Endurance test will find worthy winner

JUSTIN HICKS and Mike Streelman leading the US Open after round one on the longest and arguably the most difficult course the players have ever encountered. What does that say about the championship?

The USGA like to make things as difficult as possible believing, in their own words, that “this is the way to identify the best player”.

Does it work like that? Does it hell! Three years ago at Pinehurst, New Zealander Michael Campbell came out on top, proving too strong down the stretch for none other than Tiger Woods. The trouble, of course, is that Campbell had done virtually nothing in the preceding five or six years and had to abandon his plans to play the US Tour and return to the relative security of Europe. However, that strategy has backfired as well.