U.S. Open Player Profiles
A capsule look at 20 top players in the 99th U.S. Open, played June 17-20 at Pinehurst No. 2 Resort and Country Club. Listed in predicted order of finish:
D a v i d D u v a l
| Age: 27 |
| PGA Tour victories: 11 |
| Majors: None |
| U.S. Open appearances: 6 |
| Best finish: T7 |
| Last year: T7 |
| Backspin: Four-time winner this year, last victory came two months ago. Should be more mentally fresh than he was for the Masters, and with slightly lower expectations. Hits the ball high and long, and spends most of his time on the short game. Very patient, controlled player with game and emotions. |
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N i c k P r i c e
| Age: 42 |
| PGA Tour victories: 16 |
| Majors: PGA Championship ('92, '94), British Open ('94) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 12 |
| Best finish: 4 |
| Last year: 4 |
| Backspin: Great accuracy with his irons and controls his ball flight well, which will be important. Window closing on his chances to become 14th player to win three legs of the grand slam, but watch out if he gets it going early in the week. |
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T i g e r W o o d s
| Age: 23 |
| PGA Tour victories: 9 |
| Majors: Masters ('97) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 4 |
| Best finish: T18 |
| Last year: T18 |
| Backspin: Almost as hot going into the Open as Duval was going into the Masters. Except for his quadruple bogey in the third round of the Nelson, could conceivably be 3-for-3 since his post-Masters break. Has never been a factor in the Open. If his short game is anything like it was at Memorial, look out. |
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F r e d C o u p l e s
| Age: 39 |
| PGA Tour victories: 14 |
| Majors: Masters ('92) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 16 |
| Best finish: T3 |
| Last year: T53 |
| Backspin: Hard to believe he has only one major as good as he is. Has had only one good chance at winning the Open, but could be somewhat of a sleeper. Extremely good playing a variety of shots around the green. |
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E r n i e E l s
| Age: 29 |
| PGA Tour victories: 7 |
| Majors: U.S. Open ('94, '97) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 6 |
| Best finish: 1 |
| Last year: T49 |
| Backspin: May be the modern Ben Hogan when it comes to the Open. Has finished no worse than T7 except for years following Open victory - last year can be blamed on bad back. Could become only the sixth player with three titles. What a great gift for the new father. |
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T o m L e h m a n
| Age: 40 |
| PGA Tour victories: 4 |
| Majors: British Open ('96) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 10 |
| Best finish: T2 |
| Last year: T5 |
| Backspin: Keeps coming back for more. First player since Bobby Jones to play in the final group four years in a row, and longest streak of top-5s (four) since Jones in 1926. Has been the Lehman of old at times, but Pinehurst may not be his best fit. |
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G r e g N o r m a n
| Age: 44 |
| PGA Tour victories: 18 |
| Majors: British Open ('86, '93) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 16 |
| Best finish: 2 |
| Last year: DNP |
| Backspin: This might determine whether another Masters heartache whet his appetite for another major championship bid or ripped out another piece of his heart. Short game is vastly underrated. Will have played two events leading into the Open. A question of which Norman shows up. |
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C o r e y P a v i n
| Age: 39 |
| PGA Tour victories: 14 |
| Majors: U.S. Open ('95) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 14 |
| Best finish: 1 |
| Last year: MC |
| Backspin: Length could be a problem, but he is getting closer every week to his first victory in three years. A darkhorse, but why not? There's already been two double-Open winners in the '90s. Pavin can make it a threesome. |
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P h i l M i c k e l s o n
| Age: 29 |
| PGA Tour victories: 13 |
| Majors: None |
| U.S. Open appearances: 8 |
| Best finish: T4 |
| Last year: T10 |
| Backspin: Turns 29 the day before the Open. Pressure to win the first major will really start next year. Health of pregnant wife a concern early on, but Amy and baby reported to be doing well. Good thinker around the green as long as tight lies don't seduce him into a flop shot. |
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C o l i n M o n t g o m e r i e
| Age: 35 |
| PGA Tour victories: None |
| Majors: None |
| U.S. Open appearances: 7 |
| Best finish: 2 |
| Last year: T18 |
| Backspin: Maybe a Southern gallery will mind its manners and leave him alone. Hitting his stride in time for the major he covets, but this isn't the first time he's declared himself ready to win. Time is running out, but he at least has a few more chances. This might be one of them. |
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M a r k O ' M e a r a
| Age: 42 |
| PGA Tour victories: 16 |
| Majors: Masters ('98), British Open ('98) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 16 |
| Best finish: T3 |
| Last year: T32 |
| Backspin: Still trying to reap the benefits of his double-major year with all the travel, but still quite capable of being in contention anywhere. Not nearly as bad as some post-major syndromes. Looks at Open as the first step toward career grand slam possibility. |
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J a s p e r P a r n e v i k
| Age: 34 |
| PGA Tour victories: 2 |
| Majors: None |
| U.S. Open appearances: 2 |
| Best finish: T14 |
| Last year: T14 |
| Backspin: Scott Hoch described Pinehurst as a lot of 'goofiness.' Here's a player to match. For all his eccentricities, Parnevik has great imagination around the greens and is solid from tee to green. |
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D a v i s L o v e I I I
| Age: 35 |
| PGA Tour victories: 13 |
| Majors: PGA Championship ('97) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 10 |
| Best finish: T2 |
| Last year: MC |
| Backspin: Great local knowledge, bad back. Has been around the lead in almost every tournament this year, although missed the cut in Memorial, no telling how his back is going to respond. If it feels good, he should be around the lead on the weekend. |
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J u s t i n L e o n a r d
| Age: 27 |
| PGA Tour victories: 4 |
| Majors: British Open ('97) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 4 |
| Best finish: T36 |
| Last year: T40 |
| Backspin: Keep him away from Peter Kuchar and he should be fine. Great control, seems to have game suited for an Open but has a horrible record in four previous tries. Longer driver than most realize and great iron player. |
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V i j a y S i n g h
| Age: 36 |
| PGA Tour victories: 8 |
| Majors: PGA Championship ('98) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 5 |
| Best finish: T7 |
| Last year: T25 |
| Backspin: Consistent players with flashes of brilliance. Runner-up finish to Woods in Memorial might suggest he's hitting his stride, but putting has not been as good as it was late last summer when he won PGA Championship. |
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J o s e M a r i a O l a z a b a l
| Age: 33 |
| PGA Tour victories: 5 |
| Majors: Masters ('94, '99) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 10 |
| Best finish: T8 |
| Last year: T18 |
| Backspin: Is the first one to rule out the possibility of the grand slam, let alone the chance to become the first since Jack Nicklaus in 1972 to win Masters and U.S. Open. But his short game is so good that he might have a chance, provided he can keep his tee shots in North Carolina. |
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J i m F u r y k
| Age: 29 |
| PGA Tour victories: 3 |
| Majors: None |
| U.S. Open appearances: 4 |
| Best finish: T5 |
| Last year: T14 |
| Backspin: Earns high marks for accuracy, but hasn't proven to be clutch with his short game in two other major bids. Has failed to really contend this year, but will always be in the hunt as long as he's always in the fairway. |
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P a y n e S t e w a r t
| Age: 42 |
| PGA Tour victories: 10 |
| Majors: PGA Championship ('89), U.S. Open ('91) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 15 |
| Best finish: 1 |
| Last year: 2 |
| Backspin: As long as Lee Janzen is not around on Sunday, he might have a decent chance. Solid game, solid Open record with five finishes in the top 6 and runner-up last year. Has taken off more time than usual recently because of mental fatigue. Lot of Ryder Cup points up for grab here. |
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L e e J a n z e n
| Age: 34 |
| PGA Tour victories: 8 |
| Majors: U.S. Open ('93, 98) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 9 |
| Best finish: 1 |
| Last year: 1 |
| Backspin: Would be only the seventh player to win back-to-back Opens and the first since Curtis Strange 10 years ago. Recovered from mediocre spring to made strong run at Augusta. Missed the cut in his last Open defense. |
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S t e v e E l k i n g t o n
| Age: 36 |
| PGA Tour victories: 10 |
| Majors: PGA Championship ('95) |
| U.S. Open appearances: 9 |
| Best finish: T21 |
| Last year: MC |
| Backspin: No telling how much he could have accomplished with decent health. Fluid swing, solid with all components of his game. Should be rested and ready, and anxious to put a miserable Open record behind him. |
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