NOTEBOOK U.S. Open

Different caddie: The last time Colin Montgomerie played at Oakmont, he forced a three-way playoff for the 1994 U.S. Open title with eventual winner Ernie Els and Loren Roberts. But Montgomerie wilted in stifling heat and humidity to shoot a playoff-round 78. This time, Montgomerie put heat on himself by firing his caddie, Alastair McLean, before arguably the most important tournament of the year. McLean caddied for Montgomerie since 1991. The two also split in 2002, reuniting before Montgomerie’s excellent performance in the 2004 Ryder Cup near Detroit. The latest split came after Montgomerie missed the cut in last week’s Austrian Open. Montgomerie is 30th in the European Order of Merit, but hasn’t finished higher than 15th in his six tournaments there this year. Montgomerie was in position to win last year at Winged Foot, but a poorly hit 7-iron on the final hole helped Geoff Ogilvy win. Still, the 43-year-old Montgomerie said his play last year proved he can still compete at the level needed to win a major.
Ace unseen: Kevin Sutherland is back in the U.S. Open after a two-year hiatus, easily capturing the first of four spots available from the sectional qualifier in Murrieta, Calif. The highlight was a shot no one saw. Sutherland made a hole-in-one in his first round, not realizing it until his partner found it in the bottom of the cup. “We were dead into the sun,” Sutherland said Monday after a practice round at Oakmont. “I couldn’t see it.” Barring a spectacle like Michelle Wie in the field, hardly any fans go to sectional qualifiers, so it’s not like Sutherland could rely on a big cheer to tell him the outcome. He didn’t see it on the green and figured it went long. He was looking in the rough when his partner found his pitch mark in front of the cup and then saw his ball. “I kept saying, ‘Where did my ball go?’ ” Sutherland said. “The guy I was playing with said, ‘It’s in the hole.’ I said, ‘Oh.’ And he said, ‘That’s most anti-climatic ace I’ve ever seen.’ ”
Watch the (lack of) birdies: Something to consider when pondering whether Tiger Woods can win his first major at Oakmont, one of the few elite American championship courses he has never played during competition: Can he win a tournament while playing over par? Woods was a combined 62-under while winning his last four majors: the 2006 PGA (18-under), 2006 British Open (18-under), 2005 British Open (14-under) and 2005 Masters (12-under). Yet Woods says a plus-4 might win at Oakmont — Geoff Ogilvy won with a plus-5 at Winged Foot last year. For now, Woods is trying merely to tame his contrary driver. He didn’t look comfortable hitting it Monday into Oakmont’s fairways.

Associated Press