US Open Thread

[Thomkal]

Lots of stories going into this one-the longest par 4 in US Open history (longer than one of the par 5's) the crazy NY fans adding a lot of atmosphere, Tiger going for back to back US Opens, at a place he's already won one at, all the drama with Phil Mickleson's wife and her upcoming battle with cancer...etc. But I'm wondering if they are even going to get the tournament in at this point. Already a lot of rain this month and finally too much for the course to handle today. And more expected throughout the weekend. I wonder how far into next week they would go if they just can't get back on the course these next couple days.

I of course am pulling for Coastal Carolina's own Dustin Johnson, one of the longest hitters on tour which certainly will help at Bethpage, and winner of a rain shortened tournament already this year at a former US Open course, Pebble Beach.

[Big Fo]

Yep more rain is expected for the weekend, is there anyway the US Open gets cut to 54 holes if somehow they can't finish 72 holes by Monday/Tuesday?

[cartman]

Yep more rain is expected for the weekend, is there anyway the US Open gets cut to 54 holes if somehow they can't finish 72 holes by Monday/Tuesday?

I don't think they've ever shortened the US Open. I think they play 72 holes no matter how long it takes.

[Thomkal]

I don't think they've ever shortened the US Open. I think they play 72 holes no matter how long it takes.

Yep they interviewed someone tonight on the Golf Channel who said just that-it will be a 72 hole event regardless of how long it takes to play it.

[fantom1979]

I just looked at the New York weather, has the US Open and the British Open ever been played at the same time before? :)

[fantom1979]

The guy is already carrying your bag... would it be too much to ask for you to hold your own umbrella? :)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090618/i/r3537917141.jpg?x=400&y=261&q=85&sig=yTz0dTHAGilfGGsRXFO3yg--

[Thomkal]

Play has resumed this morning and the guy who set the course up was pleasantly surprised by how well it drained after getting 2 inches of rain on it yesterday. They will have to deal with some embedded balls and casual water in some places though. No or little rain is expected today, however the weekend looks to be a mess. They expect to finish round 1 then start round 2 sometime around 4 pm if the rains hold off.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Play has resumed this morning and the guy who set the course up was pleasantly surprised by how well it drained after getting 2 inches of rain on it yesterday. They will have to deal with some embedded balls and casual water in some places though. No or little rain is expected today, however the weekend looks to be a mess. They expect to finish round 1 then start round 2 sometime around 4 pm if the rains hold off.

This storm system rolled through Missouri earlier this week. At times, I wondered if the rain would ever stop. Got nearly 5 inches in 2 days.

I'm somewhat excited that it's been delayed some. That means I get to watch more golf since they likely will start players on both sides most of this weekend.

[Dr. Sak]

Rocco Mediate started good and is -2 so far.

[Thomkal]

Phil with a nice long birdie on #8 to get back to -1 and right in the thick of things. Dustin Johnson has been back and forth between Even and +1 all day and currently +1 after 9.

[Dr. Sak]

Phil is hitting some good 2nd shots in to the green.

[bbor]

Wow...good ole Canadian boy Mike Wier -6 through 13.Knowing him though he will miss the cut :)

[kcchief19]

I love the first round of the U.S. Open for many reasons, mostly because you can count on these things happening:

* A complete unknown is at the front of the leader board and will get his life story told in the next 24 hours before vanishing to obscurity by Saturday (Peter Hanson at -4? Come on down!)

* A big name from the past will tantalize everyone that they have the magic to make one more run at a title before running out of gas. At -3, the winner of this year's Tom Watson Award is David Duval.

* Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time players who have great potential will be in the top 10 and make everyone ask if this is year they break through. Please meet Ricky Barnes, Lucas Glover, Adam Scott and Todd Hamilton (sorry, Todd, the British Open doesn't count).

* A journeyman who has never won a major will go low and setup a storybook ending that will crash sometime on the weekend. Poor Rocco Mediate looks like it will be him for a second year in a row.

* A solid pro who can and deserves to win will become the odds-on favorite to win but probably won't. Mike Weir's the guy.

* Tiger will blow up in the first round and make everyone think he's out of it before firing a ridiculously low round on Friday or Saturday and getting right back into it.

[NoSkillz]

I love the first round of the U.S. Open for many reasons, mostly because you can count on these things happening:

* A complete unknown is at the front of the leader board and will get his life story told in the next 24 hours before vanishing to obscurity by Saturday (Peter Hanson at -4? Come on down!)

* A big name from the past will tantalize everyone that they have the magic to make one more run at a title before running out of gas. At -3, the winner of this year's Tom Watson Award is David Duval.

* Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time players who have great potential will be in the top 10 and make everyone ask if this is year they break through. Please meet Ricky Barnes, Lucas Glover, Adam Scott and Todd Hamilton (sorry, Todd, the British Open doesn't count).

* A journeyman who has never won a major will go low and setup a storybook ending that will crash sometime on the weekend. Poor Rocco Mediate looks like it will be him for a second year in a row.

* A solid pro who can and deserves to win will become the odds-on favorite to win but probably won't. Mike Weir's the guy.

* Tiger will blow up in the first round and make everyone think he's out of it before firing a ridiculously low round on Friday or Saturday and getting right back into it.

Awesome and couldn't be more on target. I'd go as far as saying this formula can be used at the Masters as well.

Hopefully, Weir proves you wrong this week :P What an awesome round...64 with a double bogey?!

[Schmidty]

Golf is the only sport that I root for the front-runner.

I would love to see Tiger get his shit together and take this thing in dramatic fashion. Or Phil.

[Atocep]

This US Open has been a disaster thus far. I haven't checked yet, but if the rain is as bad as it was expected to be this morning then they've effectively eliminated half the field based simply on tee times this weekend. There was a difference of 2 full shots on average between the morning and afternoon tee times yesterday and the same guys that played yesterday morning will be playing in the morning again today.

[spleen1015]

They didn't manage to finish Round 2 yesterday, so they're all playing already this morning.

[Thomkal]

Looks like a huge nasty front will hit the area around noon today and then stall, making it unlikely they will get through today's round, and again bringing bad luck to those who had the bad weather on Thursday and are just teeing off in the second round now.

Dustin Johnson picked up a couple birdies this morning to get back to 1 over after his second round and at least will make the cut.

[Dr. Sak]

I love rooting for Phil...his last 4 holes...bogey, double, birdie, birdie...

[Dr. Sak]

Ricky Barnes is making a mockery of Bethpage

[fantom1979]

Reality has to hit him eventually. I have my money on Weir.

[Thomkal]

I love rooting for Phil...his last 4 holes...bogey, double, birdie, birdie...

...bogey, bogey sadly.

Dustin Johnson's not doing any good either. Becoming kinda boring with no big names other than Mike Weir close.

[fantom1979]

Weir has managed to go +3 in the hour since I picked him on here. Maybe I should go post in the Zito reverse mojo thread.

[Young Drachma]

What a tournament. I almost agree with one of the ESPN bloggers, they should've awarded an "A" flight and "B" flight title.

Ricky Barnes is on fire. lol...but at least he's a guy who was supposed to be the golf's next big thing years ago and finally got together.

-10 at a US Open is downright insane. The USGA is gonna burn down Bethpage Black after this thing is over and punish everyone next year with rough on the fairway.

[hoopsguy]

I'm not sure that the USGA is going to be THAT irate about the score. -10 has a six shot lead on the field right now. Twelve other golfers are between -4 and -1 with some really favorable conditions for the one half of the field.

We'll see where the scores finish up on Monday, but I'm going to guess that in the end there will only be a half dozen or so players under par. If one golfer shreds the course to the tune of six shots better than the rest of the field then I would think you just tip your cap to him rather than being mad about his low number.

[kingfc22]

Barnes is starting to misfire...

[Dr. Sak]

What a tournament. I almost agree with one of the ESPN bloggers, they should've awarded an "A" flight and "B" flight title.

Ricky Barnes is on fire. lol...but at least he's a guy who was supposed to be the golf's next big thing years ago and finally got together.

-10 at a US Open is downright insane. The USGA is gonna burn down Bethpage Black after this thing is over and punish everyone next year with rough on the fairway.

The greens at Bethpage aren't the tough part about the course. With all the rain they are real soft and the players are able to go flagstick hunting.

[Jas_lov]

Pretty nice putt there by Phil to end it at -2. Crazy up and down day for him. Hopefully Barnes comes back a couple strokes and Phil is only 5-6 down going into the final round.

[Dr. Sak]

Yeah and he was about a turn away from birding #17 too.

[Thomkal]

that was an awesome putt by Phil to finish his round. He certainly has a chance tomorrow given who's ahead of him

[k0ruptr]

thats the thing with the open, you never know if the leader is going to go out and shoot +6 in the final round.

[fantom1979]

Do they have time to change the pin placements between the 3rd and 4th rounds? I would imagine that they starting doing it after the leaders finished playing each hole, but I can't remember ever hearing for sure how/if they do it.

[henry296]

Yes, it doesn't take that long to change the pin positions, only a couple of minute a hole. I think they will be playing golf again around 6 PM.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

FYI.......live feed is up at NBC Sports Live Feed (http://www.nbcsports.com/). Just started at 9:00 EDT. Leaders still at -7.

[Big Fo]

Barnes and Glover are falling back to the pack a bit.

[Dr. Sak]

And Phil is doing...well his best Phil impression

[Jas_lov]

Barnes in more trouble.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This is quickly becoming a war of attrition.

[Big Fo]

I haven't seen one this morning but through the course of the tournament has anyone ever seen as many missed two and three footers as there were this week?

Mickelson gets to within four.

[Jas_lov]

Now Tiger is in good position to get within 4 of Glover. Barnes has another tough putt for par at 8, he may bogey 4 in a row.

[Dr. Sak]

I'll vomit if Tiger wins.

[spleen1015]

If Tiger gets to -3, he'll at least be in a playoff.

[clemsonfan]

Go Glover Go!

[Jas_lov]

Glover missed a very long par putt at 9. Mickelson within 3 after a great save for par at 10.

[Jas_lov]

Tiger bogeys 15. He needs birdies on the last 3 holes to have a shot.

[Dr. Sak]

Tiger back to even.

[Coffee Warlord]

C'mon Phil!

[JeeberD]

What channel is showing this?

[spleen1015]

ESPN right now

[Dr. Sak]

Switch to NBC at 1130 EST

[Coffee Warlord]

Lefty birdies 12 to get to within 2.

[Dr. Sak]

Phil with an eagle opportunity!!!

[Jas_lov]

Phil has a chance to tie for the lead at 13 with an eagle.

[Eaglesfan27]

What a great shot by Phil. Amazing how things are coming together for him to be tied for the lead, potentially.

[spleen1015]

How long is the putt?

[Coffee Warlord]

Blog on ESPN reporting he knocked it to about 5' of the hole from 220 out. Wow.

[Jas_lov]

About 4 feet is the putt for Mickelson's eagle.

[Jas_lov]

Phil made it! He is tied for the lead!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

PPPPPPPPPPPHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!

Eagle! Tied for the lead at -4!

[Dr. Sak]

PHIL IS TIED!!

[Coffee Warlord]

If the stats on ESPN's site can be trusted, that's the *only* eagle posted on that hole for the entire tournament.

[Jas_lov]

lol Rickey Barnes. He probably won't finish under par. What a collapse.

[Fighter of Foo]

lol Rickey Barnes. He probably won't finish under par. What a collapse.

Heard this morning he's rated as the worst putter on the tour. Combined with the now dry & fast greens and pressure of leading, he was not expected to have a good day.

[Thomkal]

wow Phil tied for the lead now after an eagle. Really didn't expect him to do so well this week. what a story if he can hold it together and win.

[Thomkal]

feel bad for Barnes and Glover-they played so well the first 3 rounds

[Big Fo]

Glover still has a great chance.

[Jas_lov]

Phil bogeys 15. I'd like to see a 3-4 man playoff. Costas said if there's a playoff they'd play it this afternoon.

[Dr. Sak]

I'd love for a playoff between Mickelson and Duval.

[Dr. Sak]

Glover bogeys and Phil has a tester for par.

[Dr. Sak]

Huge make...

[Schmidty]

I'd love for a playoff between Mickelson and Duval.

That would be awesome.

[Jas_lov]

David Duval is tied for the lead!

[Dr. Sak]

Duval now tied.

[Jas_lov]

Amazing what Duval has done after he had that triple bogey early on.

[Samdari]

I'd love for a playoff between Mickelson and Duval.


Saving for posterity....

[Dr. Sak]

Great shot by Glover..

[Dr. Sak]

Dammit Phil

[Jas_lov]

Hopefully Duval or Mickelson can post a -3 and put the pressure on Glover.

[Dr. Sak]

Phil killed a drive on 18 and is less than 70 yards out...

[Dr. Sak]

Nice birdie by Glover.

[Schmidty]

Wow. Bad miss by Duval.

[Dr. Sak]

Duval has had some horrible luck.

[Jas_lov]

Phil barely missed. He's probably out of it now.

[Dr. Sak]

Missed by a grass blade... :(

[Thomkal]

ah Phil, looks like another choke job, too bad.

[Dr. Sak]

Choke? He didn't shoot any rounds over par. Barnes choked...

[Samdari]

Phil barely missed. He's probably out of it now.

its nice to be the clubhouse leader though.

[Jas_lov]

Need a 3 putt by Glover here.

[spleen1015]

its nice to be the clubhouse leader though.

What does he win for that?

[Samdari]

What does he win for that?


Quite often, a golf tournament.

[Jas_lov]

Damn, he made it. And Duval is a long ways away from a birdie at 18.

[Dr. Sak]

Nice par for Glover.

[Jas_lov]

Double bogey one time Glover. 4 man playoff.

[Dr. Sak]

So unless Glover calls the ghosts of Jean Van De Velde or Phil at Winged Foot he should win.

[clemsonfan]

Fingers crossed for Glover. (I have to root for a fellow Clemson person.)

[Dr. Sak]

Duval gets to go back to The Masters.

[spleen1015]

A Barnes birdie and Glover double bogey would be awesome.

[Samdari]

A Barnes birdie and Glover double bogey would be awesome.


Aye, I think the Barnes story of 800+ ranking, blowing a six shot lead, then coming from three down to win would be one of the best ever.

[Eaglesfan27]

So close.. must be agonizing.

[clemsonfan]

Woo hoo!

[Fighter of Foo]

Duval gets to go back to The Masters.

The guy was a douchebag among golfers which was the more impressive accomplishment.

[Dr. Sak]

Congrats to Glover

[spleen1015]

Yeah, grats to him.

[kcchief19]

Double bogey one time Glover. 4 man playoff.
That would have been awesome.

I started to post last night and accidentally deleted it. I thought -3 or -4 at best was going to win. I didn't Barnes or Glover any credit for holding on so tip of the cap to Glover for hanging in there.

But I would have put my money on Weir going into today and lost. He was already struggling before he lost his tee shot. I have no idea where Duval pulled this weekend out of. If the weight helps him get back going, good for him. But his arrogance is simply astounding.

Really feel bad for Lefty. With the number of times he's come so close, I was left thinking of Payne Stewart today. Payne carried the nickname "Avis" back in the day because he came in second so many times. he finished second in a major four times won three just like Phil has, but Phil has eclipsed Payne's standard for runner-up. He didn't really do anything horrible wrong today, he just missed some shots and Glover didn't.

Tiger did about what I expected today. I think if he had gone out and posted -3 under, Glover would have peed down his leg. But when Tiger gets behind at a major, he just gets too aggressive and that doesn't work. Glover pulling out iron on 18 was classic. If Phil had done that at Winged Foot, he'd had that silver trophy.

[Thomkal]

Choke? He didn't shoot any rounds over par. Barnes choked...

He bogeyed 15 and 17 did he not? Didn't give himself good chances at 16 or 18, and missed the green entirely on 17. And this on three holes he had good records on the first three days. Duval had three birdies in a row late before the bogey on 17, and Glover recovered from a bogey on 15 with a birdie and got pars on the final two holes. Barnes parred his last five holes after the disastrous rest of the round. So yes he choked.

[Dr. Sak]

He bogeyed 15 and 17 did he not? Didn't give himself good chances at 16 or 18, and missed the green entirely on 17. And this on three holes he had good records on the first three days. Duval had three birdies in a row late before the bogey on 17, and Glover recovered from a bogey on 15 with a birdie and got pars on the final two holes. Barnes parred his last five holes after the disastrous rest of the round. So yes he choked.

This is the US Open you are going to have bogeys. You are acting like he had a 6 shot lead and blew it again. At Winged Foot he choked...he did not choke here. Both of the putts on 17 and 18 were good efforts at the hole. There were no shanks. And 15 was the hardest hole on the golf course with it playing almost a half a shot over par.

So by your account, Duval choked, Tiger choked...give me a break. Phil was one of the few if not the only person to shoot par or better every round.

[Fidatelo]

Everyone who didn't win choked. Bunch of lousy chokers in that PGA. Glover is a man among boys.

[B & B]

Took Glover last night to win at small + money just based on the scores.

If you took a flyer with Lucas on Wednesday you could have cashed 200/1.

[kcchief19]

Other than Barnes, I don't think anyone choked this away. Glover simply beat Phil and the others.

I guess I'm a bit of a front-runner fan because I don't really take any enjoyment from a darkhorse winning the open or any major for that matter. I mean, good for him, but I would rather see someone consistently pays their dues and has "earned" it win rather than someone who just bolts out of nowhere with a good weekend.

[Thomkal]

This is the US Open you are going to have bogeys. You are acting like he had a 6 shot lead and blew it again. At Winged Foot he choked...he did not choke here. Both of the putts on 17 and 18 were good efforts at the hole. There were no shanks. And 15 was the hardest hole on the golf course with it playing almost a half a shot over par.

So by your account, Duval choked, Tiger choked...give me a break. Phil was one of the few if not the only person to shoot par or better every round.

It wasn't a monumental choke like Winged Foot was and I grant you that 15 was the hardest hole on the course, so a bogey there in a US Open should be expected more often than not I guess. But Glover birdied after bogeying 15, Duval birdied in, Barnes parred it. Phil played the final four holes +2, Barnes and Glover played them Even and Duval played it -1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Phil hit the fairway on 15 and 16, missed the green on 17, and then had a second shot on 18 with a wedge. Phil may be the best ever around the green and hit a pretty mediocre shot there.

I think the other three handled the pressure of the final four holes better than Phil. Don't call it a choke if you want then, but Phil given who he was facing, should have come out better than he did. The worse he should have done in my opinion is a tie and playoff with Glover. I like Phil, and I was really pulling for him, but this really was a golden opportunity for him and he didn't come through.

[k0ruptr]

Was really happy to see Duval put together a really good 4 rounds at a major tournament. I'm not his biggest fan or anything, but its always good to see guys who lose the game for a while make a semi comeback, even if it is just one tournament so far.

[Atocep]

I usually love watching the US Open. Far and away my favorite tournament of year. This wasn't the US Open, though. Watching this wasn't any different than watching any other random tournament throughout the year.

Hopefully the weather cooperates next year and Pebble Beach plays a lot more like your typical US Open.

[Schmidty]

I usually love watching the US Open. Far and away my favorite tournament of year. This wasn't the US Open, though. Watching this wasn't any different than watching any other random tournament throughout the year.

Hopefully the weather cooperates next year and Pebble Beach plays a lot more like your typical US Open.

Pebble Beach is beautiful (I've been there), but for pros, it's like any other easy public course. The winner will be in the -25 range.

[digamma]

Pebble Beach is beautiful (I've been there), but for pros, it's like any other easy public course. The winner will be in the -25 range.

Have you watched previous Opens at Pebble? They trick up the course, so it is much different from the AT&T. Scores will be much lower. In 2000, Tiger more than lapped the field, winning by 15 strokes, and only shot 272 (-12) (and I was there to see it first hand). No one is going to shoot -25.

[Schmidty]

Have you watched previous Opens at Pebble? They trick up the course, so it is much different from the AT&T. Scores will be much lower. In 2000, Tiger more than lapped the field, winning by 15 strokes, and only shot 272 (-12) (and I was there to see it first hand). No one is going to shoot -25.

Hopefully you're right.

[Dr. Sak]

I heard them say Arnold Palmer is at Pebble making it tougher...they have lengthened a few holes and it will play over 7200 yds.

[digamma]

Hopefully you're right.

It's not a matter of being right. It's a fact. The 72 hole scoring record for the AT&T Pro Am is only 268, and that's with playing Spyglass and Poppy Hills. 272 is a US Open scoring record. No one is going to shoot 260. I'd wager a fair sum of money no one is going to shoot 272 (or even 274) next year.

[Schmidty]

It's not a matter of being right. It's a fact. The 72 hole scoring record for the AT&T Pro Am is only 268, and that's with playing Spyglass and Poppy Hills. 272 is a US Open scoring record. No one is going to shoot 260. I'd wager a fair sum of money no one is going to shoot 272 (or even 274) next year.

Out of all of the courses that host the U.S. Open, would you say that Pebble Beach is at least in the top 3 easiest? I'd check the past scores, but I'm too lazy right now.

[Wolfpack]

Out of all of the courses that host the U.S. Open, would you say that Pebble Beach is at least in the top 3 easiest? I'd check the past scores, but I'm too lazy right now.

Using Wiki, I did a simple check on winner's scores in relation to par since par is not the same for every course. By this standard, it depends on whether you count Tiger's abberation in 2000 (-12). I dropped all the courses that have only hosted the US Open once and all events prior to 1930 (mainly because the relation-to-par score wasn't available). This results in a list of 19 courses to compare.

With Tiger's 2000 win put in, Pebble has hosted 4 times and the winner has averaged a -4.75 in relation to par, which makes it second lowest after Hazeltine (twice hosted, -6.5 for the winner). Take Tiger's performance out and the winner's score drops to -2.33 over three other appearances at Pebble Beach. This is still sixth lowest.

At the other end, Inverness, Merion, and Winged Foot have been nasty courses to play as the average relation to par score is over +2 for all three with Winged Foot coming in at +2.5. Of the 11 times those three courses hosted, only twice did the winner go under par (though oddly by substantial margins, a -4 at Winged Foot by Fuzzy Zoeller in 1984 and a whopping -7 at Merion by David Graham in 1981).

Couple of other interesting items based on the running of the numbers:
*Oakmont has hosted seven times, the most of any course. It also must be the fairest course over time because the average winning score is even par.

*Of 19 courses, only six have actually had the average winning score over par over time. Besides the three at +2 or more, there's Olympic, Oakland Hills, and The Country Club.



You just had to throw down that gauntlet, didn't you, Schmidty? ;)