U.S. Open

Welcome everyone to the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. This week is always one of the toughest of the year, and when the winner holds this trophy up on Sunday they'll know that they not only battled a great field, but some very demanding conditions.

Of course major weeks are always special, but Mike and I are really looking forward to this week. He's enjoyed a lot of success over the years at Pebble Beach so he'll definitely have good memories of shots he's made here, although there is no question that this is a different golf course than the one we're used to playing in February for the AT+T National Pro-Am. The greens are much firmer and faster than what we're used to and the slopes off the fairway are more prevalent. This setup will really force you to think about every shot this week.

You know to expect a tough challenge at the U.S. Open, but the conditions of the course have been great and the set up is tough, but fair. A big difference over the past few years has been the graduated rough that the USGA has implemented. The first couple of cuts of rough here aren't too bad, so you're not penalized unless you miss badly, which is the way it should be.

It's also nice to see a good weather forecast for the week (does anyone remember the constant rain at last year's U.S. Open at Bethpage Black?) and the cloud cover the past couple of days here is actually going to help protect the greens from getting baked early by the sun. These greens are small, with subtle slopes that you don't even really notice. That can really mess with your approach shot as it can leave you in a tough spot. It's very important to get the ball on the right side of the hole or you will have a tough time making pars. Keeping it below the hole is going to be a must this week.

It looks like you'll need to score on the first seven holes this week because it will be tough conditions playing straight into the wind on the last eight holes.

We've got a great pairing and start time for Thursday; playing with K.J. Choi and Tim Clark, two good guys who are similar players to Mike. Plus we're one of the first groups off so it will mean the greens should be very good for us.

It's nice to see Tom Watson in the field this week. Tom is one of the classiest guys in golf, and Pebble Beach is the site of his U.S. Open win here in 1982 with a miraculous chip shot on 17 to steal it from Jack Nicklaus. It's always pretty cool when you can be close to golf history like that.

There's not much happening off the course this week. Everyone is focused on the task at hand. A good friend of both Mike and mine, George Roberts, is here and I was able to have dinner with him early in the week, but other than that, you're getting your work done and making sure you're ready to go. Unfortunately there's no more hockey to watch at night, so I've been stuck watching some basketball (although I think I'd rather be watching the World Cup!).

Right after the U.S. Open we will go to the TELUS Skins Game in Victoria, B.C., so looking forward to spending a couple of days in one of the most beautiful parts of Canada. It's a fun event which is great to be a part of after a demanding week like the U.S. Open. We'll then have a few weeks off and it's going to be nice to spend some time at home and rest up to be ready for another busy stretch with the British Open and the RBC Canadian Open.

I hope everyone enjoys watching the U.S. Open this week. It's going to be a great one, and we're looking forward to getting started!

Brennan