Not too many people turn down an invitation to play a practice round with Tiger Woods, especially on their home course. Bob Ford did, though, and for good reason.

	Ryan Ifft, of Plum, turns his cutter on thin plywood during sunrise as he triple cuts the #18 Green. The plywood protects the edge of the green, next to the intermediate ruff, at the Oakmont Country Club. Mr. Ifft is one of about 40 groundskeepers charged with prepping the Oakmont Course for the 2007 U.S. Open. Click photo for larger image.
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He is playing tomorrow in a 36-hole sectional qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, hoping to become the first host pro to make it to the U.S. Open since, well, he did in 1983. While Ford is playing at Scioto Golf Club and Ohio State's Scarlet Course, the sites of the qualifier, which will feature many of the PGA Tour players, Woods will be at Oakmont tomorrow morning to play another practice round to prepare for the Open championship.

Woods played 18 holes with Ford during his previous visit to Oakmont, and the world's No. 1 player asked him if he would like to do it again.

"I told him I have to go qualify," Ford said. "But, for a second, I thought about it."

So they struck a compromise: If Ford qualifies for the Open, Woods said he would play a practice round with him during the week of the tournament.

"That would really be cool," Ford said.

Ford, 53, is no stranger to qualifying for the Open, even when it is held at Oakmont. He did it in 1983 and almost did it again in 1994, serving as an alternate who was one player withdrawal from getting into the field. Ford, though, did more than just qualify in 1983.

He shot 12-over 296 and finished tied for 26th, becoming the first host pro since Claude Harmon in 1959 to make the cut. Since then, no host pro has played in the Open, much less made the cut, according to the United States Golf Association.

In fact, the only other host pro to qualify for the U.S. Open since Harmon was Bob Ross of Baltusrol in 1980. Ross, though, did not make the cut.

"It's so hard to make it through now," said Ford, who has been head golf professional at Oakmont since 1979. "Even the local qualifiers are tough. There are so many good players."

As host pro, Ford was exempt into the sectional qualifier and did not have to compete in either of the two qualifiers (Indiana Country Club and Quicksilver) in Western Pennsylvania.

In Columbus, he will be among 144 players competing for approximately 25 spots, the largest number of spots among the 14 qualifiers.

The number of qualifying spots will not be determined until the final round of the Memorial is finished today.

Ford will be joined in Columbus by several players from Western Pennsylvania hoping to make it to Oakmont, including RMU Island Sports Center instructor Kevin Shields; Marquette sophomore Mike Van Sickle, a Pine-Richland High School graduate; and high-school sensation William Miller, of Peters Township who played for Sewickley Academy.

Erik Bertrand, a former Duke University and minitour player who lives in Mount Oliver, also will be in the Columbus area, but he will be among 77 players competing in a separate qualifier at Double Eagle Golf Club in Galena, Ohio.

"I'm going to need a little work to make it," said Miller, who is headed to Georgia Tech on a golf scholarship. "If I play well there, I have a chance."

Among the many PGA Tour players who will be competing in Columbus is Greensburg native Rocco Mediate, who is not exempt into the Open because he was not among the top 50 players in the world ranking, the top 30 money winners last year or the top 10 money winners this year.

Mediate played in the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont and was paired each of the first two rounds with Arnold Palmer, who was making his final appearance in an Open in his hometown area. Mediate's best finish in the Open came in 2001, when he finished fourth at Southern Hills. He was sixth at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2005.

"I'd love to play [at Oakmont]," Mediate said. "But I'm past all that. I'm lucky to be playing golf right now."

Because this could be his last time attempting to qualify, Ford will have his eldest son, Jay, 15, caddy for him in Columbus. If he qualifies for the Open, his son will caddy for him again.

Ford hopes he doesn't have to go through the uncertainty of 1994, the last time the Open was at Oakmont. He was the next alternate to get into the field and even began warming up on the practice range when it looked as if Mediate would withdraw because of his back.

"The USGA called and told me Rocco had hurt his back and was not going to play and I was going to take the spot," Ford said. "That's why I was warming up."

But Mediate started, even making the cut before withdrawing before the start of the third round. Ford's disappointment was heightened when 300-pound Chris Patton, a former U.S. Amateur champion, withdrew after eight holes because of the heat.

That's OK. Maybe he will get to play another practice round with Tiger Woods.

"Without a doubt," Woods said, "I'll play every day with him."