Golf / The Open: Olazabal ready to roll in shadow of rock: 123rd Open: Taking the not so rough with the smooth as old Ailsa faces a hiding. Tim Glover reports from Turnberry

AILSA CRAIG, that splendid lump of granite that sits in the Firth of Clyde, has two faces, the sublime and the ridiculous, and yesterday, for the first time this week, she was visible in all her glory. The rain clouds had dispersed and the Ailsa course was ready to be annihilated in the 123rd Open Championship.

This is only the third Open at Turnberry, which has been denied major exposure by the insistence of the Royal Air Force to commandeer the links, without so much as paying a green fee, for the World Wars. There were plenty of air shots in Ayrshire. After the chocks had been taken away, Turnberry hosted the Open in 1977 and it turned out to be an epic.

Tom Watson, who had beaten Nicklaus into second place in the Masters at Augusta National earlier in the year, repeated the punishment, lobbing in a couple of rounds of 65. Nicklaus's 66 was a stroke too many. Watson's total of 268 was 12 under par. When the Open returned to Turnberry in 1986, Ailsa was at its craggiest and the wind sock on the old airfield was standing to attention.

Greg Norman shot 74 in the first round - Ian Woosnam was the only player to match par - and when conditions eased on the second day (the wind was lively rather than brutal) the Great White Shark basked in a 63 which scattered the field asunder. Norman scored 74 again in the third round and a 69 in the fourth gave him an aggregate of 280. At level par for the championship, he finished five strokes clear of the Yorkshireman Gordon J Brand, six ahead of Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam, seven ahead of Nick Faldo and eight ahead of Seve Ballesteros, who closed with a 64.

All these players bar Brand, who failed in the final qualifying on Monday, can be expected to launch another major assault this week. The sunshine yesterday helped to dry out the course after days of steel-grey skies and persistent rain but what the Royal and Ancient wants above all is for a healthy breeze to whip in from the Firth, making it a true links test. Instead, the Clyde looked bonnie and becalmed and if it stays this way over the next four days, Watson's total of 17 years ago will be submerged.

The rough is not as rough and the fairways are wider and the greens greener and most of the contestants agree that Ailsa is there for the taking. Fortunately, from the point of view of the honour of the course, the forecast for the next few days is bad. Neil Roach, chairman of the championship committee, said: 'If we put the flags in the middle of the bunkers they'd probably still tear the course apart.' The R & A seems resigned to this fate, but the problem from such an offensive is that it is possible that the claret jug will be filled with a non-vintage wine.

Fifteen different players have won the last 15 major championships and this year's new crop has produced Jose-Maria Olazabal and Ernie Els. Olazabal, who won the Masters, missed the cut in the US Open, which was won by Els. The 28-year-old Olazabal appears to be the best bet and, Oakmont apart, his form this season has been as solid as Ailsa Craig itself.

After winning the Mediterranean Open, he overhauled Els in a brilliant climax to the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth and, despite hiccups with the driver, he was third and joint fourth in his last two tournaments, the French Open and the Irish Open. 'It's getting better and that's important,' Olazabal, who has been experimenting with seven drivers, said. 'Winning the Masters will be a help to me this week, no doubt about it. Winning a major has been my main target and once you achieve that you start thinking about when the next one is coming.'

Michael Bonallack, secretary of the R & A, believes that Olazabal, who made a clean sweep of the amateur titles, winning the British Boys, Youths and Amateur Championships, is due an Open. Watson, who has won the Open on five occasions, needs another to equal the record of Harry Vardon and it is possible, of course, that Turnberry revisited will provide it.

Certainly Watson, the most popular American to visit these shores since Buffalo Bill, was in prime form yesterday and his odds have been cut from 50-1 to 33-1.

In the US Open, Watson was probably the most impressive player from tee to green, but it was when he arrived near the flag that his old problems resurfaced. Time and again, putts in the range of three to five feet were missed and it became such a familiar yet shocking scenario that viewers with nervous dispositions were advised to avert their gaze. Since arriving in Ayrshire, Watson has been taking putting lessons from Lee Trevino, but his problem is not so much one of technique as nerve and no teacher can tie those ends together.

Olazabal narrowly gets the vote over Langer on the grounds that yesterday the German was still tinkering with his game, to the extent that his coach, Willy Hoffman, was filming almost every yard of his progress. Whether Langer, who last night conducted a Bible study class, had the time to study the video is another matter. Even so, his form this season has also been excellent and his record in his last five tournaments in Europe is: fifth, third, joint third, joint fifth, first. The victory came in the Irish Open at Mount Juliet and Langer cannot be discounted here.

It is unthinkable that Langer has a credit account with Honest Joe, but perhaps he is a gambler after all. 'Greg Norman has been playing the best golf in the last few months and I would probably put money on him,' Langer said. Norman, the defending champion after his exotic triumph over Faldo and Langer at Royal St George's, said: 'I hope to have a lot more 63s in me and if the weather stays docile I think there is every possibility of somebody shooting that. Any time you have a chance to return to the site of your first Open win is special. It's a wonderful feeling.'

Just as wonderful, apparently, as looking at the old claret jug which has been nestling proudly these last 12 months on Norman's desk. However, only Olazabal has the opportunity to polish the silverwork with the sleeve of a new green jacket.

(Graphic omitted)