USGA’s philosophy produces some superb pairings for the first two rounds at Torrey Pines

By MICK ELLIOTT
Media General News Service
Published: June 10, 2008

SAN DIEGO — The coolest thing about experimentation is that you never are certain whether the end result might cure male pattern baldness or blow up in your face.
The USGA is willing to take that chance at the U.S. Open.
For the first time in tournament history, first- and second-round pairings will group the world’s top 12-ranked golfers in four threesomes.
During Thursday’s and Friday’s play at Torrey Pines Golf Club, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott will play together. So will Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy and Justin Rose. Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and K.J. Choi make up another group, as will Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Stewart Cink.
The USGA often has enjoyed an inside joke when putting together early pairings. Beyond the tradition of grouping its defending champion with the reigning British Open and U.S. Amateur winners, past early U.S. Open pairings have included major championship runner-ups, short drivers and long drivers.
Last year, Florida Panhandle good-ol’-boys Boo Weekley and Bubba Watson played together as pros for the first time, matched with Japan’s Nobuhiro Masuda, leading to the suggestion that it was a threesome in which English was a second language.
But never, in any tournament anywhere, have the world’s top 12 players been packed so tightly. And never have tee times generated so much attention.
“We’re not stupid,” USGA director of rules and competition Mike Davis said. “We knew it would create a buzz.”
Gridlock is also likely.
The Woods-Mickelson-Scott group that will go off at 8:06 a.m. locally on Thursday and 1:36 p.m. Friday should provide an answer to that age-old question: Just how many spectators can fit on one golf hole?
Already the two most popular players on the PGA Tour, Woods and Mickelson also have a rich history at Torrey Pines dating to junior competitions, and combining for nine victories in the PGA Tour’s Buick Invitational played here.
Davis said he began considering the dream pairing about four months ago.
“Given all of their background at Torrey,” Davis said, “wouldn’t it be neat to put them together one time.”
Interestingly, that’s very much the same idea Hal Sutton had in 2004 when he captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and the two stars teamed up to stink up Oakland Hills. Playing head-to-head, however, they have produced a number of epic battles, including the final round of last year’s Deutsche Bank Championship in the FedEx Cup playoffs when Mickelson shot 66 to Woods’ 67 to win.
“This is interesting to me because the USGA is always monkeying around with pairings,” NBC commentator Gary Koch said. “It was always part of the fun to try to figure out why they paired players the way they did, like three former U.S. Junior winners together.
“They’ve been doing that a long time, but I’m a little surprised they would pair all the top 12 players. No. 1, from the spectator standpoint, you usually want to spread out the big names. By putting them all together, you are making it very difficult for spectators to see because of such large galleries.”
Since 1997, Woods and Mickelson have been at opposite ends of the Open’s tee-time sheet for the sake of television. If one went off in the morning, the other played in the afternoon. And they haven’t cooperated in any major championship by playing themselves into a final pairing.
Mickelson called the dream pairing “awesome,” and said he wished the PGA Tour “had the [guts] to do it more.”
He also downplayed the possible spectator overload and sideshow atmosphere.
“I don’t think so,” he told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s normally like that for the weekend rounds of a U.S. Open anyway. We’ll just be playing in that environment for four days. The challenge for Tiger, myself and Adam Scott is to not get caught up in each other. There are 153 other guys out there playing and competing. We have to try not to compete against each other.”