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Thursday, Jun. 17 Burning issue: Duval seems ready to play  By Mike Grady ESPN Golf Online
PINEHURST, N.C. -- With the No. 1 question answered -- yes, David Duval's burned right thumb and forefinger are healthy enough for him to play -- attention turned Tuesday to No. 2. As in Pinehurst No. 2, the Donald Ross-designed layout that is playing host to the 99th U.S. Open.
Duval, the winner of 11 PGA Tour tournaments the past three years, including four this season, was the first player off the No. 1 tee for a practice round Tuesday. By the time he finished, it was apparent his injured fingers won't keep him from teeing off in the first round Thursday.
"It didn't feel too bad," he said moments after completing his round. "Didn't bother me at all."
After burning his thumb and forefinger picking up pot of boiling water on Friday, Duval didn't swing a club until Monday, and then only a few times. But Tuesday morning, with white tape wrapping the blistered but healing digits, the man who heads the list of top players yet to win a major looked fine.
"I can't really say for Thursday what it's going to be like, but I don't see why it would be any different," he said. "It's all speculation right now, but based on today I don't forsee it even being an issue."
Spectators at the 18th green saw first-hand that the burns and tape haven't hindered Duval's touch. He nearly holed out several chips from varying spots and angles around the highly crowned finishing green, including three lobs over the right-side bunker off the tightly mowed fringe.
The results of his round put Duval in a joking mood afterward, and he corrected the report that he had hurt himself making a cup of tea -- it was coffee he was boiling the water for.
"It's kind of funny," he said. "With all the different things I do, all the snow-boarding where people seem to think I'm crazy to do it ... I've never had any problems with doing that, but trying to fix a cup of coffee I almost take myself out."
The course atmosphere Tuesday was like the first few moments of a company Christmas party -- pleasant, quiet and cordial as spouses are introduced, but with the promise of noise and fun to come as the bar opens and the band tunes up.
There were a couple of morning showers and a major cloudburst late in the afternoon. The combination of that, more rain in the forecast and the USGA's easing up on the length of the course's bermuda-grass rough (down from four inches to three) had players uttering a phrase they thought they never would in regards to a U.S. Open: "relatively easy."
The rain promises to soften the greens, somewhat taming the treacherous slopes and crowns and allowing players to fly the ball at the flagsticks without fear that a miscalculation of a few feet won't end up costing them long, awkward chips once their ball stops rolling.
And decreased rough means they won't pay as stiff a price if they miss fairways with their drives. Greens will still be reachable, as opposed to the back-to-the-fairway wedge-hacking that has become synonymous with "U.S. Open rough."
"The golf course is playing a little more friendly than I thought it would," said Tiger Woods, aiming for his first U.S. Open title after 18th- and 19th-place finishes in the event the past two years. "I thought the rough would be higher, the fairways narrower."
Many of the big-name players touched on that topic during interviews throughout the day. Here's a sampling of what was said:
Mark O'Meara
On if he's charging rent to Tiger Woods, who is staying with O'Meara and his family in a nearby home this week:
"We haven't discussed that. I know he's a little bit more financially well off than I am, but I felt that since I invited him he'd be my guest. ... If he wins, I'll definitely give him the bill."
On why he thinks Woods has more golf talent than anyone else he has ever played with, including Jack Nicklaus.
"I think that Jack Nicklaus is by far the greatest player who has ever played the game of golf -- there's not an issue on that. I have tremendous admiration for Jack Nicklaus. But when it comes to raw talent and hitting a golf ball, I've never seen anybody hit shots like (Tiger) hits golf shots ... being able to hit it far and/or hit it tremendously straight and be able to produce shots that I've really never seen other players be able to produce.
"Some players come close, and I know that when Jack was dominating he hit it that much longer than everyone else, but I'm not so sure he hit it as far as Tiger hits it."
Jose Maria Olazabal
On his chances of winning the Grand Slam:
"I truly believe nowadays that the closest thing to impossible is winning the Grand Slam in a single year. I might be wrong, but the level of the game nowadays is so high, and there are so many players that can really win in all the events that it makes it really tough for just one player to win all four. ... I would like to be wrong, especially this year."
On his short-game talent making him one of the favorites this week:
"At least this week, I cannot deny that the short game plays a part, which hasn't happened (at the Open) for the last few years, anyway. But I don't think I'm the only guy whose short game is pretty good. I think there are a lot of players here whose short games are really good and good enough to get something out of this golf course."
On the difference of Pinehurst No. 2 and the Olympic Club, site of last year's Open:
"I think it's more fair. Last year, we had fairways that sloped from right to left or left to right and were like 22 yards wide. You could hit a wonderful tee shot and end up in the rough. This year, if you hit a good tee shot you're going to end up on the fairway. From then on, you still have a tough task to make par on that hole. I think it's a fair test, but a tough one."
Lee Janzen
On what he expects to happen because of the easing of the rough:
"It tempts you to make a shot you shouldn't be attempting. If you squirt left or right, you can end up in the pine trees or miss the chipping areas and be in the wrong spot. I think if the rough was deeper, you'd hack it back into the fairway, hit a wedge onto the green and see more pars and bogeys. But now, you'll see maybe some great birdies and also some double-bogeys."
Colin Montgomerie
On what might happen if rain continues to fall before Thursday's opening round:
"I think one of these players is going to have a very good day. I'm talking a 5-under type of day. And then God help us the next day, because they're going to put the pins in some difficult positions. So anything around par I'd take right now and run."
David Duval
"It gives the players kind of a false sense of security that you can advance it onto the green. It looks to me the reasoning is to try to get players to go ahead and try to hit some shots that will run into greens, because that's when you can get in more trouble.
"It brings a lot more people into the mix. When you play a typical Open, the fairway is going to be narrow and the rough is going to be high. But here, with the option of advancing the ball, that brings more people into play. I think (the competition) is a lot more wide open."
On the greens:
"Because of the various slopes, especially around the edges, the greens themselves are actually smaller. You're going to have to be precise. Every player is going to miss the green, so you have to chip, you're going to have a lot of different options. You're going to have to be creative and hit a lot of shots.
"People will see it on TV. Balls are going to roll and not stop for a while. They'll have some shots of green elevations, and you'll be looking down and see a player trying to (walk up to the green), and you won't see but the top of his head. It's going to be fun to watch, I'm sure."
Tiger Woods
"I'm learning how to play the game. I'm only 23, and I have a long way to go. I recognize that. I know that. But I've come a long way, as well. And I've learned by watching other players play. I've learned from my own mistakes, but I think most importantly of all is I've learned and I'm not afraid to go out on the golf course and apply what I've learned."
On how he'll navigate the mounded greens and deep collection areas:
"It all has to do with the lie, with the grain coming off the greens and how much it swirls in the bottom of the slopes. With that in mind, any time I'm going against the grain I'm probably not going to chip it becaue of the higher risk of stubbing it. Putting or using a 3-wood is what I'll do there. When I go down-grain, I can chip."
On how he prepares the week of a major:
"You try and play as many holes as possible, but you don't want to go ahead and burn yourself out by Thursday. What I've found works best is to go ahead and play the golf course, but chip and putt extra on the greens. This golf course from tee to green is very simple; it's around the green where it becomes complicated."
Tim Moraghan, USGA greens superintendent
"We don't want the players hacking the ball back out into the fairway and proceeding from there. We'd like to give them a real good opportunity to go for the putting greens and see what happens from there."
What the USGA was trying to bring out in the players in setting up the course this way:
"They're going to have to have patience. It can be extremely frustrating in that if you don't hit your primary target on your approach shot well, now you don't know what you're going to do. There's going to be an opportunity to get frustrated very quickly.
"So a guy who is very patient and has the ability to say 'OK, I didn't do exactly what I wanted to do,' but is able to regroup and get back into play will do very well here."
Lee Westwood
On how he'll navigate No. 2's crown greens:
"I think it depends on the shot, but I'm using a 3-wood or 5-wood to run it up the banks. And I think the lob shot is out the window this week, because there's such tight lies around the greens. All the grass is growing against you ... so I don't think you go with the bump-and-run shot, because that digs in as well.
"The 3- or 5-wood works because it just runs a bit quicker ... it's easier when it's a tight lie. I use that shot a lot at The Masters. The greens here are very similar to Augusta. The real focus on this course is on and around the greens. You can hit a good shot to 10 feet, and if you had missed it five feet further right or left, you can finish 20 or 30 yards away from the flag. There's a lot of patience required, as there is at The Masters.
"And it's the same shot once your ball goes away (from the green), as well. There will be a lot of putting from off the greens. You need a lot of imagination on and around the greens, I think."
On his disappointment in the USGA trimming the rough to three inches:
"I wish it were five inches of rough off the edges of the fairway. Because it puts a premium on accuracy off the tee. But now, I don't think it does. Especially if the rain that's due comes down the next few days, it will make the greens very soft, and you don't need to be in the fairway off the tee. I'll be rooting for it to be as dry as possible, because I think it will be a sterner test with harder greens.
"I was in the rough a couple of times yesterday and I had no problem getting a 6-iron or 5-iron on a couple of lies. And on the eighth, down the left side, there was very little rough.
Scoffing at the notion that the course set up favors European players because it's similar to courses there:
"We have nothing like this in Europe. I don't know why somebody has the impression it's going to suit the European player. That's just a proviso in case one us wins." | ||||||||
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