Put away the nominal notions of par, at the 100th US Open golf championship that started Thursday on Pebble Beach Golf Links, par is nothing but a number.
At the 1992 US Open, Pebble Beach yielded a total 76 sub-par rounds, tied for second as the most at a US championship.
But as the US Golf Association and the weather turned the screws on Sunday, only four of those sub-par rounds were posted on the final day, and the average score for the week was 74.97.
Back then, Pebble Beach played at par-72. This year, the USGA has turned the par-5 second hole into a par-4 to lower the total to par-71.
The change also sparked a string of second-hole bogeys early Thursday.
American Mark Brooks, who teed off in the opening group at 6:30 a.m. (13:30 GMT), swam against the tide, picking up a birdie there to move to one-under through three.
World number one Tiger Woods was due to tee off at 8:40 (14:50 GMT) in search of a US Open title to go with his Masters and PGA Championship crowns.
South African Ernie Els, who has two US Open titles under his belt, was due off at 12:20, when the afternoon breeze off the Pacific was more likely to come into play.
Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke -- the current Order of Merit leader who shocked Woods in the final of the World Golf Championship Match Play in February, was in the next group after Els – (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
