Tree or no tree, Jack Nicklaus would just as soon see Pebble Beach play the way it did for the other three U.S. Opens -- a par
72.
The second hole will be a 484-yard, par 4 for next week's U.S. Open, primarily because a tree that once guarded the left side of the green is no longer there. The USGA experimented with the new hole
during the U.S. Amateur last year and thought it was appropriate.
Nicklaus doesn't agree.
"Who cares whether or not there's a tree there? Don't you want
to compare and keep the records and everything basically the
same?" he said. "Why do you want to make it a par 4? It's a par
5. What difference does it make?"
The USGA has a history of changing par 5s into par 4s --
No. 16 at Pinehurst last year, No. 17 atOlympic Club in 1998. And next year, the 16th
hole at Southern Hills will play 491 yards.
"I've yet to figure out the logic of taking a golf course that
is being played on a year-round basis by its membership ... as a
par 72," Nicklaus said. "You have the U.S. Open that's now a par
71. Why?"
David Fay, executive director of the USGA, said the loss of the
tree altered the nature of No. 2 at Pebble Beach and left no
choice.
His thinking: Most, if not all par 5s, involve some strategy of
whether to lay up. The only way No. 2 becomes a three-shot hole is
if a player misses the green.
"Is anyone going to lay up strategically?" Fay said. "I don't
draw too many crazy analogies, but if Rae's Creek wasn't there on
No. 13 at Augusta, that wouldn't be much of a par 5."
VOICE OF VENTURI
Ken Venturi says he will decide by the NEC Invitational at Firestone whether to continue working for CBS Sports.
"I'm leaning toward retirement," he said. "It's not etched in
stone, but I am taking a very good, hard look at what I'm doing.
Thirty-two years is a long time."
CBS has offered Venturi a new contract, but he says he hasn't
discussed it with network.
OLLIE IN AMERICA
Why does Jose Maria Olazabal feel like a forgotten man in Europe? Part of it stems from the 93-page program at the Volvo PGA Championship, which contained 22 pictures of Colin
Montgomerie compared with just five of Olazabal.
"The way the tour is evolving, we're going to a situation where
it's 'Mr. Monty versus the Rest,' " said Sergio Gomez, longtime
manager for the two-time Masters champion.
But Gomez says there's more to it than that. He feels the
European Tour is becoming too British, and that television focuses
too much on IMG clients -- Montgomerie, British Open champion Paul
Lawrie, Ian Woosnam and Padraig Harrington.
"When at some stage you're becoming 'Mr. Nobody' because you're
not close to the people managing the tour, what becomes the
priority?" Gomez said. "You ask yourself, 'Where is real golf?
Better fields, better courses, etc.' The answer is America, so we
thought that maybe we should start considering moving to where it
is best for our world ranking points and our stature.''
Gomez said moving to America is not a decision -- nor is it a
threat.
That's a good thing. If Olazabal feels overshadowed by
Montgomerie, then how will he feel in the presence of Tiger Woods?
OPEN ROUGH
Players who heard the rough at Pebble Beach was only going to be 3 inches might be in for a surprise next week at the U.S. Open.
Because of relatively dry conditions, and concerns that 3-inch rough might be too easy, the USGA has let the rough grow an extra inch.
"We'll make the final call (how thick it should be) later this
week," said David Fay, executive director of the USGA. "We think
it's going to be between 3 1/2 and 4 inches."
DIGEST TURNS 50
The LPGA Tour isn't the only golf organization celebrating a golden anniversary this year.
Golf Digest commemorates its 50th birthday in a July issue that
includes its ranking of the 50 greatest players of all time, a
swing sequence that includes those 50 players and essays from
high-profile figures about the legacy of their heroes in golf.
Among the contributors are Nelson Mandela (on Gary Player),
Prince Andrew (on Nick Faldo), speedskating gold medalist Bonnie
Blair (on Nancy Lopez), and Tiger Woods (on Jack Nicklaus).
As for the top 50? A panel of the magazine's professional
advisory staff, teaching pros, contributing editors, in-house
editors and a select group of writers and historians voted Nicklaus
at the top. He was followed by Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Bobby Jones,
Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Walter Hagen, Player, Mickey Wright
and Tom Watson.
Woods finished 12th in the voting.
DIVOTS
The Buy.com Tour just got a little tougher to cash in.
Tour officials decided to raise the field to 156 players while
daylight savings is in effect. ... The Golf Course Superintendents
Association of America will get a new meaning of green speed. Its
logo will be on the back of Chad Little's green No. 97 car in the
K-Mart 400, a Winston Cup race at Brooklyn, Mich. The car is
sponsored by John Deere, which has a working relationship with the
GCSAA. ... It was a big week for Charles Howell and Oklahoma State
in the NCAA Championship -- and also for Ping. Two years after the
TiSi driver made its debut, Ping had 89 of its drivers in play at
the NCAAs, compared with 34 for Titleist and 30 for Callaway. ...
The USGA has accepted a record 953 entries for the U.S. Women's
Open, to be played July 20-23 at the Merit Club outside Chicago.
Among those exempt is Lauri Merten, the '93 U.S. Open champion. It
will be Merten's first tournament since 1997. ... Justin Leonard
finished second each of the last two weeks, shooting him up to 10th
in the Presidents Cup standings.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Three players in the top 20 on the PGA Tour money list did not qualify for the U.S. Open -- Robert Allenby (14), Tom Scherrer (15), and Steve Flesch (18).
FINAL WORD
"I'm reading 'Fountainhead' right now. Why would I want to read a Mark James book?" - Justin Leonard
