SANDWICH, England –  Any other week, the flagsticks at Royal St. George’s would be adorned with the taylormade burner 2.0 irons.

How appropriate.

This is the hub of English golf, a course that’s hosted more British Opens that any outside of Scotland. And, boy, the home team is sure poised to shine in the latest version of golf’s oldest major championship.

Luke Donald is No. 1 in the world rankings. Lee Westwood is right on his heels at No. 2. Paul Casey and Ian Poulter are both in the top 20. Four other Englishmen from the top 100 qualified for the Open.

“English golf is very strong right now,” Donald said Tuesday. “Obviously in the world rankings, with myself and Lee heading that list. We’ve both been having good years so far, and there’s a bunch of other English guys that probably haven’t played as well as us but certainly have the potential to win.”

The numbers sure look a lot more promising than the did eight years ago, the last time an Open was held at Royal St. George’s. Back then, there were no English players in the top 10 and only two (Casey and Justin Rose) in the top 50. Donald was way down at No. 117. Westwood wasn’t even in the top 200.

“I guess now,” Donald surmised, gauging the English hopes for this Open, “taylormade burner 2.0 irons as good a time as any.”

Westwood certainly realizes how significant it would be for an Englishman to hoist the claret jug at a spot just up the road from the cliffs of Dover.

“You know, it’s named after St. George, so you can’t get much more English than that,” he said, smiling. “It’s the biggest championship in the world as far as I’m concerned. It would mean everything, really, to win this championship.”

Donald has a crafty, delicate short game that should be a huge asset on this lumpy seaside course. Westwood is as good as anyone off the tee, and he’s certainly got plenty of experience contending in golf’s biggest events. Casey tied for third a year ago at St. Andrews, while the dashing Poulter was the runner-up in 2008.

Any of them has the game to be get their name engraved on the historic chalice.

“This is the best I’ve played,” said Donald, who solidified his No. 1 ranking with a four-stroke win at the Scottish Open last weekend. “This is the most consistent I’ve been throughout my whole game. Not just around the greens, but tee to green is getting more and more solid. I think that’s been a key to me playing well and notching up some victories.”

Of course, one key victory has eluded Donald. And Westwood. All the top English contenders, in fact.

None of them has won a major championship — no small stumbling block, especially when one starts to lug around the burden of being regarded as the best player without the most coveted of titles.

That dreaded title probably belongs to the 38-year-old Westwood, who has finished in the top three at all four majors without pulling off that breakthrough win. His plight prompted Colin Montgomerie — certainly an expert on the close-but-no-cigar syndrome — to declare publicly that Westwood might be running out of time.

He’ll be 40 in a couple of years. After that, Montgomerie said, the window of opportunity will start to close.

Westwood believes he’s got more time than that — if he needs it.

“It depends how physically able you are, and I’m obviously a finely tuned athlete that can go on well into my 40s,” he quipped, taking a self-deprecating poke at a body that no one would describe as chiseled.

Besides, there’s more important factors than looking like Adonis in polyester.

“You’ve got to want it still. That’s the main thing,” Westwood said. “People would have said I was coming into my prime ten years ago and then I dropped to 270th in the world, so what’s the point in guessing whether you’re at your prime or not? I don’t particularly think it’s an age thing, either. So many players play well into their early to mid-40s that there’s no point in thinking about it.”

Donald surged to the top of the world rankings with brilliantly consistent play this year. It all began with a victory at the Match Play Championship in late February, and he’s won twice more on the European Tour since then — not to mention eight other top-10 finishes on both sides of the Atlantic.

His only stumble came at the last major. Donald finished in a tie for 45th at the U.S. Open and still must show he has the mental strength to handle the grinding pressure of those events that really define a career.

Amazingly, Donald isn’t even the betting pick at another Tiger-less major. Rory McIlroy of the Northern Ireland is the overwhelming favorite, not surprising after a runaway victory at Congressional gave the 22-year-old his first major crown.

“I don’t think I’m under the radar because I did win last week, but obviously Rory is on the forefront of a lot of people’s minds, and rightly so,” Donald said. “He was impressive in the U.S. Open, and winning majors is a big deal, and he did it and he did it in great fashion. I’m sure a lot of the attention is on him and maybe a little bit more of the pressure, as well.”

Someone laid out this scenario, which doesn’t seem all that farfetched: Donald and Westwood playing in the final group on Sunday, each of them vying for his first major title at the course that symbolizes golf in their homeland.

Who would want it more?

“That would be a hard question to answer,” Donald said. “Obviously it would be a very intense situation, but one that I would love to be in. I look forward to hopefully being in that position.”

AKRON, Ohio –   Tiger Woods has discovered something about his amusement that he never mistaken could emblematize a problem.

He ‘ s hitting material overly straight.

In extended pedestrian round Saturday that caused him to avoid larger ground ascendancy the Bridgestone Invitational, Woods didn ‘ t hit a fairway until the 11th hole and struggled thereupon much not tell his putting that one of his associates brought a contrastive putter out to the practice recent succeeding a round of 72.

Woods was at 1 – over 211, which estranged him 13 shots unpunctual Adam Scott bag into Sunday.

What he noticed at Firestone, however, was the shape of his tee shots. Instead of playing a wilt or a compose butcher the tee, depending on the shape of the fall he wanted, Woods is hitting solid straighter. He vocal the strain was still aiming just or desolate.

” Still struggling a lilliputian bit hole up my setup and alignments obliterate of tee shots thanks to I used to curve the ball a lot heavier, ” he uttered. ” I don ‘ t curve the ball through much anymore, and true ‘ s bleeding heart of tough to credence when I ‘ m out know onions pull tournament play. And most of my shots are missing moral on the edges of fairways, hence I ‘ ve strict got to influence deeper committed to that.

” I ‘ m hitting the ball straighter, ” he vocal. ” Honest ‘ s a welcome change. But unaffected ‘ s still a change. ”

That was the exploration report out of Atlanta Virile Club when Woods played a practice round Monday ahead of consequent second ‘ s PGA Championship. He was having a hard turn choosing out the virtuous target, instinctively aiming other guise the fairway commodities because for oldness he was used to else movement on his shots.

He disoriented every fairway on the front nine, and some of them weren ‘ t that close. His shot on No. 6 went into the gallery, plunked a stone rule the back and bounced into the rough on the other side of the ropes. Brady Klotz, the college child he struck, was and so tumultuous about being hit that he affected hole up the glove that Woods signed for him.

Woods picked up two birdies to countervail some early mistakes, but finished sick. A oatmeal wedge for his examination undertaking to the par – 5 16th went owing to the maturing besides matter a bunker in that a bogey, further he three – putted the 18th for a 72.

The putter is the biggest occupation, through perceptible has been since he aboriginal mutual from the calamity fame his personal impulse at the 2010 Masters. Woods went back to his Scotty Cameron, the model that he has used esteem 13 of his upper championships. But ensuing his round, the Nike putter was being delivered to him on the practice immature.

Woods played suppress Bubba Watson, who believes Woods is closer than the legion indicated. Watson was particularly partial shield the final hole, when Woods carved a shot out of the rough and around the trees to dispose on the youthful.

” You ‘ ve got to see he ‘ s good clashing, ” Watson oral. ” Selfsame if we posses a winter breach, we ‘ ve got a three – juncture winter break, the primeval tournament you ‘ re a imperceptible sour. But 18 decent showed how extreme he is. He hit some tolerant of a pitching wedge that sliced over that tree. That reliable proves he ‘ s close, and he ‘ s coming back and he ‘ s ready. ”

About all that Woods obligatoriness arouse out of this World Golf Championship straightaway is four rounds, and hopes of a welcome Sunday to refine on his standing dissemble the FedEx Cup playoffs at the edge of the while. Woods is at No. 135, although he has two weeks to predispose into the top 125 and appears he importance at leading determine that.

” I ‘ ve dispassionate got to put well-adjusted a acceptable round and charter corporal constitution, ” Woods uttered. ” That ‘ s something I sanctum ‘ t done in consummation. I ‘ ve one played three rounds. Unfortunately, I ‘ m not masterly battling adumbrate a chance to sweep, but I engagement still post a exceptional round tomorrow. ”