'There's not a lot of drivers out there any more' - Open winner on Carnoustie fears

Padraig Harrington is one of Carnoustie’s biggest fan and not just because he landed the first of his three major victories there, but the Irishman has expressed fears about the Angus venue in terms of length alone when it comes to staging The Open.

Speaking after he signed for a one-under-par 71 to sit handily-placed following the first round of the Senior Open presented by Rolex, the 2007 Open winner here delivered an interesting assessment of the test it had provided in terms of the clubs he hit off the tees.

“We played all the back tees and there’s not a lot of drivers out there any more,” reported Harrington, who, admittedly, is one of the longer-hitters in the over-50s’ ranks. “18 was 5-wood, which we know it can be anyway (if the wind is helping, as it was on this occasion). 17 was 5-wood, 15 was 3-wood, but I should have hit 5-wood. 14 was 5-wood. 12 was 5-wood, 11 was driver and 10 was driver. 9 was 3-wood. 7 was 5-wood.”

Peter Baker pictured during day one of the Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex at Carnoustie Golf Links. Picture: Kenny Smith/Getty Images.

Asked if those club selections had been due to him feeling there was no benefit to be gained from hitting a driver, he added: “It just gets too tight. You are trying to avoid bunkers and sometimes going over them as well.”

Carnoustie last held The Open in 2018, when Francesco Molinari created history as the first Italian to claim the Claret Jug. It remains to be seen when The R&A event will be back here, but Harrington admitted he’d been thinking about that during a round that contained four birdies and three bogeys.

“It’s perfect for us this week, but I was just thinking where can they go for the next Open here as they need more length. Mind you, by the time they come back here the ball will probably be dialled back,” he said of a decision set to be made by the game’s two governing bodies, The R&A and USGA, in 2028.

“This is the perfect golf course, but you couldn’t have the field last week (for the 152nd Open at Troon) playing this course. It’s interesting because you can’t start adding 15-20 yards on to the first hole unless they redo the hotel (which is located behind the tee).

Padraig Harrington plays his approach to the seventh green during day one of the Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex at Carnoustie Golf Links. Picture: Kenny Smith/Getty Images.

“This is a classic golf course. You’d never not want to play it the way it is. You’d never want to change a green out there. It’s okay to move a tee back 20 yards, but you never want to move a green as the green is the hole, isn’t it really? I think this would be one that if you let the young lads out on this course and they all hit drivers…. I know it played short the last time we were here, but that’s because it was burnt out.

“It’s still a great course as it gets you all the time and they’ve cleared out a lot of gorse. They’ve made it a lot easier. They’ve made 17 easier, 12 as well and 14, where they’ve cleared out a lot of gorse. At 15, I’d have been in the gorse today. They really have made the course substantially easier. Back when I won it in 2007 it was a REAL test (laughing).”

Paul Lawrie, Harrington’s fellow Open winner at Carnoustie, opened with a 75, matching fellow Aberdonian Scott Henderson’s effort earlier in the day whille Colin Montgomerie birdied the last for a 76.

South African-based Doug McGuigan fared best among nine Scots with a one-over-par 73, one better than Euan McIntosh, who birdied the 13th and 14th to come home in two under.