USGA committed to setting up Torrey Pines for fantastic finish

Nobody can say that Geoff Ogilvy isn't a realist. He's a fan of both the game and its goosebumps, like the rest of us.

Misery, here exhibited by Phil Mickelson, has been a typical closing scene at the U.S. Open. (Getty Images)

Two years ago, he admittedly inherited the U.S. Open title while watching television in the scoring area as a series of players fell over dead on the closing stretch of yet another U.S. Golf Association torture track.

Ogilvy is no egotist. He knows that most fans would rather watch a player win a tournament with a heroic shot and clutch birdie, vs. guys gagging up their lunch to lose. His backdoor win at Winged Foot or not, he stands firmly in that majority, too.

With the U.S. Open moving to Torrey Pines next month, the perfect stage is present for a spectacular ending, if officials make the par-5 finishing hole anything other than a three-shot survival test where players author something memorable and indelible for all the wrong reasons.

"Who wants to see that?" Ogilvy said, conceding that he'd personally benefited from such a disaster. "Do you?"

Not even. Not ever.

As it turns out, our joint pessimism was misplaced, because in a hugely satisfying departure from the norm, the USGA said it plans to paint Torrey's 18th as potentially the most thrilling finishing hole in Open history.

Mike Davis, the director of rules and competition for the USGA, has fielded feedback from staffers, players and a number of helpful critics and conjured up the most enticing news at an Open venue in decades. The tee on the 18th, he said, will be positioned to allow even medium-length hitters a chance to reach the green in two.

"From a personal standpoint, nothing would please me more than to see giant swings in scoring on this hole," Davis told CBSSports.com. "A player eagling the 72nd hole to win would be a dream come true."

Somebody pinch me.

A day after Ogilvy had admitted he'd won the Open in ugly, cat-burglar fashion he'd not care to see repeated, Davis' surprising sentiments were relayed. A wry smile creased the Aussie's face as he though of Davis, an affable guy in his third year setting up the Open venue. Davis' tenure has been marked by innovation and an approach that players have broadly characterized as more conservative than his Draconian predecessors.

"Makes you wonder how he got a job working there, huh?" Ogilvy cracked.

Indeed. The Open usually comes in two flavors -- impossibly penal and just plain deadly. But Davis has set the table for a delirious ending, the likes of which haven't been seen at an Open since ... never.