This Looks Like a Setup for Woods

Is this U.S. Open an open-and-shut case for Tiger Woods? Better get ready, because that’s what it’s shaping up to be.

Start with the designer. If he was supposed to Tiger-proof Bethpage Black, then Rees Jones did a lousy job. But Jones, who reworked this woodsy Long Island course to get it ready for the U.S. Open, had no such mission. He only wanted to make it longer and tougher, which are two conditions that suit exactly whom?

“Tiger, of course,” Jones said.

It’s not that Jones tailored the course to suit Woods, either, but when the 102nd U.S. Open begins Thursday at the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, Woods’ chances couldn’t be much better. His power advantage off the tee is so great that he should be hitting shorter clubs than anyone else into the hard greens, which means he has a better chance of preventing his golf balls from rolling off.

It is not a small edge, says Jose Maria Olazabal.

“Yes, for Tiger, to hit the ball long is going to be crucial on this golf course because you need the short irons to those greens.”

Now consider the setup. The two longest par-four holes in U.S. Open history are among the first three holes Woods will play Thursday--the 492-yard 10th and the 499-yard 12th. But during his practice round Tuesday, Woods hit driver and six-iron on No. 10 and driver and a five-iron on No. 12.

Said Woods: “It’s going to be tough to get off to a positive start, but you’re going to have to, somehow.”

It’s the same drill for everybody. Bethpage Black measures 7,214 yards--the longest U.S. Open course ever--and plays to a par of 70. The record shows that Woods is 0 for 8 in majors on a par-70 course.

The list includes the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional in Bethesda, Md. (tie for 19th), and the PGA Championship at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (tie for 29th); the 1998 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco (tie for 18th), British Open at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England (third), and PGA Championship at Sahalee in Redmond, Wash. (tie for 10th); the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, N.C. (tie for third); and the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills in Tulsa (tie for 12th) and PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club (tie for 29th).

If that is supposed to be a statistic bothersome to Woods, he doesn’t sound concerned.

“Well, actually, I think it gives me more of an advantage, to be honest with you,” he said.

Woods said if he drives in the fairway, he’s going to have shorter irons into the greens. Shorter irons mean higher trajectory and that translates into an edge for Woods.

“When you get par-fours over 480 yards like they are here this week, you are going to have to be able to bring the ball in high,” he said.

Eddie Merrins, the pro at Bel-Air Country Club, watched Woods practice Tuesday and said Woods is clearly the player to beat. He compared Bethpage Black to Baltusrol in Springfield, N.J., where Jack Nicklaus won the U.S. Open in 1967 and in 1980.

“I think Bethpage suits Tiger better than any of the other three majors this year,” Merrins said. “He can spray the ball a little bit here and still score.”

At the same time, Woods isn’t the only power hitter in the U.S. Open field, just the most dominant. Ernie Els, a two-time U.S. Open champion, can knock the ball a long way, and so can Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, David Duval, Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia.

Move on to what’s at stake: Woods is the only player in the field who has the chance to continue on a Grand Slam pace.

He won the Masters in April and a victory this week would put him halfway toward a possible Grand Slam with the British Open at Muirfield in Gullane, Scotland, and the PGA Championship at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minn., still to come.

Woods says he isn’t buying into other peoples’ expectations.

“The only thing I can do is go out there and play and give it my best,” he said. “Whether that puts higher expectations, I really don’t know. I think that everyone here and the public is going to have to decide that. I think for my own expectation level, I come to every tournament to try to win and that’s what I’m going to try to do this week again.”

Sounds fair enough.

NBC analyst Johnny Miller says besides Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black suits Woods more than any other venue for the U.S. Open.

“I would think this is an absolute great course for Tiger,” Miller said. “I believe the Open will always be the hardest one for him to win, but of all the Opens I’ve seen besides Pebble, this one looks like it sets up perfectly for his game. Not too much wind, a lot of forced carries over big bunkers, more room off the tee, the drives are not tricky or funky.

“The greens, he can handle any greens, but these greens are pretty benign. They are fast, but they are very, very flat.”

Woods is sometimes a streaky putter, but the secret to rolling the ball successfully at Bethpage Black is to read them correctly, an area where Woods excels. When he won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the greens were bumpy, but Woods was able to solve them nonetheless.

So if there is an early indication of what’s in store for Woods, follow his progress on the greens. Everything else, we already know, or at least think we do.