Golf Jones 30

It's true what they say about the U.S. Open. It is golf's ultimate test, a tournament that almost always becomes a living, breathing, choking example of Darwinian survival. Funny, but doesn't that sound a lot like Wall Street? The Street is investing's ultimate test, a dog-eat-dog world in which the king of the beasts today could be wearing Milk-Bone underwear tomorrow.

Consider the similarities.

Wall Street had Black Thursday, Oct. 29,1929, when almost everyone in the market was wiped out The Open had Bloody Sunday, June 21, 1992, when gale-force winds at Pebble Beach left only one man standing.

Wall Street has stock gurus. The Open has swing gurus.

Wall Street has killjoys like Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve. The Open has fuddy-duddies like Trey Holland and the USGA.

Wall Street has blue chips. The Open has blown chips. (See Pinehurst, 1999.)

Only a lucky few obtain seats on the New York exchange. Only a lucky few (of 8,000-plus entries) make it all the way to the Open.

On Wall Street, prices swing wildly. At the Open, John Daly does.

A lot of jack changes hands daily on Wall Street. A lot of three-jacks occur daily at the Open.

Wall Street securities often crash and burn. Arnold Palmer (Olympic, '66), T.C. Chen ( Oakland Hills, '85) and Gil Morgan ( Pebble Beach, '92) have done the same at the Open.