Golf-Amateur quartet bids to tame Torrey Pines

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

LOS ANGELES, June 5 (Reuters) - After last year's brutally tough U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, Tiger Woods said that a 10-handicap golfer would have failed to break 100 on the hilly par-70 layout.

Woods will get the chance to see if his prediction also applies to next week's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego where four amateurs will bid to dip below 100 in the tournament build-up.

Golf Digest magazine has arranged the 'Challenge', which will feature three celebrity golfers and be televised by NBC with twice major champion Johnny Miller providing analysis.

The three celebrities -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, pop singer Justin Timberlake and television personality Matt Lauer -- are all competent players but Woods rules out any chance of 100 being broken.

"I don't see it happening, especially if the set-up is like it was at Oakmont last year," the American world number one told Golf Digest of Friday's 'Challenge'.

"No way. People don't realise how thick the rough is and how difficult it is controlling shots. I know Matt and Tony are good players but, until they experience it, they have no idea."

The par-71 South Course at Torrey Pines measures a staggering 7,643 yards, making it the longest layout in major championship history.

Romo, Timberlake, Lauer and fellow amateur John Atkinson of Omaha, Nebraska, who was selected by Golf Digest from 56,374 entries, will tackle the course in U.S. Open conditions.