Letter from Pinehurst: Tiger Woods ready to silence laughable criticism of his special exemption

Get off Tiger’s lawn complaining about arguably the game’s greatest player getting the first of what deservedly should be as many free spots in the championship field as he wants.

LAUGHABLE CRITICISM: Tiger Woods speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Open golf tournament on Tuesday. Pic credit: AP Photo/Matt York.

Only three players in this week’s U.S. Open field at Pinehurst competed in the 1999 championship here on the No. 2 course.

There’s Phil Mickelson, who collected the first of his record six runner-ups that year. There’s Matt Kuchar, who was a star amateur about to embark on his long career.