Early reports from Winged Foot - Rough!

Early reports from the "kinder gentler" Winged Foot with its intermediate rough to "make the punishment fit the crime" (Mike Davis quote) are showing high scores in the "punishment" department. Two golf writer colleagues of mine report the fairways so fast balls contain less in the fairway and when the ball rolls to the edge of the second cut, that's high enough to require two shots out at least.

Other sources report both several touring pros already spending weekends in Mamaroneck and having mixed results "expirimenting" with shots out of the spinach. My early guess of a -3 wining score are looking pretty good about now.

Also, hat's off to my Golf Magazine colleagues for the best U.S. Open preview pieces out there. Finally, my colleague Connell Barrett did a fantastic job detailing the horrors of David Feherty's alcoholism in this month's GM. Our thoughts and prayers are with you David for a long, clean and healthy recovery. Connell ws part therapist, part scribener and full time friend to David during this long process. The article is an important salvo in the war against merely branding victims of addiction and savaging them as weak or lacking character.