Bethpage proves to be stern test

The ball was barely visible in the waves of tall, flowing fescue. Davis Love III whacked at it with all his might.

It traveled about 15 yards -- not even far enough to reach the 16th fairway. Next stop, double-bogey.

Then there was Justin Leonard, flailing helplessly with a wedge in the ankle-deep rough along the 12th green. The winner of the 1997 British Open managed to move his ball all of 6 feet with two swings, the grass gobbling it up each time.

When Leonard finally reached the green, he smiled and waved his arms to the gallery as if to say, ``How 'bout some love?'' Eventually, he steered his ball into the cup, signed for a triple-bogey and moved on.

Welcome to the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park's Black Course, where horrors loomed at every turn during Thursday's opening round.

Keep the ball in the fairway or run the risk of turning into a helpless hacker. By all means, heed the sign which looms along the first tee. ``Warning: The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which is recommended only for highly skilled golfers.''

No kidding.

``I don't think any of us who missed a fairway had a good lie,'' said Love, who still managed a respectable 1-over 71. ``It was just tough to hit every fairway today, and it's going to be tough like that all week.''

A few days ago, he praised the U.S. Golf Association for bringing the Open to a true public course for the first time. Any second thoughts?

``This is a great golf course to get to play,'' Love groused, ``and when they mow the rough, it'll be even better.''

Of course, this is just what the USGA likes to hear. They strive every year to make America's national championship the toughest test in golf, which is usually apparent in the scores.

A year ago, only four players broke par at Southern Hills Country Club, which was more than 200 yards shorter than the Black Course.

Just six of 156 got into the red Thursday, with some truly dreadful golf turned in by one of the glamour threesomes. PGA Championship winner David Toms (74), British Open champion David Duval (78) and defending U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (79) were a combined 21 over.

Heck, Goosen couldn't even beat 16-year-old Derek Tolan, the youngest player in the field who had a 78.

New Jersey native Jim McGovern recalled playing Bethpage in 1988. He hardly recognized the place this time.

``It was baby teeth back then,'' said McGovern, who shot a 75. ``Now it's like shark's teeth.''

Stewart Cink was among those who didn't seem spooked by Bethpage. Of course, he was feeling pretty good with a 70 beside his name, just three strokes behind leader Tiger Woods.

``It's not the narrowest fairways we've seen for a U.S. Open, and the greens are very fair,'' Cink said. ``The course is fair. You play well, you can score on it.

``It's just hard to play that well,'' he added.

Fifty-seven-year-old Hale Irwin got the full Bethpage experience. He shot an 82, his worst score in the U.S. Open since 1972.

Greg Norman veered his tee shot at No. 7 into the trees. He made an exquisite recovery -- splitting a couple of trunks right down the middle -- but still came up short of the green, the ball settling into the muck in front of a bunker.

Norman wound up with a bogey and signed for a 75 at the end of the day.

Enjoy yourself, Shark?

``I wasn't jumping for joy,'' he replied, ``but I'm not sad either.''

There simply is no room for error. Compounding the problem: Bethpage is the longest course (7,214 yards) in U.S. Open history, but the players can't afford to blast away with their drivers for fear of winding up with an unplayable lie.

In an ominous note, the conditions were probably as favorable as they'll be all week. Rain had saturated the greens the previous day, a cloud cover kept things cool and the breeze never registered much above gentle Thursday.

``If the greens were to get firm and the wind were to pick up, it's going to be quite a few over par that would ultimately win,'' said Phil Mickelson, who had no complaints about a 70. ``Even under these conditions, over par will most likely win.''

John Daly has never been a fan of the USGA's dastardly setups.

In 1999, he stormed off the course at Pinehurst vowing never to play an Open again. After reconsidering, Daly returned the following year at Pebble Beach, opened with an 83 and didn't even come back the following day.

The Black Course is even tougher, Daly said, but he managed to pull himself together after opening with consecutive double-bogeys. He recovered for a 74.

``It's definitely the hardest one,'' Daly said. ``There's really not any birdie holes out there.''

Still, there's hope for those who spent most of the day trying to scramble out of trouble.

Ben Hogan won the '51 Open at Oakland Hills Country Club after opening with a 76. Jack Fleck started the same way at Olympic Club in 1955 and recovered to beat Hogan in a playoff.

If anyone makes a similar comeback this year, they'll certainly earn it.

``Every shot, you're under pressure not to make a mistake,'' said Padraig Harrington, who shot a 70. ``At no stage does the course let up.''