Prior to the U.S. Open each year, I put together a ranking of all 156 players in the field — a list of both educated and not-so-educated guesses that at least gets readers talking about the upcoming event. (My ranking for this year’s tourney will be posted on Wednesday.) Once in a while, I’ll get one right; maybe I’ll pick, say, Dean Wilson in 51st place and lo and behold he actually finishes No. 51 for the week.

Those right answers, however, are few and far between. Fact is, it’s near-impossible to handicap a golf tournament, where so many factors can lead to so many unpredictable circumstances.

But at least those guys are professionals. I can base their performance probability on past experience at the event and recent history.

 The same can’t be said for the foursome which will take part in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge at Torrey Pines’ South Course on Friday. You’ve no doubt heard about this contest, in which the magazine received 56,374 entries from people hoping to play the Open venue from the tips the week before the event. (If not, you can read all about it here.) The “winner” — and I use that term loosely, as most top-level pros dread the ghastly beast that is this course — was John Atkinson, an 8.1-handicapper from Omaha, Neb., who will tee it up with celebrities Justin Timberlake, Matt Lauer and Tony Romo on a track that maxes out at 7,643 yards. The goal? To see if anyone can break 100.

Using each player’s indexes and recent scores from the Golf Handicap Information Network (GHIN), let’s attempt to predict their final scores:

Justin Timberlake: Perhaps the former *NSYNC singer has been too busy bringing sexy back during the last three years, but he’s failed to post a score since Nov., 2005. Timberlake is listed as a 3.0 handicap, though each of his 20 most recent scores — ranging from 77 to 86 — have come at his home course, Spring Creek Ranch in Collierville, Tenn. (course rating 74.1; slope 139), meaning we should be wary of his game away from the friendly confines.

Then again, he’s one of only four people to serve as host of his own PGA Tour event this year, with the inaugural Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open coming this October to Las Vegas. The other three hosting events in 2008 are Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. (Even teeny-bopper, boy-band fans know that’s pretty good company in the golf world.)

And supposedly this isn’t just a one-and-done scenario for Timberlake, who’s said in recent years that he’d like to try and qualify for the PGA Tour someday. A source close to the entertainer said last April, “He practices every day, has a coach and takes his clubs wherever he goes.”

If he’s as serious about his golf as the source says, I can only imagine Timberlake has been practicing for the festivities at Torrey. Here’s saying he has a knee-knocker on 18 to keep it in double-digits.
Prediction: 99

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