2012 US Open at Olympic Club Discussion Thread

[k-troop]

After Tiger's impressive down-the-stretch clutch play to capture the Memorial, anticipation of the US Open is high.  Who are the favorites?

1. Tiger Woods.  Obviously, Tiger's going to be a favorite after his clutch finish to take the trophy at Muirfield Village.  More impressive (and relevant for a US Open discussion) is his 77% of fairways hit for the week, and 13/14 fairways on Sunday.  He also scrambled quite well (even if you don't count the 70th hole), which is key to staying in contention at the Open.  But recall that Tiger-fervor was at an all-time high going into the Masters after he won at Bay Hill.  Tiger's Masters was a flop, and not the good kind (again, thinking of the 70th hole at Muirfield).

2.  Luke Donald.  Luke's my top pick this week.  He's the world's #1 by a decent margin, taking that distinction after winning the European Tour's biggest event for the second straight year.  Whenever Luke is #1, however, it seems as though the world wants to talk about how someone else near the top is the true #1--and with Tiger moving to #4 in OWGR, this week is no different.  Luke comes off a lackluster performance at Memorial, but is having a very solid year with two big wins and the usual host of top-10s.  The US Open seems tailor made for a guy who keeps the ball in play, never misses an iron shot, has a rock-solid all-around short game, and makes 10-footers with robot-like precision.  However, the US Open is Luke's worst major, historically.  Maybe the UK-like summer weather in the Bay Area will inspire Luke to a strong finish.

3.  Matt Kuchar.  Everyone knows that Kuch is going to win a US Open, the only question is when.  We all got to know him (and his dad, unfortunately) in 1998 when he was low amateur.  It took him a decade before he made another cut at the US Open, and he's only bested that T-14 low amateur finish once, in 2010 (T-6).  He has the game and, especially, the temperament (aw stinker!) to compete in this tournament, and he's playing great this year with 9/12 top-25 finishes, 5/12 top-10s, and a win at the Players.

[Zwick]

I could really see Lee Westwood finally win a big one. If he catches a hot putter, he could be hard to beat.

I wouldn't discount McIlroy's chances, things can change very quickly in golf. It won't surprise me at all if he's right there on sunday.

I just hope there are some heavyweights in contention. It's about time for one of them to win again. Apart from McIlroy last year and Mickelson at the Masters, the superstars didn't win anything since 2008.

What really stands out to me about this US Open are the first six holes, almost impossible to play them at par or better. You can check out the course here, including fly-over videos and descriptions of the holes: http://www.usopen.com/en_US/course/index.html

[Infamous 273]

Originally Posted by Zwick

What really stands out to me about this US Open are the first six holes, almost impossible to play them at par or better. You can check out the course here, including fly-over videos and descriptions of the holes: http://www.usopen.com/en_US/course/index.html

the 1st hole is a par 4 520?  that's just sick.

[Zwick]

Originally Posted by Infamous 273

the 1st hole is a par 4 520?  that's just sick.

Tiger played there last Monday, someone on espn (not sure?) interviewed him about it. He hit driver, 4 iron to reach the green. That's driver, 3 wood for the shorter hitters. I guess a lot of guys will start their Open experience with a bogey. Last time they played the US Open at Olympic, it was a par 5.

[Motley01]

Originally Posted by Infamous 273

the 1st hole is a par 4 520?  that's just sick.

What? Holy crap. That's not sick, that is insane. Looks like the USGA is making sure -1 under is the winning score. LOL

Why do they do that. I mean sometimes they just get out of control with the difficulty at times.

I mean...who wants to watch the pros hack out, or not even make the fairway with their driver. I don't. Sounds like Bethpage again.....

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by Motley01

What? Holy crap. That's not sick, that is insane. Looks like the USGA is making sure -1 under is the winning score. LOL

Why do they do that. I mean sometimes they just get out of control with the difficulty at times.

I mean...who wants to watch the pros hack out, or not even make the fairway with their driver. I don't. Sounds like Bethpage again.....

Check out the layout -

http://www.usopen.com/en_US/course/index.html

Not only is #1 a 520y par 5, but 5 & 6 are 498 & 489! And #3 is a spiffy 247y par 3.

Hell, 2 over thru 6 will be a damn good score.

[Kieran123]

Making up for the US Open last year and the low scoring?

[Motley01]

Wait, a 247yd par 3? Geeeeeezus, I would be using my 3WD.

I'll have to amend that winning score, I bet it's more like +2 over par.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by Motley01

Wait, a 247yd par 3? Geeeeeezus, I would be using my 3WD.

Well, it is downhill.

How about that view? Can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background...

[Infamous 273]

Originally Posted by Zwick

Tiger played there last Monday, someone on espn (not sure?) interviewed him about it. He hit driver, 4 iron to reach the green. That's driver, 3 wood for the shorter hitters. I guess a lot of guys will start their Open experience with a bogey. Last time they played the US Open at Olympic, it was a par 5.

that's wild.  good luck holding that green with a 3w.

i wonder if they'll move the tees forward after the cut?  that hole has a 5.5 stroke average written all over it.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Primary cut of rough is 5 to 6 inches.  Intermediate cut is 3.5 to 4 inches.  Some holes there will be little to no intermediate cut, primary right off the fairway.  Brutal.

[brocks]

This looks like it will have a great finish, with the 16th and 17th holes being par fives (16 is 670 yards long, let's see Tiger chip in for a 2 on that one), and the 18th a possibly driveable par 4. With a few recent US Opens, they had some single-digit handicap amateurs play the US Open course a couple weeks before the tournament to see if they could break 100 on it. Have they stopped doing that? Would be interesting to see an 8-handicapper on this course.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by Kieran123

Making up for the US Open last year and the low scoring?

Wouldn't be the first time the USGA decided to make the players look foolish. After Johnny Miller shot a 63 at Oakmont to win the 1973 US Open, the winning score the next year at Winged Foot was seven over.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by Zwick

Tiger played there last Monday, someone on espn (not sure?) interviewed him about it. He hit driver, 4 iron to reach the green. That's driver, 3 wood for the shorter hitters. I guess a lot of guys will start their Open experience with a bogey. Last time they played the US Open at Olympic, it was a par 5.

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Check out the layout -

http://www.usopen.com/en_US/course/index.html

Not only is #1 a 520y par 5, but 5 & 6 are 498 & 489! And #3 is a spiffy 247y par 3.

Hell, 2 over thru 6 will be a damn good score.

I heard somebody last week (probably Tiger) say that it may be the toughest opening 6 hole stretch in any Major, ever.

Brandon

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by brocks

This looks like it will have a great finish, with the 16th and 17th holes being par fives (16 is 670 yards long, let's see Tiger chip in for a 2 on that one), and the 18th a possibly driveable par 4.

With a few recent US Opens, they had some single-digit handicap amateurs play the US Open course a couple weeks before the tournament to see if they could break 100 on it. Have they stopped doing that? Would be interesting to see an 8-handicapper on this course.

That 18th hole isn't driveable.

Look at the approach to the green:

[zipazoid]

18's not driveable. The 344y distance may make some think that, but as the pic above shows, there's no place to put the drive...maybe one of the front bunkers. But if you miss, you're in 6 inch rough. I think the pros would rather have their second shot from 80y out on the fairway.

[bplewis24]

Not sure what you're seeing, but just aim at the tree on the right side, and the ball will ricochet onto the green.  Easy peasy.

Edit: the 17th looks pretty interesting.  Short-ish par 5, but the fairway slopes left-to-right, and the tee box has been moved to the left.  So that sounds like it calls for a draw?  But does left-to-right slope mean it slopes up from left-to-right or down from left-to-right?

Brandon

[Motley01]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

Not sure what you're seeing, but just aim at the tree on the right side, and the ball will ricochet onto the green.  Easy peasy.

Brandon

Maybe we'll see some hole in ones on 18 then?