s Open: Lopez seeking confidence at Dunes

? Nancy Lopez faced two of the three terrors of Prairie Dunes Country Club on Monday afternoon  gusting winds and high rough.

The stifling heat that usually greets golfers this time of year at the world’s 17th-ranked golf course isn’t expected until the weekend. Lopez, who hasn’t made a cut yet this season, hopes she’s still around to experience those rugged playing conditions during the final rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open.

“I’ve struggled with my game this year,” the Hall of Famer said on a cool, overcast Monday after a nine-hole practice round. “I’m hitting the ball well now, so now I really have to practice and get some confidence. That’s what I’m really lacking more than anything.”

Lopez, 45, lacks confidence despite 48 LPGA victories and more than $5 million in earnings during a 25-year pro career. She played limited schedules in each of the three previous years because of knee injuries and needed a special exemption to enter the Open, which will likely be her last. Lopez plans to play five more events this year, her last full season on tour.

Golfers will return to the course for practice rounds today and Wednesday before Thursday’s first round. Lopez plans to use that time to work on her swing.

“It’s really because of my driver  not really ball-striking poorly, it’s just I’ve been left, right  and the rough has been so high everywhere we’ve played,” Lopez said. “You can’t miss the fairways or you don’t make any pars, and you certainly can’t make birdies.”

That won’t change amidst the tall prairie grass and plum thickets that line the links on the sand hills northeast of Hutchinson.

“It’s a tough course,” Lopez said after playing the Dunes for the first time. “It’s a beautiful course. It’s in super shape. The wind today was really tough.”

Winds gusted more than 25 mph Monday, but the high temperature was only 79.

Temperatures are expected to climb throughout the week with a 29-percent chance for rain today and Wednesday.

Lopez turned to an old friend  her Callaway Big Bertha driver  to help her keep the ball in the fairway this week.

“I’ve been trying to find a new driver for two years,” she said. “I said, ‘Forget it. I’m going back to my old driver,’ and I hit it straight. It doesn’t go as far as I’d like it to, but it goes straight and that’s the most important thing.”

The four-time U.S. Open runner-up knows keeping it straight will go a long way to helping her make the cut for the first time this year.

“I feel good right now,” she said. “I hit the ball well today. I look forward to playing well. You never know. Something just might click.”