Associated Press
Thursday, July 26, 2007

Nick Faldo will make his seniors golf debut today at Muirfield, where he won two of his three British Open championships.

Familiarity, however, has not created a spike in his confidence level for the 50-somethings version of the British Open in Gullane, Scotland.

"I have been busy with TV and course design visits across Europe and America," said Faldo, who spends 44 weeks of the year working for CBS. "This my longest season of golf -- two weeks -- in the year."

Faldo also played at last week's Open at Carnoustie, but failed to make the cut.

"I can go on memories, but I still have to hit the golf ball," Faldo said. "These guys have played probably 20 tournaments this year. I have played two weeks."

Among his memories of Muirfield were 1987 when he made 18 straight pars in the final round to win, and 1992 when he started out 66, 64, 69 and then had to battle back to beat John Cook.

"I have worked hard trying to get a couple of swings that will work and grinding the putting," said Faldo, who will be paired with Tom Watson and Mark O'Meara in the first two rounds. "Seventy-two pars will be very good around here. It's a tough golf course and a very good test for us."

Defending champion Loren Roberts, who beat Eduardo Romero in a playoff at Turnberry a year ago, believes Faldo's successes at Muirfield make him a strong contender to take his title away.

"If you add his previous record on this golf course then the guy's going to be a threat," Roberts said. "We are expecting him to be competitive, especially here."

Jim Furyk kept his word. Minutes after winning the Canadian Open last September at historic Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster, Ontario, Furyk said he would return to defend his title despite an untimely new spot on the PGA Tour schedule.

"It was never a question," Furyk said. "The first question when I got in the media room was, 'Are you coming back next year?' And I was like, 'Why wouldn't you if you're the defending champ?' "

For most top players, the tournament -- in its second year without a title sponsor -- wasn't a viable option because of its position after the British Open and before the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship.

Furyk, coming off a 12th-place tie Sunday in the British Open, probably would have taken the week off if he wasn't the defending champion.

"I wouldn't say, yes, I would definitely be here," Furyk said. "I won't say no, I definitely wouldn't be here. It would have probably been a call on how I felt."

Jeff Sluman will again serve as assistant to captain Jack Nicklaus in the Presidents Cup, set for Sept. 27-30 at Royal Montreal.

Sluman, the longtime PGA Tour player who won the 1988 PGA Championship, played on the 1998 team and also assisted Nicklaus in 2003 and 2005.

"There's certainly a lot of other wonderful golfers on our tour who could handle this," Sluman said. "I was very, very honored again that the greatest player that I've ever seen -- well, you could throw Tiger in there, too -- asked me to help him out for the third consecutive time."