There really is only one story line for this year's U.S. Open, and that's the potential for a showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Sure, they've competed against each other before, including at Torrey Pines during the Buick Invitational in January. Since 1999, Tiger has six wins there compared with two for Phil. But with the course shaved and firmed up for the U.S. Open, it's a better matchup.
Tiger's game is better overall than Phil's, and he obviously is the favorite. But a few things could work in Phil's favor. For one, San Diego is Phil's hometown, and the majority of fans will be rooting for him. Phil is the kind of player (Arnold Palmer was another) who feeds off the positive energy of a gallery. It's the one course where he won't feel Tiger has an advantage.
If Phil's game is sharp -- and it must be for him to go against Tiger -- he has his best chance to win his first U.S. Open. Nobody knows the course better than Phil, nobody putts fast greens better when he's on, and he's Tiger's equal around the greens.
At some U.S. Opens the course is the star going in. That isn't the case here. It's the possibility of the game's two best players going at each other in the prime of their careers.
