in one of those bunkers, but you can get lucky.

"And as it's links golf, one of the things is to avoid a lot of the bunkers.

"If not, it's an iron and a wedge onto the green, but also the green is pretty tricky. I'm very much like you I'm looking forward to see how it plays.

"For me at the moment, I definitely see it as a layup hole, but if the wind happens to favour going for it, I think that's what I would do."

Fleetwood believes the new 241-yard 15th forms part of an "amazing finish", building towards the 508-yard 18th with the striking clubhouse as the backdrop.

Another hole where the challenge off the tee will feel completely different for those who were at Birkdale in 2017, the tee has been moved a long way left, so it is now a straight hole rather than the dog-leg from left to right that it was.

Also down the stretch, Royal Birkdale member Matt Baldwin described the 566-yard par five 17th as "brutal" in an Instagram story, with the DP World Tour winner - who will hit the opening tee shot on Thursday - revealing he hit a driver, two iron.

Time for practice, and talk for that matter, is coming to an end. Game plans are being finalised, and soon players will be putting up scores that count.