Reader Brian J. Doherty of Mill Creek, Washington, had his problems with our U.S. Open Challenge.

GREAT idea, good timing, POOR execution of the "Challenge" at Torrey prior to the Open... Loved the idea. Most all of us live in the 10-15 handicap world and we all wonder a) what would it really be like to play an Open course and b) what would we really shoot ? Looked forward to it. But, it should have been a foursome of "regular" Joe's with handicaps from maybe 6 to 10, not one lucky guy ( who was well deserving) and three CELEBRITIES!! Who wants to see a 2-handicap like Tony Romo play ? Is he your average "10-handicap" ? Shouldn't he be in training camp still working on field-goal holds ? I was disappointed in the three celebs deal. They play/perform in front of thousands, maybe millions, on a regular basis. Golf or not, there is no way they would feel the same pressure like I or anyone else would who's never been on center stage !! Next time, keep the "celebs" out !! B-O-R-I-N-G !

By the way, loved Torrey for an Open. Next year we get another PUBLIC venue in Bethpage, then Pinehurst and Chambers Bay further down the line. Courses that ANY of us can play, not the exclusive private courses that have dominated US Opens of the past. Applause to USGA for being willing to
make some course changes, both physically and geographically !!

Did you catch Matt Lauer's mention of the Challenge on the Today Show this morning? He explained his score of 100 by reporting that he'd played the Challenge with two broken arms. Very funny.

--Bob Carney

Letters and stories continue on Sunday's US Open Challenge.

Reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, especially toward our amateur winner, John Atkinson. On her About.com Lung Cancer blog, Dr. Lynne Eldridge wrote:

I have to credit John with pouring rocket fuel on my desire to raise awareness about lung cancer. He is a strong supporter of the Lung Cancer Alliance, the only organization committed entirely to support for those living with lung cancer. His efforts to educate others about lung cancer, while he himself is in the midst of treatment, are humbling. Yet, his own humility is even more inspiring. After our conversation, I felt like I had been ministered to and healed - and I don't have cancer!

But we're getting "suggestions", too, on how to make future Challenges better. Rob Peterson, for one, thinks there ought to be more places for the non-celebrity amateurs:

I find it truly nauseating that the people at Golf Digest had the audacity to make people jump through hoops and beg for your amusement for ONE slot at Torrey Pines. Although I realize that idiots like yourself think that celebrities are more important than "regular" people, I thought that the amount of money that gets pumped into your magazine through advertisements and other phony contests (for the eventual SPAM deluge), you would be able to afford at least one more slot....Truly pathetic.

Marty Slack, who also thought it would be better to have four 10-handicap, "regular guys" went further. Excerpts from his letter:

Just to sum it up, you chose a famous QB, who was basically a ringer. That's one spot wasted that had nothing to do with the Tiger Woods challenge. Then after that you choose another two celebrities that don't even have a 10 handicap, one of which has close ties to the number one coach in Butch Harmon, and the other, Matt Lauer, is a friend of Greg Norman's.

So now we are down to one spot, one chance to have a guy that can actually legitimately live up to the Tiger Woods challenge. And as heartless as this sounds, you chose a man who as a person, I would be honored to know, but a man whose golf game was still suffering from the effects of a bout with cancer. A man, who on the longest golf course I have ever seen, chooses not to use a driver on virtually every televised hole except the 18th?

I have no idea what really went wrong in each golfer's game. I don't have any idea what their weaknesses are. Was Atkinson DOA with a hybrid off the tee??? How bout that carry on 13? 250 yards just to hit the fairway! Too bad we missed it! Did Atkinson meet with Phil before his round? Is that why he put away the driver?

Anyway, GD, better luck next year, this year's contest didn't live up to the hype...........

For the record, there was considerable interest in those celebrities you fellows would dump. (We liked them because they might bring more interest to the game, not just this round). To guage the depth of interest, check in with Justin Timberlake fans. The She Knows blog, which I don't get to as often as I should, or ShowBizSpy, which got lots of details about Timberlakes allergy problem during the round. Who knew?

Seriously, we hope to do this again next year and your suggestions are important. Thanks for sharing them.

--Bob Carney

We got a couple of very nice notes on the Golf Digest US Open Challenge special on NBC Sunday afternoon and contest winner John Atkinson.

As one of 56,374 entrants in the Golf Digest contest, I believed I could beat the 100, although I really didn't expect to win the essay contest. It's Sunday morning and I'm spending my first Father's Day without my father, who passed away last year. I've just finished watching NBC's tribute to Tim Russert and finally got to read Craig Bestrom's article on John Atkinson. I am now glad I didn't win the contest. Breaking 100 @ Torrey Pines would have been a nice achievement. However, John broke 100 on the toughest course of all....life. I know he didn't do well (as a golfer) @ Torrey Pines, but I will be glued to the set watching him try and rooting for his every shot. mhirsch1110.

You did a fine job of telling the story of John Atkinson. His saga was the dream of many average golfers, only John's story is so much richer than just the 18 holes of golf he played at Torrey Pines. As one of the nearly 57,000 amateur golfers who entered the contest, I admire his hard work and his effort on behalf of all the dreamers who think they can play with the pros just once. Mike Wronkovich Norton, OH

Subsequent to his round at Torrey Pines, John and his brother Kevin were guests of Matt Lauer on the Today Show today.

We couldn't have found a better winner.

--Bob Carney

Alex Lavin, Highland Park, Ill., perhaps thinking that Tiger's knee injury makes him vulnerable, send this question.

My friends and I have been engrossed in an argument over the past few days: The score Tiger Woods would shoot at our local course, with a rating of 71.1. The question: If I carry an Index of 0.8 could I come within ten shots of Tiger if we played together. Compelling arguments say I could, yet there is strong support for the other side. Please give us some guidance.

To answer your question, we need a couple of additional pieces of information: Tiger's handicap and the slope of your golf course. A friend in the industry, a scratch player himself, who claims to have calculated this, says Tiger's last 20 tournament scores make him a plus-13. Even if we were to use his ten worst scores instead of his ten best from the last 20, says the friend, he would be plus-8. But let's go with plus-13; he's earned it.

And let's assume the slope of your course is 130, from which we calculate your course handicap. That's done by dividing this slope by the average slope (113). In that case, 130 divided by 113 is 1.15. Multiply that by your 0.8 Index and you get 1.05, or 1. We'll drop Tiger one shot because this course is harder than average. He's now a plus-12.

Things still aren't looking good for you.
--Bob Carney

"You're really doing this? He's going to play the Open course? He won't be able to think straight...Tour pros can shoot in the 80s on an Open course. What does that say for a 7-handicap?" Padraig Harrington

Actually, our U.S. Open contest winner, John Atkinson, is an 8.0 Index, probably a 10-handicap on Torrey Pines as laid out for the Open. Reader Mark White was fascinated by Guy Yocom's June Golf Digest article about what it means exactly to be a 10 but had a correction on our description of Slope Rating.

I enjoyed the "What is a 10-Handicapper?" article and am looking forward to seeing how regular golfers do on the 2008 U.S. Open course. If Tiger, with his "plus-9" handicap, has trouble with par then these guys will make for some entertaining viewing (keep the medical staff specializing in wrists on standby). I did question the narrative on slope rating: "Poorer players' scores rise exponentially when playing courses with a high slope rating..." The slope in slope rating refers to the slope of a line and not of a curve and as such scores would rise linearly and not exponentially. The article was very informative and should be required reading for anyone teeing it up in handicap golf matches. It would be interesting to have the USGA determine the course and slope rating for every U.S Open course set up. I would expect them to be above the highest ones in America of 80.0 and 155, except the USGA states that the "The lowest Slope Rating is 55 and the highest is 155".

Mark, the USGA, with the help of the Southern California Golf Association, will rate Torrey Pines under Open conditions. We don't know what the rating will be yet, but your estimate is probably pretty close. Dean Knuth, who developed the Slope System for the USGA, says that an 80/155 ratings is possible, depending on course set-up.

Regarding linear versus exponential increases in Slope ratings, Knuth says: "The USGA Handicap Research Team found that most courses do show linear increase in scores as handicaps increase. However, certain courses at the extreme end do show an increase in scores on a curve, not a straight line. Ko'olau in Hawaii was an example, before the course managers eased back on that course's difficulty."

Padraig Harrington is not the only tour pro who thinks our amateur has no chance to break 100. See "This Could Get Ugly" for more comments. What do you think? Make a prediction on the amateurs' scores--that's Atkinson, Matt Lauer, Justin Timberlake and Tony Romo-- and enter a sweepstakes to win your own trip to Torrey.

--Bob Carney

(Illustration: John Ueland)

For Tim Fulton of Davie, Florida, the U.S. Open Contest, and Guy Yocom's June-issue story in Golf Digest on what constitutes a 10-handicapper, unearthed a great deal of resentment about the USGA Handicap system.

After reading ?What is a 10-handicapper??, I once again wonder if the people running the USGA can compete in the ?Are you smarter than a 5th grader show?? The obvious answer is no.

Tiger?s challenge was simple;? a 10-handicapper couldn?t break 100.? Leave it to the USGA to lamely try and justify their ridiculous handicapping system. A handicap system is quite easy to do, a 10 is a 10, and a 10 is not a 14 as the USGA tries to make us believe. The reason they have to adjust it upward is because of their silly Equitable Stroke Control system. Their claim that a blow-up hole shouldn?t be allowed to ruin a round or elevate your handicap, is wrong. To follow that same misguided logic, a superior hole; a hole in one, an albatross or eagle, should not be allowed to arbitrarily lower your round or handicap. Using their logic a 12 handicap should never get a hole in one, it?s a birdie and for a 20 handicap it?s a par. Silliness to the extreme.

I recently went out and shot a 45 with 19 putts on the front and came back in 36 with 9 putts; should I throw the 45 out? Of course not, that?s golf, that?s what the USGA doesn?t get. If there is a problem with a sandbagger, every club knows who they are and most chose not to address the problem. Relying on the USGA to formulate a solution is like asking Congress to be responsible, the USGA has no clue.

The USGA bases its whole system on ?defining the golfer?s potential?. They assume, wrongly, that potential can only mean good. By definition, potential is the capability of developing into actuality. There is nothing about good or bad, so it is either. That is the true essence of golf, the potential to do good or bad. To throw out the bad through ESC is merely creating ?vanity handicaps?. If you are throwing out 10 or 20 rounds, a bad round is not going to affect your true handicap.

When I spoke with the USGA about the ESC system and how dumb it was, I got the classic response,?that?s the way it?s always been?. Which of course doesn?t mean its right; it?s just the way it?s always been.

When you look at the challenge going on at Torrey Pines next month, I wish the participants the best, but there is not a true 10 handicapper amongst them, so the Tiger challenge won?t be answered and will still stand. Shame on the USGA.

John Atkinson, our contest winner, will be at least a 10 when his course handicap is calculated. (His index is 8.0). And if you listen to the tour pros we've interviewed, he's got no chance. Unless, of course, he plays to that potential.

--Bob Carney

When the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge is played at Torrey Pines on the eve of the U.S. Open, we'll see a test that is perfect in scale. A 10-handicapper trying to break 100 at Torrey, in front of a gallery, national TV audience and three celebrities playing alongside him, would experience a challenge in any case. But with the course in murderously difficult condition, it will be the golf equivalent of climbing Mount Everest without oxygen. Guy Yocom

Steve Stuthard of Kingman, AZ, writes with a question about Guy Yocom's "What is a 10 Handicapper?" story done in conjunction with the U.S. Open Contest.

Terrific article, but I must admit it made me question my golf-manhood. Mr. Yocom states that "The national handicap index for men is 14.7". I vary between a 14 and 17 depending upon the season and conditions.

I have often read in your magazine and others that the average recreational male golfer shoots between 95 and 100 which certainly does not equate to a 14.7. My own experience also tells me most of the people I play with (or get paired with) are significantly higher than a 14.

How did Mr. Yocom get his numbers? I'm thinking I and all the people I have played with might be better suited for Tennis!

Steve, there are a lot of us better suited to tennis (or pinochle, for that matter.) But to answer your questions: The numbers Guy relied on come from the USGA's handicap guru, Kevin O'Connor. Golf Digest's consulatant on handicapping, Dean Knuth, has this comment:

I think that Steve is comparing apples and oranges. Yes, the average USGA Handicap Index in America is around 15.0, but golfers with USGA Handicap Indexes represent a minority of all golfers, because the majority don't have an official handicap. The average score of golfers without USGA Handicaps is over 100. The 15.0 on average would translate to a 17 Course Handicap, the average USGA Course Rating being about 70. Golfers average three strokes over their handicaps, so the average score of such golfers is 90 (17 plus 70 plus 3). But again, if we're talking about all golfers--those with handicaps and those without--the average score would be more than 100.

--Bob Carney

We continue to get interesting comment on the U.S. Open Contest, which will conclude on June 6th when Tony Romo, Matt Lauer and Justin Timberlake join contest winner John Atkinson at Torrey Pines. Most of the comments focus on the playing level of the amateur finalists.

Here's TJ Keegan of Parrish, Florida:

I've been following your US Open experiment with some amusement. First, you ask for average golfers and then pick guys that are less than 10 handicappers. You need to get out into the real golf world. If this is your idea of an average golfer then you are writing for the wrong group of people. Plus, average golfers don't spend over $100 playing golf - our game isn't good enough.

An average golfer is more likely to be at least an 18 handicapper playing from no more than 6400 yards. He is not competing for the club championship if he even belongs to a club. He might carry 210 yards on his drive - on a good day. The only way he is going to break 120 on the US Open course is to hit a wedge to the ladies tee and then play safe from there; not very exciting golf but workable.

TJ, you're absolutely right about who is an average golfer. But we were trying to play off Tiger's comment that a 10-handicap could not break 100 on an Open course. That challenge is intriguing; and we, like you, concluded that any handicap much higher than 10 had no chance. Watching an 18 play Torrey Pines in Open condition would not only not be exciting; it would be downright painful.

Hank Haney, in his comments to our semi-finalists, made the point that even a 10 was going to have to play great golf to succeed and Haney was quite sure that, under the gun, he wouldn't. Gary Smith of Bethesda found Haney's "tough love", as recounted in Jerry Tarde's June Editor's Letter, to be just plain mean. But there are plenty of tour pros who think he's right on. Smith also wishes contest winner John Atkinson were playing by himself.

My gosh, Timberlake, Romo and Lauer are joining the foursome? I feel badly for the winner as these three guys -- who undoubtedly come equipped with super-large egos -- will be arm-wrestling for the spotlight. Couldn't the contest winner have had his day in the sun alone?

Gary, this may be a case of misery getting some company. Give these stars some credit for putting their games on display. The spotlight they receive in San Diego may not be the one their accustomed to; it could be harsh indeed.

--Bob Carney

I love this letter from Stewart Thomson of Newport Beach, California. In it he reports on a pre-test of the whole US Open contest: Can a 10-handicap golfer break 100 on the Open course under Open conditions?

Like several contestants in the US Open contest, Stewart offered, in his essay, to make a contribution to charity (Tiger Woods Foundation) for every stroke over 100, if he were the Average Joe picked to play Torrey Pines. Though not chosen as a finalist, he decided to determine just how much he would have spent by going to Torrey Pines and playing the course. Here's his report:

Thank you for not picking my entry, where I pledged $1,000 to the Tiger Woods Foundation for every stroke over 100.  I thought this would cost me about $10,000 and after playing TP South yesterday with our club's Senior Group, I believe you saved me some money!

I maintain that a 10-handicap player will not break 100.  Our tournament rules yesterday were white tees (1,000 yards less than the black tees), ESC to speed up play, and if a ball is lost in the rough, drop a ball, so the conditions were far from the official rules.  My group was a 7, 9, 10 and 13 handicap and we shot 86, 86, 98 and 98 respectively.  Except for the 9, we all lost balls in the rough, although I expect you will have spotters and caddies to help for searches, which we did not have.  Also, the rough was more penal than it will be for the Open as the USGA is letting the rough grow longer now, so that they can cut it to even heights before the tournament.  Lastly, the greens were not as fast as they will be in June.

Based on yesterday's play, our 9, who hit a very straight ball and probably only was saved one or two strokes by ESC, would be closest to your standard, but in my estimation would not break 100 under your playing rules.  Based on his play yesterday, it would be very close.  The secret key is to stay out of the rough, which he did on all but 4 holes.

I appreciate the difficulty in your selecting the five finalists, but to be fair, a 4.7, 6.4 and someone without an index do not qualify, in my opinion, so I have voted for John and I hope he wins, although he will be very disappointed when he hits his 100th stroke on 17!

Interesting comment about your choice among the finalists. John Atkinson is leading by a considerable margin at this point. John's popularity is certainly due in part to his brave fight against cancer and the wonderfully positive approach he's taken to talking about it. But I'm coming to believe that another reason people have voted for John is that his handicap is closest to the 10 to which Tiger referred when he said a 10 couldn't break 100 at last year's Open course. John's course handicap, were he to be chosen, would be more than 10, actually; probably 11 or 12.

For the record, all of the finalists have handicaps. We estimate their Torrey Pines course handicaps will range from 8 for Erik Norton and Matt Rice to 12 for Phil Dembure and John Atkinson. The precise number will depend on the rating of the course in Open condition, which will happen soon.

Thanks for the detailed report, Stewart. And, um, feel free to make that contribution anyway....

--Bob Carney
 

Kurt Rightmyer of Los Osos, California, is one of many readers to question our Final Five choices in the US Open Contest. We've heard that their handicaps are too low (see previous posts here) and that we haven't made a big enough deal of their essays (which indeed are printed under their Finalists Gallery photos in the voting area). But Kurt has a different take on things:

I just read Newsweek's new article about how divorce has become the norm in America. Sadly that's the average nowadays, but thankfully that's not the case for any of your Final Five "average" golfers, all of whom have been happily married for about a dozen years. Also, tens of millions of seniors play golf in this country, but I don't recall seeing any gray on the heads of your "average" golfers. Did you photoshop the pictures?

On your second point, it's also the game of a lifetime, and that means millions of kids who have become seniors are still avid. Thousands of them entered the contest. While we're not guilty of photoshoping, you're right, we did chose five fellows who are far from their first Social Security check. We just thought their stories--their essays, their golf, their connection to the game--fit the bill. But from one senior (I think) to another--you must be, or you wouldn't be this wise--we're doing it again next year!

--Bob Carney

Let's face it, Rory Sabbatini gets no respect. Winner of yesterday's Par 3, he now has no chance to win the Masters, or so Masters logic goes. Now reader Linc Duncanson, Dresser, Wisconsin, administers the ultimate insult, relegating Sabbatini to part 2 of a letter on our US Open Contest.

Shame on you for choosing 5 low handicappers for the the U.S. Open Contest. Four are single digit handicappers and one is "approximately a 10."...When will you learn that the majority of your readers are single digit handicap golfers? It would have been fun to see an average Joe try.

And another thing: What makes you think that anyone cares what Rory Sabbatini carries in his bag? He's not an example of etiquette and sportsmanship that is Golf....

Linc, the voters seem to agree because the highest handicapper, John Atkinson has a substantial lead in the contest. His course handicap would probably be more like 12 at Torrey. (You still have time to vote).

Our feeling was that putting an average Joe (16-18 handicap) on Torrey under Open conditions might not be the best example of that etiquette and sportsmanship you mention. More like torture, eh?

--Bob Carney

Eric Silfer of West Chester, Pennsylvania, not far from where my 10-handicap friend Friedman lives and where, hopefully, he and I will play soon, has a problem with our US Open Contest Final Five choices:

I am highly disappointed to see that the 5 golfers you selected for the final don't really meet what I understood the basic premise of the challenge to be in the first place: that a 10 handicapper couldn't break 100 on a U.S. Open course and set up. The highest legitimate index in the group seems to be an 8.0, with one "estimating" his handicap at 10. Wow.

Not only will I not be voting for any of them, as nice as they may be or as interesting as their stories may be, but I won't be watching the telecast of it either. I was looking forward to seeing how someone meeting the general classification, i.e. a 10, would handle the course, but you don't have that anymore.

We mailed Dean Knuth, the handicap expert, and he tends to agree with you, Eric. Let me give you our justification, for what it's worth:

First, as you know, the indices of the finalists are not their handicaps. Handicaps are derived from indices based on the course being played. Knuth says the most a 5 handicap such as Erik Norton would get is three shots, making him an 8. John Atkinson, who is an 8.0 index could get more (as would Phil Dembure, a 7.9), taking him well over the 10 mark. So let's say we have an 8 and a 12 as our high and low players.

When Tiger made his statement, he was talking about the difficulty of the course (and specifically, about the difficulty of Oakmont). But the course was key. He was not referring, as far as I can tell, to cameras or crowds, he was talking about nasty rough, narrow fairways and slick greens. Not television cameras, playing with three celebrities, or having the focus of a 60,000-entries contest and our magazine focused squarely on your head--and your game. So let's say low man Erik Norton starts as an 8. Add those other factors and I think he's close to what Tiger was talking about.

We wanted a bit of drama in this, Eric. We played with these guys in Texas. There are no slam dunks to break 100 here. Indeed, if you took a poll of the staff (teachers and editors) it would be 4-1 against any of them breaking 100. We've interviewed a few tour pros about this. Most say, no way.

The only pretty sure bet to break 100 in the foursome is Tony Romo. And we eliminated many "Tony Romos" in our selection process because they were just too good. They really were not what Tiger was talking about. Example: James Doing, the Wisconsin voice coach who made the hilarious "Oh what a beautiful morning!" video you've probably seen. Doing was a plus handicap.

So we get your point and it's a fair one. But ask someone who watches the show if in the end it wasn't pretty close to the original idea.

Thanks,

Bob

Jim Fuchs of Costa Mesa says Johnny Miller was swinging over the top in his analysis of the pressure our U.S. Open Contest winner will face at Torrey Pines:

I must have misread the breaking 100 at the US Open rules. I missed the part that says if the contestant fails to break 100 he/she is either executed or loses their home or their life savings. There is no pressure on this individual. They are not expected to break 100. They probably could care less what they shoot. The contestant/entrant is no doubt looking for their 15 (or in this case 60) minutes of fame, so they should welcome the media exposure. I would think there should be a fair amount of pressure on the celebrity golfers. This might be their first round where they actually count all of their strokes. And they certainly don?t want to embarrass themselves. And of course the most pressure will be on the golfer(s) (other than Tiger) who are in contention in the fourth round and trying to win the US Open.

Point well taken, Jim. But something tells me that whether it's life and death or not, it's going to feel like that to the winner of our contest--and to the celebs for that matter. As Grantland Rice said, "Because golf exposes the flaws of the human swing--a basically simple maneuver--it causes more self-torture than any game short of Russian roulette."

You'll decide who that winner is, by the way, when voting among five finalists begins online at the end of the month.

--Bob Carney

(Illustration: John Ueland)

If our U.S. Open Contest has done nothing else, it's produced some wonderful stories and "toasts" to fellow golfers, among the 56,000 entries. This one came in too late for the contest, but is worth your time. It's from Tony Selden of Akron.

Let me tell you about my best friend Bob.

I received my January edition of Golf Digest today, I immediately was drawn to your US Open "What would you shoot" contest. To my disappointment, I discovered on the web site that I was too late to enter...but not because I wouldn't win.

I was disappointed because I missed a chance to tell you about my best friend Bob (in 100 words or less). When I met Bob, it was playing him in Firestone Tire's engineering golf league. It was 1973 in our Tuesday night 9 hole match, we came down to the last hole where I miraculously tied him with a challenging up and down. As the sun was setting, we stayed at that hole - in a 30 minute chipping competition. I don't remember who won except I ended up with a best friend...and I remember hearing the phrase for the first time "...you can get up and down from a garbage can..."

Five years later in one of regular EVERY Saturday morning rounds at the company's Firestone Country Club, I saw Bob make what I think was one of the best up and downs on the toughest par 4 holes on Firestone South. He holed out a 7 iron from the trees lining the right of the fairway from 195 yards...for a two. This was 1978, a steel shafted 7 iron (so he could clear a tree in his way) and definitely before Pro V-1's! I've been playing there for over 30 years. To my knowledge its the only eagle ever recorded on that hole, including among the thousands of pro rounds played there in annual PGA tournaments.

Bob died, too soon, in January 2002, about a month after he and I had played a typical Saturday round in freezing cold of a northeast Ohio winter...just a year short of our 30th year of friendship competing on a golf course. Our mutual friend Paul, a 50 year fixture working at Firestone Country Club, helped me dig up a little bit of turf from the place on the 13th where Bob made the miracle deuce. I placed it on Bob's grave in a little ceremony with a few more of our old friends who were members of the engineers golf league at Firestone.

Last year I had one of those miracle rounds that was guided by special hands. As a career 6 to 8 handicapper, I always wished for but never achieved a score in the 60's. On that remarkable day at Firestone, on Fazio West course, nothing remarkable was going on, and then I made a very tough sand save on the 3rd...then I made a miracle par four save, too bizarre to even describe, on the 8th. I finished the front nine under par.

Now it starts to get interesting. My cart partner is the aforementioned Paul (who had caddied on the PGA tour in his youth). A couple birdies and the rest pars on the back nine, until the my tee shot is in the trap on the par three 14th. Instead of coming back to earth, I holed out the sand shot. Where did that come from?

All I could think of was Bob telling me "you can get up and down from a garbage can."

Three under, four to go. The rest is a blur, but the final score...69.

While I'd love playing at Torrey Pines - a guy who can get up and down from a garbage can will break 100 anywhere - I'd still rather have one more round on a Saturday morning at Firestone with Bob.

If you read my story, thanks for listening. I started typing, so I could tell someone else, but turns out, I wrote to remember it myself.

Thanks Tony, can't think of another essay that's more in keeping with the contest's spirit.

--Bob Carney

Our U.S. Open Contest got Robert Stanton of Bellington, Mass. started, as in, "Don't get me started!"

Where is golf going? There is such a gap between an average pro golfer and an average amateur. Fifty years ago the average golfer could relate to his or her professional counterpart, but not now. Where do I begin--swing gurus, trainers, equipment improvements, and let's not forget the most important game improvement since the invention of the wooden golf tee?agronomy. The conditions of the tour?s golf courses are a totally different environment than what the average player experiences. The average player could benefit tremendously from these pristine conditions.

What if Torrey Pines was forced to take care of their course on the maintenance budget that my home course uses, it would be a whole different game. I believe a single-digit handicap could easily break 100 on an Open course. What about an average tour player, I bet they couldn't?t break par at
my track! Let?s bring the tour players back to reality; no caddies, no yardage books, spike marks ,unraked bunkers, divots, no galleries to keep the ball in play, paying for practice balls, hitting off a rubber mat because there is no grass. I wonder what Gary, Jack, Arnie, Sam or Ben would say ?

Oh, Robert, where do I start? First, you're right. We play two different games. But we always have. In the old days they played balata and we played surlyn and they used blades and we used game-improvement irons and there was no comparison in our games. Now they use our game improvement stuff and beat us by even more.

As for the pros playing on your home course, don't ask. The pros played on my home course in Michigan once and Jack Nicklaus shot a record 27-under par for four rounds. Ouch.

These guys are good. Poor maintenance would make them higher-maintenance, but they'd score just as well, I'm afraid.

--Bob Carney

(Photo:tpmgc.com)

It's official. This contest has caught on. We passed 20,000 entrants today, and they're coming from all walks of life: CEO, Civil Rights commissioner, college golf coach, construction worker, Army captain, college student, clergyman--in fact, a whole lot of clergymen, including one who assured us his entire congregation would be praying that he'd break 100--and those are just a Cs. There are a lot of comics.

Allen from Texas:

Reasons why I'm your golfer? I convinced my wife to name our son Hogan... I took my current job in part because the company owns a course I can play anytime, and I want to prove Tiger wrong--I'm a Mickelson fan. Besides, what does Tiger know? He hasn't been a 10 handicapper since he was 8.

Chris from New York City:

I would shoot a 98 with one breakfast ball off the first tee and I have the best golf terms: a Salman Rushdie--hard read; a Kate Winslet--a bit fat but otherwise perfect; a Cuban--needed one more revolution; a Rock Hudson--looked straight but wasn't; a Saddam Hussein--from one bunker right into another. I got a million of em.

Andrew from Arlington, VA:

The son of an irish saloon keeper and a former college golfer, I would make for great TV. Can I get a bonus if I beat Roger Maltbie?

As the U.S. Open Contest passes 16,000 applicants, the essays take on certain themes.

One is, what I'd shoot and how I'd break 100. Our readers have lots of formulas. My favorite is "Bogey, bogey, double bogey; smile & repeat." That will result, as Dan from Portland, Oregon, put it, in "A Gretzky. A solid 99."

The second theme is loved ones nominating loved ones. Two of the latest and best:

I am nominating my husband, Dan, for this honor of a lifetime. He is an avid golfer, hits a very long drive, and has won a community golf challenge. He lives and breathes golf. We will be married for 40 years in June, and he has never missed a golf tournament on TV. He practices, plays, and practices more! Dan would be challenged. He'd play his heart out, and it would fulfill a lifelong dream to be in the midst of golf professionals. He has what it takes!

Our U.S. Open Contest, through which one lucky reader will play Torrey Pines under Open conditions in front TV cameras the weekend before next June's Open, has reached 13,067--a heck of lot of Walter Mittys. One of them is Jeffrey from Chadd's Ford, Pennsylvania:

I represent the enthusiastic weekend golfer who has always dreamed that, "If only I had the time to devote to the game, then I could be really good." Alas, work and the real world have left me, now at 50 years old, still enthusiastic, but overweight, struggling to maintain a 5 handicap, and obviously not playing on the Champions Tour like I thought I would when I was 35. Still, I've got some game and would surely find a way to break 100 - my prediction: 86.

Click here to enter. I promise you we'll read every single one.

--Bob Carney

This contest is turning into a family affair. Hundreds of the more than 3500 essays come from brothers, fathers, daughters and sons. A sampling....

For Dan in California and Rick in Kansas it's a brother thing:

Dan: I have a brother who teaches golf in Florida...I would like to prove to my friends and my brother than I can play and that he is a good teacher. I have the skills and ability to prove Tiger wrong!

Rick: I am writing on behalf of my brother, Randy; his age is 56. He loves golf. Several years ago he developed a blood disease that almost took his life and now on his road to recovery, he is on disability....He's been up against a lot of situations in his life and conquered them all. He never asks for himself. Rick Evans.

My boys and I have the same dream every June: Could we break 80 on that U. S. Open course? Sure, we talk a good game, but reality sets in as we watch some of the world's best players shoot in the 80s. What a thrill it would be my boys, who play on their high school golf team, that my score of 98 at Torrey Pines will prove Tiger wrong, although it will also prove that my dream of breaking 80 on a U.S. Open course won't ever come true.

Bill, a father from Columbia, South Carolina, takes the humble approach and promises to clean up his act for NBC:

I know this won't be chosen unless it is witty and stands out from the pack. Unfortunately, neither my writing nor my golf has ever stood out. I am a married father of two who would love the challenge of representing Joe Dad during the Father's Day time of year. I am a Southerner but promise not to spit, pick, cuss or scratch on life television. Handicap is about a 10.....

No one has more on the line than Clay, a 12 handicap, from Mississippi:

I really need to win because I read this story to my wife & she heard what Tiger said about a 10 handicap breaking 100, then she asked if I could. "Sure, why not?" I replied. I was wondering where she was going with this & she said if I could shoot under 100, I could play all the golf I want & she wouldn't say anything. Then she said: "Like that's really going to happen."

But perhaps my favorite so far comes from Douglas of Washington State, who nominates both himself and his brother:

I will shoot 95. My brother if you prefer him, Rob, will shoot a 76. One of us will dedicate this to our honorable father, a scratch golfer, a decatholon champion of Canada 3 years in a row and a physician whom passed away at the early age of 62. We would be honored to play for him in this event which he would have loved.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Torrey Pines photo from UC San Diego)

It's official. More people have now entered the GolfDigest U.S. Open contest than took steroids in major league baseball last year. We're at 3,000 and counting. Your essays are terrific. My favorites seem to be from females:

From Susanna:

My husband Jeff is the best golf "amateur"....He loves the game, loves golf architecture, and best of all he gave me the love of the game that has turned me from a golf widow into someone that goes out on a muni as a single when it is 45 outside. The joy of playing in US Open conditions would be the best gift that I could give him. He will happily (haha) shoot an 85....

From, grrr, Kimberly:

As a 5'4", 100 pound, 20 year old female, I believe I could break 100, 90....eh, 80 would probably be a miracle....I'm my dad's "freak show" for business golf, so why not let the rest of the world and three celebrities experience the wrath of an innocent-looking little girl with a long ball and fiercely competitive attitude?

...Timothy's wife:

I am nominating my husband of 6 months. I believe he could shoot an 85. He is a very kind-hearted man, a great father (and stepfather). He is frugal with his money except when it comes to golf, as proven by the 3 sets of clubs he owns....

And Dean's girlfriend...

My boy friend LIVES for golf. He has a subscription to Golf Digest and he reads it cover to cover. He has every book ever written about golf....He usually shoots 75 to 77. I think he will shoot 72...Besides, he is cute and would look good on TV!

If you're thinking, "Where were these women when I was dating?" that's a bad thought and make it go away.

--Bob Carney

We topped 2300 registrations in the U.S. Open contest today, with fathers nominating sons, sons nominating fathers, daughters nominating fathers and even a couple of wives nominating husbands. (For this alone the contest is a success).

Stories in Australia and Canada today made it international. And Tiger Woods weighed in. Here's Lorne Rubinstein in Toronto Globe & Mail:

Meanwhile, Woods is surely right in saying a 10-handicapper couldn't break 100 on a U.S. Open course. The celebrities might have an advantage over the winner in the Golf Digest contest, who is sure to be both pitied and envied. They'll have played in televised pro-ams. Then again, they'll have never played a pro-am in a U.S. Open because there's no pro-am before the championship.

"It's an interesting idea," Woods said yesterday during a conference call in advance of the Target World Challenge that starts today in Thousand, Oaks, Calif., and to which he plays host. "But they should play it on the Monday after the tournament."

Tiger said that the rough got tougher as the week went on and the Monday following would be the ultimate test. We're thinking the Saturday before will be plenty, thank you.

Woods said their round will help amateurs understand how narrow U.S. Open fairways are, how high the rough is, and how fast the greens are. "Amateurs probably don't understand how difficult the pins can be," Woods said. He added that even the pros can putt the ball off the greens. What fun.

With almost everyone agreeing that the amateurs have no chance to break 100, I'll side with the deluded and say one will. How great would that be?

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Walter Iooss, Jr.)

If you?re a 10-handicapper, there?s no way you?re breaking 100 out there; if you played all out on every shot, there is no way. Tiger Woods

Apparently quite a few of us dream of sinking that putt to win the Open. Or there are just a load of us who want prove Tiger wrong. In three days Golf Digest has received more that 1215 essays from golfers trying to be the lone "average amateur" to play the U.S. Open course, Torrey Pines, next June, a few days before the championship. An hour-long show covering the round will air prior to Sunday's U.S. Open final round.

Our contest launched late last week and we recieved almost 400 registrations in the first 24 hours. The contest will identify one worthy (or foolhardy) soul who'l join three celebs and try to do what Tiger said could not be done. At Oakmont, you may recall, Tiger said a 10-handicap amateur, playing out every shot, couldn't break 100.

Based on that simple premise, Golf Digest and NBC, with the USGA's cooperation, created the contest. The Times' Larry Dorman, among others, picked up on the January-issue announcement, referring to it as the USGA's "reality show."

So did Geoff Shackelford, who took a slightly more skeptical stance. But we are pure of heart here. We just want to see what will happen.

Alex Infante, one of the first entrants, thinks he knows.

A game. A dream. A hope. The U.S. Open--the greatest golf challenge. We watch as Tiger "ups the ante"--says I can't break 100. Game on! ... I will succeed. I will score 85. And the next time my daughter asks, "When will you be on TV?" I'll say, as we watch the 2008 U.S. Open, "Today."

Given that Torrey Pines will be 400 yards longer than Oakmont, Alex, early betting is that Tiger will be proven right.

But at least 1215 of you are taking the under.

--Bob Carney