British Open 2012: Opening-Round Buzz for Tournament from Royal Lytham

As the first round of the 2012 Open Championship settles in, the number of storylines that are going to be talked about is astounding. 

You can get enough talking points just based on the condition of the course at Royal Lytham & St. Annes to get you through the weekend, but we should probably pay attention to what players are doing, too. 

The usual cast of characters—Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, et al.—will be all the rage in the early rounds. Though we have seen this year that there are underdogs who can come out of nowhere to steal the show from everyone. 

Since we just want to focus on Thursday's opening round, we are going to look at the top stars and all the other news, notes and information that you need to know to help you settle in to the action across the pond. 

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Weather at Royal Lytham & St. Annes

Despite no calls for rain today, the weather in England has been all the rage leading up to the Open Championship. 

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), the sun broke through on Wednesday leading up to the start of Thursday's event. It was like the heavens were waiting for us to get to this tournament before opening up. 

That said, as of Wednesday, the report says there was water in 206 of the bunkers on this course. This is going to be an interesting tournament to watch, even if there is perfect weather the rest of the weekend. 

We have no idea how it is going to play with the water settling into the grass and softening everything up. Plus, will the ball roll on the fairway and green as much as it would if the weather was right in the week leading up to the event?

Tiger Woods Needs This Tournament

While we are all on Tiger Woods Watch due to his success this season, it is important to remember that he has not won a major in five years. 

You can't say that he is slumping anymore, as his three wins in 2012 are the most on tour. Shane Bacon of CBS Sports talked about how this year's Open Championship is Tiger's to lose because it should be, not because we want it to be:

"

History is made each and every time he heads to a first tee, adding PGA Tour wins to an already incredible career and hoping to catch a record that most thought was uncatchable.

But unlike majors in the past few years, Tiger is the favorite because he should be the favorite. It isn't because of his popular name or the fact that offshore betting sites know that he's where the money comes in, but simply because Woods is the best golfer in the world right now and if there was ever a time for him to break this winless streak in majors, it's this Sunday.

"

That seems to be the biggest difference with Woods now compared to previous years. We always made him a favorite because of his name, instead of looking at how he was playing. 

Now he is playing well and deserves to be talked about as the one to beat. We shall see what he does over the weekend. 

Phil Mickelson Learns from Impromptu Scottish Open

One of the biggest disappointments on tour this season, Phil Mickelson took advantage of a late entry into the Scottish Open to figure out some of the issues that have plagued him. 

He told the media earlier this week that he learned a lot in the last two rounds. Mickelson is flying under the radar because of his struggles, yet he has so much talent and is always on the verge of playing that one great round to turn everything around. 

From USA Today:

"

"I wasn't really playing as well as I wanted to in some tournaments, and it was a really great week," Mickelson said. "I felt like I got a lot of good work done. I had a couple of good rounds there to give me direction on where I want my game to go.

—snip—

"It didn't feel that far off, but I just wasn't holding my focus for all 18 holes. I just wasn't in a good, competitive frame of mind. And adding (the Scottish Open) has really helped get me in a much better frame now."

"

Rory McIlroy Not Looking for the Spotlight

A year ago at this time, Rory McIlroy was the talk of the golf world. He had that disastrous final round at the Masters, only to come back with one of the most dominant performances in U.S. Open history. 

Fast-forward to today, and McIlroy is not nearly as big a star heading into the Open Championship as he was in 2011. He has missed the cut in three of his last four PGA Tour events, including the U.S. Open last month. 

Yet for all the hype surrounding him one year ago, McIlroy said prior to this event that he loves being out of the media spotlight (via Associated Press, h/t WCF Courier):

"

“It’s been lovely just going about my business,” McIlroy said. “It’s been nice to sort of prepare and there’s definitely not the madness that was going on last year.”

"

McIlroy might not like the spotlight, but he has to figure out his game anyway. We did expect too much out of him after that U.S. Open win last year—he was even being talked about as the new Tiger Woods. No one can live up to that. 

But playing as poorly as he has is troubling. McIlroy has as much talent as anyone in the game; he just has to figure out how to harness it for four rounds again. 

Rickie Fowler Tries to Understand the Conditions

The always colorful Rickie Fowler knows that in order to have success at the Open Championship, you have to put your ego in your pocket. 

Jim Litke of the Associated Press (h/t Lexington Herald-Leader) wrote about Fowler leading up to the event, and the golfer talked about his approach to tackling Royal Lytham & St. Annes:

"

"I definitely think there are guys that either get off to a tough start or aren't looking at the weather the right way and may kind of beat themselves before they tee off," Fowler said.

--snip--

"There may be fewer options here this week. And there's definitely going to be some shot-making that's going to need to happen out there. But I love to play links golf, like I said. You can be as creative as you want."

"

Fowler's best finish in a major came at the 2011 Open Championship, when he finished tied for fifth with an even-par score. He has struggled in majors this season, finishing 27th at the Masters and 41st at the U.S. Open. 

As long as he doesn't try to do too much and is hitting the ball down the fairway, Fowler will fare quite well this weekend.