The resulting display, on the Friday in particular, earned rare praise from John Hopkins of The Times of London, who called it the "greatest demonstration of mid- and long-iron play I'd ever seen in 50-odd years of playing and watching golf."
What Woods might concoct for Turnberry will join the story lines as he embarks Thursday with Englishman Lee Westwood, 17-year-old Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa and hordes of American, British and Japanese media in a contingent Woods wisecracked will be "very quiet."
Only 18 of the 156 entries played 15 years ago in the last British Open at Turnberry. Some have played it in other events, as when the second-highest-ranked player in the field, Paul Casey, played in a British Amateur in 1996 in conditions so spiteful that his playing partner in the last group of the day, a San Francisco stockbroker, reckoned himself entitled to steal the flag at the 14th hole. Others haven't seen the course before despite their nationality.
"No, I've never seen it," said Ian Poulter, the Englishman who finished second at Birkdale in 2008. "I turned up at 10 Sunday night and had a little look on the 18th green; security guards came out, said, 'What are you doing, what are you doing, get off.' I said, 'It's OK, I'm playing.' So that was my first look, and then I got escorted off in a wagon. So that was nice."
With practice rounds in the memory bank, the golfers have labeled it "very much a tee-shot golf course" (Casey) and saying it "seems like you're penalized more for your off-line shots" (fourth-ranked Kenny Perry) and a "ball-striker's" course (Woods), evidenced by the towering quality of the past Open winners plus one very-near-miss runner-up from 1977 (Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Jack Nicklaus).
Woods rated those "among the best ball-strikers of all time," and said, "You just can't fake it around this golf course," especially with rough gone lush in good rain and featuring not only gorse but also yarrow, knapweed and lesser stitchwort, among other nuisances.
With his knee no longer screaming and his driving accuracy vaulting upward through his past three events - with the Memorial glowing in particular as he hit all 14 fairways - Woods returns to the British Open to do some driving, even if his caddy, Steve Williams, does all the driving in their car, given his New Zealand left-side experience.
Already, Woods comprehends one thing about Turnberry. "You have to make sure you really know what you're doing out there, especially with the crosswinds in some of these fairways where they're slanted," he said. "And you've got to hit some really good shots, and you've got to understand why the last three champions are some of the best ball-strikers. You have to do that here."
138th British Open
When: Thursday-Sunday
Where: Turnberry (Ailsa Course)
Length: 7,204 yards Par: 35-35-70
Defending champion: Padraig Harrington
Last year: Harrington became the first European in more than a century to win back-to-back at the British Open. He shot a 32 on the back nine at Royal Birkdale to close with a 1-under-par 69 and win by four shots over Ian Poulter.
