PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — They call the stretch of holes from Nos. 8 through 10 at Pebble Beach the Cliffs of Doom. Golfers call it names not nearly that nice.
Take Dr. Gil Morgan.
He led the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble by seven shots on Saturday and had reached an Open-record 12 under par through seven holes. He was hitting everything perfectly. Life was good. The Cliffs beckoned, and Morgan smiled.
Then he went double bogey, bogey, double bogey, disintegrated to 4 under by the end of his round and shot 81 on Sunday. Tom Kite won the tournament that had been a lock for Morgan just 36 hours earlier.
Late Friday afternoon, during the fifth return of the U.S. Open to these fabled grounds, Phil Mickelson needed to run the gantlet of the Cliffs of Doom. Mickelson was on a Morgan-like run. For the first seven holes, his card read 4-3-3-3-3-4-3.
No. 7 is like the Sirens of Greek mythology. It is a mere 109 yards, downhill to a pretty ocean cliff green. It lulls players with charm and ease.
Then they walk 20 feet to the eighth tee and look into the mouth of the demons, all par-4s that ought to be par-6s.
No. 8 plays 428 yards, up a hill and over a chasm of rocks and ocean that is about 240 yards from the tee and drops 200 feet to the ocean floor. The players don't dare hit a driver, and their passageway around the chasm and down to the green is only about 15 feet wide.
No. 9 plays 505 yards and has a fairway about 20 yards wide that leans to the right, toward the ocean, and severely downhill after about 230 yards.
No. 10 is much easier. It plays 495 yards and the ocean cliffs to the right are not as steep, but the obvious aim, left-center on the fairway, is no good because some spoilsport put giant bunkers there.
For sightseers, this is heaven.
For golfers, it is hell, a murderer's row
When Mickelson got there, he immediately flirted with disaster. On No. 8, he hit his iron tee shot to the edge of the chasm, right near the sign that says "Danger, Deep Cliff" and also, in smaller letters "No Diving." Perhaps the latter part was put there for Dr. Gil. But he stroked a second shot to 15 feet and made his birdie. The amazing run continued.
Ah, but on No. 9, he drove into the rough, hit his approach into a bunker and made his first bogey of the day.
On No. 10, Mickelson drove it nicely and hit his approach to 15 feet but missed the birdie putt and looked perturbed.
Still, he had gotten through Pebble's version of Amen Corner in 3-5-4, even par and five shots better than Morgan's landmark 6-5-6 blowup.
But the Cliffs will be there Saturday and Sunday. And for as long as Pebble is Pebble.