The marshal at the first tee Friday is aptly named.

Louis Duffer, a Southern Pines resident and a 29 handicapper, moved to Longleaf three years ago from Silver Springs, Md.

Some of the players are afraid his surname will rub off on them.

"What can I say?" the marshal said with a big smile. "I really am a duffer."

Weasel? Scott Hoch, a Raleigh native, had his childhood neighbor cheering him on Friday.

As Hoch lined up his first tee shot, Anne Robinson shouted, "Go Weasel!"

It turns out that Robinson, a First Citizens banker, grew up just across West Park Drive in Raleigh from Hoch.

In his days at Broughton High School, classmates gave Hoch the nicknames Weasel and Howdy Doody.

Great Expectations Met: First Citizens Bank Vice Chairman Jim Hyler, who doubles as the 1999 U.S. Open President’s Council Chairman, loves what’s happening here in the Sandhills.

"It’s a great week. The presentation of the event is fantastic," Hyler said while taking in the action on the 18th green Friday. "I think Pinehurst Championship Management exceeded everyone’s expectations."

Heard in Passing: Pinehurst hasn’t sported so many Southern accents since Diamondhead owned the place back in the mid 1970s.

Beer sales: Fritz Healy Jr., vice president of sales for Healy Wholesale in Fayetteville, guesses Open spectators have consumed about 800 kegs of beer this week. "Absolutely phenomenal," says Healy, a Southern Pines resident, of the volume.

No Menace: When cheers go up from the gallery for "D3," the fans are not having flashbacks from seeing the latest Star Wars movie. D3 is not R2-D2’s little brother, but rather local favorite son Davis Love, III who starred collegiately at Chapel Hill.

Tobacco Support: When visiting tobacco country, Fuzzy Zoeller understands the importance of supporting the local economy. That was Fuzzy chatting with fans and catching a quick smoke while waiting between the fifth and sixth holes.

Trick shooting: The wait to tee off at hole six had other golfers finding creative ways to bide their time. Vijay Singh engaged in a little trick putting, hitting his ball from about 10 feet into a spot on his golf bag. What made Singh’s stroke unique is that he used the tip of his putter to hit the ball, nailing putt after putt with ease.

UNC Barbs? Tom Watson probably has a better feel for the collegiate rivalries that exist along Tobacco Road after Friday's round at No. 2.

Watson, a native of Missouri and a graduate of Stanford University, has a daughter who is attending Duke University in Durham.

"My daughter goes to Duke; she's a sophomore at Duke," Watson said. "I've got a lot of comments about it today. Some pro, some not so pro."