Seve Won't Make Return At St. Andrews

What was expected to be a highlight of next month's Open Championship at St. Andrews -- the emotional return of Seve Ballesteros to play in the four-hole champions challenge on the Wednesday before the tournament -- apparently won't happen.

Reports indicate Ballesteros, who is fighting brain cancer, has been advised by his doctors not to make the trip to St. Andrews, where he had hoped to return publicly to the game for what would have been a stirring afternoon in the old gray town. Instead, the event will go on without Ballesteros, whose condition apparently remains very serious.

Ballesteros has never been fully appreciated here for his impact on the game in Europe. The obvious comparison is to Arnold Palmer and it's an accurate one. Like Palmer, Ballesteros brought the game to the public with his style and personality. He had hoped to return to St. Andrews, site of perhaps his most dramatic victory, and to share one more afternoon on the links with other former winners of the claret jug.

Instead, Ballesteros will remain at home, no doubt heartbroken at what he will miss. And, at St. Andrews, Ballesteros will be greatly missed, as well.

Did Tiger Blame Stevie For His Mistakes?

While Graeme McDowell was celebrating his U.S. Open victory, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson were left to think about one that got away from each of them.

Did Tiger Woods throw his caddie, Steve Williams, under the bus Sunday night after his disappointing tie for fourth?

Talking about the mistakes that cost him, Woods pointed to a bogey he made at the 10th hole as a critical error.

"Steve said take dead aim right at it and, in my heart, I said no," Woods said. "There was no chance. I have a sand wedge in my hand and I can't play at that flag...

"I went against my own...I know things and hit the ball to the right and then hit the wrong club at 12...I made just an awful swing."

In a television interview, Woods said three mental errors "cost us the Open." The third was a 3-wood tee shot that ran over the edge of a cliff at No. 6.

He might make technical mistakes with his swing but Woods rarely makes mental errors. A forced driver at the third hole in the final round of the Masters a few years ago comes to mind but it's one of the few.

Maybe it was frustration boiling over. Maybe Woods was angry with Williams. But, as Tiger knows, it's the player who makes the final judgment call and I can't imagine a better guy on the bag than Williams.

What Woods can take away from Pebble Beach is how close he is to being back in full competitive form. He's finished tied for fourth in both majors this year. He will be the favorite at the British Open at St. Andrews next month and I expect he'll win there.

Els melted when it mattered Sunday. It was right there for him to win and he blew a driver down a cliff on the 10th hole to make a double bogey then he added on another bogey at 11 to back away from the lead. Needing to make a handful of key putts down the stretch, Els couldn't make enough of them. Sadly, it didn't come as a big surprise.

Mickelson had another great chance to win an Open but couldn't do it. He was ragged at the wrong time. On a course as severe as Pebble Beach was Sunday, there's no room for ragged. It exposed everyone but it was a chance for Mickelson grab the Open and he didn't do it.

As for Dustin Johnson's 82, you wonder what it does to him long-term. Maybe nothing but that's tough to believe. As good as he'd been for three days, he was almost unbelievably bad Sunday. It broke his spirit and the Open's good at that. It felt almost uncomfortable to watch him trying to finish.

That one's going to leave a mark -- on several players.

Five Things To Watch In The U.S. Open Today

Five things to watch in the final round of the U.S. Open:

1. Can Dustin Do It?

Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson looked flawless shooting 66 on Saturday to build a three-stroke lead over Graeme McDowell with 18 holes remaining but finishing a major championship is a huge step. But the way Johnson plays Pebble Beach with his power and confidence, I get the feeling someone is going to have to chase him down because he's not going to move backward too much. Then again, he's never been in this position and it can do odd things to players.

2. The Tiger Beat

We saw the old Tiger Woods on Saturday at Pebble Beach and it will take another classic Tiger performance for him to win today. He was buzzing when he finished on Saturday, a look we haven't seen this year and if he can carry over that vibe today -- and make a couple of quick birdies -- the game could be on.

3. Is Phil Phinished?

The look on Mickelson's face after his third-round 73 left him seven shots back suggested he knows he's missed another chance in the Open. Mickelson just didn't look like himself Saturday. There was a ragged edge to his game that showed with bogeys on the first two holes. It will take something really special for him to win today.

4. DL3 And The Masters

Love has been chasing a return to the Masters for several years now but hasn't found a way to get there. If he can finish in the top eight -- he starts tied for 10th -- he's back in the Masters.

5. Tom Watson

This could be his final round in the U.S. Open. Then again, it may not. If Watson can finish in the top 16 he gets a spot next year at Congressional and he's already said he'll take it. He can get in with a victory at the U.S. Senior Open, too.

Regardless, seeing Watson in his final U.S. Open at Pebble Beach is a scene worth savoring.

The Biggest Day In Dustin Johnson's Golf Life

Today is the biggest day in Dustin Johnson's golf life.

He starts the final round of the U.S. Open with a three-stroke lead over Graeme McDowell and five clear of Tiger Woods, staring history smack in the face. All he has to do is finish it.

Johnson, who played college golf at Coastal Carolina and lives in Myrtle Beach, looks like he's ready to do it. He's made very few mistakes through three rounds and used his enormous power to overwhelm Pebble Beach at times.

But doing it for three days is different from doing it on the fourth, especially when the greens are bumpy and the nerves are raw. That's not to say Johnson can't get it done, only that this is very different from winning the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach the past two years.

Before the Open started, I didn't put a lot of stock into Johnson's two February wins at Pebble Beach. He'd only played three rounds at Pebble Beach in those two multi-course tournaments and the set-up is so different from what it is this week. It's wet in the winter, firm right now.

Evidently, it doesn't matter to Johnson.

He is so long and strong, that he's playing a different Pebble Beach than everyone else. Even Tiger Woods marvels at Johnson's length, calling him "stupid long."

He drove the par-4 fourth hole, playing a short 286 yards, with a 4-iron Saturday. He hit a 273-yard, uphill 3-iron over the sixth green and hit a 206-yard 7-iron to set up a birdie at the 17th hole.

If you caught the slow-motion replay of Johnson's swing with a driver on Saturday, you saw one of the most athletic rips you'll ever see. He gets the club so wide it allows him to generate enormous speed with his 6-foot, 4-inch frame and then he seems to compress it all as he makes his downswing.

To use one of the most over-used words in the English language, it's awesome.

"He stood up and had no fear," said Graeme McDowell, his playing partner, after seeing Johnson shoot 66 Saturday.

"But he has to sleep on a three-shot lead. We'll see how he feels (Sunday)."

Johnson just smiled when told of McDowell's comment.

"I think I'm going to feel good," Johnson said. "It's going to be very hard. I have to stay patient and keep playing like I've been playing and I'll be tough to beat."

When the inevitable question came about having Woods looming in third place, though five shots back, Johnson faced it like he faces Pebble Beach -- going right at it.

"He's the best player in the world," Johnson said. "It's not a shock to see him right there. All I can do is worry about myself. I can't control what he does. I can only control what I do."

Watson Gets One More Open Weekend

Tom Watson made no secret Friday of how badly he wanted to hang around to play the weekend in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

"Pull for 3-under, will you?" Watson said as his press conference ended Friday afternoon.

Watson knew at lunchtime Friday that if Graeme McDowell's 3-under par total was the 36-hole lead, he would qualify for the weekend by virtue of the 10-shot rule, which keeps every player within 10 strokes of the lead around for 72 holes. Watson made it on the number.

That means Sunday will probably be his final round in a U.S. Open. That will give us all time to celebrate it more properly.

He's a part of this event and this place and he looked like he was having a blast these last two days, playing with Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa. He's of one generation, they're two generations later. Watson, however, remains timeless.

It's amazing to think that Watson has played in all five U.S. Opens played at Pebble Beach.

It was fun to hear him talk about watching Ishikawa putt.

"He reminded me of me when I was 18," Watson said. "Made everything. Drove it in the back of the hole and rattled it in.

"I love to watch him putt. I was trying to learn something from him."

Watching Watson, graceful as ever in what's likely his last Open, we can all learn something from watching him.

The Good and Bad From The U.S. Open

Birdies and bogeys from the first round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach:

BIRDIES

-- Brendon de Jonge. The Charlotte resident, playing in his first U.S. Open, made it look like no big deal, crusiing along the edge of Carmel Bay, making three birdies in a four-hole cluster and then, when it seemed he was losing his edge, holing a wedge shot for an eagle at the 14th. It's just one round but it's a good start for a guy having a good year.

-- Mike Weir. He's not flashy but he has a steady game built for U.S. Open set-ups. It's probably been forgotten because of how the weather ruined so much last year but Weir was the first-round leader at Bethpage after shooting 64. Don't be surprised if he hangs around.

-- Ryo Ishikawa's outfit. Hot pink and white doesn't usually work for golfers unless their name is Paula Creamer but Ishikawa made it work on Thursday. He one-upped Ian Poulter in the fashion game, if only for a day.

-- Rafael Cabrera-Bello: The young Spaniard, who shot 70, was charming in his post-round interview session telling the story of his visa troubles getting out of Europe and arriving in California before his clubs did. "The airline didn't lose them," he said. "They just forgot them."

BOGEYS
-- Geoff Ogilvy. He shot 79 on Thursday, not what you'd expect from a guy with his game. But he can go flat for long periods at a time. This is evidently one of those times.

-- Phil Mickelson. The good news is he didn't shoot himself out of the championship despite an opening-round 75. The bad news is everyone, Mickelson included, expected more. But if you can't make putts inside 10 feet, it's going to haunt you. He needs a strong second round to be right there.

-- Ryan Moore's tee shot at No. 17. If you missed it, Moore's tee shot on the par-3 missed the green to the right and bounced all the across the 18th tee behind the green and hung on the edge of the edge suspended above Carmel Bay. It was a very large miss even by amateur standards. He did, however, make a good bogey.

-- Tiger Woods. He complained about the greens, calling them "awful." They're poa annua greens, they're never great. But everybody has to play them. He'll get over it, probably.

Harris, Phil Meet; Changes Coming To Quail Greens

Quail Hollow Club president Johnny Harris met with Phil Mickelson Wednesday and, among other things, they discussed Mickelson's sharp criticism of the greens during the Quail Hollow Championship in May.

Harris told Mickelson that significant changes are planned for two, possibly three, of the greens that most concerned the world's second-ranked player.

Plans are underway, Harris said Wednesday, to make changes to the eighth, 12th and possibly 18th greens at Quail Hollow.

"We had a very positive discussion," said Harris, who is in the Pebble Beach area this week for the U.S. Open. "We've always encouraged feedback from the players and we appreciate what they tell us."

Mickelson called the Quail Hollow greens among the most poorly designed putting surfaces on tour in comments he made after the third round. He specificied the 12th green, a sharply sloping surface, and the 18th, where he was forced to putt away from the hole in the third round.

The short eighth hole, with its three-tiered green, has been controversial among players and members because it seems out of character with other greens on the course. Harris didn't specify what changes would be made to the greens but various alterations were under consideration before Mickelson's comments.

Course designer Tom Fazio, who did the major renovation to Quail Hollow in the late 1990s, has been on site studying the greens.

Harris also said approximately 60 trees have been taken out on the 18th hole, part of the club's continual process of evaluating the course.