The U.S. Open: An Olympic Sized Challenge

It’s not too often that we talk about PGA touring professionals walking off the 18th green with their tail between their legs. Their heads hanging low. Their heads shaking in disbelief after a lost ball, just one foot off the fairway into the rough. It happens to us all. Even them. Especially this week. Weekend hackers love to see the pros on TV struggle just like they do. This is the one week where the average golfer can somewhat relate to the pain you see on the faces of PGA Tour players.

The golf universe has gathered at The Olympic Club in San Francisco for the 112th playing of the United States Open Golf Championship. All the big names are in the field and so are some no-namers. That’s right, Dennis Miller is playing in the U.S. Open. No, not the comedian. I’m speaking of the teaching pro and Director of Golf at Mill Creek MetroParks in Youngstown, Ohio. A lot of you may be asking the question: How did a teaching pro get into the U.S. Open? And my answer is easy: He qualified.

Barely.

Miller made a 20-foot birdie on the fourth extra hole to earn one of three spots available at the sectional qualifier in Columbus, Ohio. What made the putt so dramatic is that Miller didn’t even see the putt drop. Putting from just off the green, the ball made its way to the hole looking good the entire way. Until it actually got to the hole, and hung on the lip for a few seconds. Just long enough for Miller to look away in disbelief as his dream to play in the U.S. Open, was shattered. But it wasn’t. Just as Miller turned away, the ball hanging on the lip, finally dropped, sending him to his first U.S. Open.

The U.S. Open is tough and full of rough. There won’t be an even lie anywhere on the golf course. Fairways slope left to right on a right to left dogleg hole and right to left on a left to right dogleg hole. Player will have downhill approach shots hitting downwind into a straightforward green. Uphill approach shots with a hanging lie to a green that slopes severely back to front. Confusing? Try playing the course. There is only one fairway bunker on the entire course and its location on the sixth hole is quite devious. Players will need  a 295 yard carry to get over the bunker. The par 3 third hole has five bunkers surrounding the green. A daunting task sitting at 247 yards from par, players will count their blessings walking away with a three. Oh, I forgot, the stimpmeter will be set anywhere from 12-14. For those who have never heard of a stimpmeter, it’s a device that measures the speed of greens. I won’t bore you with how they measure it but I will tell you the greens are brutally fast at those numbers.

Add all that into the equation, plus major championship pressure, equals one heck of a test of golf. Always known as “golf’s toughest test,” the U.S. Open in past years has provided more drama than a Lindsay Lohan arrest. In 2006, Phil Mickelson was a self-proclaimed ‘idiot’ for double bogeying the 72nd hole, losing by one stroke. Not to mention, he had a one stroke lead on the tee box. That’s the Phil Mickelson we all know and love. In 2008, Tiger won on a broken leg and may very well have changed Rocco Mediate’s career path with one stroke of his putter. Poor Rocco.

What kind of drama awaits us this year? Well, I ask that rhetorically of course, but lets take a look at some pairings that we as the media, get all excited about. The USGA loves to play to the crowd. In the past few years, they have paired world No. 1, 2, and 3 together. The tradition continues this year with Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, and Lee Westwood teeing off at 1:29 PST. Fans won’t have to wait too long to get the marquee group of Woods, Mickelson, and Watson. The USGA was licking their chops when they brilliantly thought of that pairing.

Mickelson and Woods were paired together for the first and seconds rounds in the 2008 U.S. Open and we all know how that ended. Is this another omen? Another unique pairing is Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, and Graeme McDowell. You have two former U.S. Open winners(Furyk and McDowell) paired with one of the games best players yet to win a major. It seems like only yesterday that Garcia was literally and figuratively, chasing Tiger Woods down the fairways at Medinah in the 1999 PGA Championship. Garcia has since had a fantastic career, but still hungers for that elusive major championship.

Come Thursday, all 156 players in the field will start out at even par. All hope to stay there, most will not. Half the field will leave Friday evening wondering what could have been and why they hit 7 iron instead of 8. One more bounce to the left and one less putt might have got it done. More circles than squares on the scorecard, please. The dreaded double squares, and triangles can stay away. “Other” scores need not apply. A few fours and fives across the board will do just fine.

Par is not a good score. It’s a great score. This week, it just might win the 112th U.S. Open.

Hit ’em straight!

Eddie