Nicklaus Will Happily Hear Gripes

Jack Nicklaus, who will be playing in his 43rd U.S. Open, remembers his first one--in 1957 at Inverness.

“I was a 17-year-old kid and I led the tournament for three holes,” Nicklaus said. “I do remember that. I holed a 35-footer on the first hole for a birdie, parred the next two holes, never to be seen again.”

Nicklaus shot 80-80 and missed the cut. Of course, he wound up winning the U.S. Open four times and finished second four other times.

Nicklaus joked that it was too bad players haven’t complained about the conditions at Pinehurst.

“You’re going to have so many guys that have a chance to win. I used to love listening to them gripe. ‘The rough is too high.’ Check him off. ‘The greens are too fast.’ Check him off. You just check guys off as they complain, because they complain themselves right out of the tournament.”

Nicklaus has played in one PGA Tour event since he came back from hip replacement surgery. He tied for 70th at his own tournament, the Memorial, two weeks ago.

“My aspirations are to play good here,” he said. “The only way to get better is to play. And that’s why I’m here.”

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How much of a factor is Phil Mickelson going to be? Well, Mickelson spent Tuesday morning with his wife, Amy, at her doctor’s office and didn’t board a plane to fly here until the afternoon.

Amy Mickelson, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child, is due June 30, but has experienced a difficult pregnancy and Mickelson wasn’t even sure he was going to play in the U.S. Open until after he heard what the doctor said Tuesday.

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Happy Birthday. Justin Leonard turned 27 Tuesday. Mickelson is 29 today.

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For what it’s worth, 15,000 bales of pine straw have been strewn around Pinehurst--lining paths, mulching garden areas and covering large areas of ground.

Even more vital information: There are 320 portable toilets and 24 restroom trailers.

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Pinehurst had some rain dumped on it Tuesday and there’s more in the forecast, but the course has been judged to be in perfect condition, even in the areas where sod was brought in.

The fairways were cut to three-eighths of an inch, but that’s not as big a story as the rough, which was trimmed to three inches.

“It’s my understanding that it’s going to stay at three inches through Sunday afternoon,” said Tim Moraghan of the USGA.

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Tiger Woods played Pinehurst No. 7 when he was a 16-year-old junior amateur in 1992. He was asked the difference in himself from now to then.

“I think I have a little more in my pocket now,” he said.