Lunde loving time at Olympia Fields

Adam Candee

Wednesday, June 11, 2003 | 8:43 a.m.

The late-morning crowd groaned as Bill Lunde's putt whirled around the lip and spit out like a gumball, just as it cheered when he javelined a wedge near the hole minutes earlier.

Was it the super-charged final round of the Masters? Perhaps even the scene around the 18th green at the NCAA Championship, like the one he earned with UNLV in 1998? Maybe just Lunde's impossible dream after winning a sectional qualifier in California to get into the U.S. Open?

Nah -- just the tail end of the Las Vegas resident's nine solitary practice holes Monday at Olympia Fields Country Club. The U.S. Open brings out such energy, especially in a Chicago-area crowd trained by Wrigley Field for the midweek afternoon assignment.

"People cheer for you and it's Monday morning," Lunde said. "What will it be like on Sunday afternoon?"

After almost a half-decade toiling in the minor leagues of golf, Lunde only hopes Sunday will bring the chance to hear that crowd once more. One of a handful of Southern Nevada golfers at this week's Open, Lunde is making his first appearance in America's championship after four failed attempts to qualify.

Suffice it to say, this ain't exactly the Kenosha Open on the Hooters Tour.

"No one really knows who I am and they still want my autograph," Lunde laughed, talking as he took a break from a quiet evening of TV Tuesday at his hotel.

The quiet ends Thursday at 6 a.m. PDT, when Lunde tees off with unknowns Doug Labelle and Steve Gotsche. The Olympia Fields beast, replete with ungodly rough and concrete greens, awakens then for Lunde.

Lunde attempted a Tuesday practice round with fellow former Rebels Chris Riley, Chad Campbell and Warren Schutte, getting in a few holes before being rained out. His first impression is that the course is up to Open standards, with an emphasis on exact rather than overwhelming golf.

"Length isn't the big thing," Lunde said.

Lunde noted that No. 9 (496 yards, par 4) and No. 17 (247 yards, par 3) look particularly ghastly, with the potential to become worse in the wind. Such is Open golf, the breed that has allowed defending champion Tiger Woods just two finishes under par -- both victories -- in his seven U.S. Open tries.

"I don't think there's anything more difficult than the U.S. Open," UNLV golf coach Dwaine Knight said.

A veteran of the 1971 and 1972 Opens at Merion and Pebble Beach -- "I think we had feather balls," Knight quipped -- the Rebels' coach knows the rigors of the tournament. Knight did not record memorable scores in either Open, but he learned lessons about major tournaments that he still passes on to young players today.

"It's very different," Knight said. "It's more of a survival test in a lot of ways. You really have to manage the golf you are playing to win."

To Knight, that does not necessarily mean playing well for 72 holes. Instead, he feels Open golf requires the self-awareness to realize when you are playing well enough to make a charge, and when you are struggling and need to play it safe.

Knight feels that Lunde will be helped if the course plays to its 7,177 yards, which could be amplified if the wet weather bogs it down even more.

"It's a big long golf course, so that should help him up there," Knight said.

As for Lunde, he is tired of hearing people tell him that they hope he makes the cut. His goals are higher, and Lunde feels that simply shooting for Saturday is a recipe for failure.

"As long as I feel like I've played well, I'll be alright," Lunde said.