We have seven Scots in this week’s Open Championship and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a saltire up there challenging on the leaderboard this weekend.
The conditions look very changeable. It is going to be windy and rainy and that should suit the British players a little bit more than the players from the rest of the world.
The cooler conditions will really affect the ball and that can be hard for some players who aren’t used to the way the conditions can impact club selection.
I had a few good examples of that on Sunday.
I’m not the longest hitter but on one of the par fives I hit it 385 yards off the tee and then had a 6-iron into the green.
Coming back and playing into the wind, I was hitting a 5-iron into a 148-yard par three.
That gives you an idea of how much of a factor the wind was.
Those skills that the Scottish players have learned over the years can come in good use this week.
Hopefully one of us can make a run at it.
I was really disappointed with my finish to the Genesis Scottish Open. I battled hard and played really well in tough conditions.
To finish with two bogeys was really frustrating. I need to be more aggressive this week.
Overall, it was a good week but I felt I should have finished higher up the leaderboard.
I haven’t played an Open at Royal Liverpool before but I spent a couple of days there in March.
It is a huge tournament so you want to feel prepared and I knew it would be important to see the course in advance.
The Open is such a busy week that you don’t want to spend a huge amount of time playing practice rounds before play starts on Thursday.
It is my fourth week in a row so it’s also important to conserve energy because you don’t want to be feeling fresh and ready to go when the action gets under way.
I feel I have done my homework and the next couple of days are more about finding out how the course is playing in terms of the rough, the way the ball is bouncing and the wind, which should be pretty similar to the Scottish Open.
Perfect Open venue for McIlroy
In March I came away thinking that driving and accuracy were the key attributes.
There is a real element of risk and reward off the tee and the players who can hit the ball long and straight over the bunkers can make substantial gains.
The choice for the players will be to lay up short of the bunkers and take a longer approach into the green or hit driver and take on the bunkers.
Depending on how firm the elevated greens are, a higher shot to make sure the ball lands softly and doesn’t run off the fringe will be required.
That high, soft shot is essential and there is one player who does that better than any other player – and that is Rory McIlroy.
It was no surprise he won at Hoylake in 2014 and he starts this week as the favourite, especially after his victory at Renaissance on Sunday.
It can be difficult to win back-to-back, although it has been done before with Phil Mickelson following up a Scottish Open win in 2013 by winning at Muirfield the following week.
Rory will take huge confidence from an impressive finish at the Scottish Open because he wasn’t playing at his best earlier in that final round.
