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 Closer Look Wet conditions force change in course strategy
Posted: Thursday June 17, 1999 07:13 PM
By Albert Lin, CNN/SI PINEHURST, N.C. -- It will be a Tale of Two Courses this week at the U.S. Open. As if the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club didn't have enough already (eight at last count), the heavy rains that extended into the start of the tournament made the famed No. 2 layout play like a different monster. With the fairways and greens saturated, the ball did not roll nearly as much on tee shots and stuck better (which is a relative term here) on short irons, meaning players could go straight for the pin and not worry too much about No. 2's tightly-mowed and undulating greens. Whereas a score of even-par 70 was considered a remarkable achievement in weeks previous, on Thursday plenty of players equaled or bettered that number. Yet, in perhaps the greatest testament to No. 2's difficulty, no one was able to score better than three under. "I don't think anyone would like to see this course hard and fast, and I'm included," said Colin Montgomerie, who finished with a two-over 72. Water in the air may have played a bigger factor than water in the ground. Early groups had to deal with a steady drizzle and some fog, and Jack Nicklaus said his caddy had to line putts up for him on the opening three holes because he couldn't see through the muck. General thinking was that scores would rise as the course dried out during the day. Instead, however, the opposite happened, at least among the first-day contenders. John Daly, who teed it up at 12:50 p.m., ripped off birdies on the first three holes. Most of the players lumped at two and three under teed off in the afternoon. "It's important for guys to get off to a good start and get a couple shots to par, because the next few days are going to be a real challenge," said Phil Mickelson, who along with playing partner David Duval set the early pace by coming in with 67s in the seventh group. Leave it to the game's top two players, Duval and Tiger Woods, to temper enthusiasm for the conditions. Duval pointed out that having no roll in the fairway made holes play a couple clubs longer. "It was easier than if it was hard and fast, but it's not a big, big difference like people assume." Woods echoed that sentiment: "People are gonna look at me like I'm crazy if I say this, but I think it might play harder when it's wet like this, strictly because the bump-and-run shot is gone. You don't have that option anymore. I hit a couple today that hit and bounced back off the front of the green, when normally they would have bounced up." Players expect higher scores as the week progresses. When asked if he would take three more 68s, Woods replied with a smile, "I'm done," and pretended to walk out of the press conference, finished with his four rounds. The biggest issue is maintaining composure when having to adapt to a suddenly "different" course. Woods mentioned the myriad of possible approaches that a course like No. 2 presents and the need to mentally commit to the one you choose. "I talked to some guys that played here a couple weeks ago, and they were telling me how they had to bump-and-run the ball a lot more into the greens, and I haven't seen that yet," said Billy Mayfair, one of the surprise names atop the leaderboard. "Obviously if it dries, you'll have to change your game a little. Instead of hitting an eight iron high, maybe you'll hit a seven iron and let it run up there a little."
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