Tiger Woods is braced for a “war of attrition” as Pinehurst hosts the 124th US Open Championship. Woods was third behind Payne Stewart at the North Carolina venue in 1999 and runner-up to Michael Campbell in 2005, but did not compete in 2014 due to a back injury. Germany’s Martin Kaymer was the runaway winner a decade ago in the first US Open since restoration work by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore meant there was none of the typical heavy rough and narrow fairways, leaving sandy ‘native areas’ and ‘turtleback’ greens as the course’s defence.
Keeping a ball on the ninth green proved so difficult that a forward tee had to be used, with USGA officials wary of a repeat of the farcical scenes in the final round at Shinnecock Hills in 2004 when fast greens and a questionable pin position saw play stopped while the seventh green was watered. Defending champion Wyndham Clark warned on Monday that the greens were already “borderline” and Woods predicted games of ping-pong could break out as players chip or putt from one side of a green to the other. “This golf course is going to test every single aspect of your game,” the 15-time major winner said.
“It’s going to take a lot of mental discipline to play this particular golf course. We’ve been working on that and making sure that I understand the game plan and be ready in two more days. “It’s all different.
I played it on bentgrass. So now having Bermuda , it’s very different. It’s grainy.
I’ve used.