Today is the deadline for golfers to enter the 2006 U.S. Open, a tournament anyone — with a 1.4 handicap index or less — can enter.

If the last two years are any indication, Hawai'i's qualifier might end up playing a practice round with Masters champion Phil Mickelson.

That's what happened to both Parker McLachlin, a former Hawai'i state high school champion now playing on the Nationwide Tour, and Rainbow Warrior Pierre-Henri Soero. They qualified at the first two Hawai'i sectionals.

"When you get there, you put your name on the practice tee list," Soero recalled of his experience last year at Pinehurst. "When I showed up Wednesday, Mickelson was teeing it up with me. It was crazy."

McLachlin, who won Hawai'i's first sectional in 2004, ended up teaming with Mickelson for a practice-round match against former Open winner Lee Janzen and Dennis Paulson.

Mickelson and McLachlin were "closed out" after 16 holes, but Mickelson "pressed" the bet for double or nothing on the last two holes. McLachlin's 20-foot birdie putt at 17 made the match a wash, and remains the golf story he remembers most vividly.

It was a different world, McLachlin recalls, from the four-deep gallery at a practice round to the zeroes on the wager.

"I didn't know how much we were betting for," McLachlin said. "Later I was informed it was for multiple thousands of dollars, which I didn't have.

"As we were walking up the 18th fairway, Phil said, 'Great putt. By the way, I got you covered on the bet.' It was one of the coolest things."

That opportunity is rare, but Hawai'i will again have four local qualifiers and its own sectional this year. There are approximately 100 local qualifiers around the country with the top players advancing to a dozen 36-hole sectionals.

Of the 156-player U.S. Open field, 90 come from qualifiers. It — and the U.S. Women's and Senior opens — are the world's most accessible majors.

"Greatest thing about the U.S. Open," said former Hawai'i resident Scott Simpson, 1987 Open champion, "is that anybody can win the silly tournament."

Simpson will miss the Open for the first time since 1980 because of Champions Tour commitments. He calls it the "ultimate" golf event because it is "truly open to everyone," has a storied history and is played on the best course of the year.

"Scott told me to enjoy it when I went," said McLachlin, a close friend of Simpson. "He said it would be an experience I'd never had before. It is beyond your comprehension just how big it is and how cool it is that you've qualified and now you're with the best players in the world on the toughest course in the world that year."

McLachlin's experience exceeded his expectations, as did Soero's. The UH junior missed the cut and couldn't wait to try again this year. McLachlin, 11th on the Nationwide Tour money list, will try to get through a local qualifier in Arkansas so he can play Hawai'i's sectional at Po'ipu Bay, June 5.

"It's great someone from Hawai'i will be competing (at Winged Foot) in New York," Simpson said. "Whoever makes it will have one of the greatest experiences of their lives with the great course, huge crowds and the thrill of being one of the top golfers in the world playing in what I think is the greatest championship in the world."

Entry deadline time is 11 a.m. HST today, according to the U.S. Golf Association Web site. Golfers can enter online at USGA.org. The USGA phone number is (908) 234-2300.

Deadline to enter the U.S. Women's Open is May 3, with players needing a handicap index of 4.4 or lower. Deadline for the U.S. Senior Open is May 31, with an index of 3.4 or better.

The U.S. Women's Open is June 29 to July 2 at Newport Country Club in Newport, R.I. The U.S. Senior Open is July 6 to 9 at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.

Hawai'i qualifiers:

U.S. Open: Locals—May 13, Maui Wailea Gold; May 15, O'ahu Turtle Bay Palmer; May 19, Kaua'i Po'ipu Bay; May 22, Hawai'i Waikoloa Beach. Sectional (36 holes)—June 5, Po'ipu Bay.

U.S. Women's Open: Local—May 18, Ko Olina. Sectional (36 holes)—June 13, Ko Olina.

U.S. Senior Open: Sectional (18 holes)—June 19, Waialae.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.