It’s finally U.S. Open week. I’ve been waiting for this tourney for a long while now. In my humble opinion, the U.S. Open is the hardest test in golf. Sure, The Masters is very pretty, the British is very windy, and the PGA is very exciting, but none are as brutal and more complete a test of golf as the U.S. Open. I look forward to this week all year and can’t wait for the action to begin. Let’s get started with the breakdown.
Last Year
The story of the week was Jason Gore, the so-called “Prince of Pinehurst,” who had skyrocketed from the rigors of the Nationwide Tour to a place atop the leaderboard in the U.S. Open. This cinderella story swept the galleries and Gore rode the applause and raised his game accordingly. However, Sunday would not be his day. Gore would shoot a final-round 84 to drop to 49th place.
Retief Goosen, an Open favorite, would suffer a similar fate, shooting a very uncharacteristic 81 and dropping to 11th.
What about Tiger Woods, who had already won the Masters and looked poised to make one of his characteristic Sunday charges? Well, he would charge, just not enough. Eldrick would fall two strokes short of the total necessary to enter a playoff with the eventual champion: Michael Campbell of New Zealand.
Yes, Sunday would be Campbell’s day. It was a long awaited day after his stunning performance in the 1995 British Open, only to be thrown away by a horrible Sunday. Not so this time, a decade later. Campbell put together a clinical 69 to finish head of Tiger by two strokes. He lead the field in birdies with 16, which was three more than anyone else in the field. Perhaps most impressive were his driving statistics, which had him pegged at eighth in Total Driving and tied for eighth in driving accuracy.
The Course
The West Course at Winged Foot may be the sternest test of golf we’ve seen in a major venue in a long while. It sports the longest par four ever seen in a major championship: the 514-yard ninth hole, which is only one yard shorter than the par five fifth.
The USGA is trying something a little new this year: graduated rough lengths. Beyond the fairways that will be as tight as 20 yards (the sixth hole) to as wide as 28 yards, there will be six feet of intermediate rough of up to 1½ inches thick. Ten to 12 feet of primary rough that is about three to four inches in depth will follow. The secondary rough that will extend to the ropes will be approximately six inches deep.
Aimed to penalize those shots more than a little off line and allow at least some play out of the rough, it will be interesting to see how this new paradigm is carried out at Winged foot and how it effects the world’s best players. More than likely, as at most U.S. Opens, we will see a lot of chopping and pitching out of the rough to the fairway with little distance gained.
The West Course played host to the 1974 Massacre, the U.S. Open in which Hale Irwin survived a beating to emerge victorious in an event that left much of the field begging for mercy. It would be safe to say that we won’t be seeing this sort of mauling this year, but the “Massacre at Winged Foot” shows justt what kind of punishmnet this course is capable of handing the best players in the world. Tiger Woods called it “the toughest member’s course I’ve ever seen” due to its ridiculously heaving greens.
Who’s Hot
Vijay Singh gets on like a steamroller when he’s on, and coming off his win at Barclay’s last week, he might be poised to make it two in a row. His putting is finally starting to come around, and when the Fijian is putting well, he can play with anyone.
Adam Scott is also coming off a few weeks of solid play. However, unlike Vijay, his putting prowess hasn’t exactly peaked, and he will definitely need the flatstick this week.
Phil Mickelson is coming off back-to-back majors and boy oh boy can he prepare for a major. You can bet your rear end that you’ll see Lefty atop the leaderboard for most (if not all) of the week.
Who’s Not
Having the last nine weeks off may have added a little rust to Tiger‘s game, but if anyone can rise to the occasion, it’s Tiger. Still, Tiger is most definitely not hot. We’ll see what kind of game he brings to Winged Foot.
Retief Goosen has done nothing this year. The Robot Man has the exact tempermant necessary to triumph in an Open at Winged Foot, we’ll just have to see if his game comes with him to The West Course.
Pairings and Tee Times
Thursday (June 15), Hole 1 – Friday (June 16), Hole 10
7:00am – 12:30pm: Andrew Svoboda, Chris Nallen, J.J. Henry
7:11am – 12:41pm: John Rollins, Mathew Goggin, Steve Lowery
7:22am – 12:52pm: Nick Dougherty, D.J. Trahan, Graeme McDowell
7:33am – 1:03pm: Vijay Singh, Shingo Katayama, David Toms
7:44am – 1:14pm: Jim Furyk, Adam Scott, Chad Campbell
7:55am – 1:25pm: Robert Allenby, Rocco Mediate, Angel Cabrera
8:06am – 1:36pm: Fred Couples, Jose Maria Olazabal, Mike Weir
8:17am – 1:47pm: Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, Nick Price
8:28am – 1:58pm: David Duval, Colin Montgomerie, John Cook
8:39am – 2:09pm: Jeff Sluman, Rod Pampling, Henrik Stenson
8:50am – 2:20pm: A-Jonathan Moore, Phil Tataurangi, Craig Barlow
9:01am – 2:31pm: Rob Johnson, Madalitso Muthiya, David Berganio Jr.
9:12am – 2:42pm: John Koskinen, A-Tadd Fujikawa, Stephen Woodard
Thursday (June 15), Hole 10 – Friday (June 16), Hole 1
7:00am – 12:30pm: Kent Jones, Phillip Archer, Nicholas Thompson
7:11am – 12:41pm: Shaun Micheel, Kenneth Ferrie, Ted Purdy
7:22am – 12:52pm: Brandt Jobe, Keiichiro Fukabori, Richard Green
7:33am – 1:03pm: Billy Mayfair, A-Dillon Dougherty, Nick O’Hern
7:44am – 1:14pm: Scott Verplank, Ian Poulter, Lucas Glover
7:55am – 1:25pm: Phil Mickelson, Tim Clark, Thomas Bjorn
8:06am – 1:36pm: Rory Sabbatini,Paul McGinley, Rich Beem
8:17am – 1:47pm: Luke Donald, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson
8:28am – 1:58pm: Retief Goosen, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington
8:39am – 2:09pm: Arron Oberholser, Peter Hedblom, Dean Wilson
8:50am – 2:20pm: Michael Harris, Andrew Morse, A-Patrick Nagle
9:01am – 2:31pm: Jason Dufner, Jyoti Randhawa, Charley Hoffman
9:12am – 2:42pm: A-Alex Coe, Brad Fritsch, Benjamin Hayes
Thursday (June 15), Hole 1 – Friday (June 16), Hole 10
12:30pm – 7:00am: Steve Stricker, Oliver Wilson, Tommy Armour III
12:41pm – 7:11am: Duffy Waldorf, Maarten Lafeber, Tom Pernice Jr.
12:52pm – 7:22am: Ben Crane, Mark Calcavecchia, Mark Brooks
1:03pm – 7:33am: Jay Haas, Joey Sindelar, Tom Lehman
1:14pm – 7:44am: Toru Taniguchi, Ben Curtis, Niclas Fasth
1:25pm – 7:55am: Tiger Woods, A-Edoardo Molinari, Michael Campbell
1:36pm – 8:06am: Sean O’Hair, Mark Hensby, Olin Browne
1:47pm – 8:17am: Darren Clarke, Peter Jacobsen, Stephen Ames,
1:58pm – 8:28am: Tim Herron, Carl Pettersson, Kevin Stadler
2:09pm – 8:39am: Geoff Ogilvy, David Howell, Bo Van Pelt
2:20pm – 8:50am: Travis Hurst, George McNeill, Taylor Wood
2:31pm – 9:01am: Tag Ridings, Nathan Green, Greg Kraft
2:42pm – 9:12am: John Mallinger, A-Billy Horschel, Michael Derminio
Thursday (June 15), Hole 10 – Friday (June 16), Hole 1
12:30pm – 7:00am: Woody Austin, Jeev Singh, Jay Delsing
12:41pm – 7:11am: Brett Quigley, Tadahiro Takayama, Bob Estes
12:52pm – 7:22am: Paul Casey, Matt Kuchar, Graeme Storm
1:03pm – 7:33am: Corey Pavin, Fred Funk, Allen Doyle
1:14pm – 7:44am: J.B. Holmes, Camilo Villegas, Scott Hend
1:25pm – 7:55am: Lee Janzen, Todd Hamilton Steve Jones
1:36pm – 8:06am: Sergio Garcia, Charles Howell, Stuart Appleby
1:47pm – 8:17am: Ernie Els, Chris DiMarco, K.J. Choi
1:58pm – 8:28am: Kenny Perry, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bart Bryant
2:09pm – 8:39am: Skip Kendall, Charl Schwartzel, Ryuji Imada
2:20pm – 8:50am: A-Ryan Posey, Stephen Gangluff, Jason Allred
2:31pm – 9:01am: Chad Collins, David Oh, Lee Williams
2:42pm – 9:12am: Andy Bare, Dustin White, A-Ryan Baca
TV Coverage Times
All times eastern (ET) unless otherwise noted.
Thu, June 15 ESPN 10:00 - 3:00pm
NBC 3:00 - 5:00pm
ESPN 5:00 - 7:00pm
Fri, June 16 ESPN 10:00 - 3:00pm
NBC 3:00 - 5:00pm
ESPN 5:00 - 7:00pm
Sat, June 17 NBC 12:30 - 7:00pm Sun, June 18 NBC 12:30 - 7:00pm
Note: If an 18-hole playoff is necessary on Monday, ESPN will begin coverage from its noon start, with NBC picking up play at 2pm.
Photo Credit: © AP, © Fullswing Golf
I am looking for a DVD of the PGA U.S. Open 2006 at Winged Foot. Is there such a thing available? If you can help me I would very grateful. Thank you Sue