A Tiger, Phil and Bubba show

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/06/2012 (5180 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SAN FRANCISCO — As far as can be determined, a total of six players — conveniently sorted into two piles for maximum viewing ease — will contest this year’s United States Open golf championship today and Friday.

That’s down slightly from the usual 156.

They are, in order of importance: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and, um, those three other guys. Where’s that list of European fellas again? Yes, here it is — Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.

The latter three must be included for the sake of political correctness because, owing to a design flaw in the (harrumph) notoriously Euro-friendly official golf rankings, they are currently Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the world. And besides, somebody has to fill the airtime this afternoon when the American Triumvirate is done for the day, and Friday morning when the good guys don’t tee it up until later.

Plus, six of the last eight U.S. Opens have been won by non-Americans, so it might not be a bad idea to do a little overseas foreshadowing in between Tiger recaps.

Enthusiasm for the USGA’s decision to put all the American eggs in one basket ranges from Woods’ cool “I don’t think we’re going to talk a lot,” to Mickelson’s “It’s fabulous,” to Watson’s golly-gee “These are the people I grew up watching in high school.”

Lower down on the marquee, where the arguably better threesome languishes in the shadows, it’s more collegial. The boy from Ulster and his two English pals sound quite content to be together on the flip side of the draw.

“Having Tiger and Phil and Bubba in the same group on the opposite side is going to be huge,” McIlroy, the defending U.S. Open champ, said without a trace of irony. “If I was a golf fan, I’d want to watch that group, because I’m sure you’ll see some fireworks.”

“Rory and Lee and I have played together quite a few times over the past year or two. We’re very used to it,” said Donald. “I certainly don’t think it’s the most recognizable group; we all know who that is. But we get along fine.”

“I played with Rory today and I can’t imagine it any different when we play on Thursday,” Westwood said this week. “I get along with Luke. I partnered with him in the Ryder Cup. You’ve got to play with somebody, so you might as well play with a couple of mates. Playing golf for a living, it’s not a bad job. We all get on.”

Truth be told, 150 other golfers — any one of whom you will be lucky to catch a glimpse of on TV before the weekend — are also in the field. And given the history of the Olympic Club, a.k.a. the graveyard of legends, where luminaries Ben Hogan (1955), Arnold Palmer (1966) and Tom Watson (1987) all had the Open snatched away by less vaunted players, one of those “others” is just apt to emerge from the pack and upstage the stars.

In fact, Olympic is so tight and difficult, it’s not too far-fetched to imagine a scenario in which all the favourites go up in flames.

Suffice to say, though, the Woods-Mickelson-Watson lollapalooza will be where most of the cameras (and parabolic microphones) will be pointed for the first two days.

Mickelson, whose career record against Woods in these head-to-head meetings started out awful but has steadily improved (he’s beaten Woods seven of their last 10 rounds together, including Pebble Beach this year, where he shot 64 to Woods’ 75 in the final round) has already inserted the needle.

“I don’t know the feeling I had when I left (Pebble), but I certainly had a nice crystal trophy,” he said Tuesday.

“First of all, I get excited to play with Tiger. I love it. I think we all do. He gets the best out of me. One of the issues I’ve had this year is I’ve been a little mentally lethargic on Thursday and Friday. I won’t be this week.”

“This is a major championship. We’ve got work to do,” said Woods, to a question about added motivation. “I’m just trying to get out there and position myself for Sunday. This is a long grind.”

Watson, the reigning Masters champion who has taken most of the last two months off to change diapers and give baths to his adopted son Caleb, doesn’t think there’s any intimidation factor for him, playing with Mickelson and Woods, but he understands why the question is asked.

“Well, one has won 70-odd times, and the other has won 40 times. I’m guessing we’re going to have big crowds. Everything is heightened a little bit. Hopefully, we step up our game. Hopefully, I step up my game,” he said.

To Bubba, Woods and Mickelson are what Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson were to Tiger and Phil: still-active legends from whom to learn.

But Bubba clearly thinks he belongs in this company and resents the perception he’s a one-dimensional player.

“I always thought I was a complete player,” he said. “Media sometimes thinks I’m the monkey that hits the ball a long ways. I have to keep doing things my way, and it comes down to Bubba golf, I guess. I always thought I could play. It’s getting the mind right and getting the breaks to go your way, making some key putts, and now I’m a Masters champ.”

That’s already a lot more juice than the European trio can offer, although there is the whole issue of McIlroy, who threw out the first pitch at the San Francisco Giants-Houston Astros game Tuesday night, having a bobblehead (“I think it’s maybe better looking than me, which is a good thing,” he said) while world No. 1 Luke Donald does not.

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Donald understands. Asked what it will take for him to get his own bobblehead, Donald said: “Probably win a U.S. Open by eight shots. Or at least by one.”

By all accounts, he’s got a one-in-six chance.

— Postmedia News