Open Si, Masters No!

Is it just me, or does the British Open at Royal Birkdale make the Masters look like a drab, unexciting forced march. I'm sure the wild weather and Tigers absence have added to the drama, but even so, there's something special about the course - and about UK links courses in general. Each hole can play so differently from player to player and threesome to threesome, while at Augusta everyone is forced to play it basically the same. At the links courses, every player has numerous options on almost every tee and with the weather, those options change round to round. Then look at the greens and surrounding area. There are so many swales, bumps, undulations and vegetation types that you get as many variations on one green at Birkdale as you get on 10 greens at a typical pro venue in the US. Let's not forget the pot bunkers that can change the tournament plot in a heartbeat.

I hope Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne is watching closely this week and figures out how to get back the Masters to where it once was -an exciting, anything can happen event.