Whistling Straits' length, bunkers remain hot topics

HAVEN, Wis. -- The grumbling about the difficulty of WhistlingStraits remained at a low rumble Monday, though Shigeki Maruyama saidit all after climbing the steep hill behind the 18th green.

Aye-yi-yi," Maruyama said before collapsing on his back.

While the golf world breathlessly waits to see how the world'sbest players will fare on Pete Dye's creation, only one thing iscertain: On Sunday night," Lee Westwood said, there will be somebodywith no complaints at all."

Westwood was one of the few voicing a mild gripe, callingWhistling Straits a bit too long." His pal Darren Clarke said it'sthe toughest course he ever played, but also the fairest.

I was very impressed," Clarke said. I didn't realize there werethat many par-6s on one course."

Fred Funk even called it a fun test," though Jim Furyk disputedthat notion.

I'd be surprised if Mr. Dye wanted it to be fun for us," Furyksaid.

The most controversial feature appears to be the mammoth 18thgreen. Players on the front of the 18,000-square-foot surface mighthave to chip to reach a back hole location.

Dye, however, defended his design, saying, Someone will get tothis course." He pointed out that a rainy summer has made both thefairways and greens relatively soft and receptive.

This will be a popcorn [course]," he said before pausing. You caninterpret that any way you want. Sometimes people choke on popcorn."

BUNKER MENTALITY: The PGA of America appears to have quelled apotential controversy with its ruling on Whistling Straits' 1,000-plus bunkers.

Originally, all bunkers outside the gallery ropes were to beplayed as waste areas," meaning players could ground their clubs,take practice swings and remove loose impediments. Now every bunkerwill be treated as a hazard, though a local rule allowing the removalof stones will be in effect.

You can't pick and choose," Furyk said. This way it's pretty clear-cut and decisive."

All bunkers inside the ropes will be raked before each round, butthose outside the ropes are likely to be filled with footprints andtire tracks. One Phil Mickelson fan had written Phil's year" in abunker near the first green Monday.

They are hazards at the end of the day," Westwood said, so if yougo in them, you should be penalized."

DRAWING POWER: It won't be hard to find the biggest galleries forthe first two rounds. They'll be following the grouping of formerchampions Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and John Daly: respectively, No. 1in the world rankings, No. 1 on the PGA Tour money list and the No. 1curiosity.

In the traditional grouping of the year's first three majorwinners, Brian Bateman has replaced U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen,who withdrew Sunday because of a hip injury suffered in a jet-skiaccident. Bateman will play with Masters winner Mickelson and BritishOpen champ Todd Hamilton.

DISABLED LIST: The attrition rate has been high for a majorchampionship. Former champions Steve Elkington (groin injury) andLarry Nelson (wrist injury) became the seventh and eighth players towithdraw.

Also sitting this one out are Goosen, Jeff Maggert (impendingbirth of twins), Tom Watson (neck injury), Thomas Bjorn (neckinjury), Toshi Izawa (sinus infection) and Nick Price, who citedfamily obligations.

Funk, who enters the week eighth in the Ryder Cup standings, saidhe wasn't too confident" last week that he could play because of arib injury. But he was able to swing at 90 percent strength Mondayand said he should be fine by Thursday.