BEST LAID PLANS

Bill Elliott looks forward to another gruelling week of golf at Royal Troon, where the world's finest players are always tested to their limits

- Bill Elliott

And so our minds begin to wander away from politics and towards Ayrshire, Royal Troon Golf Club and the 152nd Open Championship. This is the tenth such megaweek to be staged there and one that is even more challenging than usual if trying to predict an outcome other than opting for that old favourite “it will be a surprise”.

At least for me it will be a surprise because – and let’s nail this thought right away– I actually don’t have a clue. Okay, no surprise there you may think, but here’s the thing: has the modern professional game ever been more messed up, more difficult to work out who is doing what, where and how well they are actually doing it, and in the end does any of it matter?

Do I hear someone say, “Hang on, what about Scottie Scheffler, you fool?” It’s a fair interruption, but a swift glance at the available data shows The Quiet Man has played in the last three Opens, made the cut in each and, in chronological order, finished an impressive T8th, T21st and T23rd. Maybe this does mean something.

Not bad, but hardly encouraging if one is seeking out signs that the No.1 golfer on the planet is really learning how to duck the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune so routinely slung a player’s way by the unpredictable vagaries of the beast we know as links golf.

It’s not just the gifted and in-form players who contend over the course of these weeks. No matter how talented or ‘in the right mood’ a player may be come July, the eventual winner will always be the one who enjoys significant slices of good fortune during the battle.