Posted on 06/09/2008 11:14:39 AM PDT by Zuben Elgenubi
This was five years ago in the final round of the Buick Invitational.
Brad Faxon, the other member of the threesome who was known that day as "Switzerland" for his neutral role in this affair, stepped behind the fourth green and whispered to reporters, "Is it always like this when Tiger plays, or is it both of them?"
Imagine what it will be like at the U.S. Open.
Woods, Mickelson and Adam Scott -- Nos. 1-2-3 in the world ranking -- will be in the same group the first two rounds of the U.S. Open next week at Torrey Pines. That's a dream group for television, and for fans in the front row and in grandstands.
But it could be a circus for the guys trying to win the second major of the year.
The only time Woods and Mickelson played together early in a major was the PGA Championship two years at Medinah. That was tradition, because the PGA Championship always puts together the three major champions of the year. Mickelson won the Masters, Woods the British Open and they were joined by U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy.
This seems more contrived.
At least everyone knows now -- not like there was ever much doubt -- that the USGA manipulates tee times the first two rounds.
For years, the U.S. Open was famous for grouping the best three players to have never won a major.
This time, the USGA didn't stop with the current Big Three.
It also grouped Nos. 4-5-6 (Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy and Justin Rose), Nos. 7-8-9 (Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and K.J. Choi) and Nos. 10-11-12 (Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Stewart Cink).
Mike Davis, the USGA's senior director of rules and competition, has been thinking about tee times since last summer. He could not recall the last time Woods and Mickelson were ever in the same group the first two days of a U.S. Open, much less on the same side of the draw.
"They always put Tiger in the opposite wave as Phil because television wanted it that way," Davis said. "As you know, our traditional pairing is the U.S. Open champion, British Open champion and U.S. Amateur champion. Sometimes that worked out if one of those two guys wins one. Of course, Phil has never won an Open."
Of course.
Davis, though, decided to take it one step further, and he found approval with every step up the USGA ladder.
"This year we got to thinking, 'Isn't it kind of crummy that we've never had the two guys ranked 1 and 2 in the world in the same wave?" Davis said Wednesday night from San Diego. "Weather can affect outcomes in the U.S. Open."
Some believe Woods got the good end of the draw at Pebble Beach in 2000, although it's hard to say luck played a role in his 15-shot victory. His bid for a calendar Grand Slam was derailed in 2002 at Muirfield when he was caught in 40 mph wind at the British Open and shot an 81, his worst score as a pro.
And remember Bethpage Black in 2002, when Garcia was stuck in the rain Friday afternoon and complained that officials would have stopped the tournament had Woods been out there?
"Why not put them in the same wave?" Davis reasoned. "The heck with what TV wants. Let's do what we want for the championship."
That's a little disingenuous.
TV runs everything, and it's not like viewers will suffer by not having Woods and Mickelson on opposite ends of the draw. Coverage the first two days starts at 1:00 p.m. and ends at 10:00 p.m. on the East Coast, a combination of ESPN and NBC Sports.
Applaud the USGA for trying what no one else -- has dared and everyone wants to see, even if there might be so many spectators that half of them won't be able to see anything at all.
But it must be cautious.
The U.S. Open, known as the toughest test in golf, is on the verge of trying too hard to live up to its reputation. It went over the line at Shinnecock Hills in the final round of 2004, when the greens were allowed to get so baked that players could not keep the ball on the seventh green in the final round. The last two winning scores were 5 over par.
And the USGA decided to go along with a gimmick that takes place Friday at Torrey Pines, when three celebrities and one lucky (or unlucky) amateur will play the course in U.S. Open conditions to see if they can break 100.
The last thing it needs is more accusations of trying to become more than it was meant to be -- a circus, not a championship.
Even so, it's worth a shot.
The players won't suffer too much, because these guys are used to an audience. Woods and Mickelson, especially, have been around long enough not to get caught up in the hype. Personalities aside, it's all about posting a score and staying close to the lead.
Just don't be disappointed if this doesn't live up to expectations. Woods, Mickelson and Ogilvy all shot 69 on the first day at Medinah in what looked like an ordinary round of a major.
The real treat will be if they're still together on Sunday afternoon.
Or even just one of them.
Tiger was here at Torrey Pines in San Diego last week for his first golf outing since his knee surgery.
The Buick open is also played at Torrey which both Tiger and local Phil Mickelson have won at various times.
Tiger grew up playing on the Torrey Pines Course
FORE!!!
No “ouch” uttered from Tiger today,according to Bubba Watson.
Thanks for the ping. I got Mickelson all the way. As a left-hander, he’s the only one who’s putting makes sense to me on the greens. Hope he doesn’t get the heebie geebies what with Tiger carrying his clubs. :^)
Rees Jones is probably related to Reese Witherspoon in which case, this round will go to someone Fataly Blonde. And that ain't Tiger.:^)
BTW, I have that Golf magazine and Tiger sure can get it done at Torre.
Pebble Beach has hosted the Open three times:
1982 - Tom Watson defated Nicklaus
1992 - Tom Kite won
2000 - Tiger won in record fashion
and Pebble Beach is hosting again in 2010
Riviera hosted is 1948 I believe...
the biggest question heading into Thursday is the state of Tiger Woods' left knee...
If he's one-hundred percent he's the man to beat. I think we may have another obscure player a la Cabrera coming out of the pack though. The course has been set up extremely long - over 7600 yards - so look for the big hitters to come to the fore!
Forgot about the Olympic Club in San Fran... the Open was just there in 1998 (Lee Janzen)....
He has won it only twice true, but last year he was right there, losing by a shot (he couldn't make up that one shot over the last seven holes) and in 2005 at Pinheurst he finshed two back I think. So he's close. Given that it's Torrey Pines where he has enjoyed fantastic success on the regular Tour, I think he has an excellent chance if he's healthy.
That's true. Related to this, I'm not real sure that I like having a major championship at a course that hosts a PGA Tour event. I get that the US Open wants to move away from some of the country clubs that typically host, but I don't know...
Well , as I said in an earlier post, Pebble Beach will be the site in 2010, and the Tour stops there every year in February. Also, Tiger’s tournament is played at Congressional outside DC, and it will be hosting the Open in 2011. Some overlap is unavoidable I suppose.
I don’t disagree that he has a great chance, but the change the grass in the rough for the Open.
It’s now kokua grass, which has a denser stock and is more tightly grouped, to give you an idea of how tough that grass is, Tiger could only hit his 5 wood 150 yards out of it, that’s his normal 9 irons length.
Tiger needs to keep his tee shot in the short grass this week to win, he can do that normally with his 3 wood off the tee, but that would mean Tiger having a mid iron or so on his approach shot into greens that are fast as hell.
Like I said, I think he’s going to do well, I’m just unsure of how he’s going to do it considering what he’s up against.
You have a VHS or Tivo to tape?
That is very good news.
Lefty has won prior to the redesign by Rees in 95. Since then, the greens are completely different, although Tiger has won numerous times since the redesign.
Long and accurate, greens in regulation. There are only a handful of pros that can consistently play that way.
However, one of the shortest hitters on the tour, Corey Pavin, won the US Open in 1995.
Nice to see you again, onedoug. This is going to be a tough thread to populate, with Father's Day and all the activity this weekend.
The complete list of U. S. Open Champions and the courses upon which they won, via Wikipedia.
Sorry for the confusion. I got ecited, Lucy.
LOL! Yep, but the memory is almost filled up with Battle Star Gallactica episodes that I haven't gotten around to start watching yet.......
You are retired and don't have time for television? How long does the honeydew list grow after retirement? LOL.
Who amongst the current players could possibly be a Cylon? My money is on Rory Sabitini, although that little prince Sergio is a good bet.
Gotcha covered, Georgia. Welcome. Hit em straight and long but not too many times.
Email me if you want on the Golf List.
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