ESPN’s Bob Harig quotes Mark Calcaveccia on the expected conditions at Torrey Pines:

“I don’t know how much harder and faster the greens will be, but when we were there in January, you could hit it out of the rough,’’ PGA Tour veteran Mark Calcavecchia said. “From what I hear, I don’t think that will be the case at the Open. It’ll be like every other U.S. Open. Stupid.’’

Calc also has his opinions on the eventual winner:

“He’s (Tiger) not exactly Calvin Peete off the tee,’’ Calcavecchia said, referring to the 12-time PGA Tour winner who was first in driving accuracy every year from 1981 to 1991. “He’s going to be in the deep [stuff]—plenty. But he’s still who he is. He’s still Tiger Woods. And he’s still playing Torrey Pines. I’m still putting it on him. I think it’s over before it even starts, 10 or 12 inches of rough or not. Because everyone else is going to be hitting it in the [stuff], too. You hit every fairway and it’s a different story. But nobody’s going to do that.’’

Given that Tiger’s coming off knee surgery, that it’s the US Open, and that he’s not exactly hitting a lot of fairways these days, maybe he’ll struggle. If he finds himself in the rough, will that knee give him trouble as he tries to muscle it out? Is it possible he won’t make the cut?

Nah. 

After some technical difficulties, I’ve restored the gallery of my 2007 trip to Torrey Pines, site of the 2008 US Open. I’ve mixed in aerial photos of the holes with shots I took during my round.

Visit The Torrey Pines Photo Tour Gallery.

The oddsmakers at Bodog Life have—to no one’ surprise—established Tiger Woods as a 3/2 favorite to win the US Open at Torrey Pines. A month ago, he was a 5/4 favorite. Phil Mickelson, in second, has been upgraded form a 10/1 to an 8/1.

Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk and Ernie Els round out the top five, but I wouldn’t put my money on any of them. None are playing particularly well.

It’s interesting to note that twenty-something players have won eight tournaments this year, including Trevor Immelman at the Masters. Given the often wild results at the US Open, it may be time for another young up and coming player to take the trophy.

For those not in the know, odds are read by looking at the second number first. So, a bet of 2 on Tiger pays 3.

Read the rest of the post to see the complete odds for the US Open, provided courtesy of Bodoglife.Com, the world’s largest online sports betting destination.

Phil Mickelson says that the winning number at the 2008 US Open will be well above par.

Next month’s U.S. Open course is the toughest in golf, according to world number two Phil Mickelson.

The American left-hander played at Torrey Pines South in California last week and predicted an over-par winning score at the second major of the season.

“Even if it’s soft I don’t think anything close to even-par will win,” Mickelson told reporters after firing a four-under 68 in the Wachovia Championship first round on Thursday.

“I think it’s the hardest course in the world, 7,600 yards at sea level.”

The 37-year-old Mickelson said the rough was particularly brutal, even by usual U.S. Open standards.

I played Torrey Pines from the back tees last summer and didn’t think that length was going to be the real issue at the US Open. While I’m sure that the Open will have “super back tees” behind even the ones we played, I managed to find enough fairways to shoot a decent score. I just took an extra shot to get to the green on every hole.

Torrey Pines is plenty long, but what really threw me was the grass. It’s not like anything we call grass in the midwest. If it grew on my local course, they’d call Michigan State for help and then hit it with RoundUp. The weed they call grass out there is a spongy, wiry growth that grabs your club and robs you of distance.

What that stuff will be like grown to US Open length in the rough boggles the imagination.

Bad news for US Open hopefuls. Tiger Woods’ knee will apparently be fine by the time the US Open begins at Torrey Pines in June.

Tiger Woods says his left knee is “right on schedule” for recovery in time for the U.S. Open in June, if not sooner.

For all of the latest news in the world of golf, check out GolfDigest.com’s Local Knowledge blog, updated daily throughout the season. Blog

Woods underwent arthroscopic surgery on April 15. He underwent a two-week check-up earlier this week in Utah and told Golf Digest.com: “It went great. Everything is right on schedule.”

As he has in past weeks, Woods would not put a timetable on his return. The U.S. Open is June 12-15 at Torrey Pines, north of San Diego. Jack Nicklaus’ tournament, The Memorial, is two weeks earlier and is generally on Woods’ schedule.

“The doctors said I should be able to play in four to six weeks after the surgery, but there are no guarantees about anything right now,” Woods said on Golf Digest.com. “I’m just going to work hard and do what they tell me to do.”

Tiger has won at Torrey Pines so often that there really can’t be anyone else who could possibly have a chance.