Turnberry will offer stern test during the 138 Open Championship

The world's best golfers will descend on southwestern Scotland this weekend to compete for the 138 British Open Championship at Turnberry as the majestic Ailsa Course will provide this year's test to claim the oldest championship in golf.

This will be the fourth Open hosted by Turnberry and the first in 15 years.

In 1977, Turnberry was immortalized in golf history when Tom Watson topped Jack Nicklaus in their famous "duel in the sun."

It was also the site of Greg Norman's first victory in a major in 1986, and Nick Price topped the field when it was last held at Turnberry in 1994.

The course will offer a stern challenge for the competitors this weekend. Notorious for its length and unpredictable bounces, there is also the chance, as with every British Open, that the weather will offer its own set of challenges for the golfers. But one thing's for sure, from the jagged seaside cliffs to the top of the Turnberry Lighthouse that watches over the ninth hole, the course is sure to provide plenty of scenic value for spectators and players alike. After his victory in 1994, Price said of the course, "There are only a handful of courses in the world that have the rugged beauty of the Ailsa course."

The estates manager at the resort, George Brown, says of the grounds, "I think that Turnberry is one of the fairest challenges of The Open. In the three Opens we have hosted, the best players of that era were in the top flight, and I think that says a lot about our golf course - that the froth comes to the top."

The question is, who will comprise that froth that rises to the top this year?

If history is anything to go by, ball striking is paramount at Turnberry.

The Ailsa course demands accuracy above all else. As with most links courses, bunkers guard the fairways and greens and hold disastrous consequences for players who find them.

But length off the tee and on approach shots will be critical as well. The litany of long par 4's will test the precision of players iron play on approach shots and punish those who make poor club selections.

Once they reach the greens, they will have a slightly easier task. With the exception of a few two-tier monsters, most of the greens have fairly predictable breaks that basically run toward the coastline and the Firth of Clyde.

Most of the top players traveled last week to Scotland to get a head start surveying the course, including Tiger Woods, who has never played at Turnberry.

Only 25 of the players who competed in the John Deere Classic last weekend are making the trip across the Atlantic.

Of those, Steve Stricker, who shot a final round 64 to win the JDC last weekend, is playing very good right now and has the accuracy to save himself a lot of strokes.

Zach Johnson, Geoff Ogilvy, Kenny Perry and Stricker have all won multiple times on tour this year and all stand a good chance of topping the leaderboard at Turnberry.

Phil Mickelson has decided to skip the tournament, and, of course, Tiger always has a chance when he steps on a golf course.

Paul Casey is holding the hopes of Englishmen everywhere that a Brit will keep the Claret Jug across the pond and, though he is struggling, it would be unwise to dismiss the chances of two-time defending champion Padraig Harrington.

Regardless of the outcome, Turnberry is sure to produce an excellent test as well as an exciting Open.