Thursday Q&A with TNT course reporter Billy Kratzert

TROON, Scotland (PGA.com) -- TNT course reporter Billy Kratzert, a former PGA Tour veteran with four victories to his credit, sat down with PGA.com managing editor John L. Byrwa on Thursday morning at Royal Troon Golf Club to give his thoughts on the 133rd Open Championship. Check back each day during the Championship for another edition of his Q&A.

PGA.com: A lot has been said about the two different nines here at Royal Troon. How critical is it to do your damage on the front nine before you get to that difficult back nine?

Kratzert: It's more than a necessity. If you do not, you're in for a potentially grinding round. If there's a breeze blowing and you don't have a cushion, holes 10, 11, 13, 15, 17,18, they are just brutal coming in. You've got holes that are 492, 479, 483 ... they just continue to throw these holes at you. It's really amazing that when this course was constructed, they did the short holes on the front, where guys can try to drive the green on the first few holes. And then all the long holes are back into the breeze. I mean, it's a fascinating golf course. Like holes 10 and 11, the element of uncertainty, the doubt, is put right into your head right on the tee block. I mean, you're standing there thinking, "Where do I hit this thing?" Unlike in the States, where you have a bunker or a tree line you can work it off of, here you have this bush that's seemingly out there in the middle of this field that you have to aim at and you're thinking, "How in the world can I hit it there?"

PGA.com: How mentally taxing is that?

Kratzert: You just know that all of a sudden the execution part of your round has to be sharp. If it's not sharp, you'd better elevate it to sharp or you're just going to get eaten up coming in. I mean, they don't call it the "War Course" for nothing -- out in 39 and back in 45.

PGA.com: What type of player will be the most successful this week?

Kratzert: I think it will certainly be a player who's very creative. Assuming that the breeze is going to kick up, it's also going to be a player who can control his golf ball the best. You've got to be able to fly it low, fly it high, hold it against the breeze. Every time he decides to hit a certain type of shot, it's the right choice. There's going to be a lot of bumping and running and going along the grass ... I think that's going to be the guy who's going to win. And you've got to love a guy like Tiger (Woods). I mean, I watched him practice and he is prepared, he is ready. And I think there are two really good indications of that: One, I've heard enough players say that he is really close. And Stevie Williams (Woods' caddie), Stevie is kind of walking in that way that Stevie kind of walks around Troon. I see a guy who looks like he thinks his guy is ready. And that's really a true indication to me.

PGA.com: The new drive that Tiger's been using ...

Kratzert: He loves it, loves it. What he's gotten from it is something that he doesn't need -- more length. But I think it's given him a sense of relief knowing that, "I've got the right driver in my hands right now. It's just a matter of me swinging properly." I think he's very satisfied with the equipment. In my opinion, if it was something equipmentwise, I don't think Tiger's the type of person who would not be vocal about it in trying to correct the problem -- and I don't think Nike would want for him to stay quiet, to not correct it. I've spoke with some of the people at Nike that are here, and they say, "You know what, hey, he figured this all out for himself. He said I want to do this, I want to do that." He's come up with this combination with the 410 (cc) head driver with 7 and a half degrees of loft and the graphite shaft, which is unusual for him, and it's a combination he loves.

PGA.com: A lot of the things you mentioned about playing successfully at the Open Championship -- hitting the type of shots you need to hit, experience playing over here, and being creative -- does that make what Ben Curtis did last year at Royal St. George's all the more shocking? I mean, people are still scratching their heads trying to figure out how he did that.

Kratzert: Yeah, I am surprised. I'd be kidding you if I said, "Oh yeah, Ben Curtis was my pick." I was as surprised as everyone. But I was also surprised that Thomas Bjorn did what he did. And I was also surprised that of that lineup of players challenging him no one was able to get over that hump and get to him. He was in such good position that he could afford to squander the shots that he did. But you know, he made a heck of a putt on that last hole. But at Troon, I think you're going to see kind of the normal cast of players that we're used to seeing. Now, Ben Curtis may turn out to be one of those players that you're used to seeing. And Shaun Micheel (the 2003 PGA Champion) may become that. Maybe they're not as rare as we're making them out to be. But I just can't help but think that you're going to see the Vijay Singhs, Tiger, obviously, the Phil Mickelsons ... you look at these guys who have so many shots in their bag and what they're able to do. I mean, I was watching Sergio (Garcia) on No. 15 yesterday, and he was hitting these little bump-and-runs into the bank, one hop up, and being right there. So I think you have to go with the guy that certainly has his nerves in check and is not afraid to try a shot. And if he pulls it off, it just catapults his confidence one more notch up.

PGA.com: The shortest hole on this golf course, the Postage Stamp No. 8 par-3, is also one of the most difficult. What is it about that hole that makes it so tough?

Kratzert: It's a hard hole, but it's not the most difficult. But what makes it difficult is you hit from an elevated tee and you're hitting to a green that's pretty large in size -- I mean, it's 30 yards deep and it's pretty wide -- but the penalty for missing it is so severe. And I'm not so sure the coffin bunker on the left is the most difficult. The bunkers on the right are extremely difficult. But what makes it tough is the breeze. The absence of breeze there and you're hitting pitching wedge, pitching wedge, pitching wedge, and these guys will just pepper it. But you factor in a 15-, 18-, 20-mph wind, and now they're trying to drive a 6-iron in there low, a 7-iron in there low, and all of a sudden it's a lot tougher. If you don't have a breeze there, it's not that tough, in my opinion. Te breeze is the whole hole. I mean, it's a big green. They call it the Postage Stamp, but it's not small. But you cannot miss the green, especially to the right or it's going to go into those bunkers.

PGA.com: You played in the 1978 Open Championship at St. Andrews. What was that experience like?

Kratzert: Like I said earlier, it's very difficult to look out there and there's a bunker I can't see, and the unknown of a lot of tee shots. And you have to bounce it from 20 yards it. It's just a competely different game, which is fun. It's a lot of fun. I this championship certainly favors the player who have the most control over his golf ball.

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