Peter Thomson tried to put in perspective how spartan the conditions were when he played in the British Open at Carnoustie in 1953.
Hotel rooms were at a premium, and Thomson felt fortunate to find a place that shook every time the London train passed by. There was no bathroom in the room.
One night when Thomson got up in the middle of the night to make the trip down the corridor, he tripped over a golfer who had locked himself out of his room and fell asleep naked on the floor.
“I quote that as just an example of what we had to contend with,” Thomson said. “The players of today are really spoiled and they have to know it.”
Back then, it took Thomson as long as three days to make the trip from Australia.
“That’s if the engines kept going,” he said.
Tiger Woods doesn’t have those problems.
His biggest concern when he jumps into his private plane is … well, he doesn’t have any concerns. He reaches Scotland in a matter of hours, not days.
Woods and Thomson are linked this week. It has been 51 years since Thomson, 77, became the last player to win three straight British Opens, winning from 1954-56.
Woods will try to match Thomson’s three-peat when the British Open begins Thursday at Carnoustie. Woods won at St. Andrews in 2005 and dissected Hoylake last year.
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Naturally, the oddsmakers have made Woods an overwhelming 3-1 favorite; the next closest is Ernie Els at 12-1. How about this bet? The odds of Woods making the cut are 1-29, meaning if you wager a dollar, you’ll get back $1.03. Talk about not getting rich quick.
Thomson likes Woods’ chances.
“He has a chance to win eight in a row,” said Thomson, who won five. “If I could win three in a row, surely he could.”
Woods is eager to get going. He calls the British Open his favorite tournament, which might take the members of Augusta National by surprise.
If he wins this week he’ll have four British Open titles, matching his success at the Masters.
Growing up in California, where the wiry kikuyu grass limited options into the greens, Woods became a convert the first time he used a putter from 40 to 50 yards off the green.
“I love playing over here because it allows you to be creative,” he said. “Augusta used to be that way. The U.S. Open obviously is not. The PGA is kind of similar to a U.S. Open setup. Over here, you can create shots. You get to use the ground as an ally. It’s just fantastic that you get to hit different shots.”
Woods won last year because of the shots he didn’t hit — with his driver. He overwhelmed a lightning-quick Hoylake by using 3-woods and 2-irons off the tee.
Was that out of necessity because Woods struggles with his driver? Or was it simply the best strategy?
“Last year probably was the only opportunity where the golf course forced you to do that,” Woods said.
“[Hitting a driver in practice rounds] I got down there where I had a 9-iron in my hand, but if I was in the wispy stuff I couldn’t spin the ball, get it on the green. I had a better chance of spinning the ball with a 6-iron on the fairway. That was the nature of my game plan then.”
The approach showed a side of Woods that probably wouldn’t have come out five years ago.
“He has a great ability to adapt,” said Nick Faldo, a three-time British Open winner. “What’s changed in Tiger is he has found a way to change his game for a specific course. Some time ago, he would have just gone with his driver. Now he realizes if he’s just playing well, he is a step ahead of everyone else.”
Is Woods a step ahead of everyone who ever played the game? Thomson is in a unique position to judge.
Thomson finished second to Ben Hogan in the 1953 British. He recalled Hogan arriving three weeks early to get used to the smaller ball that was used in the Open back then.
“I remember more about him than I do myself because I was still quite young and starry-eyed,” Thomson said.
Thomson was a veteran when he won his fifth British title in 1965, beating a field that included Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. And he has been on hand to see Woods dominate the game.
So who is the best in Thomson’s eyes?
“It’s very difficult to imagine what Sam Snead would have done with a good set of clubs,” Thomson said. “He was a machine how he played — effortlessly. With these modern clubs, he would have been more so. He would have been awesome, I think.”
But if Woods keeps winning the Open, Thomson might have to change his mind.
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Ed Sherman is on the scene in Scotland. Read his blog from Carnoustie all week at chicagotribune.com/edsherman