The Joy of Golf: World’s best pin their hopes on Pinehurst

Joy Chakravarty 14:24 12/06/2014
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  • The people’s favourite: Phil Mickelson has been runner-up at the US Open six times.

    It’s time for the second major of the year, and there are plenty of interesting storylines developing before the US Open makes its third return to Pinehurst’s fable No2 course this week.

    Here’s a look at some of the more intriguing ones that are worth following until Sunday:

    Phil Mickelson’s quest:

    Even if Tiger Woods was at Pinehurst this week, I doubt if he would have displaced Phil Mickelson as the biggest talking point of the tournament.

    Everyone seems to be excited about Lefty’s chances, and having had six runner-up finishes since 1999, he is clearly the sentimental favourite to win this year and become only the sixth player in the history of the game – the others being Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen, and Ben Hogan – to complete a career grand slam.

    But the big worry is his form going into the tournament. Mickelson is yet to record a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour this year, and the American shockingly missed the cut at both Masters and the Players Championship.

    Tiger Woods’ absence:
    Is going to be a huge blow for the tournament. Even though he is no longer the world No1 and he hasn’t won a major in six years, there is no doubt whatsoever that he remains the most sellable superstar in the game.

    There was a lot of anticipation how Woods would have performed at Pinehurst No2 at the beginning of the year, especially considering that he finished third in 1999 and second in 2005 there.

    When asked how he looked forward to the US Open in January, Woods said: “I’m trending the right way.”

    Which Rory will turn up?
    McIlroy is the favourite with the bookmakers on the eve of the US Open, but it will be interesting to see which Rory we see at Pinehurst.

    The 2011 champion has performed consistently, notching several top-10 finishes this year, but as he himself admits, most of them were “back-door entries”.

    What he will have to do is stop those couple of holes where he posts big numbers forcing himself to always playing catch up on the final day. On a US Open course one bad hole is enough to damage all the good work of 71 others.

    Will Pinehurst be Pine-hurt again?
    Don’t get lulled by the lack of rough at Pinehurst No2 this year. The thick stuff may be absent at a US Open venue for the first time in many years in its conventional form, but there is still enough danger beyond the fairways in the form of clumpy vegetation and sandy waste areas, and then there is always the famous upturned saucer greens.

    The last two winning scores were one-under par 279 for Payne Stewart in 1999 and an even-par 280 for Michael Campbell in 2005.

    Expect something similar this year too.

    Bubba going for slam:
    The most interesting thing about a US Open is that by the time it comes, only one player has a shot at achieving a true grand slam – the Masters champion of that year.

    In 2014, that happens to be Bubba Watson. However, there have been question marks about his ability on certain courses, and Pinehurst No2 is one of them.

    But honestly, considering how regularly he is hitting the fairways with that unusual swing of his, I won’t be surprised if Bubba adds to his growing legend this week.

    Will Spieth do a Rory?
    Jordan Spieth has just been sensational since the beginning of last yearwhen he gatecrashed his way into the PGA Tour from golfing oblivion.

    The 20-year-old is already considered a superstar, and there is a massive interest in knowing if he can come back from his Masters heartbreak and win the US Open, a la Rory McIlroy in 2011.

    What about the youth brigade?
    The 20-somethings were supposed to make a lot of noise at the Masters, but apart from Jordan Spieth, the rest were floored by the subtleties of Augusta National.

    Pinehurst will be a similar test, but the recent forms of Spieth, 22-year-old Hideki Matsuyama and Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler (both 25) have been encouraging.

    The richest man in the field:
    An interesting sidelight is the fact that the richest man inside the rope at Pinehurst will not be a player, but a caddie!

    Phil Mickelson has amassed several hundred millions during his long career on and off the course, but his wealth pales in comparison to the caddie of qualifier Maverick McNealy.

    That’s because Mavericks’ dad happens to be Scott McNealy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, who is worth more than a billion dollars.

    A keen golfer, Scott is on the bag this week after his son, who is a freshman at Stanford, qualified by shooting seven-under at the sectional qualifier in Daly City.

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