U.S. Open Preview

June 15, 1999 / 3:50 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A shootout worthy of one-time Pinehurst regular Annie Oakley could be in the offing as Tiger Woods, David Duval and the rest of golf's greatest hot shots contest the 99th U.S. Open at Donald Ross's famed No. 2 course.

Woods, coming off back-to-back wins at the Deutsche Bank Open in Heidelberg and Jack Nicklaus's Memorial Tournament in Ohio, is closing the gap that separates him from the man who wrested away his number one ranking -- Duval.

Duval has had a hot hand this year, winning four tournaments in his first eight 1999 events on the way to setting a new season's prize money mark before a third of the year was gone.

A hot hand, ironically, could ruin a hotly anticipated Woods-Duval duel, as Duval nurses burns on the fingers of his right hand from grabbing the handle of a steaming kettle last week.

There is no shortage of other contenders should Duval prove not up to the task at the second of eight courses constructed in the sprawling resort, which Bobby Jones termed "the St. Andrews of United States golf."

Defending champion Lee Janzen, two-time winner Ernie Els, perennial contender Tom Lehman, consistent threat Davis Love III, PGA champion Vijay Singh and European hopefuls such as Masters champion José Maria Olazábal and six-time Order of Merit leader Colin Montgomerie headline the supporting cast.

Oakley, star of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, first came to Pinehurst in 1916 to give shooting exhibitions, and through 1922 was said to have taught some 15,000 men and women at the resort how to shoot.

Golf bullseyes may come in bunches this week, as wet weather in the forecast for the sandhills of south-central North Carolina could take the sting out of Pinehurst's most formidable defense -- its exacting, turtle-back style greens.

Some players predict a scoring spree should the famed putting surfaces become receptive to approach shots that usually slide off.

With no rough encircling the greens, errant sots are meant to roll far off and into precarious positions, where getting up and down to save par becomes a most delicate operation.

"If the greens are soft it's going to be like a regular week on tour," said Janzen, who followed his 1993 Open win at Baltusrol with his second U.S. crown last year at Olympic and relishes playing courses where par is a good score."

"If the greens are firm, it will be a test of how brave are you going to be. Fly it up and try to stop it on the green, or run it up."

"I want the greens hard," he said after practice on Monday. "Other courses we play allow no creativity. If it's in the rough you just have to flop it out of there. It goes to show that you can create a lot of hazards by just cutting the grass down."

The plan was for the Bermuda rough to be cut at 4 inches. But the USGA staff came out to Pinehurst No. 2 last week, threw some balls in the rough and decided 3 inches would be ample.

Leonard takes times out from his practice to sign a few autographs.

Janzen laughes as he watches a putt on the third green. (AP)

The rough is clearly deeper than the so-called second cut at Augusta National, but the punishment might be the same. Spin control is everything on greens so demanding, and the best place to start is in the fairway.

"In this rough, you do have a chance to put the ball on the greens," Justin Leonard said. "But more times than not, you're going to miss the green."

"I think the rough is perfect for longer hitters," said Singh, who said players will often be able to shoot for the green from the rough -- a virtual no-no on the usual Open course set-up.

"I'm really surprised it's not longer. I hit some woods out of the rough to reach the par-5s."

Singh said the course is easy compared to other Open tracks, but he appreciated the finesse required around the greens.

"You've got different shots you can play to get it up and down. Lob it, run it," the Fiji golfer said. "It's going to depend on how good your touch is. And it's going to take great iron play. If you are off your target by a yard or so, you can be 20 yards, 15 yards off the green."

Faldo tries ot the sand during Tuesday's practice round. (AP)

Doug Barron stood in a hollow to the left of the 12th hole on Monday and hit five chips shots with mixed success. Then he tried for more loft with the sand wedge. Three holes later, he putted up another slope, then dropped another ball and putted with his 3-wood.

Payne Stewart used nine clubs around one green, from mid-irons all the way to his putter.

Scott Hoch chipped with a 4-iron, "which I hardly ever do."

Hoch was born in Raleigh and has played Pinehurst No. 2 before. The last time the PGA Tour stopped in these woods was the 1992 Tour Championship.

"It's a much better course than I remember," Hoch said. "But I don't think the course is hard enough. They need to do something before Thursday to make it more U.S. Open-ish."

Hoch doesn't believe the rough is severe, certainly not in the same neighborhood as Oakland Hills or Congressional. The greens are not as rock-hard, although a stiff breeze on Monday made them firmer than the day before. The USGA doesn't plan to shrink the fairways.

"The only thing left is the greens, and they're expecting rain," Hoch said. "It doesn't add up to U.S. Open style. But they probably know what they're doing a lot more than I do."

Then again, a U.S. Open hardly ever looks like this.

"It's a different kind of Open than what I've normally experienced," Leonard said. "We'll have to hit shots we haven't had to hit in the last four of five Opens. You just have to make a decision. The guys who make the right decision a majority of the time will be at an advantage."

Leonard takes times out from his practice to sign a few autographs. (AP)

Players have two more practice rounds to get in starting today before the 99th U.S. Open begins on Thursday. A score of even-par has won two of the past four years, and no one was willing to venture a guess on a winning score this early in the week.

Woods served notice he could thrive at Pinehurst by employing a spectacular array of lob wedges, precise chips and sand saves to win the Memorial.

Likewise, short-game wizard Olazábal, a two-time winner at Augusta, rates consideration that he will be the man to end the Open jinx on Europeans, who ave not claimed the U.S. title since Briton Tony Jacklin 29 years ago at Hazeltine.

The Spaniard's Ryder Cup teammate, Per-Ulrik Johansson of Sweden, said short-game sharpshooting could open the door for a European.

"The short game is so much more important here," said Johansson, who experimented with different clubs to use off the short grass off the greens. "I tried the sand wedge and 3-wood, but I would say that nine times out of 10 I got it closer using the putter."

Johansson had his own favorite among the 156-man field that shoots for victory starting on Thursday. "I fancy myself," he said.

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