The 2010 renewal of golf's most prestigious major tournament, the British Open, takes place at St. Andrews Old Course in Scotland this week with Oliver Wilson aiming for a strong performance to boost his Ryder Cup hopes.
Wilson is currently just outside the automatic places for a berth on the European team, who take on the United States in October, but a strong showing at 'the home of golf' could see the Mansfield-born star compete in his second consecutive Ryder Cup.
We caught up with him as he fine-tuned his game ahead of Thursday's tee-off, where Wilson has been paired with Robert Allenby and Nick Watney...
Is your game in good shape ahead of The Open?
Overall, I’m starting to score better now – I’ve been playing well for most of the year, but I just haven’t scored quite as well as I normally would. The thing that has been letting me down, which is my putting, is improving and I’m starting to feel really good about it. That’s going to be the most important thing this week – putting and holing out. You’re going to have a lot of long putts and you’re going to be on the green a lot of the time from a long distance away, so it’s important for me that I’ve got some confidence in my putting.
Is St Andrews one of your favourite courses to play?
It is yes. I’ve played there quite a few times and I’ve got good memories of it from last year at the Dunhill Links [Wilson came second to England’s Simon Dyson] which we play every year on the European Tour, so I feel comfortable round there. I’ve got quite a lot of knowledge of the course, although it’s not in Open conditions – the Dunhill’s in October not the summer – but it still plays pretty firm and fast so it’s an Open that I’ve got more experience around than any other course. So add that all up and things are good – I’m looking forward to it.
How special is it to play an Open at the ‘home of golf’?
It definitely is. The British Open at St Andrews, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than that, so it will be fantastic. It’s a special year for the majors and this is the ultimate one in the middle. The British Open at St Andrews is as good as it gets.
'The British Open at St Andrews is as good as it gets' – Oliver Wilson
It seems to be quite an open event. Who do you think will do well this year?
To be honest it’s wide open. Tiger [Woods] is not dominating like he normally does and you’ve got the top 50 in the world with everyone playing pretty well right now. I think the British guys have got a good chance. Obviously they’ve got more experience round there than the Americans, depending on what the weather’s doing. The British guys will be more used to that as well, so who knows? It’s wide open, but Padraig Harrington might be a bit of a surprise. He hasn’t been playing great, but I think he’s due and it’s a course that he’s very familiar with and that he’s had a lot of wins round, so he could be a pick. I think it’s more wide open than any other major.
You’ve recently started working with a new caddie. How’s that going so far?
I’ve never had a new caddie before. My former caddie, Rich [Richard Hill] was with me for almost six years so it’s a big change and one that we both felt we needed. I’ve got Dean [Elliott], who is Stephen Ames’s caddie on the bag for a few weeks and The Open is the last one. Stephen was having a break and Dean was available so he’s done a few weeks for me. The first week we finished tied sixth so it was a good start and hopefully we can improve on that at St Andrews. I’m not sure what the plan will be after that. I’m undecided. I’ve got quite a few options, which is nice to have but I’ve got to think about who’s going to be the best for me.
It’s a big decision for any golfer isn’t it?
It is a big decision, especially at this time of the year. It’s not ideal timing for me because when I finish The Open with Dean I’ve got a week off and then Ireland, Bridgestone and the PGA, so I’ve got three big weeks coming up and Gleneagles shortly after that, so I’ve only got five weeks left before the cut off for the Ryder Cup, so I need to make sure the decision is a good one.
What do you think you need to do to make sure of a place in the Ryder Cup team?
I just need one big week really. A win this week would be nice, that would sew things up, but if I can play really consistently each week now and get into contention, which my game is good enough to do, then I won’t have any issues, but I’ve got a lot of work to do, everyone’s playing well and it’s going to be tough competition to get in the team. That’s the main goal for this year. After playing last time I don’t want to miss any of the Ryder Cups so I’ve got to do as much as I can to get in the team. If I play well and get right on the edge of the team there’s a chance of a pick, so it’s very important for me to play well now.
Find out more about Oliver Wilson here and about Colombian contender Camilo Villegas here
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