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Q & A with Ricky Barnes pre us open

  • 14-06-2010 5:20pm
    #1
    soundsham
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,848 ✭✭✭


    Last year at Bethpage Black, Ricky Barnes came within two strokes of forcing a playoff with eventual U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover. Barnes shared runner-up honors with David Duval and Phil Mickelson at 2-under 278. The Stockton, Calif., native is preparing for this year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which is a home course for him in many ways. Barnes grew up playing at Pebble Beach and gained valuable knowledge on how to handle himself there through the years. The 2002 U.S. Amateur champion spoke to the USGA's Ken Klavon about last year's Open run, his local knowledge about Pebble and how he'd like to prolong his career on the PGA Tour.

    What is the allure of Pebble Beach? What makes it so special?

    Ricky Barnes: Well, fortunately, it's not too far from where I grew up. So I'm looking forward to it. I'm fortunate that I've gotten to play Pebble a lot… The last time the U.S. Open was there I played. So from the last time I was there, I just know how the course changes.

    What kind of changes?

    Barnes: I know how to approach greens, I know how firm they do get, and knowing the lines off the tees can help quite a bit. But also getting back to Northern California - I grew up putting on poa annua greens and you learn how to put them in. You obviously don't want to live and die by four- and five-footers. Well, in any tournament you don't want to live and die by four- and five-footers, especially with poa growth late in the day. It definitely affects putting later in the day.

    How many times have you played at Pebble?

    Barnes: I would say -just going by rounds - well over 30. I think I played in four AT&Ts, one U.S. Open, and I think I played some other rounds there, too. Then we used to have a one-day event if you won a tournament in the Junior Golf Association of Northern California.

    Would it be fair to say that the greens could make or break a round? They're awfully small for a U.S. Open.

    Barnes: That's the fortunate thing about the greens there. If you get balls on the greens, you're going to have a good look. So if you take the whole of Pebble's greens, they're not very big. And the spots where they stay, you should have a pretty good look.

    There are a number of holes that can't have more than two or three pins outside of seven paces from each other. If you're on the right level, you're going to have some great looks. But as a whole, I'd be really surprised if the guy who leads the field in greens [in regulation] isn't in the top five. …. If you get your distance control on them, it also means they could be fast because they chop a lot of the poa off.

    Last year at Bethpage you had a pretty good run, almost winning the Open and finishing tied for second. What did you take away from that experience?

    Barnes: I was actually pretty disappointed last year. I pretty much had one good tournament. I say that I got lucky in a sense [at the Open]. I know I played well and I could have won the U.S. Open but I had only one good tournament.

    I was happy and I took away that when I get into competition I can compete with these guys. And obviously to do it in a U.S. Open is another thing. I knew my game was there, it was coming around, but my short game was bad last year. Usually I think that's one of my strengths - chipping and putting. And it has turned around. I've saved a lot of shots so far this year and the short game has kept rounds going. That's a big thing out here; you need to keep rounds going if you're a couple under par, and if you are struggling you need that to hold your round together.

    I'd be remiss if I didn't ask about your U.S. Amateur victory in 2002. Some have said it is arguably the toughest event to win in golf. How do you feel and what does it take to win one?

    Barnes: I think Arnold [Palmer] said it and Jack [Nicklaus] said [that it's the toughest event to win]. It's one of those things that you have to get into the field of 64. You have to get a little lucky in the draw as well because you have to beat one guy each round. You could shoot six under and the guy could shoot seven under and beat you; you could shoot 10 under and the guy could shoot 11 under and beat you; you could shoot four over and the other guy could shoot six over and you move on to the next round.

    Fortunately in all my matches I played really well. To this day, yeah, it's still my biggest accomplishment. It got me on the map, built up a lot of confidence; obviously it helped me take the U.S. Open further as a pro - with confidence. It's one of those things where you don't want to be out here one, two, three years. I want to be out here for 12-20 years, whatever the duration is and be very consistent. I've been very happy with the way I've started. … I want to have a year that I had in '08. I had like nine top 10s, and if I had that this year, that would dictate a pretty successful year.


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