Alterations at sixth hole have the desired effect for scamps at the R&A

Matthew Lindsay

Sports Journalist

Saturday 21 July 2012

ROYAL Lytham & St Annes was, one would have supposed, quite difficult enough already.

Phil Mickelson plays out of a bunker at the revamped sixth. Picture: Reuters

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Matthew Lindsay

The fairways are narrow and undulating. The rough is, in places, knee-high. More than 200 treacherous pot bunkers pepper its lengthy 7086-yard layout. The greens are firm and slick.

Toss some wind and rain into the equation – and, being situated less than a mile from the Irish Sea, the elements regularly buffet those sampling its dubious delights – and one has as an exacting a test of golf as there is anywhere.

Yet, those scamps at the Royal & Ancient, the organisation responsible for the staging the Open Championship, decided the famous Lancashire track needed toughening up some this year. So, the 492-yard par-5 sixth, a hole that in previous years had offered competitors in this great event their best chance of a birdie, was changed to a par-4. In addition, two new bunkers were added to the right of the fairway. The rough to the left was recontoured. Those alterations have had the desired affect – and then some. Statistically, it has been the most demanding hole this week. Only seven players managed to birdie it on Thursday. The average score was 4.538. Watching the early groups in the second round attempt, often with disastrous results, to negotiate the dogleg yesterday, it became clear why. There is, by Royal Lytham standards, a fairly generous landing area for tee shots. There is, though, a significant advantage to be gained by cutting the corner. The temptation for players to do so is great. Laying up with a drive leaves you with a long iron approach into a slightly elevated green, guarded by five bunkers, that is barely 10 yards wide at the front. A short iron, then, is much preferable. Richie Ramsay discovered that to his cost. The Scot's tentative drive left him requiring a five wood for his second. He found sand with that and did well to extricate his ball thereafter. Two putts later, he walked off with a bogey. It was a familiar tale of woe. Even those who found the putting surface in regulation struggled. The hole was cut on a slope at the front and those positioned front, back or pin high toiled to judge the break on their putts accurately. The three-ball comprising Greg Chalmers, Alejandro Canizares and Jeev Milka Singh, the new Scottish Open champion, perhaps were unique yesterday in that they all found themselves on the dancefloor after two blows. Yet, they all squandered decent opportunities. Miguel Angel Jimenez, the stogie-smoking Spaniard who always proves popular with the Open galleries, recorded a one-under-par 69 yesterday to make the cut comfortably on level par. Still, he ran up a costly double bogey at the sixth that prevented his total from being so much better. "Like every hole, I suppose, all you have to do is find the fairway off the tee and then get on the green," he remarked. "But the sixth is a very, very difficult hole. It is basically a par -5 they've made into a par-4."The majority of those who managed to record red figures were the more feted combatants. Luke Donald, the world No.1, Brandt Snedeker, the leader at the halfway stage, Jason Dufner, the form man on the US PGA Tour this season, and a certain Tiger Woods all did so. Only one other player all day, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, matched their efforts. "I hit a drive and a four iron to about 15 feet and holed the putt," Donald recalled with a grin after he had completed his second-round 68. "For some reason, I played the hard holes, the sixth and the 15th, really well. It was the easy ones I struggled with."Snedeker reflected that taking a 3 at the sixth provided the impetus for a six-under-par round of 64 that saw him equal the lowest 36-hole total in the tournament's history, a hugely impressive 130. Having hooked his tee shot into the crowd, it was a truly miraculous effort. "I got very fortunate there," he admitted. "I hit a seven iron out of a flyer lie to 45 feet. I hit the putt to get close. Sometimes when you do that, they fall in. That putt ended up going in. That hole had bogey written all over it after my tee shot. To be able to walk off with a birdie was a huge boost to my confidence. After that, I got on a little run." With the weather set to worsen, and winds set to reach 30mph, the sixth hole will play even tougher in the final two rounds. It is sure to play a major part in determining the name of the individual who is crowned champion golfer for 2012 come tomorrow evening."

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Alterations at sixth hole have the desired effect for scamps at the R&A

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