Duval out with back sprain before teeing off
Updated: July 15, 2004, 6:55 AM ET
Associated Press
TROON, Scotland --Two days before the British Open, the defending champion sat almost unnoticed at a dinner that included Prince Andrew and Scotland's favorite son, Colin Montgomerie.
Ben Curtis wasn't complaining. His name was already on the claret jug, and his mind was on defending the title he won during an improbable rookie year on the PGA Tour.
People still might not be quite sure who he is, but the recognition can wait for another day.
"You don't get to defend your title too much, especially in a major," Curtis said. "I'm hopefully going to go out there and not really worry about what's at stake, just go out and play golf and have some fun."
The 133rd British Open began Thursday morning in mostly sunny conditions with only a trace of breeze coming off the Firth of Clyde, and it didn't take long to stir up the Scottish crowds.
Gary Evans of England, best known for losing a ball on the 17th at Muirfield to wreck his Open chances, made a double eagle on the par-5 fourth by holing a 5-iron from the fairway. It was the first double eagle in the British Open since Greg Owen on the 11th hole at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2001.
On the other end of the spectrum was Tom Weiskopf, the '73 Open champion at Royal Troon playing in his first major since the 1995 British Open. The 61-year-old Weiskopf took a quadruple-bogey 8 on the easy opening hole.
David Duval didn't even make it to the first tee, withdrawing because of a sprained muscle in his back. Duval played his first tournament of the year last month in the U.S. Open, shooting 83-82 to miss the cut.
Curtis was among the late starters. He will be introduced as the defending champion, and get a nice round of applause. That's better than the title he had last year, which was rookie PGA Tour member and first-time major player.
Curtis was then a 500-1 shot just trying to figure out how to play links golf, so unknown that when he asked for a local caddie, the caddie replied: "Ben who?"
His visibility hasn't improved much since last year, and neither have his odds. British bookies make him a 200-1 pick to successfully defend his title, something that hasn't happened since Tom Watson turned the trick in 1983.
Still, Curtis likes his chances even though he's done little to impress anyone since he held the silver claret jug aloft on the 18th green last year at Royal St. George's.
"I think you've got to look at it, anybody who defends their title is a threat," he said. "Especially in a major because I've won this before and I feel like I can do it again."
While all eyes won't be on the understated Ohioan, they will be on Tiger Woods as he tries to snap out of a slump that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.
Woods has failed to win any of the last eight major championships, after winning seven of the previous 11. He comes to Troon with a big new graphite-shafted driver and lowered expectations, mired in a slump so bad he's winless in stroke play events since last October.
"You go out and try your best," Woods said. "That's all you can do. You can't do anything more than that."
The Open is back at Royal Troon for the first time since 1997, when Justin Leonard won his only major championship. The links course on the Irish Sea plays relatively easy on the outward front nine, but can be brutal with the wind blowing in a player's face on the inward nine.
Colin Montgomerie knows it better than anyone, having played the championship course hundreds of times while honing his game as a teenager. At the age of 41, he's back trying desperately to win his first major title before fellow Scots who will be cheering his every move.
Montgomerie is going through a divorce from his wife of 14 years made even more painful by the attention British tabloids pay to it. His game has been so lousy he had to win a qualifying playoff just to get in the tournament, and even the home folks would have to stretch to consider him a favorite.
"I thought back in June that I wasn't going to be playing at all, so it's a delight to be here in the first place," Montgomerie said. "And I will do my utmost to do as well as I can."
Montgomerie's last stand isn't the only subplot amid the rolling fairways and thick heather of Royal Troon.
Phil Mickelson will try to shake off the effects of his three-putt from 5 feet on the 71st hole that cost him a chance to win the U.S. Open, while Retief Goosen will try and prove he can win other majors than the U.S. Open he has won twice.
Then there's Ernie Els, who can surpass Woods and become the No. 1 player in the world should he win here and Woods not finish any better than 16th.
"Where Tiger was and where he is now, I mean we're in different worlds now," Els said. "A lot of players feel that we can compete with him now at the highest level."
Just two years ago, neither Els nor anyone else expected Woods to be this beatable. He came into the Open at Muirfield that year looking for his third straight major title and a possible Grand Slam.
It all came apart in the third round when he shot a shocking 81, and some believe Woods has never been the same since.
"Right now it's different," Els said. "I feel that when he plays really well he's going to shoot a 67. But if I play well I can shoot that score as well, and I can keep doing that for three or four days. I think we're more on a level playing field now, and maybe because Tiger has come back to the field a little bit."
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press
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