So it'll be a logistical nightmare. So what?

The USGA's grouping of the top three players in the world ranking -- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott -- for the first two rounds of next week's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines makes a lot of sense. The only thing that's surprising is that it's not standard operating procedure.

The fact is, conditions matter. Rain, wind, fog, heat--it all comes into play in golf. Why should Woods get a 10-mph headwind on the short par-5 18th hole and Mickelson get a 10-mph tailwind, or vice-versa? Why should the USGA even allow for that possibility by starting one at, say, 9 a.m., and the other at 2:30 p.m.? Woods and Mickelson have at times looked so evenly matched that it's worth leveling the playing field as much as humanly possible. That's what the USGA is doing. Good move.

** Farrell Evans thinks this is a bad idea. Tell us what you think.