Westwood can conquer Woods - and the wind

David Duval knows all about being world No?1 and winning a major, even if the aftermath left him completely befuddled. And on the eve of this, the 141st Open Championship, he had a message for the likes of Luke Donald and Lee Westwood: "Don't let it get into your head."

The last player to win here at Royal Lytham & St Annes gave a masterclass in philosophy as he spoke about this maddening game yesterday. No professional is more qualified. As the 156 players set out on their first rounds today the man who dropped out of the world's top 1,000 sums up the necessity to keep one's head. For Donald and Westwood, particularly. "The longer it drags on the harder it gets, the more it gets in your head," Duval said. "You can talk all you want but the longer it goes on, the more self-doubt there is, whether you admit it or not."

Royal Lytham is no place for self-doubt. Even as the sun bathed the links yesterday and even as the Met Office blessedly updated its forecasts to predict four predominantly dry days, the challenges of this 7,086-yard layout, with its 206 bunkers and ball-gobbling rough, were all too apparent. The gusts could reach 25mph and that would play havoc with many scorecards.

There is no sea in sight, but the winds will still rise and die, and rise and die, meaning that the draw in the first two rounds could be crucial.

The early men out today include Westwood and Tiger Woods. At least one bookmaker was reporting that for the first time this century Woods was double digits to win the Open. That is curious considering he's won three times in his last eight starts.

But is it? Woods triumphed in his starts before both the Masters and the US Open and his results were a tie for 40th and a tie for 21st respectively. He has cracked the regular circuit again but so far the major beat remains untouched in the resurrection of his career. If Woods were to win his first major in four years he would return to world No?1. The implications for the future would be as obvious for marketing people as it would be ominous for his rivals.

Woods has prevailed in three Opens where the wind was down and the rough was wispy. There are doubts over his ability to manage four days of brutality. Woods alarmingly fell away at the weekend of the US Open and the suspicion is he will do so here.

Westwood represents the greatest hope of the British and Irish. While Padraig Harrington's recent resurgence - eighth in the Masters and fourth in the US Open - must be respected, Westwood is a perennial contender and the feeling is he will be thereabouts on Sunday afternoon. The 39 year-old will require the luck of the draw and the luck of the bounce, but then so will whoever is the last man standing.

"You just have to get a few breaks," said Darren Clarke, the defending champion. "And you've just got to take a few bad breaks on the chin."

Westwood seems mentally stronger than he has been. Pete Cowen, his coach, backs up this belief, discounting the theories of Duval in an instant. "He's ready," said the Yorkshireman, who has watched his clients win the last two Claret Jugs. "He's got that ideal combination of confidence in his game, a steely determination, and the patience to let it happen instead of trying to force it."

Donald's driving will have to be at its very best. Majors might well be decided on the greens, but what happens at these tee-boxes will be more important than at almost every other major. If there is a weakness in Donald's game it is his accuracy with the woods and no amount of short-game magic would rescue him here.

Furthermore, Donald has not broken 70 in the first round of a major in six years and admits his pre-major "anxiety" is a problem. It is one he will no doubt fix, but this test is so taxing it will expose the merest trace of shakiness.

It could be the most inappropriate venue to play catch-up on the major rosters. Granted, shots can be picked up with the wind at their back on the front nine but as soon as they hit the last five holes the mission, in Paul Casey's words, "is to hang on for dear life". Westwood or Donald, or Rory McIlroy or whoever intends to halt America's run of three majors, must be somewhere near the pace by this evening. At the very least that seems certain.

To continue that Starred and Striped procession, Rickie Fowler appears the likeliest to burst through. The 23 year-old has proven his love of the links and his performance in eclipsing playing partner McIlroy in last year's difficult third-round (a 68 to a 75) was eye-catching enough to burn in the memory. Fowler has won this year and his success would give all that hype of a McIlroy-Fowler rivalry genuine substance. The Northern Irishman has something to prove after discounting his chances in the wind last year. The word from his camp is that he is swinging well and scoring well.

On Monday, McIlroy played the back nine in four under, which is almost unthinkable. With his skill-set anything is possible and in many respects, with the name of Seve Ballesteros on every breeze at the course where he won twice, a second major for golf's young swashbuckler would be wonderfully apposite.

Another piece of McIlroy glory would end the streak not only of 15 different major winners but also of nine first-time winners. Yet to heed or contradict Duval's warning, Westwood has an opportunity to extend the succession. A sweet 16 and a perfect 10, indeed.