A Few Fun UK Newspaper Reads, Open Wednesday Edition

Even as the industry struggles the newspaper reading over here continues to be rewarding and lively.

No offense to our friends in the states who are here filing away, but here are a few fun reads as we near the start of the 2014 Open Championship. In almost no particular order:

James Corrigan issues a passionate defense of The Open, golf as the UK's greatest sport and the democratic nature of this outstanding championship.

There is nothing phoney about UK golf. Nothing.

Well, presenters other than Iain Carter maybe, but go on...

It is a sport of which the country can be richly proud. And there are not too many sports you can say that about at the moment.

But enough of being insular because the Open is so much more than a jingo-fest. So much more.

Where else can you see a factory worker such as John Singleton play in the same field as billionaires such as Tiger Woods?

Where else can you see a sportsman such as Erik Compton competing at the highest level despite being on his third heart?

Kevin Garside on 25-1 Tiger Woods.

There was at least one believer in the house when Tiger Woods was telling his audience he can win here this week. Well, one plus the cadre of Liverpool fire fighters with whom Woods is said to be training before making his way to the course. No better way to project the idea of muscular, can-do vigour than hanging out with local heroes for an hour every day.

Woods is not one to let reality bite into his own world view. The fact that six years have passed since he won a major, eight since he claimed the last of his three Open crowns here at Hoylake, is irrelevant. I’m Tiger Woods. I’m not like other people. I’m not like you.

Woods smashes this message home with every fibre of his being, with such conviction, in fact, that the cynics among us begin to doubt the rules of evidence. Fourteen majors gained over an unprecedented 11-year period are awfully persuasive. And as he argued, he has walked out of theatre before and won without playing a scoring round in preparation.

James Riach of The Guardian on how losing at Lytham changed Adam Scott.

He comes into this tournament flying under many people’s radar, as attention focuses on the return from injury of Tiger Woods, the mind-set of Rory McIlroy and the form of Justin Rose. However, Scott, who won at Colonial in May after a play-off tussle with Jason Dufner, has, in his own words, never been in better shape.

“I think I’m playing some of the best golf of my life at the moment,” he says. “I should really be taking advantage of it and stepping up this week and putting myself in with a good chance. [Lytham] proved to me that I can play at the required level in majors. I tried to keep doing all the right things and make amends for any errors that I made at Lytham. Next time I had a chance at Augusta I was able to get over the line. I’d like to just keep giving myself those chances.”

Ewan Murray on where caddies stand in the modern game.

The caddie subculture in top-level golf is a fascinating one. They are a close-knit group, stretching from former professional players to academics and everything else in between. The heartless decision of the European Tour to finish the Madeira Islands Open two months ago after the death of Iain McGregor on the course brought the issue of respect towards caddies back to the fore.

The role involves plenty of amateur psychology alongside providing players with every last detail of what lies in front of every single shot. If that play goes wrong, the player’s easy option is always to blame his caddie.

Ian Poulter will sport an Arsenal staff bag this week at the Open. The Telegraph relays the tweet and an interesting response if you care about such things. From the report:

Poulter's post reads: 'Check out my #Arsenal golf bag for this weeks #openchampionship'. To which one quick-witted reader replied: 'Don't put any drink in it as prob a bit leaky at the back!'

Greg Walton with Telegraph notes, starting with the possibility of celebrity sightings, which were kicked off by a George Clooney appearance in Hoylake "ordering crispy duck."