It’s wide-open this time
Unlike in 2008, no telling what will happen at Torrey
The strongest memory from the last U.S. Open at Torrey Pines was accompanied by three words that explain what golf was like then and now.
The scene was the 18th hole in the final round of 2008. The consequences were as clear as the late afternoon sky over San Diego in June.
Tiger Woods, who had limped his way around the South Course on torn ligaments and a double stress fracture in his left leg, faced a a 12-foot birdie putt. Make it and he would force a playoff against Rocco Mediate. Miss it and he would lose.
When the putt somehow curled in the right side of the cup and Woods triple-clutched his arms in raw celebration, Dan Hicks of NBC said, “Expect anything different?” Back then? No.
Woods was the singular force in golf even on one leg, even in the toughest test golf offers.
Now? Expect pretty much anything. The 121st U.S. Open returns Thursday to Torrey Pines, the city-owned course along the Pacific bluffs, and there’s no telling what might happen.
The top player in the world, Dustin Johnson, registered just his first top 10 in the last three months last weekend, and No. 2 Justin Thomas doesn’t have one. Jon Rahm is No. 3 in the world and a past winner at Torrey Pines. His 10 days of self-isolation from a positive COVID-19 test ended Tuesday.
The defending champion is Bryson DeChambeau, the most out-of-thebox golfer in decades whose road map to victory last September at Winged Foot was to hit driver as far as he could without regard to whether it found the fairway.
The sentimental favorite is Phil Mickelson, who turns 51 on Wednesday. He won the PGA Championship last month to become the oldest major champion in history.
Six times a runner-up in the U.S. Open, it’s the only major keeping Mickelson from the career Grand Slam.
“I know that I’m playing well and this could very well be my last really good opportunity to win a U.S. Open,” Mickelson said.
What should be expected is Torrey Pines being the kind of test that defines a U.S. Open. It’s one of the strongest courses on the PGA Tour in January when the turf is soft and there is less regard for the winning score.
Throw in the USGA, narrow fairways, the dry air of June, and 7,652 yards on a South Course that plays every bit that length at sea level. It should be all the players want.
“I don’t think the USGA has to do a hell of a lot to make it very difficult,” Louis Oosthuizen said “It’s already a tough golf course.”
Woods, of course, won’t be around for the next U.S. Open act at Torrey Pines. He’s recovering from multiple broken bones in his legs from a Feb. 23 car crash in Los Angeles.
He’ll have to watch this one from home, just like he did the Masters and the PGA Championship. It should be quite a show, though it has a tough act to follow.