Tiger's Turnberry Hopes Hinge On A Single Club

Breaking news from Scotland:

If Tiger Woods is going to win the Open Championship come Sunday, there's one club that better work well for him.

It's the club that has brought him all his titles.

It is the club that he handles better than the rest.

The club is that nice little Scotty Cameron putter that he wields so well.

If you were able to speak to Tiger about it, he'd admit it.

He's zero-for-two in majors this season because of that little flat stick.

Statistics don't lie, especially when it comes to the putter.

Woods ranked 81st in putting at Augusta and still contended. He ranked a lowly 45th at Bethpage Black last month.

He needs to change all that if he hopes to nail down his 15th major championship starting Thursday on a course that has produced big-name champions in the previous Opens at Turnberry.

Tom Watson won in 1977, spurred by an amazing 60-foot putt at the 15th hole.

Greg Norman, the world's best player in 1986,  won with a hot putter.

Nick Price won in 1994 shot a shot of Jesper Parnevik by making a great putt down the home stretch.

So if Tiger hopes to fulfill his role as the overwhelming favorite this week, he better heat up the "Scotty."

"I put myself in position (to win) but didn't get it done," Woods said at his press conference, talking about Augusta and Bethpage.

It was the putter that didn't get it done for El Tigre.

And he might want to watch out for slower greens over the 72-holes. Forecasts call for rain to show up, perhaps each day.

If that's the case, Tiger might heed this sage advice:

"Hit it a little harder."