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Interlachen Giving Players A Break

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By MICK ELLIOTT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 25, 2008

Updated: 06/25/2008 12:12 am

EDINA, Minn. - At 6,789 yards, Interlachen Country Club will play as the longest U.S. Women's Open course, but that may not be as tough as it sounds.

The USGA, noted for turning par 5s into par 4s when setting up the men's national championship, is giving the women a break.

It will be set up as a par 73, featuring five par 5s.

"So for those of you who think the USGA is fixated on switching par 5s to 4s, we've got five par 5s this year," said Mike Davis, USGA senior director of rules and competitions.

In a break from traditional USGA philosophy, three of the par 5s will play 525 yards or less, and four of the five can legitimately be reached in two shots.

"Whether you can get to a par 5 or not, the thing about an Open is strategy," said defending champion Cristie Kerr, who won last year at Pine Needles, another Donald Ross-designed course. "You can be aggressive, but you have to know when to do it and when not to do it. The more low-stress situations you have in the Open at the end of the day, that's what it's all about."

COURSE HISTORY: Interlachen Country Club, which opened in 1911, was completely redesigned by historic course architect Ross and re-opened in 1921. Revisions were done by Robert Trent Jones in 1963.

The club was an integral part of Bobby Jones' Grand Slam when it hosted the 1930 U.S. Open. Jones won that tournament and also won the U.S. Amateur, British Open and British Amateur that year.

The club also hosted the LPGA's 2002 Solheim Cup matches in which the U.S. beat Europe.

ON SECOND THOUGHT ...: The once-soaring career of Michelle Wie stalled badly last year when she had a wrist injury.

In hindsight, the veteran 18-year-old - an oxymoron if there ever was one - admits she should have sat out the entire year and not attempted to continue playing.

"I was in no condition to play," she said. "I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't in any condition to play. And I think looking back on it I wouldn't have done anything more different."

So, why did she play if it was that bad?

"It's because I thought that at any moment it would get better. My wrist was broken, but my mind wasn't broken. I wasn't going to let the wrist break me. And it was just that mentality where, it's like, 'I can fight through this, I can do this. It's just a bad wrist; it's going to be fine.' I felt like at any moment it could turn around.

"But looking back on it, I think that just prolonged my injury. I felt like if I had taken good time off it would have healed a lot faster, but I reinjured it a couple of times."

PLAYOFFS CAN HAPPEN: Unlike the men's U.S. Open, recently won by Tiger Woods in a Monday playoff against Rocco Mediate, the Women's Open is decided on Sunday if regulation play ends in a tie.

If the championship is tied after four rounds, a three-hole playoff will take place immediately following the fourth round. If the playoff results in a tie, play will continue hole-by-hole until a champion is determined.

There have been 10 18-hole playoffs in the history of the Women's Open before the format was changed in 2007.

Mick Elliott

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