The temperatures soared on the Wirral peninsula but one man had ice in his veins.
Royal Liverpool was baked dry in the summer of 2006 yet Tiger Woods stayed cool to clinically man-handle the famous golf course.
Cold-blooded in the heatwave which engulfed an Open Championship, the American toyed, twisted and played with the great old links like few ever have before.
He only used his driver once.
Woods blazed a trail on the scorched Hoylake fairways to lift the Claret Jug for the second year running.
The world number one had been robotic around 72 holes, yet broke down, emotionally drained, after holing the winning putt.
Woods’ Dad had passed away just a couple of months earlier and would have been mightily proud of his son’s achievements on that blistering July Sunday.
In just over six months’ time, Royal Liverpool hosts the Open again, for the 13th time in its history and a man who stood close to Woods on his remarkable final round of 67 recalls the occasion.
Royal and Ancient (R&A) official David Wybar is sat in the warmth of the Royal Liverpool clubhouse as he recalls what Tiger did that week.
The scene is far removed from those sweltering few days as Wybar overlooks the course on an overcast day where the wind races along and rain threatens constantly.
But the memory of 2006 remains vivid in his mind.
“I referee at the Open and was part of the refereeing group for Tiger’s final day,” said Wybar.
“It was a very strategic round for someone who hits the ball such a long way and so hard.
“That week he had a strategy and never strayed from it. His goal was to find a shot that would not go into a bunker – and he didn’t go into one all week – and to develop a shot that would not move very far once it landed. The fairways were rock hard that week but he was not a victim of bad bounces. He, through the way he played, took the good luck-bad luck out of the game and controlled it. It was an extraordinary thing to do. At that stage he demonstrated why he was not just the best player in the world but, easily the best player in the world. The gap between Tiger and the rest – including players as good as Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els who were probably two and three at the time – was vast.”
Wybar was discussing Woods’ prowess when Royal Liverpool played host to the Boys’ Championship in August. The course will be set up differently this coming summer and the smattering of fans that day will be replaced by thousands.
Wybar said: “The course does evolve and has evolved since 2006. The most dramatic change here, which wouldn’t be apparent to spectators, is to what was the 17th green for the Boys’ Open and what will be the first green in the Championship.
“Martin Hawtree, the designer, has effectively created a brand new green. The green before had certain features that didn’t quite work. The brand new green is interesting and is going to be a difficult first hole for the players next summer.
“But that is on-going because in golf the distance players can hit the ball changes historic golf courses and presents new challenges. You need to relocate bunkers because where once equipment could see balls carry 230-240 yards, that is now 280 yards and bunkers need to be moved back.
“You are either moving tees back or putting in new hazards further up to challenge the bigger hitters.”
The wind and rain so often influences the outcome of links golf. Royal Birkdale last hosted the Open on Merseyside in 2008 as Padraig Harrington dealt with the conditions better than anyone else. Gusts may be a factor in Hoylake this summer but Wybar sees different challenges at Hoylake than on the Southport coast.
“We didn’t have the wind in 2006,” he said.
“The test in 2006 was control on very firm surfaces, which you often get on links courses, but particularly that year.
“Birkdale has much grander dunes with the course rolling around through the dunes. Whereas Hoylake is a much flatter landscape and you have one bank of dunes at the far end of the golf course between the course and the sea.
“So the course doesn’t really run through the dunes but just inside them.
“It has terrific variety. The stretch of golf at the far end, running from the ninth to the 13th, is probably as memorable a stretch of golf as you will see anywhere.
“The two par fours 10 and 12 – which will be 12 and 14 at the Open – are terrific holes.”
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