Stewart Keeping an Open Mind

By THOMAS BONK

July 14, 1999 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — The winner of the last major golf championship got ready for this major golf championship by taking the last three weeks off. That isn’t exactly the kind of preparation you’re going to find in a lot of golf instruction manuals, but maybe it will work for Payne Stewart.

So why did he do it that way?

“I needed the three weeks off,” Stewart said.

Fair enough. That means that when the 128th British Open begins Thursday at Carnoustie, it’s going to be a relaxed and rested U.S Open champion who tees it up in a first-round threesome with Nick Price of South Africa and Sven Struver of Germany.

Stewart has played a couple of practice rounds here and that was long enough for him to form an opinion about the conditions, notably the height of the rough, which is just about tall enough that Ian Woosnam could get lost in it.

“They’re going to make a lot of money when they cut and bale this hay out here, because the cows are going to eat very good this year . . . very good,” Stewart said.

Then there is the matter of the fairways, specifically their width--which is about the same as a one-iron.

“[The rough] isn’t far off the fairway--if you call those fairways,” he said. “Those are kind of like walking paths in the United States.”

Niceties aside, the two-time U.S. Open champion says he actually enjoys the British Open and calls it his second-favorite major, behind the obvious one. Stewart seems to thrive in the British Open because he enjoys the wind-blown, rain-plastered, bone-chilling conditions normally associated with this event. Why, some day they might even hold it in the summer when the weather is better.

Stewart has saved some of his best results for the Open Championship. He’s finished second twice--to Sandy Lyle in 1985 at Royal St. George’s and to Nick Faldo in 1990 at St. Andrews. Stewart has three other top 10s and he finished 12th in 1993 and 11th in 1995.

If you’re keeping track, Stewart is listed along with Tiger Woods, David Duval, Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Lee Westwood as one of the favorites to win at Carnoustie. Stewart made sure he would be considered after what he has done in the first half of the year on the PGA Tour--two victories (Pebble Beach and the U.S. Open) and $1.86 million in prize money in 15 tournaments.

Of course, none of that matters right now in this tiny village, where the temperature dropped again Tuesday afternoon and light rain began to fall. If the wind starts blowing as expected, you’re going to see something very unusual, Stewart said.

“You can see an astronomical score win this golf tournament,” he said. “Is it embarrassing? To the players? It’s going to make us look foolish if the wind blows real hard. But why not? Is that right or wrong? They’re going to hand the Claret Jug this week on Sunday, no matter what the score is. I would love for it to be myself.”

If it does turn out to be Stewart, or another U.S. player, it would be the fifth champion from the U.S. in a row, following John Daly in 1995, Tom Lehman in 1996, Justin Leonard in 1997 and Mark O’Meara in 1998. It would also match the only other time U.S. players won five in a row here--Bobby Jones in 1926-27, Walter Hagen in 1928-29 and Jones in 1930.

When pressed about it, Stewart said he has the game to win here, proving once again that the only thing more prominent than his clothes is his confidence.

He listed his assets, such as being able to work the ball in both directions, being able to chip and to putt and to handle pressure. Payne Stewart is a big believer in Payne Stewart, because Payne Stewart likes to refer to Payne Stewart in the third person.

“I want to come in and perform the way that Payne Stewart is capable of playing,” he said.

If you go by his track record, he’s capable of playing well enough to win, no matter the length of the rough, the width of the fairways or the strength of the wind.

“I’ve always thought I had a really good chance to win an Open championship,” he said.

His next really good chance is coming right up.

BRITISH OPEN

WHERE: Carnoustie Golf Links, Scotland

WHEN: Thursday-Sunday

Thursday, ESPN / 6-11 a.m.

Friday, ESPN / 6-11 a.m.

Saturday, Channel 7 / 7-11 a.m.

Sunday, Channel 7: 6-10:30 a.m.