2010 U.S. Open Preview: If Not Tiger Woods At Pebble Beach, Then Who?

Feedbox 2010 U.S. Open Preview: If Not Tiger Woods At Pebble Beach, Then Who?

The world's top-ranked player is set to tee it up at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, a course where he's had historic success. But Tiger Woods' struggles could open the door for Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood or a surprise winner, writes Waggle Room's Ryan Ballengee.

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Jun 16, 2010 - In the Catholic faith, every 50 years is a jubilee year for the Church. The year marks a renewal of the faith community. It allows for the cleansing of sins of any believer who walks through the pathways to sacred places, like cathedrals. The jubilee is an opportunity to rejuvenate and refocus.


For the sport of golf -- particularly in the American national championship -- Pebble Beach represents that sacred tradition. The United States Golf Association has made a commitment to the Monterey seaside links since it first played host to the U.S. Open in 1972. Jack Nicklaus took the title that year, the next-to-last time he'd win that championship. Ten years later, the national championship returned. Nicklaus' form did, too, but he fell short to rival Tom Watson, who won his lone U.S. Open on familiar ground. Another decade passed before Tom Kite survived to win the 1992 Open.

Were it not for millenial symmetry, the U.S. Open would have been at Pebble Beach next in 2002. Instead, the U.S.GA selected Pebble to host the 100th U.S. Open to launch a new millennium in a true jubilee year. The timing was fortunate for the sport. Tiger Woods was playing the best stretch of golf in his career. Facing mostly benevolent conditions, unlike much of the field, Woods won the national title by 15 clear of second place. His staggering -12 finishing total is quickly growing in stature as the greatest four days of golf ever played.

Ten years later, a new era in golf may be ushered in with this outdoor jubilee of a tournament.

Woods, hanging onto the official No. 1 ranking by a thread, is no longer the obvious favorite. After having his life ravaged since last November at his own doing, Woods' game and form are in no position to win an Open for the fourth time. Observers say Woods is all over the links in his early practice, indicating that his neck nor his swing have recovered from the sure stress that consumes his personal and professional life.

Yet, this is an opportunity for Woods to walk through the door into a new era of his career. The conditions at Pebble are so firm that Wood on Tuesday said that he may be able to avoid the driver that remains untrustworthy in major conditions. If the course continues to play as it does, Woods off the tee could use a 3 wood and the 2 iron he inserted into his bag this week. Having won majors on multiple occasions by playing a very controlled style, Woods may be a sneaky contender if the weather is as helpful to him this week as it was a decade ago.

(Click here for the 2010 U.S. Open tee times for the first two rounds)

Were Woods to win this week, he would have not only his fourth Open but his fifteenth major championship. It would almost certainly silence the critics that wonder aloud if Woods' game and stamina have dropped off a cliff as steep as the ones that many of Pebble's iconic holes rest upon.

For perhaps only the second time in his career, Phil Mickelson may be the clear favorite at the Open. Having had success at Pebble in the past, the reigning Masters champion also has the mental edge over the field that Woods lacks. Like Woods, though, Mickelson is errant off the tee -- best evidenced by having to hit off of a cart path in Ohio in his last PGA Tour start. He was able to overcome that wayward tee ball at Augusta National, a much more forgiving venue with crevacies in which Mickelson can hide his flaws.

Mickelson turns 40 today. In a sense, this birthday marks the start of the next -- and likely final -- stage of his PGA Tour career. Boasting four major championships, Mickelson has cemented his legacy as the second best golfer of this generation. It is his goal and his charge in the final decade of productive years to gain on the all-time greats. He could get close to the company of Lee Trevino, Palmer and Watson were he able to continue a run of majors this week. Unfortunately, karma seems to bully Mickelson at this tournament. He holds the record for most runner-up finishes with five. It would seem that someone like the left-hander could bust down the door after weakening the hatch so many times.

Even for a guy like Lee Westwood, the jubilee comparison is an apt one. Casual observers may mistake Westwood as the beneficiary of a catastrophic meltdown in Memphis last weekend, but Westwood is the real deal. Having lost out on the Masters in April, the Englishman could easily be called the favorite this week. No player has gone back-to-back with the Open as the tail end, but it seems most plausible for Westwood. He is a transformed player from the man that first broke through 12 years ago in New Orleans. In fact, how appropriate that his first domestic win came in a city so different and ravaged since then. Westwood, too, underwent a period in his professional life where nothing went right. But, through determination, hard work, and a physical transformation that may only be mirrored by Woods, Westwood is now truly at the top of the world class.

Westwood looks at his missed opportunities and failures with the same perspective as Woods and Mickelson: they are lessons to be appreciated, not misgivings to be magnified. He could well draw upon fellow favorite Mickelson's hard luck road to a major breakthrough in 2004 as a blueprint for what is possible with diligence and a positive attitude. To break through all by itself would be a game changer for the sport. It would be Westwood's first major title, yes, but he would also become the first European-born player since Tony Jacklin to win the U.S. Open. He did that forty years ago in 1960. We'll blame the metric system for the lack of symmetry with the jubilee theme to this piece.

Though those three men are far and away the favorites to take the trophy this weekend in California, there are still other men who could truly transform the sport were they to win. Could Camilo Villegas or Sergio Garcia finally cash in on their potential? Will a new American, like Dustin Johnson, discover what it takes to become a major champion? Were Angel Cabrera to win, he could continue to revive golf in South America -- just in time for the 2016 Olympics. Will an Asian player break through again? Perhaps an absolute nobody could survive and win the Open.

Regardless of who hoists the championship trophy, it is with sound mind that we know Pebble will crown a most worthy champion. In all four instances in which the U.S. Open has been contested here, a great player has won. It is all but assured that the combination of course, field, and setup will ensure that happens again on the Monterey peninsula on Sunday evening. Feedbox Feedbox Feedbox

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