Ex-Cougs aiming high at Open

Dean Wilson will be making his third U.S. Open appearance, while Mike Weir will be trying to add another major to go along with his Masters win of 2003, while playing in his eighth straight Open.

The two former BYU teammates are the only two golfers with Utah connections playing in this week's U.S. Open at Winged Foot in New York.

Weir is paired with Fred Couples and Jose Maria Olazabal this morning with a 6:06 a.m. (MDT) tee time. On Friday, he tees off at 11:36 a.m. (MDT). His best U.S. Open finish came in 2003, when he tied for third.

The 36-year-old Wilson is going off the back nine at 6:39 a.m. with Sweden's Peter Hedblom and Arron Oberholser, the winner of the 2002 Utah Classic on the Nationwide Tour. On Friday, Wilson tees off at 12:09 p.m. MDT.

Wilson, a native of Hawaii who lists his hometown as Plano, Texas, has played in a couple of British Opens and two PGA Championships along with two U.S. Opens. He won the 1999 Utah Open.

In 2001, he tied for 30th place at the U.S. Open but missed the cut in 2003. He qualified last week in Columbus by shooting a pair of 69s. This is Wilson's best year on the PGA Tour as he ranks 49th on the money list with nearly $800,000 in earnings.