Laid off from his job as an IT consultant, Tuan Nguyen consulted his inner golfer for guidance. He was soon on a mission that would take him 1,384 miles from his home in Murphy to Bethpage State Park's Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Having honed his game on daily fee courses, Nguyen was determined to play one of the most famous and demanding. Bethpage Black became the first publicly owned course to host the U.S. Open in 2002, when Tiger Woods won with the only sub-par score.

The popularity of that event magnified Bethpage's mystique and led to the U.S. Golf Association seeking other public venues. This week the world's best players will vie for a major title following the footprints of Nguyen and other public golfers.

"I'm going to be watching it with my scorecard in front of me," Nguyen said, laughing. "If Tiger bogeys a hole that I parred, I'll be like, 'Ah-hah!' It will definitely give me a better appreciation of what those guys go through."

On his odyssey to golf's Mount Everest, Nguyen set up base camp at his in-laws' residence in Brooklyn. He soon discovered that scaling Everest might be easier than reaching the summit of Bethpage. The state-owned facility features five courses, crowned by the 7,445-yard Black.

Nguyen, 31, had a small window of opportunity. The course was closed for winter break until mid-April and stayed open only through Memorial Day. His research revealed two routes. He could call for a tee time or camp in his car for a walk-on spot at the crack of dawn.

New Yorkers can make tee times seven days in advance; non-residents can book only two days out. Nguyen got only busy signals calling at the designated time for three straight nights. Finally, he got through by using multiple lines simultaneously.

Two days later, Nguyen drove about an hour to Long Island and got to the clubhouse about two hours before his 1 p.m. tee time. His name flashed on the monitor, but his reservation was on the Yellow Course. The Black Course, limited to a half day of play, was closed.

"That was really a bummer," he said. "I was so disappointed, but I thought, 'I've gone this far, I'm not going home. I've got one day left here, I've gotta play the Black.' "

So Nguyen shifted to option two. He drove his in-laws' Honda Civic to the walkup parking lot, pulling in about 11:30 a.m. He was the third car in line.

The lot was full at 6:45 p.m., when the marshal recorded his driver's license number and handed him a bracelet for admittance the next morning. Nguyen stood at the foot of Everest with only the clothes on his back.

Other groups were camped in tents, grilling and drinking. Nguyen reclined the seat in his two-door compact car but couldn't sleep as the fog rolled in. At 4:30 a.m., a marshal knocked on the window to assign him a tee time with three guys from Pennsylvania.

At 8:19 a.m., with a large group of players sitting on benches by the first tee, Nguyen put his peg in the ground and looked out at the long dogleg flanked by deep rough.

"I've never been more nervous on top of a ball than I was on that shot," he said. "I was thinking, just don't top it. Fortunately, I hit it solid, a little draw that caught the left edge of the fairway."

Courtesy photo

Tuan Nguyen, who usually shoots in the high 70s and low 80s, scrambled for an 88 from the blue tees on Bethpage's famed Black course.

His second shot, a 3-wood, landed in the right rough. The grass was so thick that he couldn't find his ball. He took a penalty drop, hit beside the green, chipped and two-putted for triple bogey.

"After that, everything kind of settled down," Nguyen said. "I kept on making bogeys and pars. Bogeys are excellent on that course. The conditioning was just fantastic. I've never seen anything like it. The fairways were lush. They were as nice as some of the greens I play on."

Bethpage favors the power hitter with three menacing par-4s that measure over 500 yards, including the longest in Open history, the 525-yard No. 7. The par-5 13 weighs in at 605 yards.

But accuracy may be even more important than distance. Nguyen said he lost three balls in the rough. His round took six hours, primarily because of time spent searching in the shin-high rough. Although the greens will be quick as usual for an Open, they are straightforward with few undulations.

"The rough is so brutal you have to wedge out," Nguyen said. "I think it's going to favor the guys that have length and accuracy off the tee. The greens, I guess, are the easiest part of the course; nothing funny going on."

Trees come into play on the front nine, but the back nine opens up with almost a links feel. Wind plays a major role in the setup. The long holes play shorter than their yardage because they are downwind.

Nguyen, who usually shoots in the high 70s and low 80s, scrambled for an 88 from the blue tees, using his putter to compensate for greens he missed with long irons.

"The course beats you up," he said. "By the time you're done, you are mentally drained, and your legs are like Jell-O. My calves were burning. But that finish felt good. I don't think I could have played much better."

Location: Farmingdale, N.Y.

Design: A.W. Tillinghast 1936

Par: 71

Distance: 7,445 yards

Slope: Blue 148; white 140; red 146

USGA Rating: Blue 76.6; white 73.9; red 78.8

Green Fees: $100 weekdays; $120 weekends

Reservations: 516-249-0707

Notable: Tee times for non-residents can be made 48 hours in advance, beginning at 6 p.m. daily. ... To walk on, arrive the afternoon before, parking in designated "overnight" lot. Wrist bands are handed out about 6:45 p.m. ... Course is for walkers only.