After his defiant brilliance at Royal Birkdale last week, Greg Norman has to be one of the hot favourites to win the Senior Open Championship starting at Royal Troon tomorrow. The veteran golfing guru silenced his many detractors when he finished third in what was arguably one of the more difficult Open Championships.
The conditions at Birkdale were horrendous and many accomplished golfers including Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson and in the earlier rounds, Ernie Els, carded scores they will want to forget as quickly as possible but Norman, who got his fair share of ridicule from both announcers and the media, proved he is still very much a force to be reckoned with.
It may well be due to the fact he is sporting a new life partner in Chrissie Evert but ‘The Great White Shark’ proved advanced age is not necessarily a handicap and he will be determined to go back home with at least one Open Championship title.
Conditions at Royal Troon may be Tricky
The conditions at Royal Troon will hopefully be markedly better than they were at Birkdale but showers are expected and, like Royal Birkdale, the links course of Royal Troon can be very demanding in the wind. Troon traditionally has smaller greens than most Open venues but the fairways are firm and fast. Norman will be hoping to stay out of the rough though as, with Birkdale, it is particularly thick due to the recent weather conditions.
Irish bookmaker, Paddy Power, has Greg Norman at 7-1 to win at Royal Troon, behind favourite, Germany’s Bernhard Langer, who is 6-1. However, the man Norman will arguably have to outplay is three-time Senior Open Champion, Tom Watson, quoted at 8-1.
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