(05-19) 23:04 PDT -- Most years, the U.S. Open punishes the world's finest players with brute force. Torrey Pines (San Diego) measured 7,643 yards on the scorecard in 2008, and Bethpage Black (New York), at 7,426 yards, similarly overpowered many players last year, in between relentless rain delays.

Pebble Beach figures to torment Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Co. in an entirely different way.

Oh, there still will be plenty of thick, unfriendly rough at this year's Open, which begins four weeks from today - but the players also will find some unconventional challenges when they come to the Monterey Peninsula for the 110th edition of America's national championship.

Pebble officials stretched their layout to 7,040 yards over the past few years. The course will play as a par-71 next month. No. 2, a par-5 in the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, will become a long par-4. That's modest length in this era of turbocharged golf balls and oversized, titanium-fueled drivers.

Even so, Open contestants do not typically fret about smacking balls into the Pacific Ocean - a likely scenario this year, given fairways pushed closer to the water and shaved grass along the edge of many cliffs (those USGA guys have a wicked sense of humor). Count on several players muttering after their shots land safely on earth and then tumble into oblivion.

USGA officials also are letting tall fescue grow around the perimeter of virtually every bunker on the course, making them even more hazardous. The weeds give Pebble more of a British Open flavor, aesthetically - perhaps appropriate on the shores of the Pacific.

And those famously small Pebble Beach greens - about half the size, on average, of Bethpage Black's greens - will make approach shots even more daunting.

It all makes for an intriguing blend. Woods commandeered the last Open at Pebble with his historic romp, but remember this: He was the only player to break par (at 12-under). The next-best score was 3-over, by Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

So, modest length and all, Pebble should provide a stout test beyond its picturesque setting. And not only power hitters could find themselves in contention come Father's Day.

"This year, in my mind, this is really a shot maker's course," said Mike Davis, the USGA's senior director of rules and competitions. "You're going to get wind and you're going to get firmness, and I think in some ways, that allows more players in the field to be more competitive."

Rice musings: Jerry Rice's inglorious exit from last week's Nationwide Tour event in South Carolina does not change his plans to play in next year's Fresh Express Classic, the Nationwide tournament in Hayward. Rice previously agreed to return as tournament host and pro competitor in 2011.

That was before he shot 92-82 in South Carolina and was disqualified (there were three rounds before the cut) because his caddie used a range-finder during the second round. Rice responded by saying he was "probably done" playing in Nationwide Tour events.

Sasha Taylor, Rice's manager, said Wednesday he will keep his commitment to the tournament in Hayward and will play in next year's event.

Rice absorbed withering criticism for his well-chronicled, two-tournament experiment in which he broke 80 only once (he shot 83-76 last month at TPC Stonebrae). No problem here if Rice plays once a year in the Bay Area event, given his local ties and his role as tournament host.

But as he seemed to acknowledge last week, he really shouldn't take sponsor exemptions elsewhere when he's not even remotely competitive.

Briefly: Stanford's women's team stands 22nd and San Jose State is 23rd at the midway point of the NCAA championships in Wilmington, N.C. ... The Stanford men will play in an NCAA regional starting today in South Bend, Ind. Cal will play in the regional outside San Diego. ... Two Cardinal players, Joseph Bramlett and David Chung, advanced in the U.S. Open local qualifier Monday at Half Moon Bay. The only sectional qualifier in Northern California will be held June 7 at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento.

E-mail Ron Kroichick at rkroichick@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle