My money’s on
Phil Mickelson – Nobody has a more creative short game, and this is a short-game course.
Five to watch
1. Phil Mickelson – Finished one stroke behind champion Payne Stewart at Pinehurst in 1999 U.S. Open.
2. Tiger Woods – Another short-game wizard; third here in 1999.
3. Vijay Singh – Needs U.S. Open and British Open to complete career Grand Slam.
4. Retief Goosen – Two-time U.S. Open champion always seems to be overlooked.
5. Ernie Els – Another two-time winner posted top-10s the past two years.
Five dark horses
1. Sergio Garcia – Highest in world golf rankings (sixth) to never win a major.
2. Chris DiMarco – Lost in playoffs in past two majors, the 2004 PGA Championship and 2005 Masters.
3. David Toms – 2001 PGA champion hits greens in regulation, a big key here.
4. Jeff Maggert – Plays the U.S. Open well: seven top-10s in 14 appearances.
5. Ryan Moore – Former UNLV star and dominant amateur turns pro next week.
Most likely to disappoint
Davis Love III – Not playing at a championship level, has missed cut in past two U.S. Opens and three of past five, but did finish 12th at Pinehurst in 1999.
Most unlikely qualifier
Pierre-Henri Soero – A 21-year-old amateur, Soero is a sophomore at the University of Hawaii who played golf in Paris while earning his high school diploma. He resides in Noumea, New Caledonia, a French colony located north of the Tropic of Capricorn between Fiji and Australia.
2005 participants who missed the Pinehurst cut in 1999
Two-time champion Retief Goosen, two-time champion Ernie Els, 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir, 2001 PGA champion David Toms, 2000 World Match Play champion Lee Westwood, 2003 PGA champion Shaun Micheel, 1996 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones, 2005 Players Championship winner Fred Funk.
Almost double the money
Payne Stewart earned $625,000 for winning the 1999 U.S. Open. On Sunday, the 2005 champion will receive $1,170,000.
Winning first two legs
Tiger Woods is bidding to add the U.S. Open to his 2005 Masters victory. Woods won the first two legs of a professional Grand Slam in 2002. Others who have accomplished that feat are Craig Wood (1941), Ben Hogan (1951, 1953), Arnold Palmer (1960) and Jack Nicklaus (1972).
Memory lane
Jay Haas, the oldest player (51) in the field, won the 1982 World Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
Most likely to break through
England’s Luke Donald, who played college golf at Northwestern and is tied with Tiger Woods for fourth in the PGA Tour statistics in hitting greens in regulation.
Conspicuous by his absence
Tom Kite saw his streak of 31 consecutive U.S. Open appearances end after he failed to get through sectional qualifying. The longest active streak belongs to 1995 U.S. Open champion Corey Pavin, who is making his 16th consecutive appearance in the tournament.
The Sarge
Orville Moody (1969) is the last U.S. Open champion who had to go through local qualifying. He later would run Lake Arbor Golf Course in Arvada.
Where has he gone?
Lee Janzen, U.S. Open champion in 1993 and 1998, has finished no better than 24th in the Open since his last victory.
Euro drought
A European hasn’t been crowned U.S. Open champion since England’s Tony Jacklin in 1970. Retief Goosen, the 2001 and 2004 winner, plays on the European Tour but is a South African.
