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Thursday, Jun. 17
Wednesday notebook: Test run for Pinehurst

Associated Press

PINEHURST, N.C. -- This is the first U.S. Open staged at Pinehurst No. 2 -- but likely not the last.

United States Golf Association president Buzz Taylor on Wednesday praised the work the resort and its workers have done in preparing for the Open -- only the second one ever held in the South.

Although the USGA said they don't have certain courses in a rotation, places like Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club and Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey have hosted seven U.S. Opens each.

"I think that if this week is successful, and I can't imagine that it would not be, I'm certain that there would be some ongoing discussions with the Pinehurst community about coming back at some point," said USGA vice president Trey Holland.

Holland refused to give a timetable of when discussions of a possible return would begin. He also said the USGA was looking at holding other Opens in the South, but also wouldn't reveal any sites.

Skipping out on Jack
 Tom Watson
Tom Watson has 11 top-10 finishes in the U.S. Open, including a win in 1982.
Not many people would pass up a round of golf with Jack Nicklaus. Tom Watson did Wednesday as he declared his game ready for the 99th U.S. Open.

Watson, who won the Open in 1982, was scheduled to play a final practice round with Nicklaus, but decided to cancel at the last minute. That opened up the 49-year-old for some good-natured ribbing from Nicklaus, who is 10 years older.

"Hey, I'm going to miss you today," Watson said to Nicklaus as he walked out of the locker room.

Nicklaus shot back: "Getting tired, huh? That's what happens when you get old."

Watson said it's not unusual for him to skip a practice round before a major.

"Right now I feel like I'm doing what I want to do, and I'm not too concerned about my golf swing," he said. "I want to be more mentally prepared playing the golf course than thinking about my golf swing. I want to be more result-oriented rather than swing-oriented."

Watson said Monday's practice round was enough to refresh his memory of Pinehurst No. 2 and its difficulty around the greens.

"I was just going over strategy with my caddie Bruce Edwards and it really came back pretty quickly where you should hit it and shouldn't hit it on the golf course," he said.

Watson turns 50 on Sept. 4 and said he plans to play on the Senior Tour.

"It very well may be my last time at the U.S. Open, but I don't plan on it," said Watson, who qualified this year because he was among the top 30 money leaders in 1998.

Upside down
Tiger Woods last played a tournament in Pinehurst in 1992 as a junior golfer on course No. 7. This week, he returns as the second-ranked player in the world.

"Boy, things have changed a lot since then," Woods said. "I guess one thing is I got a little more in my pocket now."

Woods has won close to $1.9 million this season and the attention level has gone through the roof for one of the game's more popular figures. Woods drew one of the larger galleries for the first three practice days of the Open.

"My life has changed from the fact that when I go out in public people recognize me," said Woods, who won that junior event in Pinehurst as a 16-year-old. "When I was a junior golfer nobody knew me. A lot has changed since then, but one thing that has remained the same is I love to play."

Priceless
Nick Price sounded like a man in a midlife crisis heading into this week's Open.

Price, 42, said playing competitive golf around the world has become harder since his three children are getting older.

"They understand why I go away, but I don't know if they accept it," Price said Wednesday.

Price said he especially misses spending time with his 8-year-old son Gregory.

"Every week it's like climbing a mountain," said Price, who was born in South Africa and lives in Florida. "You start off at the bottom every week and you try and get to the top. Whether you get halfway or two-thirds of the way up you've got to start again next week.

"Sometimes if you're not mentally ready to do it, ... it's a difficult thing. That's what happens when you get older, when you've been climbing that mountain time and time again it just gets a bit much and you want to do something else with your life.

"You go through it when you're in your 20s, in your 30s and you go through it a little more often when you get into your 40s."

Price was the game's dominant player in 1993-94, winning a combined nine times. He has won only two times since, although he is 23rd on this year's money list with $767,005.

Price was playing well several months ago, but since finishing third in The Players Championship and tied for sixth at The Masters, he has finished 60th, 51st, 12th and 42nd in his last four events.

"I would be very happy now to shoot even-par for the week," Price said of his 13th Open.

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