Official US Open Thread

[CG031]

That was the most anticlimactic round of golf I've ever witnessed. I pray to god the rest aren't so boring to watch. Nobody made any clutch putts, no shots were stuck close, nobody did anything interesting at all. The tournament all came down to whoever didn't suck that bad.

lol that is pretty accurate. the u.s. open used to be my favorite to watch, but now i think i like the masters just because there is more room for up and down's in the leaderboard the back nine...

at the u.s. open no one seems to make any birdie's to move up the leaderboard on the last few holes. i get bored with seeing par's and bogey's.

[laxbballgolf]

Really was some of the worst golf I've ever watched on TV in a professional tournament. God, that course was tough + with the Open pressure. No one played well. If Johnson could've just shot a 76 he would've won...lol.

I think a couple of the par 3s were set up too difficult - number 17 and number 12. It seemed like it was literally impossible to get a ball to hold the green on those two from the distances they were playing. Maybe shorten those holes by 20 yards or so so that a perfect shot at least will hold the green? I'm also not a fan of there being a couple of trees directly where you have to hit your drive on 18. It seems like a matter of luck could get you stuck behind a tree with a good drive.

Other than those things, I really liked the course set up. There was a nice variety of holes, some short and some long, and I even liked having one hole like 14 that requires especially great precision. As for the tournament, though, man that was a dud! There weren't really any memorable good shots in the final round. Heck, the only shot I'll probably remember is DJ's massive pull hook towards the wrong green. Is it just me or did he set up aiming that far left?? Maybe he was trying to hit a fade?

[mjtoal]

why does he need to shoot a 66?

Did you know something we didn't???????

[topspin4hand]

Then there were the petulant expressions and body language when things weren't going his way in the middle of the round. I have no idea why people appreciate Woods beyond the way he hits golf balls (on a good day).

I didn't see any difference with Tiger's body language and Phil's body language and facial expressions throughout much of the round. Phil's facial expressions were more "petulant" imo and I don't fault him - or Tiger for that matter. They were pissed off that they couldn't raise their levels of play when it mattered most. Nothing wrong with it imo, unless you just don't like them personally. And if that's the case, there's no need to justify your personal dislike by creating a wrong that occurred yesterday, it's ok not to like someone.

[B-Con]

What? Why should he have birdied 18? The "but" you mention is a pretty big one, hitting the ball into a pile of kelp 20 feet under a cliff next to te beach. You may as well say Tiger should have had an alabtross on 18 but his second shot missed the hole.

*but* he ran his ball off the cliff. His drop played from about the same location as his ball would've been had it not dropped over, and he got par. Had he played the same and his ball not gone over, he would've had birdie. It was a good par considering that his ball went over the cliff, however it was a good look at birdie had his tee shot simply stayed a couple feet right since it flirted between it's two options for a while before falling off.

[DavidFehertysBike]

The course wasnt really set up for heroic shots. You had to hit the ball A to B to C or pay the consequences. Micheels double eagle and Tigers shot from behind the trees on 18 were probably the most memorable shots of the tournament, and they ended up not amounting to much.

[RC]

A US Open in which one of the best players in the world does not win, demanding shots when pulled off do not reward with at least 50/50 chances at birdies, and routine putts were at the mercy of lucky bounces -- Not my cup of tea. I don't mind a course set up to challenge the best players in the world; the US Open has traditionally been the harderst test in the west, but I am not a fan of bumpy greens, holes that require luck as much as skill to birdie, and tracks where the best players are not likely to win. However, I am very happy with the first and second place finishers who withstood their travails and were the best players in the tournament under these conditions, and who conducted themselves with calm and class. I applaud their accomplishments.

[JWILL203]

It was really unfortunate to see Dustin melt down the way he did, but McDowell seems like a really classy guy and I was happy for him.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Yeah, it was a clean win by McDowell. He was there the entire tournament. It wasnt like he stuck up on anyone in the final round.

[Chilli Dipper]

Here's the legacy of the 2010 Open: three of the sport's all-time greats (21 majors between them) had legitimate chances to win the championship on Sunday, and none of them were able to mount a challenge. Tiger, Phil, and Ernie all wasted birdie opportunities, made little error after error, and putted terribly to fade at the finish. Par golf would have meant a win for Tiger and a playoff for Els, while Phil could have won with a 69. They couldn't do it, and McDowell emerged as the victor.

[B-Con]

A US Open in which one of the best players in the world does not win, demanding shots when pulled off do not reward with at least 50/50 chances at birdies, and routine putts were at the mercy of lucky bounces -- Not my cup of tea. I don't mind a course set up to challenge the best players in the world; the US Open has traditionally been the harderst test in the west, but I am not a fan of bumpy greens, holes that require luck as much as skill to birdie, and tracks where the best players are not likely to win. However, I am very happy with the first and second place finishers who withstood their travails and were the best players in the tournament under these conditions, and who conducted themselves with calm and class. I applaud their accomplishments.

This was the first golf tournament I've actually followed from start to finish and watched at least half of. I was surprised and kind of annoyed by the greens. Sure guys like DJ just misaligned some putts, but it was kind of annoying watching guys line up 15 foot putts and then barely tapping them and having them still roll 10 feet beyond the hole after bouncing off a particularly inflexible blade of grass. I know it was supposed to be hard, but it looked borderline unfair from my perspective.

[kafka01]

A US Open in which one of the best players in the world does not win, demanding shots when pulled off do not reward with at least 50/50 chances at birdies, and routine putts were at the mercy of lucky bounces -- Not my cup of tea. I don't mind a course set up to challenge the best players in the world; the US Open has traditionally been the harderst test in the west, but I am not a fan of bumpy greens, holes that require luck as much as skill to birdie, and tracks where the best players are not likely to win. However, I am very happy with the first and second place finishers who withstood their travails and were the best players in the tournament under these conditions, and who conducted themselves with calm and class. I applaud their accomplishments.

I agree with you that the luck factor on quite some holes was more relevant than it should have been, but i disagree with you on the fact, that in a golf tournament the best player (aka his world ranking) should win - thats not how it works in this game (even at amateur levels you see this all day) and thats why the outcome of golf tournaments is so unpredictable.

We might have been spoiled in the past, whenever Tiger teed it up, that he won around 45 % of the time - thus giving the spectators the impression that golf is a game where the No.1 in the world always wins - but thats a huge percentage - and like Haney said - good luck repeating that. Just look at the past couple majors (on the PGA/LPGA or even Champions Tour) - unless some new "golfgod" shows up and takes a dominant force in this game, we will see a lot more variance in tournament outcomes - thats just how it is - in golf it takes so little to completly throw you off your game.

[sonicblue]

Did you hear Tiger's poor-me-I'm-out-of-here interview with Mark Rolfing after he finished playing?

Oh........my........God........now who sounds petulant? Tiger just finished a grueling final round out of four, on an absurdly difficult course for the US OPEN! He's exhausted, disappointed, discouraged. You think he wants to sit there and listen to Mark Rolfing's stupid-ass questions? I was actually STUNNED he asked as good a question as he did ('what positives can you take away from today?' to which Tiger honestly replied 'nothing'), seeing as his follow-up was something completely patronizing, IIRC, like, "well, you tried hard out there, just didn't get it done." Normally, you get the standard, I-can't-believe-you're-a-journalist-and-all-you-have-is, 'So, Tiger, how disappointed are you right now?'

You talk about contrasting Tiger and Phil based on select snapshots of their actions on the golf course and a few sound bytes afterwards. It amazes me how people just have to try to bring down others.

[iacas]

Did you hear Tiger's poor-me-I'm-out-of-here interview with Mark Rolfing after he finished playing? ... I have no idea why people appreciate Woods beyond the way he hits golf balls (on a good day).

I think the Rolfing questions were entirely stupid - what could Tiger "take away from" losing a tournament? C'mon...

And who here has said they appreciate Tiger for anything other than how he hits the golf ball? I don't know of ANYONE who thinks Tiger's just a cool all-around dude.

[jamo]

Did you hear Tiger's poor-me-I'm-out-of-here interview with Mark Rolfing after he finished playing?

If you shot a terrible round would yo be ready to answer a question about how you failed? No, no one would want to. He was pissed, he could have shot E par in the round and won the US OPEN! He made mental mistakes (more than 3 if you ask me) as well as physical ones, and it's hard to own up to a bad showing. I actually like the way he approaches those interviews more than what Phil does. Phil makes it seem all rosy, like "I shot 74, but it was so nice outside today, wasn't it Roger?" Maybe that's nice to listen to, but it has no real value as an interview. At least Tiger gave him an answer. If I am going to care to watch an interview (and the player is going to care to give one), I'd at least like an answer, and Tiger gave it.

[golfro]

Oh........my........God........now who sounds petulant? Tiger just finished a grueling final round out of four, on an absurdly difficult course for the US OPEN! He's exhausted, disappointed, discouraged. You think he wants to sit there and listen to Mark Rolfing's stupid-ass questions? I was actually STUNNED he asked as good a question as he did ('what positives can you take away from today?' to which Tiger honestly replied 'nothing'), seeing as his follow-up was something completely patronizing, IIRC, like, "well, you tried hard out there, just didn't get it done." Normally, you get the standard, I-can't-believe-you're-a-journalist-and-all-you-have-is, 'So, Tiger, how disappointed are you right now?'

Very well said. Why do people put guys like Tiger to some kind of standard? Tiger owes you no answers. It seems all too common that you hear "Tiger did this and that, wat a jerk off...but now look at Phil!" Whatever. Tiger owes you nothing.

Me personally, i don't care for listening to Phil MIckelson. He's boring. too Cookie cutter. Tiger wears his heart on his sleeves. Whether he comes off as an a-hole or not, he's got raw emotions written all across his face and I can appreciate him for that. No fluffing around.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Ernie Els didnt even talk to reporters after his round, he just stormed right by them.

[kafka01]

What i was wondering - did Dustin Johnson ever shook McD´s hand on the 18th tee? I was looking for it, but it seemed it never happend... Seems like there were a lot of pissed guys out there after the round was over, but they really have nobody else than themselves to blame for it.