San Francisco, California
18th - 21st June
Par 70 Prize Money $3.0 million

Olympic's greens hold the key to success

Associated Press

The Olympic Club, San Francisco, 18th June 1998 -  The throngs that followed Tiger Woods around The Olympic Club today could only look on in stunned silence.

For eight holes, Woods teased their expectations, striping the ball down the narrow fairways and throwing iron shots close to pins. He was tied for the early lead at 2-under going into No. 9 and could easily have been the sole leader had putts on the previous two holes not hung on the lip.

Then the greens at Olympic struck back.

Beneath the hole on No. 9, Woods hit his birdie putt within 2 feet of the cup. He tried to jam it in the right side of the cub and it lipped out and spun down the green. It took two more shots to get it in the hole.

Stung by the four-putt, Woods went on to shoot a 4-over 74.

"It was one of those putts that either goes in the bottom or 8 feet by,'' said Woods, who three-putted two other holes. "I was surprised they had the pin in that tough a position the first day.''

Disaster lurked everywhere on the first day of the U.S. Open, where excruciatingly narrow fairways, thick rough and tiny greens combined to make every hole an adventure.

But it was the tabletop-like surfaces and pin positions that were more suited to a Sunday than the first round that had players muttering to themselves.

"If the greens were much harder, the course would be impossible,'' John Daly said after shooting a 69.

Pins were put on ledges and tucked behind sand traps as the United States Golf Association sought to make sure there would be no opening barrage of birdies in the national championship.

It led to situations such as one Stuart Appleby found himself in after hitting his second shot within 20 feet of the hole on the short par-4 seventh hole.

The Australian ran his first put up a ridge to the back tier where the pin was located. But he hit it a bit too hard and the putt kept going, all the way off the green and into the first cut of fringe.

The only thing that saved Appleby from a three-putt was the fact he had to hit his fourth shot with a sand wedge instead of a putter.

"It's pretty brutal out there,'' said Fred Couples, who was watching from the seventh fairway.

Colin Montgomerie, who shot an even-par 70, said it was the pin positions, and not necessarily the greens, that caused the most problems.

"I couldn't see them putting the pins in some of these positions. It's scary,'' Montgomerie said. "That's why the scores are so high. It's incredible the way the USGA can limit scoring. There was not one pin that was a gift.''

The pins might have been where they were because the greens at The Olympic hadn't dried out as much as the USGA wanted them to this week. After a few days of sunshine and warm weather, fog shrouded the course this morning and cool conditions kept the greens soft and receptive.

That could change as the week goes on. If the sun shines on the weekend, the greens could firm up to where it will take a very delicate touch to stop the ball.

"If these greens get any firmer, it will take us nine hours to play,'' Daly warned.