The Open 2012: demanding Lytham links course takes a special kind of golfer to win and that is Luke Donald 1 ACCURACY: LEE WESTWOOD This is an absolutely essential quality on a course with more than 200 bunkers, most of them very cleverly placed. Soft fairways might make things easier in the sense that balls should not be skipping into the rough, but anything that does go in there is going to be in deep trouble. The wet summer has made the rough very penal this year. Nobody will win by spraying it around like Seve did back in 1979, when I played alongside him over the first couple of days. Lee Westwood is peerless in the art of getting the ball into play. He has a reliable power fade and he is a very impressive ball striker. Driving accuracy this year 62 per cent 2 SAND PLAY: ERNIE ELS At Lytham nobody is going to do what Tiger Woods did at St Andrews 12 years ago when he kept out of the bunkers all week. Sand is part of the deal here, so being able accept that and get out of it efficiently is a huge asset. Tony Jacklin claims that he got up and down from the 11 greenside bunkers he visited on his way to winning in 1969, which isn't a bad percentage for any wannabe winner to aim for. Ernie Els had a bit of a nightmare at the Scottish Open last week when he took four shots to get out of one trap, but I still think he is the best bunker player in the business. Sand saves this year 48.1 per cent 3 SCRAMBLING: LUKE DONALD Being able to save your par when you've missed the green in regulation is critical at Lytham. Because of the contours of the greens, balls seem to roll off into dips and hollows more often than at other Open courses, so you have to be able to chip and putt precisely. There are likely to be some pretty tough pin positions this week, so this is a very important skill. Luke Donald is not world No1 for nothing. And the official statistics show that this is one of his core skills. Scrambling this year 64.76 per cent 4 PUTTING: IAN POULTER With very few exceptions, major winners are good putters. And it's no coincidence that Bobby Jones, Bob Charles, Bobby Locke and Seve Ballesteros, past champions at Lytham, were among the best putters of their respective eras. Being able to adapt to the slower speed of links greens is a useful asset, but Lytham's putting surfaces are pretty honest, with no nasty surprises. I know that Poulter can be a bit streaky, but he loves links greens and he has a lovely flow to his stroke. He can also hold his nerve under pressure, which could prove vital. Putting from inside 5ft this year 97.54 per cent 5 SHOTMAKING: RICKIE FOWLER Lytham is a real shotmaker's course. By that, I mean it plays into the hands of a player with the vision to see shots, shape them in his mind and then carry them off. Playing in a major championship can be a pretty perverse sort of pleasure, but in a way you have to relish that challenge if you want to succeed. Rickie Fowler really impressed me at Royal St George's last year. He played a wonderful round in the worst of the weather. He has a slightly unusual swing, but he's great to watch. 6 STRATEGY: PADRAIG HARRINGTON This is a course where you really do have to use your head. It is a thinking man's course, not a place for running on autopilot. You have to play the percentages and work out the risks. The practice rounds are vital for planning the overall approach, but players also have to be able to adapt to the conditions. Padraig Harrington is the game's master strategist. You can almost hear the mental gears grinding as he makes his way round a course. Maybe he overdoes it at times, but I think he has learned from that. 7 WEATHER: PAUL LAWRIE It has been known to rain in Lancashire. And apparently it can blow a bit too. A successful player has to be able to adapt to what the weather does. Part of that is technical - punching shots under the breeze, maintaining a smooth swing when swaddled in waterproofs - but mental composure is important too. Basically, you have to be able to keep your head. Paul Lawrie is the best around. What's more, he's been in his best form for years recently. Even in the worst of storms he has a precious ability - Neil Coles and Sandy Lyle had it too - to sail on serenely. 8 THE VERDICT So who is our identikit Lytham winner? It's not so long since Tiger Woods would walk into the role, as he was the best in the business at just about everything, and the fact he has won three times in America this year suggests he is warming up his game again. But I'm backing Luke Donald. Yes, I know his majors record is poor - and poorest of all at the Open - but technically he is just so good at so many things. He would be a contender in just about all our categories. And he is far too good a player to go through his entire career without winning at least one major.