PINEHURST, N.C. – If Phil Mickelson had his druthers, he wants the greens on Pinehurst’s No.2 course to be bone dry and slick as glass throughout the 2005 U.S. Open that begins with today. The more difficult the Donald Ross greens play, the better Mickelson thinks his chances are of winning his second major championship.

“It’s always my contention that if nobody can hit a green, I’ve got a pretty good chance,” said Mickelson, who won the 2004 Masters.

That’s because Mickelson owns one of the best short games ever witnessed on the PGA Tour and that’s why come Sunday he’ll be hoisting the championship trophy.

The pick here to win is Mickelson because no one is better with a wedge from just off the green, and that’s where the starting field of 156 players will spend much of their time this afternoon after watching their approach shots hit the elevated greens and keep rolling to the bottom of the steep slopes that surround each putting surface.

In an age where technology has put an emphasis on distance, it will be the short game that determines the 105th U.S. Open champion.

“I think the reason this golf course is so well liked amongst the players, as well as the USGA, is that it tests every aspect of a player’s game,” Mickelson said. “But it stresses the short game. In normal U.S. Open conditions the short game is not stressed as much. This week, it seems to bring out the player’s skill.”

The short chip may seem like the simplest shot in golf, but at Pinehurst it can be the most treacherous. Making matters even more difficult, new sod was planted at the base of many of the greens, creating more uneven lies and sand than the players would like.

“There’s a lot of sand in those areas and the grain of the grass is always going away from the green or into the player,” Mickelson said. “It makes for the shot to be much more difficult than if it were the other way around.”

Some players will putt their ball back up the slope and on to the green. Some will use a putting stroke with a fairway wood. Others, like Mickelson, will use their wedges. Only those with touch, imagination and confidence will have a chance at repeated success.

“It’s very difficult to execute the shots on the lies that we’re getting around the greens in that the grass is so closely mown and the grain of the grass is growing in and it’s very easy for clubs to come just slightly behind the ball,” Mickelson said. “The grass grabs it and stops it and you’ll see guys flub it. In an effort to not flub the chip they’ll catch it thin and chip it too far. That’s what’s so tough about chipping”

Mickelson finished second in this major championship three times – last year at Shinnecock; in 2002 at Bethpage; and in 1999 on this same course. That’s when the late Payne Stewart beat him by one stroke and Mickelson’s first child was born the next day. “It has a lot of mixed emotions for me,” Mickelson said.

Naturally, Mickelson has been doused in memories of the birth of his first child and of Stewart, who died four months later in plane accident. But he’d better be wearing his game face today.

Focus, concentration and soft hands around the greens will be the keys to winning this week. Mickelson has played in 14 U.S. Opens. It’s time he won one. This would be the perfect one. What better bridge can there be from Stewart’s magical victory in 1999 than to have Mickelson win in 2005?

—

TODAY’S FEATURED PAIRINGS

First hole

7:55 – Retief Goosen, Ryan Moore, Todd Hamilton.

12:48 – Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Adam Scott.

1:32 – Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, Fred Couples.

10th hole

7:22 – Ernie Els, Shigeki Maruyama, Justin Leonard.

7:44 – Tiger Woods, Chris DiMarco, Luke Donald.

1:10 – Vijay Singh, Bart Bryant, Padraig Harrington.

WEATHER FORECAST

Today: 90 degrees; Sunny. 20 percent chance of rain.

Tomorrow: 86 degrees; Partly cloudy. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Saturday: 84 degrees; Isolated thunderstorms. 30 percent chance of rain.

Sunday: 80 degrees; Thunderstorms. 40 percent chance of rain.

TELEVISION TIMES

Tomorrow: ESPN 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-7 p.m.; Ch. 4 3-5 p.m.

Friday: ESPN 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-7 p.m.; Ch. 4 3-5 p.m.

Saturday: Ch. 4, 12:30-7 p.m.

Sunday: Ch. 4, 12:30-7 p.m.

1999 Results

par 70

Payne Stewart 68-69-72-70-279

Phil Mickelson 67-70-73 -70-280

Tiger Woods 68-71-72-70 – 281

Vijay Singh 69-70-73-69-281

Steve Stricker 70-73-69-73-285

Tim Herron 69-72-70-75 -286

David Duval 67-70-75-75-287

Jeff Maggert 71-69-74-73-287