Same course, new cast of players at Pinehurst

The sounds at Pinehurst (North Carolina) No. 2 were the first indication that the second U.S. Open would not be exactly the same as the first one. The first day of practice for the U.S. Women’s Open featured the clanging of workers removing half of the grandstands around the 18th green. The Women’s Open gets started today ( noon, ESPN2) in golf’s version of a doubleheader. Just four days after Martin Kaymer won his second major at the U.S. Open, players from 53-year-old Juli Inkster to 11-year-old Lucy Li take a crack at Pinehurst No. 2. It’s the first time in history that men and women have competed on the same course in back-to-back weeks at a major. – AP