Els Has the Credentials, Game for Open Repeat

Yes, you know how the typical U.S. Open course is set up. Some guy with wild hair, wearing a white laboratory jacket and carrying a sack of fertilizer did it.

With fairways so narrow you have to walk single-file to get through, rough high enough to lose a caddie and greens as small and as hard as jawbreakers, the U.S. Open is tough enough to win once.

But to win twice . . . in a row?

Since 1919 when the Open resumed after World War I, only four players--none of them named Nicklaus--have been able to do it.

Bobby Jones in 1929-30, Ralph Guldahl in 1937-38, Ben Hogan in 1950-51 and Curtis Strange in 1988-89.

Now it’s Ernie Els’ turn to give it a try, June 18-21 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. The 28-year-old South African knows enough about the Olympic to show a little respect.

“It’s going to be very tough,” he said.

Els has a few things going for him, though. He is a two-time U.S. Open champion. In 1994, Els beat Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts in a playoff at Oakmont, and last year he birdied the 71st hole to take his lead and outlast Montgomerie, Tom Lehman and Jeff Maggert down the stretch at Congressional.

Els also hits the ball a ton, he’s strong enough to advance it out of the rough, he’s creative around the greens and he can putt. If you’re looking for a U.S. Open blueprint, that’s it.

Els, who missed the cut in 1995 in his first attempt at a repeat, said his second Open title gave him more focus and changed him forever.

“I really got new desire for the game after that. I just felt maybe my level of play went up a little bit and I felt more confident, maybe a little bit more mature as a golfer and a bit more serious about my game.”

GOOD COOK

When John Cook won the GTE Byron Nelson last week, he had four rounds in the 60s. It was the first time he had four rounds in the 60s all year.

Nobody saw it coming, either. The week before at Houston, he had a 10 on one hole, shot an 80 in the first round and missed the cut.

SICK LIST

Davis Love III withdrew from his second consecutive tournament, the MasterCard Colonial at Fort Worth, because of a bad back. Steve Elkington is still out because of viral meningitis.

BRAD THE ELDER

From Tom Kite to Ben Crenshaw to . . . Brad Elder? The 21-year-old University of Texas golfer turned pro this week and entered the Colonial to make his pro debut. Elder, the 1997 Jack Nicklaus College Player of the Year and Walker Cup member, was a two-time first-team All-American at Texas.

He already has accepted sponsors’ invitations to play in the Memorial at Dublin, Ohio, and Kemper Open at Potomac, Md.

COURT CART NEWS

Ford Olinger, 31, the Indiana golfer who won a temporary court injunction to use a cart at U.S. Open qualifying in South Bend, Ind., shot an 83 this week and failed to advance.

But Olinger is moving on anyway. He plans to pursue his suit against the U.S. Golf Assn. Olinger, who has a degenerative hip condition, has a hearing in South Bend on Tuesday.

YOU CAN’T TOP THIS

Peter Oosterhuis made his senior tour debut last week at the St. Luke’s Classic in Belton, Mo. On the first tee, he topped his shot and it rolled 50 yards. Oosterhuis finished at 22 over par, 24 shots behind winner Larry Ziegler.

HISTORY LESSON

When he won the first of his two Masters titles in 1937, Byron Nelson says he wasn’t exactly overrun by media. In fact, he was interviewed by only one reporter, the legendary O.B. Keeler.

There were more than 400 print reporters alone with credentials for this year’s Masters.

PUTTER SPUTTERS

Normally when Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam is on the green, she makes putting look so easy, she could probably use a snow shovel to get the ball in the hole. But not any more.

She has putter problems.

In the three tournaments before last week’s McDonald’s LPGA Championship, Sorenstam had top-10 finishes using a Never Compromise mallet-model putter. But last week, she putted with an Odyssey and finished tied for 30th. Odyssey is produced by Callaway, her major sponsor. Callaway said it put no pressure on Sorenstam to use the Odyssey putter.

“She was experimenting,” Callaway’s Larry Dorman said. “She’s not obligated to use an Odyssey, but she used one before when she was the best player on the tour. She was under no pressure from us. She just hasn’t been putting very well. Maybe that’s why she was goofing around.”

PAK IT IN

Even before 20-year-old South Korean Se Ri Pak earned $195,000 for winning the LPGA Championship, a major, she was already well off. Pak signed a 10-year endorsement deal with Samsung electronics before she hit a ball on tour.

Pak is the first rookie whose first tour victory was a major since Liselotte Neumann won the 1988 U.S. Open. She is the third-youngest player to win a major on the LPGA Tour. Patty Berg won the 1937 Titleholders at 19, and Betty Hicks won the 1937 Western Open at 17.

There were no journalists from Korea covering Pak the first two days of the tournament, but two dozen showed up Saturday. Pak, a former 100-meter sprinter, has played golf for only six years. It took her three years to break par.

ANYONE ELSE? (WOODS)

At his age, Els said he is in his prime, but Tiger Woods is on a different timetable.

“I mean, he’s 22 and he’s already in his prime. And he’s probably going to get even better.”

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

Engelbert Humperdinck, Danny DeVito, Joe Pesci and Hal Linden are expected to play in the Danny Arnold Memorial Golf Classic, July 27 at Valencia Country Club. The event benefits the John Wayne Cancer Institute. Details: (818) 985-0040. . . . The Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Commission will hold a public hearing June 1 at Diamond Bar Golf Club on the county golf system, including a move to increase green fees $1 on weekdays and $2 on weekends.