United States Open Golf Tournament

Time has a way of always moving on, but never traveling far. Consider that it has been 10 years since William Payne Stewart, dressed in motoring cap and plus-fours, etched his way into our hearts and minds with a fist pump and leg kick that celebrated his successful 15-foot putt and ended one of the most dramatic U.S. Open golf tournaments ever. Consider what happened next: Stewart went immediately to the man he beat with his 15-foot putt.

Birdie: Ryo Ishikawa: The Japanese teenager with the huge media following is two shots back after shooting 70-71 at Pebble Beach. "I've played with him in Japan and it's even worse over there," Rory McIlroy, who played with Ishikawa the first two days, says of the reporters who track Ishikawa. ("He handles it very, very well. That's probably the most impressive thing about him — apart from how he plays golf." Bogey: Aaron Baddeley: He hasn't been the same player since leading the 2008 Open at Oakmont after Saturday (and making triple bogey to start Sunday's round)

Forty years ago at the 1955 U.S. Open, Ben Hogan finished playing his 72nd hole at the Olympic Club in San Francisco and Gene Sarazen offered him congratulations. Sarazen then told a national TV audience that Hogan had just won another Open title. He was wrong. Still out on the course, back at the 14th hole, 33-year-old Jack Fleck held a golf club and destiny in his hands.

Reporting from Pebble Beach — It has been 10 years since the U.S. Open Championship last touched shore at storied Pebble Beach, and it would be understatement to say a lot has changed since Tiger Woods won here, incredibly, by 15 shots. The rest of the golfing world left Pebble in rubble a decade ago, wondering if they had maybe entered the wrong profession. Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez tied for second at three-over par -- it felt like a tie for 52nd. "The only thing that can stop Tiger from winning is Tiger," one golfer said.

He is the unofficial greeter for Chicago, so to paraphrase Ernie Banks, there is only one thing to say as the U.S. Open comes to this Chicago suburb for the first time since 1928 -- 20 years after the Cubs' last World Series title. Let's play 72! Banks may be the most famous Cub ever, and that's in addition to another of his unofficial jobs as Major League Baseball's foremost goodwill ambassador.

One spectator was killed and five others were injured Thursday when they were struck by lightning during the U.S. Open at the Hazeltine National Golf Club. The spectators were standing near a tree close to the 11th tee during a delay in the tournament caused by a quick-hitting thunderstorm. "I just felt something and then my legs went entirely numb and I went down," said Glenn Engstrom, 36, who was in stable condition at Ridgeview Medical Center in nearby Waconia.

Turns out Tiger Woods does weather too. "It's 'June gloom,' " he said Thursday. June what? Reporters from land-locked cities looked at him with quizzical faces. "Well, people from SoCal, you know," Woods said. "This is what happens every June. The fog, the low clouds roll in. They burn off in the early afternoon and you have a wonderful summer." Tiger had it half right. The fog rolled in, but it didn't roll out. You expect a guy to shoot 65 at a major and work the meteorological charts?

Chris Zambri figured he would get the intimidation factor of playing in his first U.S. Open out of the way early. When Zambri, a former USC standout, arrived at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y., last month for his first official practice round, he walked up to the sign-up sheet and scrawled his name in the same grouping as Nick Faldo. But moments before tee-off, Zambri, 24, wanted to ensure he would be allowed to play with the former Masters and British Open champion.

Lee Trevino was sitting under an umbrella with Jerry Heard at the edge of a marsh on the 13th hole of the Butler National Golf Club. They were playing together in the 1975 Western Open, though play was suspended because of a storm. Suddenly, a fiery surge tore through their bodies. Lightning, striking somewhere close by, had traveled through the marsh and jumped the banks, entering the two players by way of the metal golf spikes in their shoes. It exited through their backs, leaving burn marks.

Tiger Woods had plenty to say Friday after shooting a five-under 66 in the second round of the Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club. And not just about his round, which moved him into a tie for 38th. Woods discussed problems on the PGA Tour's West Coast swing, saying sagging attendance at the Accenture Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad could be blamed on the event being scheduled for the same week as the Chrysler Classic of Tucson.

A look at how Lucas Glover held on to win the U.S. Open on Monday . . . and what Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Ricky Barnes did to finish in a three-way tie for second, two shots behind the champion. LUCAS GLOVER He had three bogeys on the front nine, but Glover never lost the lead in the final 12 holes. He made only one birdie, and it was timed perfectly.

To the end, Phil Mickelson remained the people's choice at "The People's Open." About 30 minutes after finishing second in the U.S. Open for the fifth time -- establishing a record -- Mickelson signed autographs for fans near the clubhouse. "Right on top, Phil," said one man, indicating where he wanted his flag signed. "Right where you belong." Before play began, Mickelson said his goal was to bring home the silver trophy to wife Amy, who will undergo breast cancer surgery July 1.

It's easy for Andrew Parr to joke about a name that's ripe for a moniker from Chris Berman. "I tell everyone my middle name is 'Under' when I'm playing easy courses," he said. "Like, par's not going to be good enough this week." Par has been good enough to win three of the last four U.S. Opens, and Parr's play Thursday was strong enough to give him a piece of the lead at one under.

Tiger and Phil. Phil and Tiger. They will command our attention, but they won't be the only ones. Here are five more to watch from the U.S. Open's 156-player field: Kenny Perry A bogey-bogey finish in regulation cost him the Masters, but Perry says he felt like a champion after receiving 800 sympathy cards and letters of inspiration. The patriotic Perry built a public golf course in Franklin, Ky., and chose a Ryder Cup run over the British Open last year, so a U.S.

Who says the USGA enjoys torturing the world's greatest players? The 156 men who tee it up today at the 109th U.S. Open will play a course that, compared with 2002, has wider fairways, slower greens and rough that's both wispier and shorter near the fairways. But there's a catch: Beth- page Black will play 224 yards longer than it did in '02.

The answer, unlike the golf course, was short. Which is the hardest hole at Bethpage Black? "One through 18," David Duval replied. "There's no letup." If you've followed Duval's career, you might snicker and think: Yeah, every hole's hard for him. The 2001 British Open champion has made only one U.S. Open cut since 2002, and his best finish in 13 PGA Tour starts this year is a tie for 55th. But Duval speaks for the masses, including Tiger Woods.

They are called the Dawn Patrol. But those who don't understand their obsession with golf or their love for Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course would probably call them crazy. They arrive at this picturesque seaside course at all hours of the night, and they pull into the parking lot with a mission -- to secure one of the first unofficial tee times on the north course or the recently renovated south course, which two weeks ago was chosen as the site of the 2008 U.S. Open.

Lee Trevino is getting considerable attention on the eve of the start of 89th U.S. Open golf tournament. It's not that Trevino is favored to win, but just that he won the Open at Oak Hill Country Club the last time it was played here, in 1968, for his first tour victory. Trevino, 49, doesn't figure he'll repeat at the same site 21 years later, but he has a thought on the type of pro who will win. "I definitely think a long hitter will win the tournament," Trevino said.

Tiger Woods is often asked about the knee surgery he had after his triumph at the 2008 U.S. Open. A different procedure was on his mind Tuesday. "I need to have a sex change? Is that what you're saying?" he said. The questioner led Woods down that path by asking about the USGA's decision to play the men's and women's Opens on consecutive weeks at Pinehurst in 2014. "Do you see somebody trying to play both of them?" Woods was asked. "Would you be interested?"

They never have been thought to be friends, but Tiger Woods could not have sounded more genuine Tuesday in his concern for Phil Mickelson. Mickelson stepped away from the PGA Tour in May to care for his wife, Amy, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Mickelson was expected to arrive Monday at Bethpage, but he instead spent extra time at home in California. He is slated to meet the media today before a possible practice round.