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THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2012 THE LONDON FREE PRESS

u.s.open

Woods, Mickelson games often in head

ack Nicklaus made an

appearance Wednesday at
the U.S. Open, which was fitting.
The USGA has named the gold
medal that goes to the tournament winner after the Golden
Bear and it is building a Jack
Nicklaus Room at the USGA
Museum in New Jersey. In addition, U.S. golfs governing body
has produced a documentary
about Nicklaus first major win,
at the U.S. Open in 1962, that will
air Sunday night.
It was at the 1962 Open at
Oakmont where Nicklaus and
Arnold Palmer were paired for
the first two rounds. Nicklaus
went on to beat Palmer in a
playoff on the Kings own turf,
marking the beginning of one of
golfs greatest rivalries.
Fast forward 50 years and golf
fans are about to be treated,
once again, to todays greatest
golf rivalry, Tiger Woods and
Phil Mickelson. Theyre together
again, playing in the same group
for the 31st and 32nd times in
their professional careers.
They will tee off Thursday
morning with Masters champ
Bubba Watson at the 112th U.S.
Open, and the whole golf world

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Kirk Penton

IN
SAN FRANCISCO
will be watching. So too will
most of the 33,500 spectators in
attendance at the hilly and tough
Olympic Club, which should
make it quite a spectacle.
The dynamic duo has played
together at big events before,
most notably the 2008 U.S. Open
at Torrey Pines. Mickelson won
the opening round 71-72, but
Woods trounced him 68-75 in
the second en route to his third
U.S. Open and most recent
major victory.
Mickelson and Woods are
13-13-4 in head-to-head battles,
which can be riveting because of
the mind games that come into
play.
Theres nothing better than
having the honour, that feeling
of supremacy. Step up to the
tee and really give it a whack,
and youre in the head of your
opponent. On the flip side, its
easier to not think about getting
smoked when the guy smoking

you isnt teeing off ahead of you

all day. There are other games
to play, too, like putting out first
so the crowd moves before the
other guy finishes.
Mickelson and Woods both
have good reasons for wanting
to tame the long, narrow and
curvy Lake Course this week,
other than their inherent competitiveness.
Mickelson has finished
second in the U.S. Open
five times. He needs a win
to erase the horror of 2006,
when he blew his shot at victory on the 18th hole at Winged
Foot.
Woods, meanwhile, is seeking
his first major in four years
an eternity for him. He would
be able to move past so much
baggage in his life, from the sex
scandal to the spate of injuries,
if he is the one hoisting the
trophy on Sunday night. It
would also give him 15
majors, just three shy of
Nicklaus.
If theyre both at
their best, Mickelson
believes they will be
together for all four
rounds.
The one player

Im most concerned about if I

play my best golf who may have
a chance to beat me is Tiger,
Mickelson said.

U.S. Open
The Olympic Club, San Francisco, California

KIRK PENTON
QMI Agency

Chip shots
Alvaro Quiros had a hole-inone on the 288-yard, par-4 seventh hole during his Wednesday
practice round ... There will be a
unique starting point during the
first two rounds. Since the ninth
tee is next to the clubhouse,
groups will go off No. 1 and No.
9, instead of the usual No. 10 ...
Zhang had an official press conference Wednesday, and he did
well. I am shaking a little right
now sitting here, he said. I
heard Jack Nicklaus was sitting
in this chair this morning. Was
he? Yeah? So Im trying to get
used to this. Im not doing quite
well right now. ... USGA executive director Mike Davis, who sets
up the course, is pleased with the
shape of Olympic. The greens
are as good as any greens we
have seen at a U.S. Open. They
putt beautifully, he said. The
fairways are perfect. The rough
is aptly named; its rough. Were
just delighted. The players are
unlikely to feel the same way
come Thursday.

or Phil. Even though Mickelson

turns 42 Saturday and Woods is
36, were still in the midst of one
of golfs great rivalries, a la Arnie
and Jack, so be sure to soak it up.
The previous time they played
together was in February during the final round of the AT&T
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Mickelson shot a 64 and won the
tournament. Woods wobbled to
a 75.
The difference now is Woods
is playing much better and he
can also chew on this quote from
Mickelson, who was asked this
week how he felt after the Pebble
victory.
I dont know the feeling that
I had when I left, but I certainly
had a nice crystal trophy, he
said. That was nice.
The first shot had been fired
and they hadnt teed off yet.
kirk.penton@sunmedia.ca
twitter.com/PentonKirk

Calgarian
would Love
to play
SAN FRANCISCO Stephen
Ames isnt the only Canadian
who brought his clubs to the U.S.
Open this week.
He might be the only one to use
them on the course, however.
James Love, a 28-year-old Calgary native, is one of the alternates this week at Olympic Club,
so all he has been doing is practising and waiting.
It was freezing this morning
when I got here, Love said Wednesday. I figured maybe some of
the old guys might pull out, but I
havent been so lucky yet.
It has just been kind of, I dont
know, weird. You cant really prepare like youre going to play, but
you want to prepare so youre not
unprepared. It has kind of been
fun hanging around, but at this
point I just want to get in.
Love was the first alternate
after a 36-hole sectional qualifying event June 4 in Atlanta. The
USGA doesnt disclose its alternate list, but it is based on the
strength of field and number of
competitors at each sectional.
Love doesnt know how many
players away he is from getting
into the field, but a USGA official
indicated chances were slim.
Love was still waiting Wednesday afternoon.
Jordan Spieth, who helped
the University of Texas win the
recent NCAA mens golf tournament, and 14-year-old Andy
Zhang were the beneficiaries of
two withdrawals Monday. Both
are better stories than Loves.
The guys that have got in are,
I assume, the guys they would
want to get in, said Love, who
plays on the Nationwide Tour.
Maybe its coincidence, maybe
its not.
Love has been allowed to use
the range and putting green at
Olympic, but he cant play practice rounds. He has played the
course 10 or 11 times in his life,
but he knows he has never played
it as tough as the USGA has it set
up for the U.S. Open.
Love will report to the course
Thursday morning, just hoping
for the chance to play. He wasnt
sure what else to do.

Hes right. Defending champion Rory McIlroy, Watson,

world No. 1 Luke Donald and
No. 3 Lee Westwood are all fine
players, but they are not Tiger

Opens At
The Olympic Club
This will be the fth U.S. Open the Olympic
Club has hosted since 1955.
Previous Open winners at Olympic Club:
1955
Jack Fleck
+7
1966
Billy Casper
-2
1987
Scott Simpson -3
1998
Lee Janzen
E

Lake Course
7,170 yards, Par 70
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Out

Par
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
3
4
34

Yards
520
428
247
438
498
489
288
200
449
3,557

Hole
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
In

Most U.S. Open wins

Willie
Anderson
Robert T.
Jones Jr.
Ben
Hogan
Jack
Nicklaus
Hale
Irwin
Tiger
Woods

Par
4
4
4
3
4
3
5
5
4
36

Yards
424
430
451
199
419
154
670
522
344
3,613

373 yards added

since course last
hosted U.S. Open in
1998, including 670-yard
16th hole longest par 5
in history of event

Consecutive wins

Willie 1903
1901 1903 1904 1905 Anderson
John J. 1911
1923 1926 1929 1930 McDermott
RobertT.
1948 1950 1951 1953
Jones Jr. 1929
Ralph
1962 1967 1972 1980
Guldahl 1937
Ben
1974 1979 1990
1950

2000 2002 2008

1998 U.S. OPEN Final Results

Lee Janzen
73-66-73-68280
Payne Stewart 66-71-70-74281
Bob Tway
68-70-73-73284
Nick Price
73-68-71-73285
Tom Lehman
68-75-68-75286
Steve Stricker 73-71-69-73286
David Duval
75-68-75-69287
Jeff Maggert
69-69-75-74287
Lee Westwood 72-74-70-71287
Stuart Appleby 73-74-70-71288
Stewart Cink
73-68-73-74288
Phil Mickelson 71-73-74-70288
Jeff Sluman
72-74-74-68288

Hogan
Curtis
Strange

1904 1905
1912
1930
1938
1951
1988 1989

Most Top-Five nishes

Willie Anderson
Jack Nicklaus
Alex Smith
Walter Hagen
Ben Hogan
Arnold Palmer
Robert T. Jones Jr.
Gene Sarazen
Julius Boros

11
11
10
10
10
10
9
9
9

Oldest champion
Hale Irwin, 1990
45 years, 15 days

Youngest

John J. McDermott, 1911

19 years, 10 months, 14 days
Source: USGA
GRAPHIC NEWS/QMI AGENCY

Disabled golfer rides again

Getty Images

Casey Martin famously sued the PGA Tour in 1998 for the right to use
a cart during the U.S. Open. Now 40, he won a sectional qualifier for
the same tournament and will try to make the cut again.

SAN FRANCISCO Casey

Martin has qualified for two
major championships.
Both of them are U.S. Opens,
and both have taken place at
Olympic Club.
The 40-year-old golf coach at
the University of Oregon was in
the midst of a storm of controversy the last time he played in
the tournament, in 1998.
He suffers from Klippel
Trenaunay Weber syndrome,
where blood vessels fail to form
properly, in his right leg. Martin famously sued the PGA Tour
for the right to ride a cart during competition, winning the
case in 2001. The games greats,
the player he grew up idolizing,
fought against him.

Martin rode a cart in 1998

because the USGA allowed it,
and hell be riding again Thursday after winning a sectional
qualifier in Oregon earlier this
month. He harbours no ill will
toward anyone after what happened 14 years ago.
I try not to focus on it too
much, and I dont take it personally, Martin said. I realize
that there is another side to my
story, and . . . we can agree to
disagree.
Martin spent Tuesday and
Wednesday playing practice
rounds with his former Stanford
teammate, Tiger Woods. Martin
walks with a severe limp, and his
leg is not getting any better.
Im 40 now, and so this is at

that point where I didnt know if I

would ever really be able to keep
my leg, he said. So its not great.
When I wake up, I feel it. When I
get out of the golf cart, I feel it.
Martin tied for 23rd at the 1998
U.S. Open, and it has the potential to be the feel-good story of
the tournament if he can make
the cut again.
Im going to go compete,
give it my all, and see what that
means, he said. If that means
last place, thats what it means.
If it means first place, then its
not going to mean first place, but
. . . Im going to take whatever
I get and consider this a great
experience.
Kirk Penton