The Road to the Claret Jug

The quest for the Claret Jug: It’s arguably the most interesting major championships due to the style, of course, that is used for the tournament. Links courses are what I believe to be a true test of ball striking. With the course generally using the wind and firm greens as a defense, Hoylake is sure to separate the boys from the men.

Hoylake normally takes the burnt outlook and the last time Tiger turned up at Hoylake he produced a score of 18 under which will be tough for the Florida man to repeat if he plays.

As our football team hasn’t been able to give us much joy this year I think that our 3 lions competing to pour their Gravy from the claret jug will be Justin Rose, Luke Donald and as an outsider Matthew Baldwin.

Justin is in fine form with his win recently, already a major champion he will be looking to build on his trophy successes. He is one of the best iron players in the game today and that being the area of the game that I think will make or break anyone’s chances.

Luke Donald has not shown his true talents this year but a steady player with big game experience will always be a contender. I am not saying that he is due a major but all of us would agree and say he has the potential.

Matthew Baldwin is a local lad, he will have a big support base and after earning his place at the Irish Open I am sure he is very much up for tackling the links and being a big underdog may help his cause.

For those of you lucky enough to attend the championship send us your snaps on Twitter and for those watching from the TV enjoy yet another glorious week of golf.

Mathew Parker