Standing in a sand trap, Scott Verplank poked his head up over the high, grassy ridge that blocked his view of the 14th green as he tried to get a feel for the pin placement on what has turned into one of the trickiest holes at the US Open. It's a frustrating spot on Pebble Beach's back nine. The hole of doom, to do it proper justice.
"If you're in that bunker, you're not seeing much, you're just seeing the rescue," Verplank said. "It's tough." Verplank wound up with a double-bogey on the par-5, 523-yard hole Thursday. It caused Yuta Ikeda absolute fits, too. And many others. Golfers often have to contend with hitting into the wind on No. 14. This is one hole that everybody in the 156-man field would probably prefer to scratch from the course altogether if they could.
No 14 has been brutal for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am held here each February - and for the US Open, a major, it's tougher still. The rolling green sits atop a plateau and gives golfers very few spots to safely place the ball. There's often the risk of watching a shot trickle off the green and back down the slope, sometimes right back to a player's feet. That was the case for Paul Casey on Friday morning.
"We've talked about that all week, it's probably the hardest third shot in all of golf," Tiger Woods said. "The way the green is right now, during AT&T it's no big deal, it's just going to plug up there, but not right now. It's very tricky." Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell will spearhead the European challenge at the 110th US Open today after an impressive second round continued in California yesterday.
Recently crowned Celtic Manor Wales Open champion McDowell had started the day on level par at Pebble Beach Golf Links but the finished three under after carding a 68. Lee Westwood finished three over while Ernie Els is one under after an impressive round that saw him finished three under. Woods, meanwhile, finished four over. Alternately struggling with his woods, irons and his putter on a cloudy, windy day on the Monterey Peninsula, missed an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 18, then made the turn and made bogeys on Nos. 2 and 3 to balloon to 5 over.
Early on, it looked like it would be a better day for the world's top-ranked player, who won by 15 here a decade ago, the last time the US Open came to Pebble. He made his first birdie of the tournament without even using his putter, chipping in on No. 11, then made a more traditional one after knocking his approach to six feet on No. 14. But he made bogeys on both the par-3s on the back nine, missed the makable birdie try on 18 and slammed his club back into his bag on No. 2 when he stood in a fairway bunker, his ball positioned under a high lip, and realized he'd have to lay up instead of going for the green. He hit a wild drive on No 3 to set up another bogey, and even on a day where most of the players were struggling, he was falling out of shouting distance from the leader.
Woods had heard US Open officials play down his criticism of their championship set-up, in which he had described the Pebble Beach greens last night as "bouncy" and "awful" following his opening, three-over-par 74.
* Agencies
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
More on Quran memorisation:
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
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%3Cp%3E1.%20Protracted%20but%20less%20intense%20war%20(60%25%20likelihood)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20Negotiated%20end%20to%20the%20conflict%20(30%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E3.%20Russia%20seizes%20more%20territory%20(20%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.%20Ukraine%20pushes%20Russia%20back%20(10%25)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EForecast%20by%20Economist%20Intelligence%20Unit%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Spain drain
CONVICTED
Lionel Messi Found guilty in 2016 of of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying €4.1m in taxes on income earned from image rights. Sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined more than €2m. But prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of €252,000.
Javier Mascherano Accepted one-year suspended sentence in January 2016 for tax fraud after found guilty of failing to pay €1.5m in taxes for 2011 and 2012. Unlike Messi he avoided trial by admitting to tax evasion.
Angel di Maria Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel di Maria was fined and given a 16-month prison sentence for tax fraud during his time at Real Madrid. But he is unlikely to go to prison as is normal in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying sentence of less than two years.
SUSPECTED
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid's star striker, accused of evading €14.7m in taxes, appears in court on Monday. Portuguese star faces four charges of fraud through offshore companies.
Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager accused of evading €3.3m in tax in 2011 and 2012, during time in charge at Real Madrid. But Gestifute, which represents him, says he has already settled matter with Spanish tax authorities.
Samuel Eto'o In November 2016, Spanish prosecutors sought jail sentence of 10 years and fines totalling €18m for Cameroonian, accused of failing to pay €3.9m in taxes during time at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.
Radamel Falcao Colombian striker Falcao suspected of failing to correctly declare €7.4m of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while at Atletico Madrid. He has since paid €8.2m to Spanish tax authorities, a sum that includes interest on the original amount.
Jorge Mendes Portuguese super-agent put under official investigation last month by Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Falcao, a client of his. He defended himself, telling closed-door hearing he "never" advised players in tax matters.
