2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay Discussion Thread

[MrDC]

DJ missed a few short putts yesterday, it's his weakness, so while the pressure was on, I think he simply got exposed, it was a choke though.

Jordan is showing that a sound game with great putting is a recipe for a lot of winning, he's better than Rory right now and should be the number one soon.

It was a great US Open but I think the critics of the greens are fair, they need to give straight rolls close to the hole, too many wobbles, also the fans not able to get close was a big problem, they'll have a hard time getting another event there IMO, unless they can figure out those two big issues.

[Kieran123]

Congrats to Spieth. I really wanted DJ to make that eagle putt, or at worst the birdie for a playoff today, but so be it!

[Ping]

Three-putts from 12 ft.

Must have been having a cocaine flashback...

[Kingkat1954]

All in all, I am glad Jordan Spieth won. He is in very elite company now, along with Sarazen, Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus and Woods. IF he were to win the Open, he would be in even more select group, Hogan and Woods.

I dislike the USGA, and their methods. Period. They make the rules..........and we have to play them, but I do not have to like them.

Otherwise a great tournament.

[Lastpick]

The issue with the greens was the inconsistency.  Some putt lines would be fescue.  Others would be a mixture of fescue and poa.  Early in the broadcast, they talked about the quality of the greens and pretty much said it was crappy.  They just can't close the golf course to get rid of the poa.  Green fee is $300+tax.  No carts and caddie is about $80-100 per bag.  Lots of walking.  Just not a course that is up to the usual standards of the US Open.  Next year, we get the church pews.

[nevets88]

If Spieth wins the GS, does he get a ticker tape parade? Seems like that's past its time.

Spieth totally dodged Buck's what did you think of CB question, talked about the fans.

Billy H was immediately on the social media apology train after his interview. Here's the latest.

Pouty Poulter

[pumaAttack]

As much as I wanted DJ to win or send this to a playoff, it is probably better for golf to have Speith going into the Open with a chance at the GS.

[ChrisP]

Speith's winning me some money this year. Cashed in a nice ticket at the Masters and now the Open. I also lost some betting on Phil and Rickie, though.

[RFKFREAK]

Quote:

Horschel unloads on USGA for condition of Chambers Bay

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. (AP) -- Billy Horschel stepped to the microphone with an air of excitement.

Now that his U.S. Open was complete, Horschel let loose with a string of complaints about the condition of Chambers Bay this week, specifically the quality of the putting surfaces.

''We're looking for something that's very consistent. Every green is very consistent. And this week they're not,'' Horschel said. ''The only two greens out here that are really good are 13 and 7. And No. 10 is not too bad. But other than that, it's just a very disappointing week to be here.''

Horschel's emotions were on full display during his final round on Sunday. After missing a short par putt on the sixth hole, Horschel feigned slamming his putter into the green - although he says he was at least a foot above the putting surface. On the ninth hole, Horschel made emphatic zig-zag motions with his hand after his putt hopped back and forth on its way past the hole.

Normally a 3-under par round in the final round of the U.S. Open would be cherished.

''I played awesome golf today. I played out my tail to shoot 3-under par. And I really felt like I should have shot 6, 7 or 8-under, but I wasn't able to due to the fact that some of the putts I hit just hit some really bad spots on the greens and got off line and didn't go in,'' Horschel said.

Horschel added he understands that fans are not interested in hearing complaints from players but that the conditions of this week needed to be brought to attention. He also brought up the fans and the difficulty in spectators being able to get around the course and close to the action. The course has been roped for safety and not for the ability of fans to clearly see what's happening.

''I think a lot of players, and I'm one of them, have lost some respect for the USGA and this championship this year for the greens,'' Horschel said. ''And not only the greens, one of the biggest issues I have is for the fans. Here we are in the Pacific Northwest, where we haven't been since the late '90s for the PGA Championship, and the viewing is awful.''

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/horschel-unloads-usga-condition-chambers-bay-224714954--golf.html

Cry me a river, Billy Horschel.

They were all playing the same course and everyone knew they were going to purposefully make it difficult.

God forbid he look like a mere mortal out there.

He should really take a page from Phil's book who said:

Quote:

"I enjoyed coming to Washington to play a major championship event.  The people here appreciate the PGA Tour players and the U.S. Open and have really supported it.  It was fun to play here.  The community helped run a really first-class event, and I wish I had played better."

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/sports/other-sports/article25117714.html#storylink=cpy

[ChrisP]

How good a caddie is Stevie Williams? Adam Scott and Stevie part ways....Adam can't find the leaderboard all year.....Stevie returns to his bag and Adam finishes in 4th place. Still sad he and Tiger parted ways because I think he was a good shoulder for Tiger to lean on in tough times. Adam even said before the tourney that Stevie helps him find his way. Great tourney for Adam.

[billchao]

How good a caddie is Stevie Williams? Adam Scott and Stevie part ways....Adam can't find the leaderboard all year.....Stevie returns to his bag and Adam finishes in 4th place. Still sad he and Tiger parted ways because I think he was a good shoulder for Tiger to lean on in tough times. Adam even said before the tourney that Stevie helps him find his way. Great tourney for Adam.

This is OT, but I've read interviews with Steve Williams where he said he's lied to Tiger about yardages based on how he was hitting the ball on a particular day so that he could commit to the club/shot selection. Basically, if Tiger is 9 iron distance from a pin but hitting everything a little long on the day, Williams would tell him he was PW distance and hand him the PW. So to answer your question, his primary job is to get his player to play his best and from everything I've ever read, he does it very well.

[Mr. Desmond]

If Spieth wins the GS, does he get a ticker tape parade? Seems like that's past its time.

Spieth totally dodged Buck's what did you think of CB question, talked about the fans.

Billy H was immediately on the social media apology train after his interview. Here's the latest.

Pouty Poulter

That pic, from its angle, does make the greens look like .... they have too many strains of turf on them to have consistency -- got into player's heads.

[Valleygolfer]

This looks zackly like #7 green on a local track here...

[Big Lex]

Regarding the DJ miss--I feel bad for him. I don't like it when people call athletes chokers. He played great. Sometimes people fail and make mistakes. It doesn't make DJ any less of a man; he isn't a loser, or a choker, or gutless. He just doesn't putt as well as others at his level and is going to be disappointed over this. Spieth seems to be the type of guy with the knack for getting it into the hole. I agree with everyone who says he has the strongest mind. I think he has the rare ability to forget the last shot, whether that last shot was good or bad, and give his best effort on the shot at hand. The bounce back birdie on 18 was fantastic. Regarding the greens....by tour standards they were poor. But who is to say we _must_ have very true and smooth and consistent greens? I belong to a middle tier country club in NJ and we cope with bumpy and inconsistent often during the year. There is only so much a greenkeeper can do with even a good budget, and having near perfect, consistent greens is a luxury, not reality. I enjoyed watching the players struggle to cope with them...Spieth seemed to have a great attitude about it. I accept that elite golf is a different game than what I play, so I am not saying the pros don't have a legit argument that these greens are not acceptable for a major championship. I am just saying that _in my opinion_, it's still golf, and there is nothing wrong with pros having to play under those conditions. The players who whine are just shooting themselves in the foot. Now, my comments about the greens are with regard to the issue of poa infestation and bumpy surfaces. I do agree wi the gripe that they let things on the greens and the fairways get a bit too brown and dry. To me the USGA seems to be overly obsessed with the speed of the course. The course looked too brown overall, too dry. I'm not saying it should be lush, but watering the course so at least the turf is healthy shouldn't be avoided simply to make the course play harder. If it plays a bit slower and easier that is fine. It is still a tough test. Great tournament overall.

[rehmwa]

Regarding the DJ miss--I feel bad for him. I don't like it when people call athletes chokers. He played great. Sometimes people fail and make mistakes. It doesn't make DJ any less of a man; he isn't a loser, or a choker, or gutless. He just doesn't putt as well as others at his level and is going to be disappointed over this.

THIS  ^^^  (the guy calmly and effectively day over day just played great and had some bad putts - I hate to point out consistently hitting fairway after fairway, green after green) - what a show!

Louis O - that was just frankly amazing

Jordan - great play - he got super lucky that people will talk about DJ's 3 putt,.....instead of his double bogey on 17 - or all the putts "just" missing (Rory has that one to deal with too).

and then the list of the top 5-10 golfers and all the movement in the last half day - that was super exciting....

The course was really cool, the greens.....meh.  I really liked Foxes coverage better than just about any other coverage.  They seemed to get the message the last two days and showed more golf.

[Crim]

This looks zackly like #7 green on a local track here...

If that is truly what most of the greens looked like up close....that's horrible.

Probably the worst green I've ever seen, and I've been to a good amount crappy municipals.

[tmac20]

Oosthuizen's performance makes me thinks he'll defend his win at St. Andrews.

[Moppy]

I saw at least one short putt hit a bump, change course, and miss. They showed it in slow mo, and it looked like the break just stopped, but at regular speed, it was clear it hit something and changed its line.