PREVIEW: Woods looking for victory on difficult course

Turnberry, Scotland - US golfing superstar Tiger Woods will start chasing his 15th career major on the difficult Ailsa Course in Scotland's Turnberry Resort Thursday in Ayrshire. Woods stands four wins shy of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors but will certainly not go into the British Open thinking that it will be easy. 'This course is a lot more difficult than people are letting on,' he said after his second practice round. 'You've just got to do your homework.' The 33-year-old, who returned from injury at the beginning of the year and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, has finished tied in sixth place at the Masters and the US Open this year and has just the British Open and the PGA Championship left if he wants to avoid going winless in the majors for the first time since 2004. The Ailsa course has been closed for several months to allow greenskeepers time to prepare for the tournament, which has thrice before been hosted there. The links course favours straight hitters. While it seems unlikely that Woods will repeat his strategy from the British Open that he won three years ago in Hoylake, where he used his driver just once, he will probably make sparing use of the big club. 'I've got the driver in the bag, but I don't know how it's going to be used,' Woods said. US player Lucas Glover, who sensationally won the US Open last month, had his best finish in the British Open at 27th place in Hoylake, the same year that Woods won. 'If you get tough conditions it makes it a better test,' Glover said. 'So a lot of it depends of the weather. You've got to use every club in the bag, and change the ball flight and curve it. I think it's fun.' Defending champion Padraig Harrington, looking for a third consecutive title and the 750,000-pound (1.2-million-dollar) first prize that goes with it, has arrived in Scotland chasing the form that took him to a four-stroke victory over England's Ian Poulter. 'I'm not really showing much form, not really knowing what to expect. I can only be hopeful rather than expectant. This course definitely suits somebody who's going to drive the ball very well,' Harrington said. 'Nature is taking its course, and the rough is very lush at the bottom. If you hit it in there, it is going to be a big struggle, but you do need to hit the driver. It's a long course, especially if there's a little bit of wind. You're going to have to hit the driver and hit it straight.' The Irishman said that he was aware that as defending champion he was in the spotlight. 'I'm going for three in a row,' he said, 'and it's not so easy to do your own thing when it's in the public spotlight.' Despite his current struggles, Harrington believed that he can win if he got into position. 'That's the nice thing. Others can get there, but they won't win,' he said. 'Can I get into position, is what's in doubt. I'd love it if somebody could push the Open back a couple of weeks, but I don't have that option. We'll go with whatever we have on Thursday afternoon.' While Harrington is the fan favourite, most of the money seems to be on Woods and surprisingly on young Irishman Rory McIlroy, who first burst on the scene two years ago at the Open. Poulter and on-fire German Martin Kaymer, who comes to Turnberry with victories from back-to-back tournaments, are others who are considered to be in with a chance. Spain's Sergio Garcia is widely considered the best current player still waiting for a major victory, and he is hoping that he can turn things around. But as the first two majors of the year were won by outsiders, it could well be that come Sunday, a name nobody expects will be added to the trophy.