LIVERPOOL, England — There will be no shortage of compelling storylines to grab your attention at this week’s British Open, which will be played at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake on the West Coast of England.
None, however, is more important to the game of golf than how Tiger Woods fares.
There will be a lot of attention on defending champion Phil Mickelson, who broke through a year ago at Muirfield to capture his first Claret Jug after 19 failed tries at mastering the quirks and intricacies of links golf.
Rory McIlroy, who got off to a blistering start in the Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen with a 64 on last Thursday only to follow it with a second-round 78, remains an enigma because of his wild swings of inconsistency. Yet he will still draw a good portion of the spotlight.
Martin Kaymer, the hottest player in the world who dominated the U.S. Open field retro-Woods style last month at Pinehurst and won the Players Championship, will warrant his share of attention.
So, too, will the respective fates of the Brits who have knocked on the door at the Open Championship without breaking through — most notably Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, who has finished in the top three in three of the past five Opens, and Justin Rose, who at least has the 2013 U.S. Open on his résumé.
Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters winner who has had one hand around the Claret Jug the past two years without taking it home, always draws attention at the British Open — justifiably so considering his talent and close calls.
But sift through all of the above storylines and what stands out the most is Woods and his pursuit to rediscover his major championship-winning mojo after years of personal life upheaval and injuries — the most recent being March 31 back surgery.
And what better place for Woods to return to glory, end his seven-year drought without a major championship and capture his 15th major than at Hoylake, the place where he last hoisted the Claret Jug — and did so in historic calculated dominating style?
“There are a lot of storylines and probably none as appealing or attractive as the Tiger Woods storyline coming back to play again for the second time since back surgery,’’ ESPN analyst Paul Azinger said. “I have butterflies of anticipation waiting to see what Tiger and Phil can do … and who will hold the Claret Jug at the end of the week.’’
Woods has played in only one tournament since he left the game after Doral on March 9, and that was his own Quicken Loans National event three weeks ago at Congressional, where he failed to make the cut after shooting 74-75.
To count Woods out this week at Hoylake, though, could be a mistake. In 2006, dealing with the ill health and eventual death of his father, Earl, Woods missed the cut at the U.S. Open and won at Hoylake the following month.
“We have all witnessed what Tiger has been able to do over his career, whether that’s come back from injury and win, come back from any sort of off-course stuff and win,” McIlroy told reporters at the Scottish Open. “I mean, he won the [2008] U.S. Open on one leg … really on one leg. So it is foolish for people to write him off? I would say so. If he’s playing and he’s competing, he’s got as good a chance as any.”
So, too, do the other contenders.
Mickelson, for example, was not on the tip of anyone’s tongue as a favorite to win a year ago at Muirfield. Yet he found magic that week — the same way Woods found it in 2006 at Hoylake, where he methodically dissected the browned out, bone-dry course by never hitting a driver all week.
The course very much was the story in 2006 because it was so hard and fast. This week, however, thanks to a wet spring, the course will be so green and lush by comparison that Woods might not recognize it.
“It’s going to be a different test at Hoylake, a different course,’’ Westwood said.
ESPN analyst Andy North said he was encouraged by what he saw from Woods at Congressional despite the missed cut, calling his mere participation in the event “very, very important for the Open Championship, because he had to get on the golf course. He had to put himself under tournament conditions.
“It’s most important after coming off of a surgery that you trust that it’s going to work,’’ said North, who dealt with back injuries during his playing career. “The hardest thing is mentally to believe that everything is going to be OK and you can make a swing and it’s not going to be a problem. I thought that in that week where he didn’t play very well, there were still some glimpses of things that probably made him very encouraged when he went home.
“That’s really important for a player’s psyche. I don’t care how good you are, you have to have some of those small steps along the way before you can take big steps again.’’