Sports: Several players not happy with green at No. 18

Several players not happy with green at No. 18

By BOB HARIG, Times wires

TULSA, Okla. -- When players come to the end of their round, they will be greeted by one tough hole. The par-4 18th at Southern Hills Country Club measures 466 yards. And it has a green that several players believe is unfair.

The green slopes severely from back to front, and because of the speed of the greens, many shots that landed on it have rolled back down the slope. Because the hole is so long, it is almost impossible to think a player could have a short iron shot into the green.

"You could be coming down that hole on Sunday with a chance to win the tournament, hit the middle of the green, and the ball will roll all the way off the green," defending champion Tiger Woods said. "That, to me, would be a shame. ... There is a chance for that ball rolling 40 yards off the green. And that's a pretty harsh penalty for a good, solid shot, especially the hole being 470."

Woods is not alone, and tournament officials have been listening. They don't want a repeat of the scene in 1998 at the Olympic Club's 18th hole, where Payne Stewart saw a missed 10-foot birdie putt turn into a 25-footer for par.

"We've been working on that green on a daily basis," said John Szklinski, the Southern Hills course superintendent, who said fertilizer was added to the green. "We prepared it just as we did all the other greens, and it's come up under the extreme conditions being too fast. So we've been doing some hand-watering. ... It will be fine by (today), and the player will be rewarded for a good shot.

"The ball may release down to the front-center portion of the green, but it won't roll off."

LOVE RETURNS: If it were not the U.S. Open, Davis Love likely would be taking the week off. A bulging disc in his neck has kept him off the PGA Tour since April's WorldCom Classic, where he tied for seventh.

"There's not much you can do when you have a nerve problem other than let it rest or have surgery," Love said. "And surgery is not a good option for a golfer. So, sure enough, waiting this long has made it a lot better."

Love got off to a great start this year, winning at Pebble Beach in February, then losing in a playoff at the Buick Invitational. He tied for eighth at the Nissan Open and finished sixth at the Genuity Championship before his neck started bothering him.

Love missed the cut at the Players Championship and the Masters.

"The trick for me is not to go out and hit 500 balls practicing and reinjure it," Love said. "And then I can take next week off and probably be 100 percent ready to go for the rest of the summer."

LEHMAN'S TERMS: Tom Lehman won the Tour Championship at Southern Hills in 1996, the year he won the British Open and narrowly missed winning the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills.

From 1995 through 1998, Lehman played in the final group on Sunday at the U.S. Open but was unable to win.

"The chance to play in the last group Sunday is something I would cherish and relish and look forward to again," he said.

At 42, Lehman said he is in the best shape he can remember. But it's not because he is striving to keep up with Woods.

"I know when I was 18 I could run circles around myself at age 42," he said. "But it's mostly related to the fact that my wife (Melissa) gets sick and tired looking at me being overweight. So it has nothing to do with Tiger. It has everything to do with making my wife happy. So, therefore, I've been working out."

JACK'S BACK AFTER ALL: For the first time in 45 U.S. Opens, Jack Nicklaus is not in the field. He played in every U.S. Open from 1957 as an amateur through last year's at Pebble Beach, a record streak of 44. But Nicklaus is in Tulsa -- to watch his son Gary, who made it through sectional qualifying last week. "He asked me if I wanted him to come, and I said, 'Absolutely,' " Gary Nicklaus said.

The Golden Bear skipped a Senior PGA Tour event he was considering playing. MISC.: Hot, humid weather is expected throughout the weekend. There is a chance of thunderstorms today with a predicted high of 91. ... USGA spokesman Marty Parkes said contracts are being completed for the next two available Opens, in 2006 and '07. An announcement will be made next week. ... The lowest round in a U.S. Open is 63. "I'd like to shake the hand of the man that shoots 62 around here this week," Lee Westwood said. "I think it's one of the hardest U.S. Open venues I've seen."