THE transcript of the Graeme McDowell interview landed on the desk yesterday with the sort of thump that would have startled seismologists throughout the world.

It was a bulky tome, a sort of War and Gie's Peace.

The placatory chapters referred to McDowell's observations about Castle Stuart, home of last week's Scottish Open. The Northern Irishman took the opportunity yesterday to state that it was not his intention to "inadvertently criticise" the course.

"I was disappointed in myself as to the way things read and the negative connotation to what I said," reflected McDowell in an answer that was long on contrition and hardly short in the number of words as he elaborated for so long in the media interview room one feared that the early starters were preparing to come in and tell tales of derring-do of the first morning of the Open.

McDowell, of course, had pointed out that Castle Stuart had a "weakened field" and that the course was "one-dimensional". This caused some outrage with the winner of the 2010 US Open gently protesting: "I was simply trying to say that the Scottish Open deserves to have a world-class field and I am looking forward to that happening very soon." This being, perhaps, a hint that Royal Aberdeen may be deemed better preparation for the Open than the course near Inverness.

The more interesting part of McDowell's interview concerned the war rather than the attempts at brokering peace. The 33-year-old views Muirfield as a course to be conquered, a puzzle to be solved. He has made his reconnaissance. McDowell played the course at least twice last week and was back again yesterday to devise a gameplan.

This is a course that not only suits McDowell but intrigues him. He will play with Tiger Woods and Louis Oosthuizen, both Open winners, over the first two days, and a case could be made for that group containing three potential winners.

"It will appeal to his tactical side of the game," McDowell said of Muirfield's attraction to the world No.1. "I think back to Hoylake in 2006, which was maybe as firm and fast an Open as this one. He certainly dismantled that course that week." Woods recalled yesterday that he had only hit "one driver" in attaining that Open victory and McDowell was yesterday contemplating a gameplan that would not see him hit "much more than five or six drivers" out there.

This is a recognition both of Muirfield's length of 7192 yards. "It doesn't feel long," said McDowell. Placement rather than all-out length is the vital requirement off the tee. Bunkers in the fairway are "hack out" material, said McDowell, who said the course was set up for those who were conservative off the tee and aggressive into the green.

There was almost an element of the Northern Irishman thinking out loud and he quietly charted his way around the course, with the inevitable caveats about wind changing strategy in a moment. "It's a very fair golf course," he said.

The list of previous Muirfield winners include Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Henry Cotton. This strongly indicates it is a course where chance takes second place to class.

"Good shots get rewarded more often than not," said McDowell. "This golf course is all right there in front of you, there's no hidden tricks to it. You hit the shots, they'll be where you expect them to be."

McDowell will use his accuracy to keep his ball away from the murderous rough, sacrificing length in the belief his accuracy with irons can be rewarded with good positions on the green. "The links-style golf is in my blood," said McDowell, born in Portrush. "I naturally and instinctively play well in the wind. I have a fairly good instinct for the short game and I am a very good pace putter."

He comes off a victory on a French course that has been described as "links-like". McDowell said: "This is a bit like Lytham last year. I liked it when I saw it, as far as a golf course that sets up for me in the Open rotation. A golf course like St Andrews probably would not be my cup of tea, because guys that can fly it 300-320 yards can bomb trouble out of play there. But they can't blow it out of trouble here."

The fairway bunkers and the rough will take a toll of the long hitters whose accuracy does not match their length. "This course forces you into certain areas of the fairway," mused McDowell, citing the 18th, where "all you can do is hit it into an area the size of this room".

This challenge enthuses McDowell. "If I ever design a course, it will demand a lot of different clubs of tees . . . and something that gets the brain working. This is certainly a game of chess this week, where you have to position your pieces and keep them in play," he observed.

He added that it was a course suited to a "great tactician".

The player rehearsed his lines yesterday in audition for that precise role in the campaign to be waged over a patch of East Lothian this week.