Is this a "Real US Open"?

[zeg]

Ok, so here's the LA Times article that inspired this thread:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...5545308.column

And the question is... with the conditions, course, and results, is this a "Real" US Open, or is is something lesser, as Dwyre suggests?

Personally, I have trouble buying his arguments, and it bothers me that he belittles the guys who are winning because they aren't the usual suspects. Sure, it's exciting to watch the superstars we know beating a hellish course, but.. those superstars are all playing too, aren't they? Where's the respect for the Davids against those Goliaths? Do we really judge a US Open by whether or not we recognize the winners?

It seems to me that the US Open just is what it is. But, what do you think? Hopefully this isn't too much of a rehash of this thread , but I am trying to focus the discussion a bit...

[lobsterzilla]

for me no... people are hitting hybrids into greens from 220 out 2' from the cup and getting them to stop within 4 feet. This isnt a pro-am, it's the us open ;) players are dropping balls within 3 feet of the cup with no fear of run out etc.


and to be fair he belittled Barnes for his play (and his painters hat lol) not because he's not well known. He has a decent point ... who misses 6 cuts in a row then explodes for a 132 in a us open ? course is playing WAAY to easy for my liking but im still enjoying it.

[RocketSauce]

i am just not into it like i was hoping to be. with play being postponed for hours at a time nobody is able to really get into a groove. its been boring for me. i like the US Opens where the weather is hot, the greens are fast, and there are no weather delays...

[ApocG10]

Well, i think it sucks that its rained all weekend for sure, so you arent getting to see the pro's bring out there best game, as the conditions suck. But its still a US open, and its still an important tournament no matter what some writer might think.

[Jay-Bird]

It's real. Are not weather and the related course conditions an inherent part of golf?

[zeg]

and to be fair he belittled Barnes for his play (and his painters hat lol) not because he's not well known. He has a decent point ... who misses 6 cuts in a row then explodes for a 132 in a us open ? course is playing WAAY to easy for my liking but im still enjoying it.

That's a good point, but still, Barnes is on top of a lot of big names. How important is last week's score? Seems like what you do this week is the important number. I guess the fact that the weather changed on the first day mid-flight may affect this, but for the most part since then it's been an easy course for everyone and Barnes (and the handful of others) are continuing to tear it up while Woods, Mickelson, etc, are just playing around at par.

It's real. Are not weather and the related course conditions an inherent part of golf?

I agree. I do confess that I sort of like to see a course that forces the world's best to actually play to par, but that doesn't seem any more necessary for the US Open than for other tournaments.

[lobsterzilla]

i feel he's trying to say a player who's played poorly all year is going to have a much smaller chance of a miraculous tournaround at an open played at say ... oakmont or winged foot than this course which is extremely wet and realatively slow. i haven't seen a ball hit the green and bounce into the rough, and therefore it doesn't feel like an open to me.

[Prairie Golfer]

If the USGA is running it, it's a real U.S. Open. And we're only halfway through the third round. We're just one Ricky Barnes collapse (a la Gil Morgan at Pebble Beach 1992) from having the usual 278-280 winning score.

[iacas]

I get his point, and I feel both ways. Obviously it "is" a U.S. Open because it's a USGA run event and blah blah blah.

But the conditions are allowing for a type of golf that's completely NOT the way the U.S. Open typically plays. Sure, people are hitting hybrids in because the drives aren't running out, but as Brandel Chamblee pointed out, the soft greens will stop everything but the most bladed of irons. It's not the "ballstriking" exhibition we normally see in a U.S. Open.

I think people like Tiger, Phil, and some other people really gear up for a certain type of golf, and - good or bad, right or wrong - they can't switch over to playing this one like it's some sort of low-scoring PGA Tour event.

[soup]

It's going to feel "real" when you see how the 4th round is being setup - back of the tips, tucking all of the pins. Good luck.

[soup]

Too bad the "New York fans" showed no respect to Barnes on 17.

Some of you guys are idiots taking shots at the fans this week. Comical, quite frankly. Just need something to complain about, I guess. Obvious bias against New York, as usual.

[David in FL]

What, not a "real" U.S. Open because it happened to rain this year?

Gimme a break. It's an outdoor game.....and as far as relatively unknown players doing well, anyone remember a guy named Francis Ouimet? I guess because Harry Vardon didn't win as expected, that wasn't a real U.S Open either? Come to think of it, it seems to me there was some rain that year too......

[shortstop20]

What, not a "real" U.S. Open because it happened to rain this year?

Exactly. Saying it's not a U.S. Open because there are lesser known players leading is ridiculous. I will enjoy the tournament regardless of who wins, because I'm a GOLF fan.

It doesn't feel the same as a typical US Open because of conditions but there's nothing we can do about that so there's not alot of sense in discussing it. Gotta play with what the course and nature gives you.

[ControlJunkie]

I can understand the frustration people have with the open this year. It's kinda like watching the Colts play the Patriots in the AFC Championship, and expecting to see a Manning vs. Brady shootout. Instead it snows or rains like crazy, no one is passing, Manning and Brady get pulled halfway through the 2nd quarter, and you're stuck watching Jim Sorgi vs. Matt Cassel, both of which are handing the ball off for the rest of the game. Sure, the game definitely still matters, and you'll still watch, because you love football, but for various reasons, you didn't see what you expected to see. Either way, it's still the AFC Championship.

This US Open goes to prove that any given Sunday (I guess Monday in this case) antyhing can happen. I dont think it takes away from the validity of it at all. The mutiple delays have been extremely frustrating, and this one may not be remembered as one of those great Opens like 2008, 2002, or 1999 was, but nothing can take away the fact that the greatest players in the world were in this field in the beginning of the week, on one of the hardest courses. It just simply hasnt had the excitement that we'd expect. I do think we may remember it differently if Lucas Glover or Ricky Barnes went on to have great years from here on out though.

[bogeyhitter25]

I hate seeing -7s and -8s. I like seeing players grind it out and finish with Even Par being the winning score. A true test of recovery. Not, as Lobsterkilla said, people hitting hybrids to 2 feet. And hitting shots out of the "thick" rough and having them check up.

[CG031]

i am just not into it like i was hoping to be. with play being postponed for hours at a time nobody is able to really get into a groove. its been boring for me. i like the US Opens where the weather is hot, the greens are fast, and there are no weather delays...

Same feel for me. It just hasn't felt 'right' or what I've grown accustomed to watching the type of course and feel the USGA has set up at the U.S. open usually.

I get his point, and I feel both ways. Obviously it "is" a U.S. Open because it's a USGA run event and blah blah blah.

Yup, agree.

[lobsterzilla]

definitely should have made my name lobsterkilla instead ;)

[Chilli Dipper]

Everything's settled down now, I think. The only thing that can ruin this Open is Rory McIlroy shooting a 30 on the front nine tomorrow morning and posting a 3-under total that no one is able to match.