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Posted: Sunday June 11, 2000 05:03 PM
Getting through the 100th U.S. Open
A hole-by-hole look at Pebble Beach
No. 1, 381 yards, par 4: Slight dogleg to the right. A bunker comes into play if driver is hit off the tee. The best tee shot is a fade, although thick rough awaits if too much of the dogleg is cut off. Green falls off sharply at the back. No. 2, 484 yards, par 4: Has been played as a par 5 in past three U.S. Opens, but instead will be the toughest par 4 on the inland part of the course. Bunkers down the right side, and sand gully runs across fairway short of the green. No. 3, 390 yards, par 4: Dogleg left protected by dense trees, a hazard, meandering swale and a small pot bunker. Deceptive green, protected by deep bunkers, appears to slope severely from back to front but is nearly level. Wind will be a factor here. No. 4, 331 yards, par 4: Stillwater Cove forms the right side of this short but delicate hole, bringing the Pacific into play for the first time. Green appears small, with 30-foot drop to the beach down the right side, a bunker left and a 30-foot drop to a canyon behind a bunker in back of the green. No. 5, 188 yards, par 3: The first time this hole has been played in a U.S. Open. Jack Nicklaus designed the hole when the course bought back land. Spectacular hole, with the tee shot having to clear a deep canyon that runs down to the beach. No. 6, 524 yards, par 5: Bunker down the left side, but this can be reached in two with a good drive. Either way, the second shot is blind, up a steep hill to a green that sits at the top of Arrowhead Point. A small Shore Pine sits behind the green. No. 7, 106 yards, par 3: The shortest hole, and possibly the most perplexing. Requires anything from a sand wedge to a 3-iron, depending on the wind. Bunkers left, ocean behind and right of the green. Tom Kite chipped in for birdie in the final round of the '92 Open. No. 8, 418 yards, par 4: An aiming rock sits 115 yards up the fairway. Drive can go no more than about 250 yards, and then the fun begins. Approach goes over the ocean to a green that is 24 yards at its widest point. Green slopes severely from front to back. Anything in the back bunker nearly guarantees bogey at best. No. 9, 466 yards, par 4: When the wind comes off the Pacific, getting to the green in two is a challenge. A good drive leaves a downhill lie to a tricky little green nestled on the side of the bluff. Preferred line is from a coastal shelf down the right side, but this brings the ocean hazard into play. No. 10, 446 yards, par 4: The final ocean hole until the end. Fairway deeply canted toward the ocean. Best tee shot is left of center, with a slope about 260 yards off the tee. Green sits on a bluff with a steep drop to the beach on the right and out-of-bounds barranca at the back, protected by a bunker. Green slopes severely toward the ocean. No. 11, 380 yards, par 4: Dogleg right with only the first few yards of the fairway visible from the tee. Fairway slopes right and left toward the rough. Approach to an angled green protected by a bunker on the right. No. 12, 202 yards, par 3: Shallow depth of this green makes this a difficult hole. Huge bunker in front of the green, with a severe slope wrapping around the left and rear portions. No. 13, 406 yards, par 4: Precise tee shot required to avoid bunkers on both sides of the fairway. Deceptive approach because the green is uphill and generally requires an extra club. No. 14, 573 yards, par 5: Only a few will think about reaching this green in two, and that's if the drive is a well-struck fade around the dogleg. The green is two-tiered, with the top left portion made smaller by the protruding cleft of bunker. No. 15, 397 yards, par 4: Tee shot became a little more forgiving when storms uprooted one of the '"goal post" trees. Seventeen Mile Drive down the right side is out of bounds. A well-placed drive leads to a relatively simple approach to the green. No. 16, 403 yards, par 4: Most players will hit 3-wood off the tee to stay short of the downslope. Approach is to a heavily bunkered green guarded by dense trees. No. 17, 208 yards, par 3: Usually a pivotal hole in the U.S. Open, where Jack Nicklaus hit the flagstick with a 1-iron in 1972 and Tom Watson chipped in for birdie in 1982. The largest green on the course, but in the shape of an hourglass, which makes for a small target. Pin position can mean the difference of 12 yards. Plays right into the Pacific, which makes it exposed to the wind. No. 18, 543 yards, par 5: One of the most famous finishing holes in golf. It starts with a dramatic drive over the ocean to an area left of the two trees in the fairway. Green might be reached in two by some, but most play it as a three-shot hole. An 80-foot pine hangs over the green and forces play toward the riskier, ocean side of the fairway.
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