Wednesday, July 19 2006 16:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hoylake (England): Each year the roll call of potential British winners of the Open is read out and each year it seems the Americans steal away with the glittering prize.

It's a frustration for some, a source of national shame for others and a puzzle for all concerned.

Scotland's Paul Lawrie did step in the back door to win at windy Carnoustie in 1999 but in the six years since then five times it has gone to an American and once to a South African.

Despite the emergence of a talented new wave of British players, only veteran Colin Montgomerie has ever really got within touching distance of the Auld Claret Jug, finishing second to Tiger Woods at St Andrews last year.

Top-ranking Briton Luke Donald, who missed the cut in his first five Opens and finished tied for 52nd place last year has been left scratching his head.

"It's frustrating for us, all the Europeans who feel like they should be winning that haven't won," he said.

"I can't really answer why we haven't won a major for a while or a British Open since Paul Lawrie.

"You would have thought it would have suited our games, especially the British players who were brought up on this kind of golf course," he said.

"You would have thought we would be more used to it, but it hasn't worked out that way," he said.

Donald's close friend with whom he won the World Cup of golf in Spain two years ago, Paul Casey, believes the globalization of the game means local knowledge is less of a telling factor.

Casey, like Donald and Justin Rose, plays most of his golf these days in the United States, returning to home shores just for the big events or when in need of Ryder Cup points.

"I'm not actually too sure what favours a European player anymore," he replied when asked to comment on the slump in European fortunes.

"We play all over the world now so guys are used to playing in any types of conditions, any type of golf course," he said.

But like Donald, Casey believes the new kids on the block will end the dry spell in majors sooner rather than later.

"It's only a matter of time," he said ahead of this week's Open over the Royal Liverpool course here.

For Padraig Harrington, one of the top European hopes this week, the pressure to do well is far greater on the home players at the British Open than at the three other majors which are all played on US soil.

Montgomerie though has another perspective, saying that the golden era of European golf in the 1980s and early 1990s led to bloated expectations and a false view of diminishing US talents.

"I think that we sometimes underestimate the American shot-making potential that they obviously have because they keep on winning this event and winning it well," he said.

"To think about no European has won a major since 1999 is something that we're not very proud of here in Europe," he said.

"We'd like to change that as soon as possible," he said.