U.S. golf open favourites confident

Press, 18 June 1982, Page 24

U.S. golf open favourites confident

NZPA-Reuter Pebble Beach, California

With most of the favourites expressing confidence about their form, the scene was set for the eighty-second United States Open golf championship which begins today at the spectacular Pebble Beach links. Jack Nicklaus, Ray Floyd, and Craig Stadler were among the golfers happy with the way they were playing. Spain’s Severiano Ballesteros was determined to do well. The defending champion, David Graham of Australia, hoped that his recent slump was ending. ; ' .

Only Tom Watson voiced doubts about the way he was playing, but even he saw a bright side to that..“l’m not as consistent as I should be . . . but this can be good,” he said. “It will make me more aware of what I have to do.” ■ Watson, aged 32, has won three British Opens and two Masters titles, but has always fallen short in the United States Open, the championship he admits he most dearly wants to win. Nicklaus, aged 42, has won the event a record-equalling four times, but would love to do it one more time. This year he has been playing as well as ever. After an impressive practice round, he

said: "I’m hitting the ball considerably better than in the Kemper.” In the Kemper, his last tournament before the open, Nicklaus challenged for the lead all the way before faltering in the final round. The winner was Stadler, the year’s top money-winner with three victories, including the Masters. Stadler, who has a remarkable touch around the greens for such an ungainly looking player, oozed confidence after completing his practice session. - “I’ve been driving the ball verv well,” he commented, “a.id I’m putting well. I’ve got a H of confidence in my

putter.” Floyd has won his last two events and only lost in a play-off the time before that. “I’m playing the best golf of my life, without a question,” he said. “I’m driving well, hitting a lot of greens, and when I’ve missed it, my pitching and putting has come through.” Ballesteros, the Spaniard who has won the British Open and the Masters, has been virtually ignored at Pebble Beach and is determined to show that he is as good as the best Americans. He is having an excellent season,' with victories in the Madrid and French Opens in Europe. He was runner-up in

the Kemper and third in the Masters, and he has hit the ball impressively well in practice. Graham insists he should not be ruled out despite his loss of form after his victory last year in which he finished just one stroke short of the record. “I’d say I’m a good bet,” Graham calculated. “I’m happy with my game now. I’m putting well .• . All players interviewed agreed the Pebble Beach course, which plays to a maximum length of 6830 metres was “set up easier” than in 1972, when Nicklaus’ winning total was two-over par 290.