They Might Have to Call It Pinehurt

By THOMAS BONK

June 19, 1999 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

PINEHURST, N.C. —

So how difficult was it Friday at the U.S. Open?

Well, the pin placements were . . . what would you call them, Jim Furyk?

“Brutal would be a good word,” he said.

And every time the ball became airborne, it was what, Jeff Maggert?

“Plain windy,” he said.

Meanwhile, the second-round scores went up more quickly than you could say Donald Ross, Pinehurst No. 2 behaved more like Public Enemy No. 1 and three of the biggest names in golf left for the day, secure in their courtesy cars, seat-buckled together in a three-way tie for the lead.

Payne Stewart, David Duval and Phil Mickelson are showing the way at three-under-par 137, even though Stewart was the only one of the three to break par Friday. He felt downright giddy about it too.

“I’m doing a pretty decent job,” he said.

So, too, is Tiger Woods, whose one-over 71 didn’t seem so fierce when he signed his scorecard, but it turned out to be good enough to launch him into a position to actually challenge at the U.S. Open for the first time.

He’s not alone. Woods, Hal Sutton, Vijay Singh and Billy Mayfair are only two shots behind at one-under 139.

Of course, Woods would have preferred a few more birdies, but the first two days at the U.S. Open tend to disallow that kind of thinking.

“If you go out and make 36 straight pars, you’re looking all right,” he said. “And not too many tournaments nowadays can you do that. You make 36 straight pars and you’re probably about 18 back.”

Duval was resilient in his round of 70 when you consider he came back from a double bogey on the par-three sixth hole, where he hit a bunker shot over the green. But considering the conditions, he said he is pleased to start today tied for the lead.

“The wind just made it that much more difficult,” Duval said.

And Mickelson stayed on course on the back side when he could have slid the other way, finishing with a 70 that matched Duval.

“Par is ultimately the person you want to compare yourself to or the score you want to compare yourself to,” Mickelson said.

It wasn’t as if Friday’s conditions were a secret or anything. The sun was shining, which meant it wasn’t raining, and pine needles were flying all over the place, which meant the wind was blowing.

Of course, this changed just about everything at Pinehurst. Woods knew right away that it was going to be a much tougher day than Thursday.

“The wind’s up and it’s blowing in the trees,” he said.

The difference in scoring between the first round and second round was a huge as Tim Herron’s waistline.

First-round scoring average: 72.857, 23 players under par. Second-round scoring average: 75.442, three players under par.

If you’re keeping score at home, you’ve got to give this round to Pinehurst.

Stewart just hitched up his plus fours, tugged on the bill of his cap, threw a neat little 69 at Pinehurst in the morning, then sat back and waited for everybody else to get smoked here along Tobacco Road.

Stewart birdied the par-five fourth hole after he knocked a sand wedge to two feet and solved a difficult pin placement at No. 7 with another birdie, this one from 12 feet. By then, Stewart was two shots ahead of the field, but he gave it back with consecutive bogeys when he missed the fairway at No. 8 and drove into a bunker at No. 9.

The rest of the way was semi-uneventful for Stewart, except for the 18-foot birdie putt he made at No. 15. On the other eight holes on the back, Stewart made par, which is a good score, as we have been told all week.

It’s a worthwhile philosophy for the U.S. Open, Stewart said.

“I take my par and go, because you’re not losing to anybody,” said Stewart, the 1991 Open winner who led after three rounds at the Olympic Club last year. “You’re not losing to the field on any hole if you’re making par.”

Then there is Woods, who prefers not to lose to anybody on any hole and accepted his 71 as something of a rite of passage. At 139 through 36 holes, Woods finds himself in his best position in the five times he has played the U.S. Open.

His best result at the Open was last year, when he tied for 18th.

At Pinehurst, Woods had a three-bogey, two-birdie day. He didn’t make a birdie after the 10th hole, but it didn’t matter as the round wore on because few others had any better luck.

“I’m very pleased just to be under par,” he said. “I know how difficult it is out there, and everyone else does, as well. But you have to hang in there. You have to keep grinding it out and making the pars.”

What’s more, he accomplished it despite some pin locations he didn’t exactly enjoy.

“You go out there and look at [No.] 5,” Woods said. “You’re going to see something that’s kind of borderline.

“These greens are very severe. Most of the pins are in places where if you hit it too hard, [the ball] will go up and over and possibly into a bunker, so you have to be very careful.”

Many were not careful enough. One shot off the lead after the first round, John Daly turned in a 77 and begins today eight shots behind. The cut claimed such notable casualties as Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Lee Westwood, Mark O’Meara, Fred Couples, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus and Fuzzy Zoeller.

Back at the top of the chart, the last two pairings today are feature matchups: Mickelson and Woods, Duval and Stewart. As a group, they will test pin placements and resumes, history and wind. And, yes, they’re going to have to be careful, because that’s par around here too.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

U.S. OPEN LEADERBOARD

at Pinehurst, N.C.--Par 70

PAYNE STEWART

68-69--137: -3

DAVID DUVAL

67-70--137: -3

PHIL MICKELSON

67-70--137: -3

TIGER WOODS

68-71--139: -1

HAL SUTTON