Johnny: In California Phil's Won More Than "Even Me"

Previewing the U.S. Open at Olympic where he played as an amateur and will manage to work himself into the conversation at least 4391 times during the telecasts this year, Johnny Miller tells Golf Magazine he likes Phil Mickelson's chances this year.

Of course, it's because of a tip Johnny gave Phil.

PHIL MICKELSON: This might be Phil's last chance to win a U.S. Open. He's won more in California than maybe anyone, even me. He wants that first U.S. Open so much, and you know he'll be prepared. And who knows -- after I gave him my tip about the "reverse-bank" theory, maybe that'll put him over the top!

More On Olympics' Last-Minute Bunker

I have an item in Golf World Monday following up on Friday's report. Also more to come in this week's issue of Golf World.

"Then I went to bed and slept like a man with nothing to lose."

Thanks to reader Laury for Lee Benson's story setting up an excerpt from Billy Casper's new book because as fun as the Masters was, it's hard not to get excited about a return to historic Olympic Club reading about fresh details of the historic '66 Open there. This is after Arnold Palmer's Sunday collapse and before the Monday playoff win by Casper.

After the postmortem, we went to our separate corners, Arnold to his friends' home in the city, where he and Winnie had a quiet dinner with, among others, Mark and Nancy McCormack; me to a Mormon meetinghouse to give a talk.

Long before I knew I would tie for the lead in the U.S. Open, and be in a lengthy press conference afterward, and that I would be playing another 18 holes the next day, I had agreed to give a Sunday night fireside talk at 7 o'clock in Petaluma, 40 miles north of the city.

A deal's a deal. I changed and drove straight to the church, arriving almost an hour late. The chapel was full. No one had left.

I can remember the length of every putt and exactly what club I hit on every shot that Sunday, but to this day the most I can remember about that fireside is talking about my trip to Vietnam. But I must have said something mildly interesting because it was after 11 p.m. when the meeting ended.

I returned to the Leiningers' home in Greenbrae. I hadn't eaten anything since lunch. Shirley turned on the grill and I had a late, late dinner of pork chops, green beans and salad.

Then I went to bed and slept like a man with nothing to lose.

Olympic Club's 670-Yarder, The Aftermath

San Francisco media outlets focused on the addition of a 670-yard tee at the Lake Course and I guess most of us are just immune to the absurdity of such golf course expansion and the dreadful hypocrisy of governing bodies expanding the courses so they don't have to make the case for...doing their job.

So I talked to the USGA's Mike Davis at the Golf Industry Show about that reaction, which overlooked some bigger news about the course and setup touches which will restore 16's place while making 17 a better hole.

The item is in this week's Golf World Monday with a nice aerial of the hole, reminding me just how much of a dogleg it really is. And also how much I love Opens at Olympic Club.

Davis On Olympic's 16th: "It will play the way it did for Hogan"

Ron Kroichick on Mike Davis's meet-and-greet with San Francisco media Monday to get us excited about the 2012 U.S. Open. The big talk centered around the 670-yard tee for the 16th hole.

“We felt this would make it a true three-shotter,” Davis said of the new tee. “It will play the way it did for (Ben) Hogan and (Arnold) Palmer in ’55 and ’66. It will be a big, big par-5.”

What about for Jack Fleck, Billy Casper, Scott Simpson and Lee Janzen?

Previously, the longest hole in Open history was No. 12 at Oakmont Country Club (outside Pittsburgh) in 2007, at a paltry 667 yards.

An unbylined AP story includes many other details on this June's U.S. Open setup and operation.