Over 40's shine at Bethpage

The forty-something generation drank from the fountain of youth once again at the 102nd U.S. Open.

For four days, they succeeded on an unlikely course, a brutal 7,214-yard test called Bethpage Black, and proved they still have the ability to shine on golf's major stage.

Scott Hoch, 46, and Nick Faldo, 44, set the tone when they tied for fifth at 5-over 285, eight strokes behind the 26-year-old who won, Tiger Woods. Nick Price, 45, and Tom Byrum, 41, tied for eighth while Jay Haas, who turns 49 in December, ended up in a four-way tie for 12th.

Together, the five have played in 81 U.S. Opens.

Not that their performances are exactly a surprise. Price won the MasterCard Colonial earlier this year, while Haas has five top-25 finishes, including a tie for fourth at the Shell Houston Open, in 2002. Faldo has placed in the top 10 four times this year on the European Tour.

"I don't know what it is when an older player plays well," Haas said. "To be in the 40s and compete against the best in the world, that must mean they have a little game left. So it's not a tremendous upset."

Hoch, who was a teammate of Haas' at Wake Forest in the mid-1970s, didn't know what to expect after he played his practice rounds on Bethpage Black. But he felt players of his generation may have an ace up their sleeves.

"I was trying to figure out how to break 80 (after the practice rounds)," said Hoch, who endeared himself to New Yorkers by donning a shirt with the city's skyline meshed with the stars and stripes. "But when I hit good shots I capitalized on them.

"This was an extremely difficult course. If there is anything the old guys have learned it's patience."

A member of this year's U.S. Ryder Cup squad, Hoch has struggled in 2002 with eye and wrist problems. He wasn't lacking in focus this week, though -- particularly on Sunday when he aced the 207-yard 17th on the way to a 69 and shared the day's second best score with Stuart Appleby.

By finishing in the top 15, all five are assured of spots in the 2003 U.S. Open. That's especially good news for Byrum and Haas, who had to qo through qualifying this year, and Faldo, who needed a special exemption to extend his consecutive major streak to 60.

Thanks to their top-eight finishes at Bethpage, Hoch, Faldo, Price and Byrum also earn invitations to next year's Masters.

"That will be good to look forward to that," said Byrum, who has two top-20 showings in nine 2002 PGA TOUR events. "On Friday I ran into tough conditions, but shot a 72. That was a big day for me. I could have lost it.

"(At first) I was intimidated by the course. I thought it was going to be long. It looked like a monster and it was."

Faldo has won six majors but never the U.S. Open. The closest he came was in 1988 when he lost in an 18-hole playoff with Curtis Strange.

"You need to be patient and accept what you've got," said Faldo, who shot a 66 on Saturday that turned out to be the low round of the tournament. "That was the key all week -- just move on. I didn't get rattled. I just went with the flow."

Hoch's confidence grew on the Black's slick greens as he averaged 28.3 putts per round. The tie for fifth was his sixth top-10 U.S. Open showing.

"There are two things I can say about a U.S. Open," Hoch said. "It's not fair and it's not about having any fun.

"This is an extremely difficult golf course. If anything, the old guys have learned to be patient. The forty-somethings are pretty good players. It's not like they're has-beens. It's not like we had our day in the sun or day in the rain."