Does 1999 offer any clues? Probably not. But it will rank as one of the most dramatic Opens. Pre-event, the talk was of a 19-year-old Spanish sensation, not long turned pro, ready to go toe-to-toe with Woods. But Sergio Garcia was devoured by the "beast", carding 89, 83.

Frenchman Jean Van de Velde emerged from the wreckage with a three-shot lead on the last tee. But after adventures in the Barry Burn, he ran up a triple-bogey and lost to Scotland's Paul Lawrie in a three-way play-off with 1997 champion Justin Leonard.
Neither Lawrie nor Leonard have since reached the same heights, while Van de Velde will miss this year with ill health.