U.S. Open

[jordoo]

This US Open played like a British Open without the crazy wind and all the hills. Dustin Johnson didn't choke those putts weren't easy and those greens were crazy tough.

But he missed probably 8-10 very make-able puts on Sunday and any 2 of them would have won him the Open. Tee to green he was unquestionably the best golfer out there.

 

[jordoo]

My take on the course was that it was visually stunning, not always in a good way, and the backdrop with the bay and the trains was gorgeous. That said the USGA had a problem with the set up if they didn't want the scores to be too low. Imagine that course with green fairways and greens . . . . . . . . . the pro's would have crushed it! You still could have seen a lot of creative shots but it wouldn't have been like put put golf. That course and those types of greens are not meant to be starved out. On sunny days you are always going to get sum bumpy spots with that type of green because the grass grows at different rates. That said starving the greens for water only makes it worse because that one type of grass is more a weed than grass and it grows better than the grass without water. It was plinco out there on those greens, seriously ridiculous. You could watch the puts bounce and change direction or when they were going slow simply meander from one bump to the next. The greenest parts of the greens rolled the truest and that's no coincidence. Also some of the fairways were a joke and guys basically hit in the rough to take there chances rather than watch the ball roll all the way into the bunker on the other side. Day had one were he hit a draw into the left side of the fairway and it rolled into a right turn all the way into the right fairway bunker. As a fair test of golf it was a joke although an entertaining tourney to watch. The putting was pretty luck of the draw late in the day.

 

[Marsh01]

Totally agree about the greens. That's why I hesitate to call it a choke even though it looked like an easy putt to a lot of people. Every player missed a putt like that this week- most more than one

He gacked it away. Missed 4 or 5 makeable putts on the back nine or he would have ran away with it. The first putt was not the problem. I dont care that he went 4 feet past. The second putt was awful. He JUST SAW Day putt the exact same putt right before him and just dead pulled it. Feel bad for him but you cant three putt from 12 feet to lose an open.

My take on the course is that its not a US Open course. I love the course and think that it will mature well over time but this is not a US Open course and you cant continue to have this championship played on courses like this. This would have been a great course for the PGA. I just got back from Bandon Dunes about 6 weeks ago and the courses out there were identical to Chambers Bay. All fescue all the time. Greens do not roll pure and you have to factor in a bit of luck when you play greens like this.

I hate that the players were pissing and moaning about it though. Keep it to yourselves. If you noticed when Buck was interviewing Speith at the awards ceremony when he asked him about the course he deflected it and talked about the fans and Seattle, etc. He gets it.

 

[upperdeck]

I found this to be typical Fox sports coverage.. they aim for the 18 yr old demo.. Holly is a joke, awful questions, but I am not a big golf channel guy so i dont know what to expect from her. I like Norman but he doesnt have the chops for live TV analyst. faxon is just too dry.. Buck is a football guy trying to do golf, he might get better.. they used the tracker but really needed it every shot since they had such poor site lines for other shots.

I was ok with the course since I played courses like that as a kid that were all baked out and you had 75 yd putts or 100 yd bump shots to greens all the time. they are pro's they know where to land the ball, if its next to the pin or 20 yds away its the same size landing area, so hit it. there were some awful roll outs but also they were mis-hitting shots by 20-30 yds. Maybe it was too much for every hole to be like that but then some guys hit it next to the pin and stuck it.. The issue was when you missed a drive the recover shots become hard and they dont like that.. they also dont like normal us open where they cant attack from the rough, or the masters when the greens are too fast or the Open when the wind blows.

they are playing for a million dollars, best player wins, suck it up..

 

[donniesyracuse]

One thing I liked about the Fox broadcast was that the Top 5 leaderboard was on the screen almost all of the time. Why does it take networks so long to do these things? It is funny to remember that only twenty years ago football, baseball, and basketball games didn't have the scoreboard up at all times.

 

[jordoo]

He gacked it away. Missed 4 or 5 makeable putts on the back nine or he would have ran away with it. The first putt was not the problem. I dont care that he went 4 feet past. The second putt was awful. He JUST SAW Day putt the exact same putt right before him and just dead pulled it. Feel bad for him but you cant three putt from 12 feet to lose an open.

My take on the course is that its not a US Open course. I love the course and think that it will mature well over time but this is not a US Open course and you cant continue to have this championship played on courses like this. This would have been a great course for the PGA. I just got back from Bandon Dunes about 6 weeks ago and the courses out there were identical to Chambers Bay. All fescue all the time. Greens do not roll pure and you have to factor in a bit of luck when you play greens like this.

I hate that the players were pissing and moaning about it though. Keep it to yourselves. If you noticed when Buck was interviewing Speith at the awards ceremony when he asked him about the course he deflected it and talked about the fans and Seattle, etc. He gets it.

Yes he absolutely choked no doubt. He was missing puts all day that he needed to make to win but he went from a chance to win out right to losing all by 3 putting from 12'!

Agree about the course. I'd love to play it when it has its normal amount of water but it cannot be a US open course because it allows way too much luck to come into play. Sure they are all playing the same course and I do not expect perfect conditions but bumpy greens, especially fast ones are just luck of the draw.

As far as the players complaining I think that's two fold. They are spoiled and Norman touched on that but when Holly giant rack specifically asks them what they thought about the conditions of the greens I don't see anything wrong with stating that they were bumpy and bring a lot of randomness into play. I don't think you complain on your own but if asked and you aren't saying stuff like "I lost respect for the USGA" then I don't have an issue with them telling the truth.

 

[jordoo]

I found this to be typical Fox sports coverage.. they aim for the 18 yr old demo.. Holly is a joke, awful questions, but I am not a big golf channel guy so i dont know what to expect from her. I like Norman but he doesnt have the chops for live TV analyst. faxon is just too dry.. Buck is a football guy trying to do golf, he might get better.. they used the tracker but really needed it every shot since they had such poor site lines for other shots.

I was ok with the course since I played courses like that as a kid that were all baked out and you had 75 yd putts or 100 yd bump shots to greens all the time. they are pro's they know where to land the ball, if its next to the pin or 20 yds away its the same size landing area, so hit it. there were some awful roll outs but also they were mis-hitting shots by 20-30 yds. Maybe it was too much for every hole to be like that but then some guys hit it next to the pin and stuck it.. The issue was when you missed a drive the recover shots become hard and they dont like that.. they also dont like normal us open where they cant attack from the rough, or the masters when the greens are too fast or the Open when the wind blows.

they are playing for a million dollars, best player wins, suck it up..

I didn't think the coverage was that bad. Agree in Holly and having her stand next to a screen to get a profile of her body was obvious and weird. Her boobs really do stick out almost unnaturally and I'm not sure how any of those guys were able to look away. Also agree about the tracker they had to use it most of the time otherwise you couldn't follow the ball. I liked Norman, didn't mind Faxon but agree Buck is not a golf guy.

As far as the course I would prefer to see our golf national championship decided on a course where far less randomness comes into play. I agree the pro's are spoiled and they are all playing the same conditions but that course is simply not meant to be that dried out. I mean they have generators out next to pumps on in the middle of that course for a reason, to get water to it.

 

[SWC75]

I just got frustrated watching it today... I mean like some shots were straight up "come on's" for lack of a better explanation..

If a guy makes a good shot, it should stay a good shot.

 

[Oakland]

Louis was Tigerized in the first round - hard to believe that Tiger's train wreck of a first round didn't adversely affect Rickie Fowler and Louis, both of whom had unusally high scores. Also Louis missed about 5-6 putts inside of 10 feet in the 3rd round.

It was such an odd course with all of the bunkers and the hills and stuff. On just about every shot the ball would roll away from where you hit it to. Funny thing is the winner should have been Oosthuizen. He shot 66, 66 and 67 on his last three rounds. Too bad his opening round he shot a 77. Once he figured the course out he played great.

 

[Oakland]

Was not impressed with the way these guys worked the ball. If the fairway slopes left to right - hit a draw or stop complaining about it rolling off the fairway. Hogan would laugh these guys off the course.

Every year there are always a bunch of players that complain about the US Open course. Not sure if Chambers was more worthy of the complaints or not.

Independent of the course or its setup, Mike Davis should move on. Does he ever admit that something could have been done a little better? He has been in that position too long. Get some fresh blood.

Listened less and less to the booth guys as the tournament went on. Not that they were bad but there was too much, 'when we were players' and 'Brad, when was the last time you hit a 350 yd drive' prattle and they were constanting telling each other 'exactly right...' and 'agree 100%'. Also, when they did talk serious golf, I didn't hear many interesting or insightful thoughts - but this is true of most sports broadcasts.

Continue to be amazed at the increasing distances these guys hit the ball: 340 yd drives - up hill, 240 yd 5 irons, etc. I think they need to tone the balls down.

Has there ever been a major where there were two different types of greens like this? In this case, the pure fescue and the fescue/poa mix - very different. Not sure if it is legit.

It didn't seem like they had big crowds there - and the annoucers never mentioned the size of the crowds. Was turnout low?

I predict that I will be tired of hearing about Spieth by the end of this week, that he wins one or less majors in the next 18 months, no one wants to play with Tiger ever again, Tiger has a 50% chance of being off the tour by the end of 2016, Dustin does win a future major sometime, Phil does not, Rory wins one of the next 4, and the US Open comes back to Chambers if Davis stays on for 5 more years and that it doesn't if Davis leaves within 2 years.

I've 'retired' from golf but will go buy a new set of irons this week anyways!

Welcome to the beautiful Northwest! Great to have the best players in the world here this week and Phil is off to a great start. Hope it is a successful event and returns on a regular basis.

 

[Oakland]

No

Could we have a Triple Crown and a Grand Slam in the same year?

 

[Alsacs]

St. Andrew's plays into Spieth's wheelhouse. I wouldn't put it past him to win the Open championship. That course is perfect for him,Rory or Louie Oosthuizen. Louie won it at St. Andrew's last time in 2010. Tiger won at St. Andrew's in 2000 and 2005.
Tiger won in 2o00 at St. Andrews's was the most dominate I saw a golfer till the 2002 US Open at Pebble Beach.

 

[SWC75]

St. Andrew's plays into Spieth's wheelhouse. I wouldn't put it past him to win the Open championship. That course is perfect for him,Rory or Louie Oosthuizen. Louie won it at St. Andrew's last time in 2010. Tiger won at St. Andrew's in 2000 and 2005.
Tiger won in 2o00 at St. Andrews's was the most dominate I saw a golfer till the 2002 US Open at Pebble Beach.

The 2002 US Open was at Bethpage Black. The one Tiger won by 15 strokes at Pebble Beach was in 2000, a month before he won by 8 strokes at St. Andrews.

 

[SWC75]

It didn't seem like they had big crowds there - and the annoucers never mentioned the size of the crowds. Was turnout low?

They mentioned the 6,000 in the grandstand at the 18th over and over saying, saying it was the most ever at one hole. They also said that the upper level holes didn't have many spectators because the hike up there was too much for most of them.

 

[jncuse]

Hey he could be a nice guy, as far as I see it, some of his comments are pretty jerkish lol.

I hope Phil makes a run, now there's a guy so easy to cheer for.

:rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling:

FIGJAM

 

[Crusty]

I agree with Weiskopf's point about par- who cares whether #18 is a par 4 or a par 5? It's your score vs. the other guy's. Par is just an opinion.

Actually, there are guidelines for par.

 

[jncuse]

I agree with Weiskopf's point about par- who cares whether #18 is a par 4 or a par 5? It's your score vs. the other guy's. Par is just an opinion.

The issue was not whether it was scored a 4 or a 5. When it was a 4, the tee was moved up about 50 yards, and it created a ridiculously difficult landing area except for a select few long hitters.

 

[CanadianSU]

If a guy makes a good shot, it should stay a good shot.

that sums it up perfect.

I also thought the difference between Grace and Spieth that final round was luck(one shot withstanding) And trust me I was not cheering for Brandon Grace...

 

[CanadianSU]

:rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling::rolling:

FIGJAM

Don't like Phil?

How could you dislike Phil ? Explain !

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Don't like Phil?

How could you dislike Phil ? Explain !

I never liked Phil during the first half of his career. I always felt that with all his natural talent he never worked hard enough to take advantage of it. Which is funny because I am a lefty and he's the only lefty I don't root for. I loved when Mike Weir won the Masters. To me, that kind of smushed the pie in Phil's face. Now, I admire his longevity and success of his career but I'm still not a Phil guy.

 

[donniesyracuse]

I always felt that with all his natural talent he never worked hard enough to take advantage of it .

I always respected that he seemed like a well-rounded person that recognized there is more to life than his profession.

 

[jordoo]

Phil's longevity is quite impressive. I always rout for him in the US Open since he's never won one. That BethPage tourney was his and he blew it, but that's Phil. Let's not forget it wasn't too long ago that he had a killer closing round to win the British. I've always appreciated his candor in press conferences. He owns his sheet.

 

[SUintheVille]

I hate that the players were pissing and moaning about it though. Keep it to yourselves. If you noticed when Buck was interviewing Speith at the awards ceremony when he asked him about the course he deflected it and talked about the fans and Seattle, etc. He gets it.

As far as the players complaining...(when) asked what they thought about the conditions of the greens I don't see anything wrong with stating that they were bumpy and bring a lot of randomness into play. I don't think you complain on your own but if asked and you aren't saying stuff like "I lost respect for the USGA" then I don't have an issue with them telling the truth.

I thought it was very interesting as well when Spieth didn't answer the question at the end about the condition of the course. He must have had an interesting opinion (I'm thinking probably negative) not to say anything, but he also showed maturity as a 21-yr old to deflect to a positive response and stroke (pun) the fans of Seattle. I agree it's OK to say something along the lines you suggest jordoo (e.g., very challenging, required a lot of concentration, etc.) as long as it is respectful to the USGA, the course, and the golf fans.

 

[br801]

So even when he's dizzy, Jason Day is one of the best players in the world. Wow!

Day is a tremendous talent. I believe he will break through soon in a major and ultimately win more than a few before he is through.

His performance while playing with the effects Benign Positional Verigo was incredible. I've experienced BPV about a dozen times in my life, and trust me, it is frightening and can be debilitating. Frankly, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. About the last thing someone experiencing BPV symptoms would want to do would be play golf and walk for miles over rolling and uneven terrain.

I know Jim Furyk and David Duval (and certainly other professional golfers) have experienced BPV. Too bad Fox didn't speak to one of them during the Open coverage or bring in a medical professional to address the issue, as clearly no one on their broadcast team had first-hand experience with BPV.

 

[jordoo]

Day is a tremendous talent. I believe he will break through soon in a major and ultimately win more than a few before he is through.

His performance while playing with the effects Benign Positional Verigo was incredible. I've experienced BPV about a dozen times in my life, and trust me, it is frightening and can be debilitating. Frankly, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. About the last thing someone experiencing BPV symptoms would want to do would be play golf and walk for miles over rolling and uneven terrain.

I know Jim Furyk and David Duval (and certainly other professional golfers) have experienced BPV. Too bad Fox didn't speak to one of them during the Open coverage or bring in a medical professional to address the issue, as clearly no one on their broadcast team had first-hand experience with BPV.

That had to be one of the worst courses for him to experience that on as well. My understanding is that its an inner ear issue and man all that walking, elevation changes, uneven stances and of course the views must have made it hard. It seemed to me he moved very deliberately to avoid moving the fluid in his inner ear as much as possible for the last two rounds.