Tiger Woods told media members on Tuesday that the player who best manages his short game across the Olympic Club’s fast greens, angular fairways and daunting first six holes will be the one who raises the U.S. Open Trophy on Sunday.
“It’s going to be a wonderful test,” the 14-time major champion said following a practice round. “ … We’ve got work to do.”
Woods said the course is much different than the last time the tournament was played at the picturesque San Francisco club, which was already brimming with fans and media two days before the first round.
“My charts are outdated,” Woods said. “ … All the greens have obviously been redone since we were here in (1998). The new chipping areas are certainly different. Got to get used to some of those different shots.”
With its modifications, the par-70, 7,170-yard course will provide the ideal backdrop to what is widely considered the toughest major to win.
“You have to curve it more off the tees here than other golf course that we play,” Woods said. “Even to the greens, you’ve got right-to-left slopes of … fairways and greens, and you have to cut it, so you’re going against the grain. It’s the same thing on the flip side.
“That’s the neat thing about the golf course is it seems like the majority of the doglegs kind of run away from you. And it puts a premium on shaping the ball. But also it puts a big premium on game planning.”
Michael Allen, the elder statesman of the tournament at age 53, agreed with Woods’ assessment.
“When I play her normally, the fairways are soft, and even that short course plays pretty long,” he said. “Now, they get the fairways firm. Every fairway centers one direction or the other, and you have to shape the ball into that or it will run out.”
Bubba Watson came off as flummoxed when asked what kind of shots the course will favor.
“The par-3 13 … they shaved all the grass on the left side of the hole, so if you hit it – you could actually hit the ball on the green and end up in the hazard,” said the reigning Masters champion, who will tee off in a marquee threesome with Woods and Phil Mickelson at 7:33 a.m. Thursday (see below). “I don’t understand why they did that.
“Next hole … they moved the fairway over,” he added. “I hit it in the middle of the fairway but had to slice a 9-iron about 40 yards just to hit the green. It just doesn’t make sense.”
As if the course wasn’t onerous enough, Mother Nature could add another degree of difficulty. Morgan Hill’s Don Leone, PGA director of instruction at Coyote Creek Golf Club, said players were scrambling Tuesday afternoon, “hitting all kinds of shots” to get a feel for the wind. Thursday morning, the course was blanketed in fog for the first round.
“It’s going to be brutal,” Leone said. “There’s no question the wind makes it a different course from what the average player would look at.
“The guy who wins the tournament is who’s got the hot putter. You’ve got to be able to putt.”
Defending champ Rory McIlroy plans to “attack the course.”
“I’m still going to hit driver,” he said. “Coming in with the mindset that I’m going to … play aggressively when I can. Obviously, you want to be smart, but you’ve got to take your chances around here.”
Just ask Mickelson. The five-time Open runner-up said the tournament is “certainly challenging” but “overrated” in difficulty.
“Five times I’ve had opportunities. I’ve come close,” Mickelson said. “Could have, should have won a few of those. And it gives me the belief that I can compete and be in contention on Sunday.”
Woods, taking a page from Jack Nicklaus, the man he hopes to one day pass for the most major victories, was excited for the challenging week ahead.
“I’ve always preferred to it to be more difficult, there’s no doubt,” said Woods, who last won the Open in 2008. “And I’ve always preferred it to be fast. I just like a fast golf course, because then you have to shape shots. You have to think.”
Woods was a different golfer in the ’98 Open, when he tied for 18th at Olympic. His reaction to that though hasn’t changed.
“Frustrated, frustrated,” he said. “Just like you are at most U.S. Opens.”
Pairings and tee times
Thursday (June 14), hole #1; Friday (June 15), hole #9
7:15 a.m./12:30 p.m. — Scott Langley, Manchester, Mo.; Steve Lebrun, West Palm Beach, Fla.; A-Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif.
7:26 a.m./12:41 p.m. — Jason Bohn, Acworth, Ga.; Raphael Jacquelin, France; J. B. Park, Korea
7:37 a.m./12:52 p.m. — Michael Thompson, Birmingham, Ala.; TBD; Steve Marino, St. Simons Island, Ga.
7:48 a.m./1:03 p.m. — Brendan Jones, Australia; George Coetzee, South Africa; Gregory Bourdy, France
7:59 a.m./1:14 p.m. — A-Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif.; Jonathan Byrd, Sea Island, Ga.; Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash.
8:10 a.m./1:25 p.m. — Retief Goosen, South Africa; Vijay Singh, Fiji; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
8:21 a.m./1:36 p.m. — Paul Casey, England; Hiroyuki Fujita, Japan; Mark Wilson, Elmhurst, Ill.
8:32 a.m./1:47 p.m. — Adam Scott, Australia; Keegan Bradley, Jupiter, Fla.; Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.
8:43 a.m./1:58 p.m. — Tim Clark, South Africa; Toru Taniguchi, Japan; Rod Pampling, Australia
8:54 a.m./2:09 p.m. — Francesco Molinari, Italy; Bo Van Pelt, Jenks, Okla.; Peter Hanson, Sweden
9:05 a.m./2:20 p.m. — D. A. Points, Windermere, Fla.; Dong-Hwan Lee, Korea; Kevin Streelman, Scottsdale, Ariz.
9:16 a.m./2:31 p.m. — Edward Loar, Dallas, Texas; Paul Claxton, Claxton, Ga.; Alistair Presnell, Australia
9:27 a.m./2:42 p.m. — Mark McCormick, Middletown, N.J.; A-Nick Sherwood, Albany, Ore.; Cole Howard, Fort Worth, Texas
Thursday (June 14), hole #9; Friday (June 15), hole #1
7 a.m./12:45 p.m. — Shane Bertsch, Parker, Colo.; Martin Flores, Dallas, Texas; Tommy Biershenk, Inman, S.C.
7:11 a.m./12:56 p.m. — Scott Piercy, Las Vegas, Nev.; Matthew Baldwin, England; Matt Bettencourt, Greenville, S.C.
7:22 a.m./1:07 p.m. — Thomas Bjorn, Denmark; Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.; Branden Grace, South Africa
7:33 a.m./1:18 p.m. — Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Tiger Woods, Hobe Sound, Fla.; Bubba Watson, Scottsdale, Ariz.
7:44 a.m./1:29 p.m. — Joe Ogilvie, Austin, Texas; Stephen Ames, Canada; Tim Herron, Deephaven, Minn.
7:55 a.m./1:40 p.m. — Davis Love III, Sea Island, Ga.; Padraig Harrington, Ireland; David Toms, Shreveport, La.
8:06 a.m./1:51 p.m. — Carl Pettersson, Sweden; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Charles Howell III, Windermere, Fla.
8:17 a.m./2:02 p.m. — Robert Karlsson, Sweden; Bob Estes, Austin, Texas; Robert Rock, England
8:28 a.m./2:13 p.m. — K. J. Choi, Korea; Y. E. Yang, Korea; K. T. Kim, Korea
8:39 a.m./2:24 p.m. — Fredrik Jacobson, Sweden; Robert Garrigus, Phoenix, Ariz.; Alexander Noren, Sweden
8:50 a.m./2:35 p.m. — Gonzalo Fernandez-Castan’o, Spain; SangMoon Bae, Korea; Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Spain
9:01 a.m./2:46 p.m. — Marc Warren, Scotland; Anthony Summers, Australia; Michael Allen, Scottsdale, Ariz.
9:12 a.m./2:57 p.m. — Hunter Hamrick, Montgomery, Ala.; Tim Weinhart, Alpharetta, Ga.; Scott Smith, Fallon, Nev.
Thursday (June 14), hole #1; Friday (June 15), hole #9
12:45 p.m./7 a.m. — Casey Martin, Eugene, Ore.; A-Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn.; Dennis Miller, Youngstown, Ohio
12:56 p.m./7:11 a.m. — Jim Herman, Palm City, Fla.; William Lunde, Las Vegas, Nev.; David Mathis, Wake Forest, N.C.
1:07 p.m./7:22 a.m. — Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium; Charlie Wi, Korea; Simon Dyson, England
1:18 p.m./7:33 a.m. — Alvaro Quiros, Spain; Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; John Senden, Australia
1:29 p.m./7:44 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Luke Donald, England; Lee Westwood, England
1:40 p.m./7:55 a.m. — Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Bch, Fla.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland
1:51 p.m./8:06 a.m. — Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.; Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Lucas Glover, Sea Island, Ga.
2:02 p.m./8:17 a.m. Ernie Els, South Africa; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia; Angel Cabrera, Argentina
2:13 p.m./8:28 a.m. — Martin Laird, Scotland; Ben Crane, Beaverton, Ore.; Anders Hansen, Denmark
2:24 p.m./8:39 a.m. — Matteo Manassero, Italy; Aaron Baddeley, Australia; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain
2:35 p.m./8:50 a.m. — Brian Harman, St. Simons Island, Ga.; TBD; Mikko Ilonen, Finland
2:46 p.m./9:01 a.m. — Brice Garnett, Gallatin, Mo.; TBD; Jesse Mueller, Mesa, Ariz.
2:57 p.m./9:12 a.m. — Brian Rowell, Lafayette, La.; A-Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz.; Brian Gaffney, Monmouth Beach, N.J.
Thursday (June 14), hole #9; Friday (June 15), hole #1
12:30 p.m./7:15 a.m. — John Peterson, Baton Rouge, La.; Morgan Hoffmann, Jupiter, Fla.; Aaron Watkins, Mesa, Ariz.
12:41 p.m./7:26 a.m. — Jeff Curl, Birmingham, Ala.; Nicholas Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.; Casey Wittenberg, Memphis, Tenn.
12:52 p.m./7:37 a.m. — Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark; Chez Reavie, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Peter Lawrie, Ireland
1:03 p.m./7:48 a.m. — Michael Campbell, New Zealand; Olin Browne, Tequesta, Fla.; Joe Durant, Pensacola, Fla.
1:14 p.m./7:59 a.m. — Bill Haas, Greenville, S.C.; Nick Watney, Las Vegas, Nev.; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.
1:25 p.m./8:10 a.m. — Martin Kaymer, Germany; Hunter Mahan, Colleyville, Texas; Justin Rose, England
1:36 p.m./8:21 a.m. — Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.; Ian Poulter, England; Matt Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.
1:47 p.m./8:32 a.m. — Jason Day, Australia; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Jason Dufner, Auburn, Ala.
1:58 p.m./8:43 a.m. — Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.
2:09 p.m./8:54 a.m. — Hunter Haas, Fort Worth, Texas; Tadahiro Takayama, Japan; Lee Slattery, England
2:20 p.m./9:05 a.m. — Alex Cejka, Germany; Kevin Chappell, Fresno, Calif.; Blake Adams, Eatonton, Ga.
2:31 p.m./9:16 a.m. — James Hahn, San Bruno, Calif.; Darron Stiles, Pinehurst, N.C.; Roberto Castro, Alpharetta, Ga.
2:42 p.m./9:27 a.m. — A-Brooks Koepka, Tallahassee, Fla.; TBD; Samuel Osborne, England
