2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst

[boogielicious]

Excellent.

[Bad Chipper]

BD is young. He saw that his previous mindset/attitude on the course put fans off. He made a conscious effort to change his interactions, attitudes, and facial expressions. Looks like he is trying to enjoy playing more

people can change and do all the time

[billchao]

1 hour ago, Bad Chipper said:

BD is young. He saw that his previous mindset/attitude on the course put fans off. He made a conscious effort to change his interactions, attitudes, and facial expressions. Looks like he is trying to enjoy playing more

people can change and do all the time

Yes, they can, though some of what others have posted leads me to believe he’s also pandering to the public intentionally, which comes off disingenuous to me.

He’s having fun and enjoying life and golf. He’s also saying and posting things with conscious intent to win the public over because it’s good for his image and his brand. Both can be true.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, billchao said:

Yes, they can, though some of what others have posted leads me to believe he’s also pandering to the public intentionally, which comes off disingenuous to me.

Phil Mickelson Part Deux.

[phan52]

I am just about getting over it today. I have always been a Rory fan and I have watched his career swings, mostly up. The last ten years have probably been tough even with all the victories and success, because I am sure his goal is to make Majors his legacy. The last couple of years must have taken a toll because of his level of engagement with the Tour, and Sunday was the ultimate crash. He just got beat in the Open at St. Andrews and there were other Majors where he had a chance and just fell short. Sunday was different. He just blew it, and to a LIV player to boot. The pain and humiliation will leave a serious mark and it may take some time for it to heal. Regardless, there will be scar tissue. I will remain a fan, but I can't say that I will stay as committed. I felt a degree of his pain and I don't need that, being a long time Philly sports fan, if you know what I mean in THAT regard.

[JetFan1983]

I too am still smarting from Rory's collapse. Shame, but let's hope he bounces back with a major or two or three in the coming years.

As for Bryson, I wasn't rooting against him at all because like many others I've found him more likeable now than say 3-4 years ago. However, once that final putt dropped and I saw him celebrating I realized pretty rapidly... I don't like Bryson that much! 😄

But look, devil's advocate, his new persona may be calculated, but Josh Koch recently only had nice things to say about Bryson in his recent swing analysis of him. Bryson has been inspired by Josh:

...and maybe this is why Josh doesn't have anything bad to say about him, but hey, I like Josh Koch, I respect his opinion on things golf related, and yea, I'm inclined to dial back my Bryson hate if someone like Josh is saying he's not as phony as he may be coming off as lately. 

 

I'm not trying to make excuses for his blatant tone deafness over the Saudi regime's atrocities and all that, just that Bryson seems to be a genuinely nice guy otherwise... even if I wasn't really rooting for him. 

[boogielicious]

3 hours ago, JetFan1983 said:

I too am still smarting from Rory's collapse.

Was it really a collapse though? The putt on 16 was bad, but 18 wasn’t an easy putt. He still played better than BD and had some bad lies in the natural area that BD did not. I thought he played well and was aggressive. I know people are writing that he flopped, but he was 3 behind at the start of the round. I thought BD was squirrelly and hung on to win. It’s not like Rory had a 5 stroke lead and tanked.

[iacas]

18 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Was it really a collapse though? The putt on 16 was bad, but 18 wasn’t an easy putt. He still played better than BD and had some bad lies in the natural area that BD did not. I thought he played well and was aggressive. I know people are writing that he flopped, but he was 3 behind at the start of the round. I thought BD was squirrelly and hung on to win. It’s not like Rory had a 5 stroke lead and tanked.

He led by 2 and bogeyed three of the last four. It was a collapse.

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Was it really a collapse though? The putt on 16 was bad, but 18 wasn’t an easy putt. He still played better than BD and had some bad lies in the natural area that BD did not. I thought he played well and was aggressive. I know people are writing that he flopped, but he was 3 behind at the start of the round. I thought BD was squirrelly and hung on to win. It’s not like Rory had a 5 stroke lead and tanked.

And Scott, you saw BD’s up and down on 18? I mean, that was clutch.

[JetFan1983]

4 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Was it really a collapse though? The putt on 16 was bad, but 18 wasn’t an easy putt. He still played better than BD and had some bad lies in the natural area that BD did not. I thought he played well and was aggressive. I know people are writing that he flopped, but he was 3 behind at the start of the round. I thought BD was squirrelly and hung on to win. It’s not like Rory had a 5 stroke lead and tanked.

That was a tough putt, and Bryson got lucky to draw good lies again and again, but I still think three bogeys in your final four holes to lose by one in the US Open is a collapse. It happens to the best of us though clearly, and I mean no disrespect to Rory. He’s my favorite player after Tiger and still is. 
 

But Rory had one hand on the trophy and couldn’t close it out. I thought it would be hard for him to top the painful final rounds of the 2022 British or the 2023 Open at LACC but I was wrong.

 

All that to say I of course will be rooting for him to take down Royal Troon in a few weeks. The guy has played fantastic golf in recent years and as a fan I just hope he has at least one more major in him before his window closes. 

 

[iacas]

Bryson's lies weren't that great, either. He just played them well, or hit decent shots out of them, and when he couldn't, he got up and down.

He was dead on #8, but hit a spectacular pitch when double was staring him in the face, etc.

I think many are letting their personal feelings cloud their judgment of the golf that was played and the lies that so on. Even Brandel.

[GolfLug]

6 hours ago, JetFan1983 said:

I thought it would be hard for him to top the painful final rounds of the 2022 British or the 2023 Open at LACC but I was wrong.

Of all things that transpired this stands out. One of my staffers at work is Northern Irish and a die hard Rory devotee. He called out last Monday. Said he literally couldn't get out bed. 

We need a grieving party.

[Alx]

13 hours ago, boogielicious said:

He still played better than BD

No, he did not. He played a stroke worse. 

8 hours ago, JetFan1983 said:

That was a tough putt, and Bryson got lucky to draw good lies again and again

Did Bryson DeChambeau get lucky at the U.S. Open? A forensic investigation

---

Bryson DeChambeau missed eight fairways in the final round of the U.S. Open. Here's a closer look at what happened next.

Did he actually?

Its a bit silly that when it comes to stuff like this people jump on the rhetoric bandwagon so easily.

Tv analysts spew nonsense all year round and the first time they say something people agree with now its fact 🤣.

I think the tldr. from that article is that he got some breaks, but plenty of tough ones in there as well as you would expect.

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Bryson's lies weren't that great, either. He just played them well, or hit decent shots out of them, and when he couldn't, he got up and down.

He was dead on #8, but hit a spectacular pitch when double was staring him in the face, etc.

I think many are letting their personal feelings cloud their judgment of the golf that was played and the lies that so on. Even Brandel.

Pretty much this, he hit some amazing shots as you would expect from the winner.

Its sad people try to downplay his win.

Edited Saturday at 12:25 PM by Alx

[JetFan1983]

1 hour ago, Alx said:

 

Did Bryson DeChambeau get lucky at the U.S. Open? A forensic investigation

---

Bryson DeChambeau missed eight fairways in the final round of the U.S. Open. Here's a closer look at what happened next.

Did he actually?

Its a bit silly that when it comes to stuff like this people jump on the rhetoric bandwagon so easily.

Tv analysts spew nonsense all year round and the first time they say something people agree with now its fact 🤣.

I think the tldr. from that article is that he got some breaks, but plenty of tough ones in there as well as you would expect.

Pretty much this, he hit some amazing shots as you would expect from the winner.

Its sad people try to downplay his win.

Those lies look pretty good to me, especially compared to what other players were facing. Certainly they weren't "great" and he played them well clearly. I'm not trying to take anything away from the guy, but this felt like more of a Rory loss to me than a Bryson win. On TV, the lies looked better than what other players were getting. As he said afterwards, it was worse when you stood over the ball, and sure, I can accept that the TV maybe didn't do it justice. I've never played Pinehurst and a lot of guys on this forum have, so I'm inclined to respect what they have to say on this. 

My definition of drawing a good lie is a pretty basic one. If you can see the ball pretty clearly, and you just hit into an area a lot of guys are getting hosed with basically no shot, it's a good/lucky break for you. He managed his way out of some tough/bad lies too, as you said. Good for him. He won the US Open again and is one of the best players in the world right now.

But if Rory had won by a shot by going +1 instead of +3 over his final four holes, we would probably be talking about how Bryson let this one get away from him too, where 22 guys shot a lower score than him on the final day, and he only mustered two birdies and 5/14 fairways hit. 

I can't find his GIR, but the article says he only hit the green on 14 when hitting out of the native area. While that does show that his lies were not great, they maybe were good enough to hit it close enough to the hole to make all his up and downs easier. 

But again, I'm not trying to take away anything from him. I still respect him as a two time major champion and everything that comes with that. 

[Zeph]

Luck will always be part of a tournament. You can analyze all 72 holes and try to see who got more lucky, but to what end? Next tournament it’ll be the other way around. Bryson shot the lowest score and won. Rory could have won with fewer mistakes on the last four holes. Or any of the other 68 holes.

[JetFan1983]

13 minutes ago, Zeph said:

Luck will always be part of a tournament. You can analyze all 72 holes and try to see who got more lucky, but to what end? 

Yea but were we discussing the variance at any of the other majors of the last few years? I don't recall that we did, so there must be a decent reason this time around to have a fun back and forth. 

[boogielicious]

3 hours ago, Alx said:

No, he did not. He played a stroke worse. 

Did Bryson DeChambeau get lucky at the U.S. Open? A forensic investigation

---

Bryson DeChambeau missed eight fairways in the final round of the U.S. Open. Here's a closer look at what happened next.

Did he actually?

Rory shot a 69 to Bryson’s 71 in the final round. that is two better. I was referring to the final round.

[Alx]

53 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

My definition of drawing a good lie is a pretty basic one. If you can see the ball pretty clearly, and you just hit into an area a lot of guys are getting hosed with basically no shot, it's a good/lucky break for you.

This is what have a problem with. I didint watch the full broadcast, but I have watched most of the highlights on the USGA youtube channel which are extensive. 

It looks to me that the ground around those weeds is elevated and every shot has a tendency to settle in the low points in between the weeds. Meaning, these "breaks" arent that lucky, but rather getting a bad lie is unlucky and a decent lie is kinda expected. 

For example, take a look at this screenshot:

Thats a screenshot from the 2nd round 5th hole of the lies Scheffler, Schauffele, and McIlroy got hitting it into the waste area. All three got decent lies.

If you watch the shots settle you can see exactly what I was referring to about how the balls appear to settle between the tufts aka decent lies.