Different look for this Open; Pinehurst remains challenge.

• Author: Ferguson, Doug
• Position: Sports

Byline: Doug Ferguson

PINEHURST, N.C. -- The Open starts today, and for anyone who takes a quick look at Pinehurst No. 2, there is sure to be one question.

Just which Open is this?

The fairways are as much brown as they are green, mainly along the edges. They are running so fast that some players are hitting iron off the tee on par 4s that measure more than 500 yards. The sandy areas along the fairway appear to be dunes.

It all makes this look more like a British Open.

The U.S. Open is notorious for tight fairways and thick rough. Pinehurst has plenty of room off the tee and -- get this -- no rough.

Bill Coore, who along with Ben Crenshaw was in charge of the restoration project at this Donald Ross masterpiece, can only imagine the conversations.

''What's all this brown about? What's all this sand? What's all this native grass about?'' Coore said. ''People could look at this on television and go, 'Oh my God, Pinehurst quit maintaining the course.' ''

What hasn't changed is the U.S. Open's reputation as the toughest test in golf.

No one expects anything less.

Jonas Blixt dropped by Pinehurst No. 2 a month ago because he had never seen the course. After finishing his round, he was walking down the steps toward the locker room when he ran into a familiar face.

''Over par wins,'' Blixt said, and he kept right on walking.

Weather usually dictates scoring in the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy shattered records at rain-softened Congressional three years ago at 16-under 268 to win by eight. He is a U.S. Open champion who still feels as though he has something to prove in golf's second-oldest championship.

''I haven't won a tournament whenever it's been like this,'' he said of the hot, crispy conditions. ''That's why I'm relishing the challenge. It's conditions that I haven't won in before, and I'd love to be able to prove to myself, prove to other people, that I can win in different conditions. It's a great opportunity to do that this week.''

Thunderstorms are likely to pop up...