Perhaps Lee Westwood should have thought of the consequences before he donned the dark glasses and natty black suit to pose for the cover of one of Britain's biggest golf magazines. The trouble with too many losers is that their disasters are so often nothing to do with them.

This was the golden chance for all the big-name players because there was no Tiger Woods, just a clear field and an opportunity to seize the day. Not that it made any difference to the roster of grim-faced, slump-shouldered golfers, who took one look at Royal Birkdale's black skies and decided that this was not for them.

Six former champions - Paul Lawrie, Mark O'Meara, Mark Calcavecchia, John Daly, Tom Watson and Sandy Lyle - were among 71 players who went home early, while a host of big names, such as Westwood and Phil Mickelson, the world No2, did not live up to their billing.

The excuses and blame ran thick and fast: it was too windy; too wet; the tees were in the wrong place; the flags were in the wrong place; the fairways were too difficult to reach; it was all the fault of the R&A; it was the media.

Expert View

If the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, the Open was won on the practice ground at Largs

John Hopkins

• More

• Post a comment

BACKGROUND

• Harrington joins the list of Open greats

• Two strokes of genius, one happy man

• Champion shows mettle with defining shots

• Losing proves a habit for Norman

BACKGROUND

• Harrington's Open battle won in Largs

• Poulter more than mouth and trousers

• No losers at windswept Birkdale

• Test of skills for which few were equipped

BACKGROUND

• Westwood diverts blame for missed opportunity

• Wood emerges among the elite

Multimedia

• Where the Open was won and lost

Westwood chose the last option. Touted as one of the favourites here after his third-place finish at the US Open last month, he finished on 20 over par for the tournament. “There's so much going on, especially if you are an English player,” he said. “There's too much to do to concentrate solely on golf. That's part of the reason why British players don't do better.”

So why pose for a photo shoot reprising a scene from the cult film Reservoir Dogs?Better to admit that you were beaten fair and square, as Mickelson did last night. “I have had a very enjoyable couple of weeks, but I didn't play to the level I would have liked. It was a very fair test.”