Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia are still without a major title to their names, and have spent a decade watching Tiger Woods dominate golf. That could change come Sunday afternoon at the most openly contested British Open in years. Woods, who would have been the heavy favorite as usual, is sidelined after undergoing knee surgery and defending champion Padraig Harrington is nursing a wrist problem. That means the winner of the 137th British Open at wind-swept Royal Birkdale could come from anywhere and the name of a new major winner could be engraved onto the trophy on Sunday. It could well be Westwood, who has shed many pounds and rediscovered the consistency that made him the fourth-ranked player in the world back in 2000 when he won six tournaments and appeared a strong contender in all the big tournaments. His form nose-dived, however, and he went four years without a single triumph before regaining his form. A third-place finisher at last month's US Open, Westwood hopes to become the first Englishman to win the British Open title since Nick Faldo captured his third in 1992 at Muirfield. If he is contention on the final afternoon, he should ride a wave of support from the local fans. “I don't mind being regarded as the best British hope,” he said. “It's good for the ego and confidence. I can feed off it. The crowd can be the 15th club in my bag.” Garcia, runner-up after losing a playoff to Harrington at Carnoustie a year ago, is chasing a first, long overdue major, having promised much but delivered little for over a decade. The Spaniard, nicknamed “El Nino” after his spectacular rise as a teenager, has finished in the top five in the past three Opens and was runner-up in his last tournament, the European Open two weeks ago. Garcia has gained a reputation, however, of being unable to carry his good form through to the final stages of competitions. That's why he has only won 17 tournaments, and no majors. Despite that, Garcia goes into this championship as one of the leading contenders. “I know that I've got to be the favorite myself, in me,” he said. “It doesn't matter what anybody else says. I have to go out there and do what I know how to do, believe in my ability to do it and then give myself a chance of winning. I still have to go out there and perform and give myself a shot at winning the trophy.” The field of 151 pros and five amateurs will set out on Thursday in conditions made tougher by heavy rain in the days leading up to the tournament and strong winds blowing across the Birkdale links off the Irish Sea. The rain has made it tougher to get out of the deep rough and the wind makes it far more difficult for players to find the narrow fairways. “You want it to be tough because that's going to sort the best from the rest,” said Masters champion Trevor Immelman. “A lot of times the courses can get set up so difficult anyway that, once the conditions get tougher on top of that, sometimes it can push it right to the limit.“In my opinion this is the toughest golf course I've played on the Open rotor. It's very demanding off the tee and part of the reason is because a lot of the tee shots are partially blind. You can only see a sliver of fairway.” Although Immelman holds the prestigious Masters title, the South African is not considered among the leading contenders here. Since that triumph at Augusta, he has missed three cuts in six tournaments, although he lost a playoff to Justin Leonard at the Stanford St. Jude Championship in Memphis in early June. Likewise, Harrington has not won a title since his triumph at Carnoustie a year ago and a wrist injury looks like it could prevent him from repeating Woods' back-to-back triumphs at St. Andrew's and Royal Liverpool in 2005-06. The Irishman injured his right wrist while practicing on Saturday and has been forced to restrict his pre-championship work. - AP __
