SOUTHPORT, England — How far the golf ball goes has been debated for the last 20 years and distance is likely to be a big concern this week at Royal Birkdale for the British Open, with one twist.It’s not how far shots are going in the air. It’s what happens when they get on the ground. And with links golf, that’s not always easy to control, especially this week.“You can’t judge every single bounce perfectly,” Justin Rose said. “But you have to accept the nature of a links golf course. There’s going to be some good bounces, bad bounces. Just keep playing with a big of freedom and creativity, especially this week.“You’re going to get a few funny bounces here or there,” he said. “That’s all part of it.”The 154th Open begins Thursday with a mixture of excitement and curiosity. For those who love links golf, there’s no greater colors than brown and yellow that indicate crispy conditions in which the fairways can run faster than some of the greens.Rarely has the forecast been filled with warm sunshine — slightly cooler on the weekend — with a cloudless sky that will be a challenge for the R&A to keep the turf from getting too fast.Rory McIlroy came to Royal Birkdale a few weeks ago and saw what seemed to be a different course. It was greener. The rough was more lush. It’s no longer like that. Yes, it’s harder to control shots running along the fairway But the rough, while still having some thick patches in which players are up to their knees in grass, is more burned and wispy.“I think it’s a double-edged sword,” McIlroy said. “I think all this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way, but when I was here a couple weeks ago, the rough was a lot more penal than it’s going to be this week. It’s definitely burnt out a lot.“The big thing, especially off the tee here, is the fairway bunkers and avoiding those,” he said. “You …
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