Our odds, with best finishes in the Open and results in the past three - T- tied; MC-missed cut; WD-withdrew; -did not play - analysis of US Open Golf tournament players and their odds for the 1999 tournament

Golf Digest, June, 1999

The front-runners

Odds: Player Best '96 '97 '98

8-1: Davis Love III T2 T2 T1 6MC

10-1: David Duval T7 T6 7T48 T7

10-1: Tiger Woods T18 T82 T19 T18

12-1: Ernie Els1 T51 T49

12-1: J.M. Olazabal T8-T16 T18

The challengers

15-1:Lee Janzen 1T10 T521

15-1:Justin Leonard T36 T50 T36 T40

15-1:C. Montgomerie 2T102 T18

15-1:Greg Norman 2T10 MC-

20-1:Jim Furyk T5 T5 T5 T14

20-1:Tom Lehman T2 T23 T5

20-1:Mark O'Meara T3 T16 T36 T32

25-1:Fred Couples T3- T52 T53

25-1:Phil Mickelson T4 T94 T43 T10

25-1:Nick Price 4- T194

25-1:Vijay Singh T7 T7 T77 T25

33-1:S. Elkington T21 T40 T24MC

33-1:Payne Stewart 1T27 T282

33-1:Lee Westwood T7-T19 T7

The long shots

40-1:Paul Azinger T3 T67 T28 T14

40-1:John Huston T14 T82-T32

40-1:Jeff Maggert 4T974 T7

50-1:Scott Hoch T5T7 T10MC

50-1:J. Parnevik T14-T48 T14

50-1:Steve Stricker T5 T60 T36 T5

50-1:Hal Sutton T4-T19-

The rest of the field

Stuart Appleby, Peter Baker, Thomas Bjorn, Mark Brooks, Mark Calcavecchia, Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke, Andrew Coltart, John Cook, Ben Crenshaw, John Daly, Glen Day, Bob Estes, Nick Faldo, Fred Funk, Mathias Gronberg, Hale Irwin, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Steve Jones, Tom Kite, a-Matt Kuchar, a-Hank Kuehne, Stephen Leaney, Andrew Magee, Billy Mayfair, Jack Nicklaus, Jumbo Ozaki, Corey Pavin, Phillip Price, Patrik Sjoland, Jeff Sluman, Curtis Strange, Sven Struver, Sam Torrance, Bob Tway, Scott Verplank, Tom Watson, Brian Watts.

(a-denotes amateur)

Note: The field will also include the following:

* Ninety-two players from 12 sectional qualifying events (June 7-8).

* The top 10 money leaders on the PGA Tour through May 30.

* Any multiple winner of official PGA Tour events from April 22, 1998 to April 28, 1999.

* The top two money leaders on the PGA European Tour through May 31.

* Other exemptions determined by USGA.

On the eve of the Trinity Test, the first-ever detonation of an atom bomb back in 1945, scientists traded bets about its potential. One wagered it would have the impact of several thousand tons of dynamite. But another, without considering how he'd collect, bet that the explosion would ignite the atmosphere and incinerate the planet.

That pretty much sums up the gamble of the long-awaited, long-overdue U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. It's a very different Open venue. Nobody knows quite what to expect. It could be solid dynamite or total disaster.

If this classic Donald Ross layout plays as intended, firm and fast from tee to green, if the field struggles to decipher the complexities of the greens and min-iature canyons surrounding them, if a worthy champion emerges with a score around even par, then we'll see more U.S. Opens at Pinehurst. The U.S. Golf Association will likely embrace it the way it has Shinnecock Hills, and return once a decade to the famous North Carolina resort and country club, even though it's located in the relatively inaccessible netherlands somewhere southwest of Raleigh and east of Charlotte.

But if it rains interminably, turning the course into a sponge and the game into one of pub darts, and a Nike Tour refugee prevails by shattering the U.S. Open record, it could be curtains for Pinehurst No. 2, shunting it onto a scrap heap of one-time-only Open venues, alongside the likes of Northwood, St. Louis and Pinehurst.