Roberts tips Faldo to provide greatest threat to his title defence
MIKE AITKEN
LOREN Roberts, the defending champion, yesterday tipped Nick Faldo, winner of the Open here in 1987 and 1992, to make an immediate impact on his debut in the ?1 million Senior Open at Muirfield this week.
"Faldo can be a threat this week, no question about it," said the winner at Turnberry last summer. "His previous record at Muirfield tells you that. He'll play well. So much of this game is mental and if you feel good about yourself mentally, that goes a long way to helping you play well. We all expect him to be instantly competitive, especially here. But he's doing 44 weeks of television now, so that will limit his practice time."
The American was also impressed by Sandy Lyle's performance at Carnoustie last week and believes the Scot, who made the cut at the Masters and the Open, will be a force on the Champions Tour after his 50th birthday in February. "Sandy's game is returning to form - he will definitely be dominant out here."
Roberts, 52, reckons the rough at Muirfield is much tougher than the long grass faced by the young bloods at Carnoustie. "The rough is substantially tougher than it is at Carnoustie," he said. "I think we can handle it. The golf course isn't quite as long as Carnoustie and it is a matter of keeping it on the fairway. You do have room to hit the fairway and a lot of the greens are not fronted with bunkers, so there's a chance to play to the green. I think - and hope - it will suit me."
Roberts enjoys the Scottish way of golf and delighted in watching youngsters hit balls on the children's course in Gullane the other night after he'd stopped for fish and chips. "Gullane is so charming," he said. "There's a little course for the juniors, and, at about 7:30pm, there were all kinds of kids out there hitting balls. I would love to see something like that in America. That would be a great cultural thing to have. I feel passionately about this game, the rules and the integrity behind it. It was great that they would be out in the middle of the town hitting golf balls. People were out walking their dogs and it was a social thing, but they were learning to play golf.
"In America, we have a lack of cheap public access golf. That's never been a problem here. You can be a member of a club here and not have a lot of money. You don't need to be wealthy to have access to golf."
Roberts, who tees up with Sam Torrance and Tom Kite at 1:50pm tomorrow, loves links golf and reckons the Senior Open rota has been improved beyond measure. Using the courses familiar to the players from the Open rota inevitably brings back memories for all the players. Thirty-five years on from Lee Trevino's triumph in East Lothian, for example, Tony Jacklin has never forgotten his brush with misfortune.
"Yes, I should have won," he recalled yesterday. "That was the championship when Trevino chipped in five times over the last two rounds playing with me. On the 71st hole, I had the lead and three-putted from 15-feet while he chipped in. I made bogey on the 18th because I felt my heart had been torn out."
Jacklin, who was paired with Wayne Grady and Tommy Nakajima, expects a great test of golf to unfold. "You have Nick Faldo, a great field from America and a wonderful place in Muirfield," he said, "so it should be a great week."
The pick of the morning pairings at 9:30am tomorrow marks Faldo's senior debut in the company of Tom Watson and Mark O'Meara, a three-ball who can count nine Open championship successes among them. Ben Crenshaw, Eduardo Romero and Mark James will also attract a large gallery at 9:20am.
