Practice, Practice, Practice

June 13, 2001

Will three practice rounds from Monday to Wednesday be enough to tame this beast of a course?

Southern Hills will do little to provide southern comfort for the 156-man field this week as the 65-year-old Perry Maxwell-designed course, which was revised by Robert Trent Jones in 1957 and George and Tom Fazio in 1977, hosts its third U.S. Open beginning Thursday.

The newly lengthened, par-70, course measures only 6,973 yards -- about 150 longer than it played during THE TOUR Championship in 1996. But five par 4s stretch 450 yards or more, and the par-5 fifth hole stretches to 642, making it the longest in U.S. Open history.

If that's not hard enough, the field will play to tight fairways, 4-inch primary Bermuda rough, tricky contoured greens, wind, possible rain and 90-degree temperatures. Come Sunday, after the smoke clears, this Major may ultimately become the Mother of All Tests compared to the other three Majors this year. Tiger Woods will be gunning for his 5th straight Major title, but the beast will be waiting.

Among the elite field is K.J. Choi of South Korea, who will be making his debut at the U.S. Open and he's psyched to be playing this week after qualifying at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier last week.

Asked how he feels about qualifying for the U.S. Open and how this tournament compares to his experience at the '99 British Open.

"I am ecstatic. From the moment I arrived at the Tulsa airport all the way to the Southern Hills course, I felt something very special about being here. It's different than any other tournament I've been in," said K.J.

"This course, in my opinion, is by far a lot harder than what I had experienced at the British Open. The course-design and greens are very difficult and challenging. And the gallery of spectators seems twice as large.

Also, after playing here on the PGA Tour for awhile, I feel at home and more comfortable than when I made the trip to the British Open. Therefore, I'm very optimistic and confident of playing well this week."

So what's it going to take? "I am going to stay focused and grind hard in order to post good scores. Lots of cheering support from my fans will also help," said K.J.

Reported by Michael I. Ohr (K.J. Fan Central)
(Some excerpts from PGA Tour.Com)