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USGA's Davis deserves kudos Thursday, Jun 12, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - Mike Davis' "No" deserves a Marv Albert "Yesssss." Davis, the man responsible for setting up Torrey Pines for the U.S. Open this week, held firm on the 18th being a reachable par five and that decision has put positives into play for those trying to win the tournament. In recent Opens, No. 18 has been a long par-four pockmarked with failures and attrition. Last year at Oakmont, No. 18 was 484 yards with a strip of fairway. Champion Angel Cabrera finished with a regulation par - effective, but not very dramatic - and even Tiger Woods had little chance to make three to tie. For the week, No. 18 was the most difficult hole on the course, averaging 4.602. The year before at Winged Foot, the 18th was even more cruel to those with a chance although the gag reflex might have been in play when Jim Furyk missed a short par putt, Colin Montgomerie misfired from the middle of the fairway, and Phil Mickelson spent too much time in the left trees. Eventual champion Geoff Ogilvy parred the hole and picked up almost a half-stroke on the field. He shot 285, one better than Furyk, Montgomerie, and Mickelson. This week, No. 18 is 573 yards and Davis has said that even the medium-long will have a chance to go for the green in two, bringing the possibility of eagle into play. The green slopes toward a pond in front, but at least the hole presents an opportunity to show some gumption and take a chance instead of hunkering down to fight for a par. "From a personal standpoint, nothing would please me more than to see giant swings in scoring on this hole," Davis, the director of rules and competition for the USGA, told CBSSports.com. "A player eagling the 72nd hole to win would be a dream come true." As much as I like the fact that the best players in the world are penalized for wild shots in the U.S. Open, it's refreshing and intriguing that somebody could actually win on the final hole with a birdie or better. Three years ago, Davis and the Open took a leap forward with the introduction of graduated rough - the wilder the tee shot, the deeper the stuff, and the more difficult the recovery. Previously, a player who barely missed the fairway often had no option but to wedge back to the short grass. Now, he can go for the green from the first cut of rough; he just can't be positive his three-quarter wedge will go a prescribed distance and stop. Davis gets kudos on a couple of other fronts. The USGA has grouped the top 12 players in the world in four threesomes, a departure from the norm of sprinkling the "name" players throughout the day for television. "The heck with what TV wants," Davis told The Associated Press. "Let's do what we want for the championship." No. 1 Tiger Woods, No. 2 Phil Mickelson, and No. 3 Adam Scott go at 10:06 a.m. today, and I plan to be in front of one of the office TVs when the telecast comes on at noon. Other groups include Ernie Els, Justin Rose, and Ogilvy; Stewart Cink, Sergio Garcia, and Vijay Singh; and K.J. Choi, Furyk, and Steve Stricker. In addition, Davis will make use of various tees to eliminate day-to-day stagnation. And, he is considering moving the tees way up on one par-four to tempt the players to go for the green with driver. No. 2, at 389 yards, the only par-four less than 400 yards, is the most likely candidate. Furyk played himself out of the tournament last year when he capitulated on the 71st hole and went for the green from a tee set up to tempt. Davis set the stage for a good show; now it's up to the main characters. ---- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
