Previewing the U.S. Open

By Gary Lloyd
Love of Sports Correspondent

The golfing world has been rather quiet since Trevor Immelman’s surprising eight-under par win at The Masters in April.

That silence will now speak up a bit, as it is time for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, located La Jolla, California (June 12-15).

This is the first time the U.S. Open will be held at Torrey Pines. If this course sounds familiar, it’s probably because the Buick Invitational has been held there every year since 1968.

And past Buick Invitationals certainly help me in determining which players are contenders, and which are pretenders, for this year’s Open.

Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Player who will disappoint: Justin Rose has had a less-than-average season thus far, and that’ll continue through the Open. Through The Players Championship, he’d played in nine total PGA Tour events and made the cut in just five. He had no Top 10 finishes, back-to-back missed cuts in early May and only three rounds in the 60s this season.

Player who will surprise: Retief Goosen’s game has been rather quiet this season, and I think a Top 10 finish is in order for the South African. He’s made eight cuts in 10 tournaments this season, but has failed to move up the leaderboards on the weekends. He definitely has what it takes to win this tournament. That’s backed up with his two Open titles coming in.

Course thoughts: Because this is the first time the U.S. Open will be held at Torrey Pines, it’s probably a good idea to really take a look at the course. It plays over 7,600 yards now, with mountains and the Pacific Ocean nearby. The Buick Invitational (held in January) normally sees a lot of red-figure scores. With that said, I expect to see a lot of red-figures posted by some of the most talented golfers in the world. I don’t see a relatively unknown (i.e. Trevor Immelman, Angel Cabrera, Zach Johnson) winning this tournament.

My Predicted Top 5

Boo Weekley: Had it not been for a final-round 77 in January, Weekley may have finished in the Top 10 at the Buick Invitational. However, a 66 in the second round of that tournament couldn’t have been a fluke, so he’s my dark horse pick to finish amongst the leaders.

Stewart Cink: Cink always seems to hang around in major tournaments, and the U.S. Open will be no different. He’s made 10 cuts in 12 tournaments in ‘08, earning Top 10s in six of them. His short game is more than capable of winning him a tournament, so playing solid from the tee will be key.

Retief Goosen: He’s won two U.S. Opens (2001 and 2004) and will have a definite shot at his third this year. Like I already said, his game has been rather quiet this season, but he’ll begin to shine during this tournament.

Tiger Woods/Phil Mickelson: For the final two, it’s what everyone wants to see – a Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson final grouping on Sunday. Not that they won’t have that already in the first two rounds, but could you imagine the drama of four straight days of them being paired together?! Phil’s playing his best golf of the season and has always played great during the “West Coast Swing” (played early in the season). I realize Tiger’s coming off knee surgery after The Masters, but he’ll be ready to compete for yet another major. It’s the matchup all golf fans want to see, but here’s at least one fact to back it up: Since 1993, nine of the 16 winners at the Buick Invitational have been either Woods (six times and four straight, mind you) or Mickelson (three wins).

That’s pretty sufficient info to have. For this tournament, I’m not willing to bet against the best in the world.