Pinehurst expected to live up to U.S. Open standards

The golfers expressed some concerns about course condition heading into today's first round.

PINEHURST, N.C. -- Balls that land in the rough can't be seen 5 feet away. Shots that land on the domed greens at Pinehurst No. 2 don't stay there very long. The U.S. Open is supposed to be the toughest test in golf, and Vijay Singh found it to be every bit of that.

But it was only Wednesday, and that's what troubled him.

"If you're not careful, you can make bogeys on every hole with good shots," Singh said. "It's very fair at the moment, but it's very, very difficult. But it could get on the edge very quickly. If they don't watch it, it's going to get over the edge in a heartbeat."

The U.S. Open begins today, and several players still couldn't stop thinking about last year.

The USGA refused to water the greens or account for dry, blustery warmth that baked out Shinnecock Hills and turned the final round into a fiasco. Tee shots wouldn't stay on the par-3 seventh green until officials had no choice but to hose it down every other group. No one could break par on the last day; 28 players couldn't break 80.

It must have been a welcome sight for Singh, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the rest of the 156-man field to see a maintenance crew water the greens during the first three days of practice at Pinehurst.

USGA officials say they have learned from their mistakes.

"Without rain -- and it doesn't look like we're going to get any -- we have potential for 18 holes that could be like No. 7 at Shinnecock," Mickelson said. "Very conceivable."