Tiger must rise to challenge of testing Hills

WITH the obvious exception of Pebble Beach, there is every reason to believe that the USGA has brought its Open Championship to the most spectacular venue on the rota.

The sun came out yesterday, the wind freshened and Shinnecock Hills shone in all its majesty.

The views of the course from the clubhouse area and the grandstands surrounding the 9th and 18th greens were nothing short of awesome and, with very few exceptions, every one of the 156 players was palpably looking forward to what the week might bring, even if some were finding it difficult to express outright admiration for the lay-out.

Tiger Woods, struggling for not alone his first major title since the US Open at nearby Bethpage Park in 2002 but also to hold on to his seemingly unrivalled status as the perennial world number one, competed in his first US Open here in 1995 and even though he had to withdraw because of a wrist injury, he still has happy memories of the occasion. It was a great experience, he said, because of playing the practice rounds with some major championship winners that year.

"It is one I will always remember because it was such a great tournament", he said. "They've cut back the rough around the greens a little more. Some of the runoffs are fake because you won't end up in the fairway cut. It's shaped more like a links. They've taken out a lot of trees and bushes and it's very much like a British Open. You can actually putt from 30, 40 yards off the green if you so choose. That's certainly not the case at any other Open venue we play."

One minute Woods was enthusing about the course, the next he didn't seem so sure. He claimed that "you look at most of the greens, they kind of repel golf shots, they don't really accept them. With the knobs in the greens, you have a lot of falloffs. With the wind blowing as it is, one little gust could mean 20, 30 yards. You roll off that far and have no shot, you do well to make bogey. Good shots sometimes aren't rewarded and that's something you have to accept and move on. Hit a nice quality shot which you thought was perfect and it ends up in a spot from where you're hoping to make bogey. Par is never going to be a bad score out there."

When it comes to politeness, good manners and an even temper, you couldn't ask for anything better than a Tiger Woods press conference. He keeps being interrogated about his failure in the majors over the past couple of years, television stations and analysts continually tear his swing to pieces, old allies like Butch Harmon hint at how much he has changed for the worse both as a golfer and a person. He is rarely more than firm in responding to yet further questions.

"Am I tired of it? Yeah", he asserted yesterday with calm assurance. "Every tournament I go to, you ask the same questions. I know I haven't played to my absolute peak but who does, week in and week out? As for the analysts, a lot of the time they don't understand what I'm working on. Everyone's opinion of a nice swing is different. They watch one shot and analyse. I think it's pretty funny when they take out a shot I hit in 2000 and compare it with a shot I hit this year. They don't know if I'm hitting a fade or a draw."

Like everybody else, Masters champion Phil Mickelson is completely taken at the manner in which the grass surrounding the greens has been shaved. He says he is very pleased at the way the course sets up and even happier to answer a question phrased: "Are you the best player to win only one major?" With a huge smile, Mickelson, who of course finally broke his duck at the Masters, responded: "That is such a nice question to answer, so much nicer than the ones in the past. I don't have an answer but it just sounds a lot better."

He added, though, that "when Tiger reaches his level of play, he is still almost unstoppable. We're still trying to get to that level where we can compete with him when he's playing his best. "I don't know what the winning total will be but I just don't see how anybody can shoot around par unless it rains", he said.

"The best players should be able to come out on top in the more difficult circumstances because the luck factor has been taken out of it with the short game included. The area where luck is involved is in the bunkers.

"There's so many rocks in the sand that balls shoot everywhere. They come out with no spin and you really want to avoid them. I've ruined two wedges in five rounds."

Tough, that, but Phil really wasn't complaining. As he mused, "it's just amazing what has changed in the last two months. We go from 'will he ever win a major' to 'is he going to win the grand slam'.

"I've had two months to relish the Masters. I was at a Rolex dinner last night where they replayed that final putt. I got chills looking at it. It's an awesome memory."

Woods wager

BRITAIN'S largest betting firm has given Tiger Woods his most generous odds going into a major since 1997.

Ladbrokes is offering 6-1 for a Woods victory at this week's US Open at Shinnecock Hills.

Ladbrokes odds compiler Brad Barry said: "I expect it's the biggest price available on earth for Tiger to win. We have put him in at 4-1 or 5-1 for a lot of recent events and not seen much interest, so we have pushed the boat out this week."