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I know this is going to get lost amidst the plethora of US Open commentaries (not to mention the fact that I have about zero readers anyway), but neither of those facts has stopped me so far so off I go. Let me start by saying that I love the US Open, but all of the coverage and talk leans more and more each year to the difficulty of the course and away from the skill of the field. It all becomes about what the USGA has done right or wrong in setting up the course and the length of the rough and the speed of the greens and that drives me crazy. The course is always one of the toughest of the year, the rough is always long and the greens are really fast. I know that. I would much prefer to hear about how players in the field prepare for the event and whose game is setting up perfectly for the course and the right time, outside of the obvious two. (By the way, have you heard that this US Open is like a home game for Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson?)

Outside of that though, the US Open is an awesome event each year. There is rarely a more challenging tournament in a given year and the winner really is more aptly the survivor. For as much as I hate the talk about the difficulty of the course, I love how difficult it is. You need to be a complete player to win the Open. You need to make the fewest mistakes, because even small mistakes can kill you. You need to handle what mistakes you do make (because there will definitely be mistakes) very well and not let them turn into more mistakes. Don’t get me wrong, I love to see the world’s most talented players attack a golf course and duel down to the finish with really low scores. In fact, I much prefer it. But I really appreciate the US Open for what it is: one of the hardest weeks of the year.

In this year’s tournament we have the added story lines of Tiger and Phil (and world #3 Adam Scott) playing together on Thursday and Friday (and if all goes to plan, Saturday and Sunday too), Tiger coming back from knee surgery, Tiger and Phil playing close to home and Tiger’s past dominance of Torrey Pines. It should be a very exciting weekend.

As far as predictions go, a two year old could pick Tiger Woods, but that’s not stopping me. I happen to be a Tiger guy. Everyone knows by now that you can’t be both a Tiger guy and a Phil guy. You have to pick one and I love Tiger. I know he is a machine and everyone thinks Phil is a better guy, but seriously have you SEEN Tiger Woods play golf?! There is not another athlete who is as good at what they do. You simply cannot tell me that his greatness is not fun to watch. As a sports fan, I am always waiting to catch a glimpse of greatness and Tiger is the very definition of the word.

I just don’t get the same sense of excitement watching Phil. When Phil is on TV I don’t stop everything and say to myself, “I am never going to see another golfer like this ever. I have to use every opportunity I can to watch him.” That is how I feel about Tiger, not Phil. Phil is an excellent golfer, one of the best of his era, but I just don’t get excited watching him play. Rick Reilly implored everyone this week to root for Phil for once because Tiger always wins and Phil hasn’t won a US Open and he’s on his home course and he is a great guy. I don’t disagree with any of that, but despite how boring a person Tiger is, I can’t help but root for him on the golf course and this week is no different.

Tiger, as in any week, is the favorite this week, but he certainly isn’t the prohibitive favorite. His recovery from knee surgery, the difficulty of a familiar course and Phil being at home are all real challenges for Tiger. Phil has an excellent shot to win this week. The field has as good a chance this week as probably ever given the circumstances. I know all of this and maybe I’m hoping for it more than predicting it, but Tiger is still my pick to win this week. The cliched answer as to why is that it is hard to pick against him, but it is true. He is just a lot better than anyone else and I really think he will show it again this week.

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