On the eve of the 147th Open Championship, Rory McIlroy has warned that it is a dangerous ploy to stick with a rigid plan around Carnoustie.
A lot has been made this week about the east-coast Scottish course and how tough it will be due to the firmness of the fairways and the length of the rough.
Many players have stated that they intend to keep their driver in the bag for most of the week, with the prospect of running into one of the deep bunkers or into the thick rough.
Some others, including world number one Dustin Johnson and Spain’s Jon Rahm, have said they will use their driver if they feel they can fly the bunkers.
But McIlroy, the Open champion of 2014, believes it is better to take every day and hole on its merits and won’t have one set plan.
The Northern Irishman said: “With links golf you have to adapt. There is not one player that has a game plan on a Wednesday night and is going to stick to it for the whole 72 holes.
“It’s just not going to happen with wind conditions and pin placements.”
McIlroy went on to add: “You’ll see guys on Saturday and Sunday taking way more drivers, way more risks, because they’ve played the course a couple more times and think the risk is worth it.”
The 29-year-old has fond memories of Carnoustie, having collected the Silver Medal as the leading amateur the last time the Open was held there, back in 2007.
McIlroy said: “It’s great to be back. Hopefully I can create more good memories this week.”
“When we last played The Open here I was just happy to be here. I was bouncing down the fairways and I didn’t care if I shot 82 or 62. The more I can get into that mindset this week, the better I’ll play golf.”
The four-time Major champion starts his bid for a second Claret Jug at 12:53pm on Thursday, when he tees-off alongside Marc Leishman of Australia and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen.
