Like a barber putting the finishing touches on a haircut, Oakmont Country Club has taken down another tree to get ready for the U.S. Open -- reducing to seven the amount of trees standing on the interior of the course.

The fallen tree was the lone sycamore that stood in a cluster of six trees -- known as the Oak Grove -- behind the 18th green and 10th tee. Oakmont president Bill Griffin said the tree was removed to allow for more grandstand space behind the final hole.

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"It was going to be very difficult to build [a grandstand] around that tree to get the seating arrangements around the 18th green," Griffin said. "With that tree in place, we were limited to 2,100 spectators [in the grandstand]."

In the 1994 U.S. Open, Oakmont was able to seat 4,100 people in the grandstands around the 18th hole. But, because of the new back tees at Nos. 10 and 12, a grandstand could not be built on the left side of the 18th green this year.

At a special board of governors meeting May 14, Oakmont officials were not only concerned about fewer seats, but also the perception from television viewers that the tournament had outgrown the historic venue. By removing the tree, an additional 1,000 spectators can be seated around the green.

"We felt it was the right thing to do and we wanted to make sure it had the right look," Griffin said.

Oakmont has removed between 5,000 and 8,000 trees since 1994 in an attempt to restore the course to the original appearance intended by founder Henry C. Fownes. Trees still line the property boundaries on some holes, like along Hulton Road, but they do not come into play.

The only trees still standing on the interior of the course are the five oaks behind the 18th green; an elm next to the third tee; and another elm between the fourth and fifth holes.

"It's hard to imagine we're going to go there and there's not going to be any trees," said Ernie Els, who won the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont. "Those trees were huge. I want to go there for a day or two and go check it out before the tournament starts."

Trivia

Els won the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont in a three-man playoff. Who were the other playoff participants? Answer at end.

Mazza trying to compete

John Mazza is at the Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C., today, getting ready to play in the Senior PGA Championship with many of the players he was expecting to compete against this year.

But, for Mazza, 51, it will be his first taste of competition against the players from the Champions Tour this year. And that is disappointing to him.

Mazza left his job as head professional at Montour Heights Country Club two years ago in an attempt to pursue a career on the Champions Tour against some of the players he competed against when he played the PGA Tour (1978-1983). But, despite finishing 27th at qualifying school in the fall, Mazza has not played in a Champions Tour event this season.

"Is it cool going to the Senior PGA Championship again?" Mazza said, responding to a question the other day after failing to advance in an 18-hole U.S. Open local qualifier at Quicksilver Golf Club. "I don't know. It's only cool if you're playing well. I don't like going there and playing like garbage."

Mazza is disgusted, and rightfully so, and not just with his golf game.

Even though he finished in the top 33 at Q-school, Mazza did not earn any type of exempt status for 2007, merely the chance to compete in Monday qualifiers before a Champions Tour event.

Because fields on the Champions Tour are limited to 78 players with no cut (compared to 144 and 156 players on the PGA Tour), the opportunities are limited, almost non-existent, for players such as Mazza to automatically get into an event. So Mazza is left to compete with 70 or so other players every Monday for seven to nine qualifying spots.

He is 0 for 5 this year , coming close a couple of weeks ago when he shot 69 in a Monday qualifier before the FedEx Kinko's Classic in Austin, Texas. Still, he missed by three shots.

"If you're not playing well, there's no sense going," said Mazza, who gives lessons at Fox Run Golf Club in Beaver Falls when he's home. "If you're not shooting 5 or 6 under, you're not getting in."

Like father, like son

Mike Van Sickle of Pine, a sophomore at Marquette University, isn't the first member of his family to advance to a 36-hole sectional qualifier for the U.S. Open. His dad, Gary, did it in 1996, when Mike was still in elementary school in Connecticut.

But, with his dad by his side, the young Van Sickle survived a three-man playoff to gain the fifth and final spot in a U.S. Open local qualifier last week at North Shore Country Club in Mequon, Wis. Van Sickle, 20, will play in a 36-hole sectional qualifier June 4 in Columbus, Ohio, andhopes to do something his dad didn't do in 1996 -- qualify for the U.S. Open.

Van Sickle, who shot 74 in horrid conditions in the local qualifier, will find a much tougher field in Columbus. Most of the PGA Tour players who aren't exempt into the Open will qualify at that site because it comes a day after the final round of the Memorial in neighboring Dublin.

"I definitely prefer to go there and get a chance to play in an event like that to stack my game up against the guys you see on TV," said Van Sickle, who played at Pine-Richland High School and is ranked among the top 50 collegiate players in the country. "I can see where I am right now."

Van Sickle has come a long way in a year. He won three tournaments in a row this year at Marquette -- the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate, the Ron Smith/USF Invitational and the Mission Inn Collegiate Invitational -- and made it to the NCAA Central regional tournament, where he finished 17th.

Even if his son doesn't qualify, Gary Van Sickle will be at the U.S. Open: He is a senior golf writer for Sports Illustrated who travels the PGA Tour.

Dissa and data

Butler Country Club, one of the best private layouts in Western Pennsylvania, just got better by hiring John Ferruchie as course superintendent.

The ninth Parkway West Rotary Charity Classic is July 23 at Seven Oaks Country Club in Brighton. Entry is $150 and includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and auction. Call 724-947-1234.

Trivia answer

Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts also were involved in a three-man playoff with Els.