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Tiger back competing

None other than Dick Schaap called it “The Massacre at Winged Foot.”

In 1974, Hale Irwin won the U.S. Open Championship at the Winged Foot golf course in Mamaroneck, New York with a final score of 7-over. Perhaps shamed by Johnny Miller’s final-round 63 to win the 1973 Open, officials made sure 1974 would be different. The rough was thick enough to stop a jeep, and the putting greens were like glass. Jack Nicklaus had a 20-foot putt on the first green on the first day; he ran it 30 feet past the hole.

The short game should once again be an adventure as Winged Foot prepares to host its fifth and first since 1984. Officials have already indicated the second cut of rough will be 5 ½ inches deep, and the greens are being groomed to record a “12” on the Stimpmeter, a modified version of the late golfer Edward S. Stimpson’s device that has been used since 1978. Anything 10 or above on the Stimpmeter is considered too fast for typical golf.

“I only played nine holes on Monday and what I saw was brutal,” defending champion Michael Campbell told reporters earlier this week. “It’s going to be up there with the thickest and deepest rough I’ve seen.”

As difficult as officials might like to make Winged Foot this week, Mother Nature seems intent on giving the golfers a break. There has been plenty of rain in Mamaroneck over the past two weeks. Conditions are relatively soft as a result, and they should remain that way for Thursday’s opening round. The forecast calls for rain with some thundershowers on the horizon for Saturday. That should be music to Campbell’s ears. He’s failed to make the cut in each of his last three PGA Tour events, leaving him an afterthought when it comes to handicapping this year’s U.S. Open. Campbell was listed at –110 in a head-to-head matchup with Thomas Bjorn (-120) and –105 against Billy Mayfair (-125), neither of whom has done much of note on the PGA Tour.

The main storyline at Winged Foot sees Tiger Woods making his first tournament appearance since finishing third at the Masters in April. He’s also playing for the first time since his father, Earl Woods, succumbed to prostate cancer on May 3. The public is solidly behind Woods, crowning him the favorite to collect his third U.S. Open. “On weeks like this, it’s always nice to get support because the golf courses are so brutal,” Woods told reporters. “These greens are some of the most severe you’ll ever face.”

Heading into Thursday’s proceedings, Woods was available at –125 in a matchup with his golfing archrival, Phil Mickelson (–105). Tiger was also on tap at –160 against Vijay Singh (+130) and –180 versus Retief Goosen (+150). Goosen figures to be the value pick in this situation. He’s also looking for his third U.S. Open title, having won the event in 2001 and 2004. Goosen won’t be intimidated by Winged Foot; he’s ranked 12th overall on the PGA Tour in scrambling ability, making par or better 63.1 percent of the time after missing the green in regulation. The South Africa native is also 29th in putting, and he’s no lightweight off the tee either at 292.1 yards per drive. That all-around quality should serve Goosen well this week.

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