U.S. Open Reads: Tuesday Early Edition

Lorne Rubenstein wonders what fairness really means as he weighs the pro and cons of "tiered rough" and asks, "Why try to turn it into a controlled laboratory setting?"

Mike Aitken looks at poor Monty: "In his pomp, Colin Montgomerie would have taken one look at how the United States Golf Association set up Winged Foot for this week's US Open and rubbed his hands with glee."

Jane McManus of the Journal News analyzes the media's relationship with Tiger Woods and includes these surprising remarks from Johnny Miller, who just gave Peter Kostis hope for getting back in Tiger's good graces:

"Every time I've asked him a question, I can honestly say he's never given me a real answer. Never once. And I've been pretty nice to him. I feel like he's never given me the respect I deserve. "I know that's a strong statement. I've never said that to anybody. But I really believe that he should take the time when somebody in our industry is trying to tell the real story, that he is willing to give the real answer."

Speaking of Woods, Doug Ferguson writes about his Monday practice round.

Leonard Shapiro ponders the high rough and offers this from Phil Mickelson: 

"I'm going to make a bold prediction that someone hits the wrong ball in the rough [during the Open]. A lot of members have been playing, and when they hit in the rough, you can't find it. I've had Bones fore-caddie and he sees where the ball goes and he still can't find it. I think there are not just hundreds, but thousands of balls in the rough you just can't see. This is so thick the grass grows over the ball. You could be standing right over it and still not see it."

And Golf Digest has started a U.S. Open blog, highlighted by a post from Bob Carney on the rough and the pace of the greens.