Tiger Woods seeks another major, Padraig Harrington goes for 3 in row as British Open begins

All eyes on Tiger, Harrington at British Open

TURNBERRY, Scotland — In this betting-mad country, one might think the guy who won the last two British Opens would be the clear-cut favorite.

Not when Tiger Woods is around.

Fully recovered from the knee surgery that kept him out of last year’s Open, Woods was the overwhelming choice to capture his 15th major championship when play began at historic Turnberry on Thursday, even though Padraig Harrington could become the first golfer in more than 50 years to win the claret jug three years in a row.

Woods birdied the second hole, but an errant tee shot at No. 3 led to his first bogey — and first fit of anger. He turned his back, swung the club in disgust and mumbled something under his breath.

From the matted-down rough left of the fairway, Woods caught a flyer, his ball rocketing through the green. A poor chip left him 30 feet from the cup, and the par-saving putt came up well short.

One of Woods’ playing partners, England’s Lee Westwood, was off to the best start. He opened with three straight birdies to grab the early lead. Also in the threesome: 17-year-old Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa, making for a group that was trailed by a huge throng of fans and a media contingent nearly as large.

A brilliant tee shot at the par-3 fourth gave Westwood a shot at four straight birdies, but a 5-foot putt slid by the hole.

Fifty-nine-year-old Tom Watson, who won the epic “Duel in the Sun” over Jack Nicklaus when the Open first came to Turnberry in 1977, birdied two of the first three holes to put his name near the top. Also at 2 under were 1989 Open champion Mark Calcavecchia, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, American Steve Stricker and Spain’s Sergio Garcia, who rolled in a long eagle at No. 7.

England’s Paul Broadhurst got things started with a tee shot right down the middle of the fairway on a morning that started sunny, then began to cloud up.

The early starters caught a break from the menacing British weather, always the biggest factor at golf’s oldest major. When the wind whips in off the sea and the course is battered by rain, anything under par is a good score. On this morning, the sun peeked in and out of the clouds, the Ailsa Craig was visible offshore and the flags above the grandstand barely rippled — perfect conditions to attack the seaside course, which has been compared to California’s Pebble Beach.

Woods was an overwhelming 2-1 favorite — no one else was better than Garcia at 15-1 — and the world’s No. 1 player didn’t even have to contend with longtime rival Phil Mickelson, who missed the Open for the first time since 1993 to deal with more important matters. His wife and his mother were recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

As for Woods, he finds himself without any of golf’s four major trophies, which hasn’t happened since 2004. That’s when he finished up a stretch of 10 straight majors without winning, matching the longest drought of his career.

This time, he can blame a balky knee, which finally required surgery after he hobbled to a thrilling playoff victory at the 2008 U.S. Open. Woods missed the final two majors of the year, the British Open and the PGA Championship, but he’s fully recovered now.

Heck, he doesn’t even hear those strange sounds coming from below.

“It’s just nice to be able to play with a leg that doesn’t make noises,” he joked. “It’s stable and it’s not moving on me like it was. It’s very reassuring when you go out there and play.”

Those aren’t reassuring words for the rest of the field.

Woods tied for sixth at the first two majors of 2009, the Masters and U.S. Open, but he’s already won three times and has yet to finish out of the top 10 in a stroke-play event since returning to competition at the end of February. He’s eager to move one step closer to Jack Nicklaus, who holds the record with 18 major championships.

Harrington has not won a Tour-sanctioned event since capturing his third major title — and second in a row — at the PGA Championship in Oakland Hills last August. The Irishman has been tinkering with his swing, believing the potential long-term gains negate any short-term setbacks.

“If I can put myself in there with nine holes to go, I know I can win from there. That’s very important,” said Harrington, who was set to tee off in the afternoon. “A lot of players don’t believe that.”

Harrington wasn’t too concerned about becoming the first player since Peter Thomson from 1954-56 to win the claret jug three straight times. But the two-time defending champ does take a different mindset into the majors, knowing that’s where a player’s legacy is made.

“It’s all about the majors,” he said. “They’re all very special. I want to get as many of these as I can.”

He’ll have to get by Woods this time.