Tiger Woods and Darren Clarke criticize the rough at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
The 14-time major champion Tiger Woods has complained about the thickness of the roughs at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, where he is scheduled to participate in the British Open. The tournament is scheduled to start from Thursday, July 19, 2012.
According the Woods, the rough is the toughest he has ever played in his career. Therefore, it will be a great challenge for the players to battle against the thick and dense grass available on the course.
"It's just that you can't get out of it. That bottom six inches, in some places is almost unplayable," he said. "I've never seen the rough this high or thick and dense".
He currently aims to bag another major title with a victory in the Open Championship, for which, he is considered a hot favourite this year because of his recent form on the PGA Tour.
For the last seven months, including December 2011, he has won a total of four professional events including three on the PGA Tour. Moreover, he is currently the only player to record three PGA Tour wins in the 2012 golf season.
Yet, he is really worried about getting in trouble if he finds himself stuck in bad patches during the tournament.
In the meantime, the defending champion Darren Clarke has also supported Woods’ ideas about the toughness of the roughs.
According to him, the spectators and players will witness a huge number of lost-ball incidents.
"The grass is quite thick," he said. "It's not quite what we would expect on a links course. It's a little bit thicker than what you normally find. It's really tough - if you start spraying the ball around this week you might as well go home".
There are a few patches out there where it's just absolutely brutal. "There are a few places where...I don't know if you'll be able to take a full swing and move it”.
Eddie Birchenough, Royal Lytham professional, seconded the notion that the rough is more than just ‘brutal’ and warned that the players can even lose their feet rather than just losing the ball.
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