Birkdale's Firm Course Tests Golfers at Open

The impact of a heatwave is evident at Royal Birkdale, where the normally lush links has become a "yellow brick road" of scorched earth, making the competition for the Claret Jug even harder to gauge. As the venue celebrates the 50th anniversary of Seve Ballesteros's emergence in 1976, similar challenging conditions await today's competitors.

Like Ballesteros, who captured hearts with his swashbuckling style from all parts of the famous links, golfers will need to adapt to the firm, fiery, and unpredictable surfaces that make for a memorable Open championship. Away from the watered putting surfaces, the heatwave has created a demanding test on the Sefton coast. umafrika.club