Westwood disappointed about Pinehurst set up

Lee Westwood, who thinks the U.S. Open presents his best chance to win his first major championship, is disappointed about the set-up of Pinehurst No. 2 for this week's Open.

The famed course designed by Donald Ross looks and plays nothing like the usual U.S. Open layout and the strapping Englishman feels the set-up has taken away his strengths, primarily his ability to hit the ball long and straight.

"I'm disappointed with the rough. It's a bit too short," Westwood said on Tuesday morning before he went out for a practice round on the long, gently rolling course, which is hosting its first U.S. Open starting on Thursday.

Ross, a Scotsman who built more than 400 golf courses in the United States in the first half of the century, designed Pinehurst No. 2 with the greens as its primary defence against low scoring.

And the United States Golf Association, which usually employs ankle deep rough as its chief protector of par for its championship, conceded to Ross's design principles.

Not only is the rough along the fairways about half its usual length, there is no rough around the greens, which resemble upside down bowls and are intended to propel even a slightly off-target ball away from the putting surface.

Westwood, 26, who has an excellent record in all four of golf's major championships, was dismayed to find the short fairway rough and the absence of long grass around the greens.

"This week doesn't put an emphasis on accuracy," he said. "I like it with five inches of rough off the fairway."

Westwood, who said he was fully recovered from a shoulder problem that has held him back in recent weeks, also said he was hoping for rock-hard greens.

But he may be disappointed on that score, too. The forecast is for rain for most of the week, which will soften Ross's famed greens and reduce the need for the accuracy Westwood depends upon.

"I like it like concrete," Westwood said of the putting surfaces.

Westwood, who was joint seventh in last year's U.S. Open and joint sixth in this year's Masters, said the greens here were nothing like those on the European tour.

"I think they're very similar to the Masters course," he said. "A lot of patience is required, like in the Masters."

Like the Augusta National Golf Club, the permanent home of the Masters, Pinehurst No. 2 has big, undulating putting surfaces surrounded by mounds and swales covered with short grass.

"You need a lot of imagination on and around the greens," Westwood said. "You need to practice around the greens."

With that in mind he has been concentrating on his short game, including using 3-woods and 5-woods to chip from off the green.

Using those clubs, he said, "the ball runs a bit quicker, especially out of a tight lie."

Still, despite the absence of punishing rough, Westwood felt good about his chances this week.

"I've never been lacking in confidence," he admitted. "There is no point in me not being confident."

Reuters