Furyk capable of keeping Tiger from 15th major title
Mike Dudurich
Posted 2009-06-16
Ya know, now I'm confused about this Open.
For months we've heard about the beast that is Bethpage Black, how it's been tweaked and bolstered to provide even a tougher test for the field of 156 players that will compete there this week.
Fairways were shifted, closely-mown areas were added around some greens, most particularly the par 3 eighth, which will play very short one day. It may only be 135 yards or so, but with a front pin on the green that tilts from back to front, that closely-mown area may slingshot a bunch of shots into the pond in front.
Some yardage was added 212 from when the Open was played there in 2002. Negligible actually in the grand scheme of things when you consider how much technology has lurched ahead in the last seven years.
And you may remember that the 10th hole at the Black was highly controversial in 2002 because there were several players during an early round who couldn't reach the fairway from the tee. It was a forced carry of over 240 yards and with an uncharacteristic wind that blew dead into the players faces, the shorter hitters had trouble getting to the short grass.
So, what adjustments were made? The 10th was made longer! Yep, it now stretches to 505 yards, par 4. The concession to Mother Nature was bring the fairway back toward the tee so the carry would no longer be an issue.
The rough would be different this time as well. The USGA's Mike Davis, Senior Director of Rules and Competitions, instituted the graduated rough concept for the 2006 Open at Winged Foot and it has become a staple of Open setups since. Unlike the hay that passed for rough in 2002, the players would have a chance this time if they didn't miss the fairway by a great margin.
And then hacks like Michael Jordan, Ben Roethlisberger and Justin Timberlake post scores in the 80s (Roethlisberger shot 81) in that Golf Digest made-for-TV challenge last Friday.
The coup de gras came when the rains came not long after the TV challenge had ended. The rain has made life miserable for the Bethpage grounds crew and the forecast is for nearly a 50 percent chance of rain the rest of the week.
Thus, the state of my confusion.
How in the world is a fella supposed to make any sense of this, the nation's biggest championship?
Tiger Woods comes into the media center Tuesday and says he's wearing out his long irons on approach shots to par 4s. He hit a 5-wood into the 10th green and came up short.
"I don't feel like I've gotten any shorter since 2002," he said. "But, man, I'm just wearing out my long irons."
So now we're back to it being a very, very long course, but
Veteran Kenny Perry said he thought the course would play easier than it did in 2002.
"It all depends on where they want to set the tees," said Perry, who is playing in his 11th United States Open. "They have a lot of options out there to make the golf course play any way they want it to play. The greens are not very fast now. They are very soft and receptive and will hold anything you throw at them. And I don't think that will change."
If the forecast is to be believed and how many times is that the case? even with guys hitting long irons and hybrids, greens that will hold will lead to lower scores and maybe allow more players to be in the hunt.
So in the throes of all this confusion, I'm now faced with the dilemma of trying to pick a winner. Where to start?
Well, let's eliminate Mr. Gadget, Padraig Harrington. He wins three majors and decides he needs to fix his swing and change his equipment. Nice move, Paddy. Perhaps you should move over and let the real players go through until you get this all figured out.
Phil Mickelson, the People's Choice in New Yawwk, waited until the day before the Open started to arrive at Bethpage Black and the chances of him being focused enough to grind out 72 holes are pretty slim.
Paul Casey's a nice player having a good season. Kenny Perry blew the Masters, Geoff Ogilvy won at Winged Foot when Mickelson and Colin Montgomery imploded.
Sergio Garcia? Stop it, you're killing me.
The only guy not named Tiger Woods who I think has a fighting chance is Jim Furyk, who won the Open in 2003. He'll handle the length issue it's a big course for a not-so-long guy and will be in the hunt.
In the end, however, Woods will take another step toward catching Jack Nicklaus in the record books.
And the legend will grow once again.
It's a shame, really, that the weather this week couldn't have been somewhat similar to last year's at Torrey Pines. It was almost perfect there and the hard, fast golf course made for a difficult test.
This will be a difficult test of a very, very different kind. While a big, long golf course like Bethpage eliminates some players, even more will have no chance on a big course that becomes even bigger because of very wet fairways and thick, punishing rough.
It's very easy to not venture far out toward the end of the limb by picking Woods. He already has 14 major victories and is the No. 1 player in the world. But with this course going in a direction that most likely won't change, it's hard to come up with anyone else that makes for a reasonable pick.
None of the players in the field this week would ever admit that they're playing for second but, in reality, that's what they're doing.
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About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf.
He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com.
Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August.
The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.
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