US Open: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson duel

The United States Golf Association have often been accused of being staid, unimaginative, a group of old men in long-sleeved white shirts who still exist in the days of wooden shafts and knickers. That misconception will end once and for all during next week's US Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego.

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Mike Davis, the USGA senior director of rules and competition, has announced that the players first and second in the world rankings, Tiger and Phil - who needs last names? - will be grouped along with Adam Scott, the world No 3, in rounds one and two.

"Why not put them in the same wave?" Davis said. "The heck with what TV wants. Let's do what we want for the championship."

What Tiger Woods wanted after missing six weeks of competitive golf after surgery on his left knee on April 15 was to get in a round of golf. And Wednesday he did that on Torrey's South Course, playing 17 holes riding in a buggy. He skipped the last hole when he saw people with cameras waiting around the 18th green.

Woods and Mickelson, who grew up not far from the course, have spectacular records at Torrey, an upgraded municipal layout where the Buick Invitational is played each January.

Tiger, 32, has won the Buick six times in all, the last four in a row. That includes this year's runaway victory by eight shots. It is a meaningful note that after previous surgery on the same left knee in December 2002, Tiger's return to the tour was at the 2003 Buick, which he won.

Mickelson, 37, has three wins in the Buick, in 1993, 2000 and 2001. This year he finished sixth.

Torrey Pines, named after the small tree native to the area, is one of the busiest municipal courses in America, with some 170,000 rounds on the two courses annually. But it has been closed since May 21, so Woods and his instructor, Hank Haney, were virtually alone.

"We were the only ones out there," Haney said. "The course is in phenomenal condition."

And Woods' condition? "Everything held up good. Obviously, he didn't walk. But he hit the ball really good."

The USGA's Davis said of the groupings: "This year we got to thinking, 'Isn't it kind of crummy we've never had the two guys ranked one and two in the world in the same wave?' Weather can affect outcomes in the US Open. It could be windy in the morning or firm in the afternoon."

If Davis was not worried about TV, maybe it is because he knows American television already has the tournament in a vice grip. Attempting to increase the audience on a June weekend when people are out of their homes during the afternoon, NBC decided to have play on Saturday and Sunday end at 7pm local time, which is 10pm in eastern cities and 3am in the UK.

The last time the US Open ran even close to that late was in 2002, when, because of a rain delay and NBC's insistence on late starting times, play at Bethpage on the east coast did not finish until 8.40pm (1.40am in the UK).

There will be no rain in southern California in June, but there could be fog. Torrey Pines is on a bluff above the Pacific, although the water is warmer than that of Pebble Beach 400 miles north and the climate is milder.

Davis said that once they had decided to put Woods and Mickelson together, it was an easy choice to match up others high in the world rankings. Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie Els and Justin Rose will be the same grouping, while Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and K J Choi will be in another and Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Stewart Cink in another. Three leading English hopes - Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Luke Donald - are also drawn together.

"If there was a right year to do this," Davis said about Tiger and Phil, "this was it."

Tiger's US Open recordTiger Woods has won the US Open twice: in 2000 at Pebble Beach, by an astonishing 15 shots, then in 2002 at Bethpage, by three strokes over Phil Mickelson.In the 11 US Opens he has entered as a professional, Woods also has two second places – last year and in 2005 – and a third in 1999, when Payne Stewart won. Woods has missed the cut only once in 45 majors as a professional – in the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot.He had missed the previous five PGA Tour events following the death of his father from cancer.

Source : www.telegraph.co.uk
by Art Spander