Golf: Turner fears 'carnage' at British Open

LYTHAM ST ANNES - Greg Turner scrubbed a British Open practice round to seek out a long-range weather forecast yesterday as gale-force winds thumped Royal Lytham and St Annes golf course.

Turner predicted British Open "carnage" with high scores unless the winds - predicted to last until Saturday - let up.

He said getting a long-range forecast would be more important than more practice.

"By all accounts it's not looking at improving much for the next two or three days, so there'll be some carnage," he said. "If it's the velocity of today, it will be a war of attrition."

Turner, who played two days of the Scottish Open last week, then qualified for the British Open on a links course near Royal Lytham, thought he could take a break from practice.

"Rather than go and get buffeted around, I thought it was more use to go and walk the course. Usually if you just walk it you get a better tactical appreciation."

Golfer after golfer returned from practice on the links course complaining of winds that cut shots short, or carried them off into thick rough.

New Zealand No 1 and world No 15 Michael Campbell called the combination of wind and long grass "pretty tough."

Sir Bob Charles, who competes in his farewell British Open, also ventured out. The 65-year-old said he hated to think what score he posted.

"I would have been about 90, that's giving me a putt here and there. I didn't totally run out of golf balls, so that's an achievement.

"Any score under 40 would be a heck of a score on the front nine. Anything under 75 would be a helluva score ... the rough is penal."

Turner said it was important to plan where to try to hit the ball depending on the wind direction.

It would be a factor right from the 206-yard (188m) first hole, one of the rare instances a championship opens with a par-three.

With the wind in the players' faces, the heavily-bunkered first was "brutal, brutal stuff," Turner said.

"You've got to use a three-wood or a one-iron in there, and there's not a lot of latitude for error."

No matter what the conditions, American Tiger Woods will start hot favourite when the Open starts tonight..

He has captured five of the last seven majors, last year's British Open at St Andrew's in Scotland among them.

Woods won by eight strokes last year, the third-biggest margin in British Open history.

Turner figured that the wind might upset Woods more than those who played regularly in blustery Britain.

"He would be the favourite, no matter what the conditions, but then again the wind throws everyone a little bit out of their comfort zone - nobody is used to playing in those conditions.

"He's probably been out of his comfort zone less often than some of these guys who have been playing 25 British Opens and have had to deal with it plenty of times."

Spaniard Sergio Garcia, American left-hander Phil Mickelson, Fijian Vijay Singh, Darren Clarke, of Northern Ireland, and in-form South African Retief Goosen are other main contenders.

Campbell has the ability to be right among the weighty end of the prizemoney, having played some outstanding rounds this year.

In 1995 he finished third after leading into the final round, but has missed the British Open cut in three attempts since.

Turner finished seventh - four shots ahead of a rookie Woods - on Royal Lytham in 1996, so he has "good vibes" about it.

"It's always good to go back to a venue where you've played well in the past," he said.

"It's always better to have happy memories than bad ones."

New Zealand Open champion David Smail is the other Kiwi in the championship.

- NZPA