Pebble isn’t bluffing
Without rough, shots could sail over cliff
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – One shot that stands out from the last U.S. Open at Pebble Beach was the 7-iron that Tiger Woods gouged out of the right rough on the par-5 sixth, a blind shot over the hill and onto the green to turn trouble into birdie.
He might not get so lucky if it happens this year.
That famous meeting of land and sea is a lot more intimate at this U.S. Open.
In a subtle change that could put even more fear into Pebble Beach, the USGA opted to eliminate the rough on six holes along the Pacific coastline, allowing errant shots to go over the cliff and into the biggest water hazard in golf.
“If the wind is into us on those holes, you’re going to see a lot of fun and games,” Ernie Els said. “I actually hit one onto the beach the other day on the 10th hole. If you just leak it there, there’s no way. The cliff comes into the fairway a little bit and from the tee, you might think you can fly it over that side. But you can’t. Or at least I can’t.”
Els didn’t go down to the beach to play his next shot. It was a practice round. Besides, “I don’t know if I would have come back up.”
Padraig Harrington knows where not to hit his tee shot on the sixth hole. He pushed it a little bit to the right during the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February and watched it tumble over the bluffs and onto the rocks at Stillwater Cove.
“I’m not sure if it’s playable to the right,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t playable then.”
That’s just one more element for Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and the rest of the 156-man field to contend with when the 110th U.S. Open gets under way today.
Pebble Beach already is a severe test with its tiny greens, already so firm that the USGA put water on them before the final practice round Wednesday to keep them from dying by the weekend. The forecast is for cool temperatures and no rain all week, although there is no predicting whether a marine layer will keep the sun off the Monterey Peninsula.
Only one player broke par the last time – Woods with an unfathomable 12-under 272 to win by 15 shots.
Pebble is as beautiful as ever this week. It figures to be a brutal test at the U.S. Open.