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Only two golfers have finished under par in Open at Winged Foot

By Mark Vasto

If your handicap is under 1.4 and you didn't mail your entry form in by April 24, then it's too late for you to qualify for this year's U.S. Open at the Winged Foot Golf Club's West Course in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Of course, even with your stellar handicap, competition would have been fierce: This year, the USGA accepted more than 9,000 entries for the 2006 Open. From that group, 7,000 hopefuls took to the links at local qualifying events all over the country in mid-May. About 750 golfers advanced from that stage, moving onto the 36-hole sectional qualifying tournaments held at 16 sites from May-June 6. From there, 86 golfers advanced to join the 70 players who were fully exempt from qualifying into the Open field. The final Open field of 156 golfers will be cut after 36 holes to the low 60 scorers (and ties), and any player within 10 strokes of the leader.

In the case of a tie after 72 holes, an 18-hole playoff will be held on June 19 (Monday), beginning at noon. The last playoff was in 2001, won by Retief Goosen over Mark Brooks (70-72). There was a three-way playoff in 1994, which was won by Ernie Els.

After all of that golf, it's safe to say that the USGA does a pretty thorough job of finding and crowning the champion of the country's most competitive golf tournament. Accordingly, Winged Foot, which has hosted four U.S. Opens, is a particularly tough course. Only two golfers have finished under par in an Open at Winged Foot. (Fuzzy Zoeller and Greg Norman each were 4-under through 72 holes in 1984.)

This year, Winged Foot will feature a 640-yard 12th hole, the second longest hole in U.S. Open history. It will also feature the longest par 4 in U.S. Open history a dazzling 514-yard 9th hole.

It's that toughness that draws spectators to the course (the tournament has sold out for the past two decades straight) and admiration from golfers around the world. Famously, the USGA does not try to formulate a course set up that will only produce a winning score of at or near par.

Instead, the Association spends about seven years formulating a course designed to challenge golfers according to a set of 14 factors ranging from the speed of the greens to the weather.

In 1974, that philosophy was exposed by members of the golf press. When asked if the USGA was out to embarrass the best golfers in the world after a 1974 round in which no player broke par, Sandy Tatum, chair of the USGA championship committee, offered an appropriate reply.

"No. We're trying to identify them."

Mark Vasto is a veteran sportswriter and publisher of The Parkville (Mo.) Luminary.

(c) 2006 King Features Synd., Inc.