ESPN Golf Online: 1999 U.S. Open: Tuesday notebook: Rough will be back

Thursday, Jun. 17
Tuesday notebook: Rough will be back

Associated Press
PINEHURST, N.C. -- Players shouldn't expect a reprieve from nasty rough conditions in future U.S. Opens.

WOODS' WORDS

Apparently the father of Tiger Woods isn't too fond of golf's birthplace.
In an interview published in the May-June issue of Icon, a bimonthly men's magazine, Earl Woods was quoted making ethnic and racial slurs at Scotland.
"That's for white people," the elder Woods said of Scotland. "It has the sorriest weather. People had better be happy that the Scots lived there instead of the soul brothers -- the game of golf would have never been invented."
The magazine goes on to quote Earl Woods saying: "We wouldn't have been stupid enough to go out in that weather and play a silly-... game and freeze to death. We would have been inside listening to jazz, laughing and joking, and drinking rum."
The elder Woods, 67, said the quotes were fabricated.
However, the author of the interview, Susan Zakin, said she taped the conversation and that it took place over the telephone Feb. 4.
Tiger Woods refused to comment on the article when asked about it Tuesday.

The rough at Pinehurst No. 2 has been trimmed from 4 inches to 3 for the 99th Open, and it will stay that length throughout the tournament, according to United States Golf Association officials.
Paul Jett, golf course superintendent for No. 2, said Tuesday he has been instructed by the USGA to mow the rough each night through Saturday.
"Originally we requested 4 inches last fall," Tim Moraghan of the USGA said. "Paul went above and beyond that and gave us 4 of the best inches I've ever seen."
The Bermuda rough, unusual for an Open, was lowered because the USGA didn't want players just hacking the ball out toward the fairway, Moraghan said.
"We wanted to give them a little bit of an opportunity to go for the pin," he said.
However, Moraghan insisted the lowering the rough isn't a change in Open philosophy -- and won't be the case next year at Pebble Beach.
"It's safe to say it will only be for this week," Moraghan said. "Here, we are dealing with a warm season grass and it has the tendency to grab the club a little more. It's harder to play out of.
"If we had the cut of rough at 5 or 6 inches we could have a lost ball 5 or 6 feet off the edge of the fairway and I don't think we want to do that. We've not out here to embarrass anybody."
Duval predicts
David Duval was asked to name some of the favorites for this week's Open. He paused for a long time, then rattled off a long list of players that included Tiger Woods, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III and Greg Norman.
"The way the setup is it brings a lot more people into the mix," Duval, the world's No. 1 player, said. "When you play a typical Open, the fairway is going to be narrow and the rough is going to be high. But here, you have the options of advancing the ball -- that brings more people into play. I think it's a lot more wide open."
Duval wouldn't predict what the winning score would be.

Ernie Els
Ernie Els hits out of the 3-inch rough during Tuesday's practice.
Mickelson, Norman make it
Phil Mickelson was a late arrival at Pinehurst on Tuesday.
Mickelson flew into town after going to a doctor's appointment with his wife, Amy, who is expecting the couple's first child at the end of June.
Another arrival on Tuesday was Norman, who is having trouble with his putting. He played a late practice round by himself.
Norman withdrew from Monday's final round at Memphis after rounds of 66, 72 and 72.
Norman said he didn't withdraw for health reasons. Instead, he said once he fell back in the pack he wanted an extra day to prepare for the Open.
"I had my reasons, but I basically saw what the weather forecast was going to be and one of the tour officials told me what was going to happen Sunday (if it rained), so I decided to go.
"I was a genius," Norman added. "I came home and I practiced my short game all day Sunday, bump-and-run stuff that we knew we needed up here. We did the same thing Monday. Now, let's hope it pays off. I thought it was more beneficial to my game to go home than to stay there and finish 58th."
Norman was buzzing around the course and was waved through a threesome that included Woods on the second hole.
"I wasn't going to tee off before 3 o'clock and spent six hours out there," Norman said.
Slamming the slam
Jose Maria Olazabal laughed Tuesday when asked about the possibility of winning golf's Grand Slam.
The Spaniard won The Masters in April, but said it's inconceivable that he could follow that with victories in the three other majors -- the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship.
"I truly believe nowadays that the closest thing to impossible is winning the Grand Slam in a single year," Olazabal said. "I might be wrong, but the level of the game nowadays is so high, and there are so many players that can really win all the events, it makes it really tough for just one player to win all four."
Coltart withdraws
Andrew Coltart of England has withdrawn from the Open because of a torn muscle between his ribs.
Coltart, 29, will be replaced by alternate Edward Pfister of La Quinta, Calif. Pfister shot rounds of 69 and 72 in sectional qualifying June 7 at Tarzana, Calif.