I was born and raised in Maryland / suburban DC, so I’m happy to pass on this announcement from the Maryland State Golf Association:

Fans of the U.S. Open will have a unique opportunity to purchase a piece of memorabilia from the 2011 championship at Congressional Country Club. The Maryland State Golf Association will be auctioning off each player’s score sheet from the actual scoreboards at the 2011 U.S. Open. The individual score sheets are 10x48 inches and include the player’s name and hole-by-hole scores. All proceeds from this auction will benefit the Maryland State Golf Association Scholarship Fund. The live auction begins on Tuesday. To access the auction, go to http://www.biddingforgood.com/msgagolf. More information on the Maryland State Golf Association Scholarship Fund can be found by going to http://www.msga.org/scholarship.asp.

Thursday and Friday:

ESPN: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
NBC: 3 - 5 p.m.
ESPN: 5 - 7 p.m.

Saturday:

NBC: 2 - 8 p.m.

Sunday:

NBC: 1:30 - 7:30 p.m.

The most interesting thing I found in the odds for the US Open this week are the long shots. As in fifteen hundred to one. Take a look at this: Beau Hossler, Bennet Blakeman, Brian Locke, Cheng-Tsung Pan, Christo Greyling, John Ellis, Michael Tobiason Jr. and Ty Tryon are all 1500/1 underdogs.

I’ve at least heard of Ty Tyron.

And then there’s the crowd at 1000/1: Adam Hadwin, Adam Long, Alexandre Rocha, Andreas Harto, Andres Gonzales, Brad Benjamin, Brett Patterson, Chris Wilson, Christopher Deforest,
David Chung, David May, Elliot Gealy, Geoffrey Sisk, Jesse Hutchins, Joey Lamielle, Matthew Edwards, Matthew Richardson, Michael Barbosa, Michael Smith, Robert Dinwiddie, Russell Henley, Scott Barr, Scott Pinckney, Steven Irwin, Wes Heffernan and Will Wilcox.

I haven’t heard of any of these guys, but I’ve half a mind to find a bookie and drop ten bucks on one of the fifteen hundred to one players.

On the more positive side, Lee Westwood is the favorite at 11/1, followed closely by Luke Donald at 12/1. Phil Mickelson—my personal favorite because I think he’s due—is at 14/1. Rory McIlroy is at 16/1. He’s not going to win, so forget it. But Dustin Johnson—who nearly won two majors last year—is there at 25/1 along with a pile of other guys: Hunter Mahan, Martin Kaymer, Matt Kuchar, Nick Watney and Steve Stricker.

My fondness for Phil aside, I think the ultimate winner will come out of that 25/1 crowd.

The complete betting odds for the 2011 US Open are below, courtesy of Bodog, the world’s largest betting destination.

This year, the US Open heads to Congressional for the third time.

Here are the most frequently played courses for the US Open:

Oakmont - 8 times
Baltusrol - 7
Oakland Hills - 6
Winged Foot - 5
Inverness - 4
Merion - 4
Myopia - 4
Olympic - 4
Pebble Beach - 4
Shinnecock Hills - 4
Cherry Hills - 3
Chicago GC - 3
Medinah - 3
Oak Hill - 3
Philadelphia CG - 3
Southern Hills - 3
The Country Club - 3
Bethpage Black - 2
Canterbury - 2
Congressional - 3
Olympia Fields - 2
Pinehurst - 2

One each: Atlanta Athletic, Baltimore GC, Bellerieve, Brae Burn, Buffalo, Champions, Columbia, Englewood, Fresh Meadow, Garden City, Glen View, Interlachen, Inwood, Midlothian, Minikahada, North Shore, Northwood Club, Onwentsia, Riviera, Scioto, Skokie, St. Louis, Torrey Pines, Worcester

As it turns out, nearly half of the US Opens have been played on ten courses.

Winding up to this year’s US Open ... here’s a list of the past champions, from Graeme McDowell in 2010 to Horace Rawlins in 1895.

Now that Tiger has withdrawn, I thought it would be interesting to revisit the odds for the 2011 US Open. In the absence of the striped one, Lee Westwood emerged as the bettor’s favorite, at 10/1. He’s closely followed by World #1 Luke Donald, and The Man Who Would Be King, Phil Mickelson. Rory McIlroy (16/1), Martin Kaymer (20/1), Dustin Johnson and Steve Stricker (22/1); Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar (25/1) and Graeme McDowell and Nick Watney (28/1) round out the top of the field.

Phil’s game has been looking more positive these days, and I should think that no one would want to win the US Open more. Anyone, that is, other than Lee Westwood, who needs a Major Championship to get the monkey off his back. Without one, he’s the guy who backed into the World #1 position by winning the Greater Southeaster Asia Polo Club Pro Am. Or Dustin Johnson, who would like to shed the cross of “Gave Away Two Majors.” Or Rory McIlroy, who’d like to not be perpetually labeled as a final round choke artist. Or Graeme McDowell, who’d like to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke. Or Matt Kuchar, Mr. Close But No Cigar. Or… Or…

Hey. Who doesn’t want to win the US Open? (Hint: his initials are VS).

For the complete odds, see the list below.

Jack Nicklaus had it right: Tiger is out of the US Open due to lingering issues with his leg. He made his announcement on Twitter.

Not surprised.

It’s interesting to note that Tiger’s making all his big announcements these days via Twitter. He also tweeted his decision to stay with Steinberg Seems that his leg isn’t the only thing injured. He also suffers from some malady that makes him unable to deal with the media face to face. He’s moving into Howard Hughes territory here.

From a Doug Ferguson AP article, there’s an interesting Curtis Strange quote:

The future of Woods, meanwhile, is as muddied as ever.

“The hardest thing in the world as a golfer, or any athlete, is to stay out,” two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange said. “It’s smart what he’s doing. Unfortunately, the U.S. Open falls in that time frame. But every time something happens, and the longer he’s away from the game, it’s going to make it tougher for him to come back.

“It’s going to be harder and harder the long this goes.”

And here’s Azinger’s take on the situation:

Still, I’m sure Tiger has made the right decision for his future. Playing injured is just asking for trouble, especially for a guy with a history of injuries. I actually wonder if he would have been better off not to have played on the injured leg at Torrey Pines.