2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay Discussion Thread

[Natural Patrick]

Yes, FOX has a mic in the cup.

For some reason I liked it, sounded cool!

[Big Lex]

I don't recall ever seeing so many three putts and missed putts inside of four feet at a pga tournament. Does anyone have stats on that? The fairways seemed to create pretty random results. Two drives that look perfect, one rolls to the other side of the fairway and into a bunker, the next one stops right near the edge for a perfect lie. The luck of the roll was a bigger factor in this tournament than any tournament I can recall seeing.

You might be right. We probably have stats somewhere regarding this..... But even if you are right, I think skill still carries the day. It is easy to look at bad bounces and wiggling putts and conclude things are "random". But I would wager heavily that balls hit online still gave good results most of the time, and offline shots yielded bad results most of the time. In the proper proportion. I also like it when there is a bit of randomness to it. This isn't billiards. It's an outdoor sport played on a field on which the rules place very few restrictions. It was how it should be I think, more so than the type of U.S. Open set up I remember from the 1980s.

[Aguirre]

Jenna said what?

[Kingkat1954]

Not my point at all.

The USGA has always converted par 5's to longer par 4's. THAT is not a problem, but they keep the par the same throughout the tournament.

Changing par from round to round is just plain silly in my opinion. That's all.

As far as just saying then its the total score that counts, not the individual par per hole, then no player would make a birdie, or eagle, it would be just the number.

I still feel the USGA tried their best(?) to create the ultimate test and failed.

[Golfingdad]

The USGA has always converted par 5's to longer par 4's. THAT is not a problem, but they keep the par the same throughout the tournament.

Changing par from round to round is just plain silly in my opinion. That's all.

I think it's fair to point out, somewhat in their defense though, that originally the talk was to do the gimmick the whole tournament - to alternate back and forth each day.

The players and analysts were pretty vocal about how silly 18 was as a 4 on Friday, and then on Sunday they didn't try it again.

So isn't it entirely possible that Mike Davis tried it Friday, but then realized it was a mistake, and then learned from it and didn't try it a second time?

And if that is true, then the USGA deserves a pat on the back for thinking on their feet and being flexible, because that hole as a par 5 on Sunday helped make the tournament as memorable as it was.

[pumaAttack]

I can't be the only one wishing they were watching the 18-hole playoff right about now...

[oregongolfguy]

As far as the putting goes...It seemed evident to me that people that had uphill or level putts that they could or were more aggressive with got the ball rolling better and the putts held the lines better.  If you had to baby one down a hill with no speed then the bumps played a bigger role.  Watching Louie that last few days he was hitting in close in the right spots and just ramming the putts home.  I wish we could have seen more of his play, it was really impressive not counting the first round...

[RJH999]

The whining is fine because, you know, the greens were ****ing ridiculous.

[FaldosEgo]

Poulter can't even win a regular event, let alone a major. Wouldn't matter if the greens were smooth as silk.

[HawkNballs]

Bumpy and slow is fine.  The problem is when the greens get bumpy and fast.  You need to hit them in firm, but if you do... they are 10ft. past.

That being said... suck it up and just play the course.

I gained respect for Sneds and lost some for Billy Ho.

[HawkNballs]

Is it legal to purposely walk in your putting line?  ha!  It might help!

[Stretch]

I got money on Louis O at 35/1 for The Open yesterday versus 4/1 Rory and 6/1 Spieth. Couldn't pass that up.

[Jack B]

I'd like at my take of the event from a spectators point of view. I'm between a 9-12 index depending.... and play about 100 rounds a year. I've been in person to about 15 PGA events. I have never been the the UK or played a true links course. I live in the SF Bay Area and have played ocean course like Half Moon Bay, Pebble, Torry Pines etc. I love the views, but I like trees and hate playing in the wind. Having said that I've always enjoyed watching some links golf, because it's different and produces some challenging shots and creativity. If I only listened to the Pros and the broadcasts or Sirius PGA radio I'd think the spectators hated it, but that's not what I saw at all in person. I walked 7 miles on Thursday and 9 miles on Friday. I stood by the ropes. I stood behind tee boxes. I sat in grandstands and checked out most of the extra exhibits, merchandise area etc. In two days I never heard a single complaint from anyone. People were cheering. People were laughing. People had big smiles. I typically follow a golfer or groups for a few holes or maybe even an entire 18, but this was different. There were a few holes that made it tough to follow, so we just went from place to place and watched different groups and it was awesome. I especially loved 15, 16 and 17 on the water. 12 was very cool watching eagle attempts, but it was about 500 yards extra walking to get there. Along the way I past the huge all inclusive 1895 club. It had a balcony above 13 that ran about 300 yards packed with people watching talking laughing. I couldn't get in, but they sure looked like they were having a blast. You could see 8, but it was along a viewpoint path and not too many bothered. Most of the inner holes had traditional along the ropes viewpoints, but the trap areas were huge, so you weren't always a few feet away. 7 was awesome in the grandstand and along the path. Many people bought chairs and just hung out. 18 grandstands were epic. What a great view of the fairway and the hole. I went there often. I won't describe every hole, but other than 8 and maybe the 10th green and the 1st fairway there were lot's of amazing places to watch. It was just a big area with routes around some impassable dunes, so following took some planning and fast feet. In most tournaments the weaker players have galleries of a handful of players at best, but at Chambers Bay weaker 3 somesomes would hit in 18 with maybe 6,000 spectators. No one talks about that.... Yeah, if you're Mickleson's wife and aren't there to watch golf, but you only care about one guy it sucked, but as an all around experience it was different and awesome in my opinion. I do think they'll cut some paths through some dunes for next time to make it easier to follow, but when you here loud roars all over the course for great shots and not just great shots by a handful of top golfers it sure didn't seem like people didn't enjoy it. Listening to the pros say "the spectators hated it" was off the mark. Yeah, if the hard core followers of "you" complained it may have seemed that way, but I went for the golf and I saw tons. I'm wasn't there for one golfer. As for the greens. You'll see a picture of the worst possible spot on the worst green and think they all looked like that. In person they didn't look that bad. I'm sure they weren't up to PGA standards and I would hope they fix them for next time, but man did that course deliver some incredible completion with amazing shots and creativity. I would go back and watch again in a heartbeat and it's now on my bucket list. It's sort of like being in Scotland, but better weather, less wind it's cheaper and the food is pretty good in Seattle.

[ChrisP]

I got money on Louis O at 35/1 for The Open yesterday versus 4/1 Rory and 6/1 Spieth. Couldn't pass that up.

I don't know if Louis is going to get as fortunate with the tee times this go around as he did last time. Going to be tough to repeat that performance. I really want to put a lot on Rory as I think he is going to destroy that place, but 4/1 is really not much of a bargain and I really want to hold off until I see the weather forecast. The wind can derail him as it did last time. As far as Jordan, I don't like the fact he's playing the John Deere the week before. I put money on him at Augusta and Chambers Bay as I liked his chances in both those majors. I don't like his chances as much at St. Andrew's. Going to be more of a challenge for him, although I wouldn't be surprised to see him in contention...just not winning it. It would not surprise me one bit if Rory takes the final two majors and then 6 majors in a row would be won by these two players. Rory played outstanding at Whistling Straits in 2010 and nearly won.

[atb5079]

I don't know if Louis is going to get as fortunate with the tee times this go around as he did last time. Going to be tough to repeat that performance. I really want to put a lot on Rory as I think he is going to destroy that place, but 4/1 is really not much of a bargain and I really want to hold off until I see the weather forecast. The wind can derail him as it did last time.

As far as Jordan, I don't like the fact he's playing the John Deere the week before. I put money on him at Augusta and Chambers Bay as I liked his chances in both those majors. I don't like his chances as much at St. Andrew's. Going to be more of a challenge for him, although I wouldn't be surprised to see him in contention...just not winning it. It would not surprise me one bit if Rory takes the final two majors and then 6 majors in a row would be won by these two players. Rory played outstanding at Whistling Straits in 2010 and nearly won.

I like Adam Scott's backdoor 64 yesterday. I like him to compete for the Open that he choked on a few years ago. And I like Rory for Whistling.

[acetoolguy]

That was definitely a pitch mark. Poa annua doesn't pop a ball a foot in the air. They keep showing that highlight though.

Brad Faxon said, on a Boston Radio station,  that there was a pebble imbedded in the green nobody saw.

[ChrisP]

I like Adam Scott's backdoor 64 yesterday. I like him to compete for the Open that he choked on a few years ago. And I like Rory for Whistling.

If Stevie's caddying for him, then yeah, I think he'll compete. If he's not, he'll miss the cut.

[saevel25]

I don't know if Louis is going to get as fortunate with the tee times this go around as he did last time. Going to be tough to repeat that performance. I really want to put a lot on Rory as I think he is going to destroy that place, but 4/1 is really not much of a bargain and I really want to hold off until I see the weather forecast. The wind can derail him as it did last time.

Lucky I don't bet. It's getting harder and harder to think Rory will go this year with out a Major. Some instances he just looks ready to demolish the field. If the weather behaves for the most part I can see him blitzing the field. If they get two days of good weather he might just bury the field to where he can just play par golf the rest of the way.