To a couple of generations of golf fans, mere mention of Winged Foot, site of the U.S. Open that tees off this morning, conjures images of a young and determined Hale Irwin surviving an impossibly difficult course and winning the U.S. Open with a seven-over-par 287 in 1974.

To Kansas University golf coach Ross Randall, a veteran of nine seasons on the PGA Tour, Winged Foot Golf Club evokes more personal memories. Randall, fresh out of San Jose State University, worked at Winged Foot for late great club pro Claude Harmon in 1968.

“It’s a wonderful place, just steeped in history,” Randall said of Winged Foot. “You’re part of the family there when you work there. Everybody still remembers you, and it’s kind of a really neat deal.”

Randall’s memories of Irwin at Winged Foot pre-date the former Colorado football/golf star’s memorable Open title.

“When I was a senior in college, he and I were both on the six-member All-American team together,” Randall said. “They took us to New York for a big dinner and everything else and we spent two days at Winged Foot playing there together. It’s a great, great place. Lots of tradition. Nothing but great memories.”

Working at Winged Foot ensured that Randall rubbed elbows with hotshots.

“Here I was, 23 years old, just out of school and I’m going downtown with Frank Gifford, (former Giants owner) Wellington Mara and Tom Dawson, the president of CBS when they owned the Yankees.”

Randall estimated he played more than 100 rounds at Winged Foot.

“About 10 years ago they had a reunion for all the guys that had been pros there and I haven’t been back there since,” Randall said.

Shingo Katayama hits out of a bunker on the 12th hole during a practice round for the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club. Kansas University men's golf coach Ross Randall worked at the historic club, and believes the deep bunkers and fast greens will have a major impact this weekend.

Focusing on the lengthening of Winged Foot misses the point, Randall said.

“It’s around the greens that it’s really difficult,” said Randall, an exceptional short-game player. “Really deep bunker shots. Probably the shallowest bunker out there is 8 feet deep. You have to be a good bunker player there or you can’t survive. The greens are extremely fast, and somebody called me and said the rough is up the way they want it to be, so it’ll be really difficult. I would think something just barely under par could win it. It tests everything.”

Even length. For example, the ninth hole, normally a par 5, is playing as a 514-yard par 4, the longest par 4 in U.S. Open history.

Asked to pick a favorite, Randall didn’t have an easy time, as he talked it over with the boys at the Alvamar Public pro shop.

“It’s hard to say because you have to drive it straight, you’ve got to keep it out of the rough, but you also have to be a good wedge player, a good bunker player, because of the severity of the greens,” Randall said. “I think a (Retief) Goosen or a (Phil) Mickelson. Maybe more of a guy who doesn’t hit it quite so far, but hits it pretty straight. Some of the guys in the shop here were talking about maybe a Luke Donald, people like that, who don’t drive it necessarily far, but are really good accurate players.”

Tiger Woods last played in a tournament when he had putting woes in the final round of the Masters. He ends a nine-week layoff, the longest of his career, brought on by the May 3 death of his father.

“Who knows what Tiger’s going to be like when he comes back,” Randall said. “He hasn’t played in (nine) weeks, but I guarantee you he’s been working. He’s ready.”

With the final round scheduled for Father’s Day, Woods is the emotional favorite to win the tournament.

John Morris, assistant pro at Eagle Bend, doesn’t hide his rooting interests.

“I don’t care what anybody says, Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods,” Morris said. “I want to see him crush every single record known to mankind. I didn’t get to see Jack Nicklaus in his prime or Sam Snead in his prime, but Tiger walked right by me in Tulsa when we were down there for the PGA when he was in his first couple of years. I wanted to say something to him and I plum chickened out. And you know me, I can talk to anybody. I just flat froze. I want to see Tiger win it.”

Alvamar Country Club head pro Randy Towner didn’t see any reason to pick anyone else.

“Tiger Woods is the best player in the world, so I guess my pick would be Tiger Woods, although at the U.S. Open the rough is generally really high and he’s not a great driver of the ball, accuracy-wise,” Towner said. “Still, hitting a wedge out of the rough is better than hitting a 5-iron out of the fairway. He’s just so good, but you never know in the U.S. Open. A bunch of Andy Norths, guys like that, have won, but Tiger’s had a long layoff and he’s going to be ready to go.”

Towner said he never has played Winged Foot, but respects it from afar.

“It’s one of those few old courses that’s kind of stood the test of time,” he said. “Most of those old courses were built in the city somewhere and things have grown around them, and there’s just no room to make them any bigger. If you get land-locked in there, you can’t stretch them out like you can new places.”

Alvamar Public head pro Alex Eichman said he always makes time to watch the majors on television.

“Obviously in the majors you have to hit it straight, especially in the Open,” Eichman said. “You have to putt it well, you have to wedge it well. Like Ross said, a guy like Retief could win it. Tiger’s kind of up in the air because he hasn’t played recently, but he’s been working his butt off, I’m sure. Phil (Mickelson) is always up there. Vijay (Singh). Retief always plays well at the Open. In fact, he’s won two of them, so I would think he’d be in the hunt.”

Lawrence Country Club head pro Jon Zylstra likes Mickelson’s chances.

“They’ve lengthened the holes, and it looks like it’s going to play really tough for the guys,” Zylstra said. “I’d like to say Tiger is going to come out and have one of those tournaments where he just plays great. You just never know. He hasn’t played since his father passed away, so it’s hard to say. Phil Mickelson could be tough. He seems really well prepared, had a couple of practice rounds, is familiar with the course, and he just seems more focused on the majors this year than anything else. Plus, Phil’s a great bunker player. That could give him a leg up.”