It is said that when Donald Ross extensively remodelled Pinehurst No 2 in 1935, it was largely in a fit of pique at being overlooked as designer of Augusta National. One suspects that by the time the 99th US Open is finished here this weekend, there will be many tortured souls wishing he hadn't bothered.
John Daly spoke for them in advance, after completing a practice round yesterday. What would be a good performance for him, Daly was asked. "To finish," came the deadpan reply.
For its first staging of the championship, Pinehurst will have three-inch rough rather than the customary five-inch US Open variety. Its fairways are wider than normal. And there are no collars of rough around the greens. But for all that, it retains the capacity to inflict great pain.
"This is supposed to be the toughest championship in the world and it's not supposed to be easy," argued Tim Moraghan, chief agronomist of the USGA. "But that doesn't mean we want even-par 280 to be the winning score." He went on: "I would like par to be the ideal score on every hole, but these are great players and if great players play great golf, terrific. And if someone goes 15 under par, that will be great golf."
Interestingly, such a figure has not even been hinted at by the leading challengers, though it is clear that much will depend on the firmness of the greens. Even with technology that can blow air in and suck water out, wet weather this week has made them unusually receptive.
Tom McKnight, one of six amateurs in the field of 156, competed recently in the British Amateur Championship at Royal Co Down. How would he compare the two courses? "If I had to shoot 70 to save my life, I think I'd take my chances at Royal Co Down," he replied. "It may be more challenging off the tee, but getting on the green is a lot more difficult here."
Still, the USGA approach has been far more sane than at the Olympic Club last year, when conditions were clearly unfair, especially on the rock-hard fairways. In fact they have had the good grace to apologise to the 1998 runner-up Payne Stewart, for an excessively penal pin position which cost him a bogey on the 18th.
Europe's 16 challengers, who include Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke and reigning US Masters champion Jose-Maria Olazabal, will be attempting to bridge a gap of 29 years since Tony Jacklin last brought the trophy across the Atlantic, with his triumph at Hazeltine. "That's too long to have to wait," said Montgomerie, with feeling.
Maybe so, but the title hasn't remained the sole preserve of the Americans during that period. David Graham won it for Australia in 1981 and Ernie Els followed the lead of Gary Player by becoming a South African winner in 1994 and 1997. And they did it essentially by hitting greens in regulation and having the patience to accept inevitable grief.
Meanwhile, the weather situation is not especially heartening, with more rain expected today. But there is the prospect of brighter conditions over the weekend.
As to whether this will make for an easier challenge, defending champion Lee Janzen is not convinced. "If the course dries out as the USGA want it, over-par could win," he said. "The shots are right in front of you; the fairways are wide and you have to be precise with your irons."
This view is endorsed by Jack Nicklaus, who is making his 43rd successive appearance in the championship, having undergone hip-replacement surgery last January. At 59, his very presence is an achievement, though he would clearly prefer to be hitting the ball better than he has done so far in practice.
"With any sort of a breeze, I think competitors would have an awfully hard time trying to stay around par," he said. "On the other hand, if conditions stay as they are, the Open record (of 272, which Nicklaus set at Baltusrol in 1980), could be broken."
Clearly, the two leading challengers are David Duval and Tiger Woods, currently first and second in the world rankings. Both agree that the main problem areas are the greens. Miss it short, but not left or right or long, is the accepted strategy for approach play. All of the greens fall away at the back, to a greater or lesser degree, and the most pronounced incline is back left of the 485-yard eighth from where it's virtually impossible to save par.
Television analyst Johnny Miller once observed that Woods had three speeds as a ball striker - "hard, harder and hardest." But the 23-year-old is now much more of a thinking player who has learned to control his aggression. And it's starting to pay dividends.
This was certainly evident at the Memorial, which he won 11 days ago. "I wasn't playing that well and I used my short game to advantage," he said. "These are the changes I've been making and it was just a matter of time before they started clicking."
Duval, meanwhile, pointed to the advantage that the game's long hitters had in the current conditions. "Rain has to help us, simply because we keep the ball in the air longer," he said. And he went on to insist that the need to win a major championship was not a source of self-imposed pressure.
"I don't see it as something I have to get out of the way right now," he said. "I see it as a continual challenge. Certainly when players look back at the end of their career, they are sure to feel a lot better if they have won a major or two."
Looking at the overall challenge, I think Clarke is playing well enough to make the top 10, while Olazabal seems capable of winning. But the man they all have to beat is Duval who comes into the event as a worthy world number one.
Back in 1935, in a letter to his daughter, Donald Ross wrote: "The new course (No 2) is just grand. It is, I think, the best job I ever did and will always be a fine monument to your dad." Sixty-four years on, the final gloss to those words is about to be added this weekend.
