by Mac Stevenson

Created on: May 18, 2009   Last Updated: May 24, 2009

The U.S. Open is the most prestigious golf tournament in the world and the 2009 version will take place on the Bethpage Black course at Farmingdale, New York on June 18-21.

Any player, professional or amateur, who has a handicap of 1.4 or less, is eligible to enter qualifying tournaments to become part of the U.S. Open field.

ESPN and NBC will share the television coverage, which will be extensive. Bethpage Black is a challenging test of golf at par 71 and a staggering distance of 7,297 yards. The USGA is in charge of the U.S. Open and they make the playing conditions so difficult that only the stout of heart have a chance to win.

Tiger Woods is the defending champion, and he won the championship in 2002 when it was played on Bethpage Black. Woods is coming off well-documented knee surgery and was off the tour for eight months last season.

It seems like Tiger has been way off his game, but that's not the case. During his last 18 stroke-play tournaments, Woods has won 11 and finished in the top 10 in the other seven. And since his return from knee surgery, Tiger has one win and four top ten finishes in his five tournament starts.

Tiger's coach, Hank Haney, recently said, "I just think he deserves a chance to get his feet on the ground. It's different because he has a different leg . . . give him a few more tournaments."

Despite the quality tournament scores, Woods game hasn't been up to the standard he created. Tiger's short game has saved him, but he's not the same player from tee to green-yet. Reconstructive knee surgery isn't something you can bounce back from with no mental misgivings. There have to be mental blocks in Tiger's mind when he knows he's about to put extreme force on the healed left knee. And time alone will remove the fear of re-injuring the knee on a hard swing.

Nevertheless, Tiger Woods will be favored to win this year's U.S. Open in June. Slowly but surely, Tiger's confidence and trust in the repaired knee will grow and his awesome tee-to-green game will return.

Two of Tiger's main challengers will be Angel Cabrera and Geoff Ogilvy; Cabrera won the U.S. Open in 2007 and Ogilvy was the champion in 2006.

Henrik Stenson of Sweden won the recent Players' Championship and stamped himself as a leading contender for the U.S. Open title. Stenson was rock-solid coming down the homestretch of the Players.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington is another threat to the American players; Harrington has a history of playing well and winning in the major tournaments.

Phil Mickelson should be a contender, but he has a history of yielding to the fierce pressure of the U.S. Open. But it would be foolhardy to count Mickelson out; he's a past Master's winner and could win his first U.S. Open.

It's equally foolhardy to try and predict the winner of the 2009 U.S. Open and that's what makes it such a great sporting event. The pressure on the final nine holes on Sunday can be felt right through your TV screen.

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