2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay Discussion Thread

[DaveP043]

That's quite the entourage.

Looks like a Virginia road repair crew, 6 guys watching, one guy working.

[RandallT]

Woods off the tee @ Chambers Bay.

How's he look?  Nice weight forward.

[colin007]

[URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/123508/] [/URL][URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/123509/] [/URL][URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/123510/] [/URL][URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/123511/] [/URL] How's he look?  Nice weight forward.

It looks wonderful. He's never ever had issue with getting his weight forward. I love his tempo on that swing. Unfortunately he seems to forget what that is when the tournament starts.

[HawkNballs]

5 people in his entourage with him and none of them can fix his driver.  The double miss is a cruel mistress.  ;)

They say that Chambers can play 8,000 yards if they wanted it to.  They will only play it 7,500-7,600 though.

[nevets88]

Here's a quick video overview of the "new features" FOX is adding to its US Open broadcast. Hey cameraman, what the hell with Damron's left profile?

[ChrisP]

Really excited to see how Fox does with the Open. Hopefully it's good. NBC did a great job so the bar is set high. Only disappointing part will be the drop in marketing the event. ESPN is by far the most watched sports network in the country and talking with a good friend who works there, he said you'll hardly see any coverage from them with the Open. The USGA pulled the plug on them and ESPN will not return the favor very well. It's too bad. Obviously being golf fans, you want to see interest increase, but Fox doesn't market their stuff well. I don't think half the country even knows what Fox Sports 1 is.

[JazzFatCat]

It was the driest May on record this year in Victoria (150 miles north of Olympia) and this weekend is supposed to be record breaking hot.

The course might be getting pretty dry and hard.

[Chilli Dipper]

Really excited to see how Fox does with the Open. Hopefully it's good. NBC did a great job so the bar is set high. Only disappointing part will be the drop in marketing the event. ESPN is by far the most watched sports network in the country and talking with a good friend who works there, he said you'll hardly see any coverage from them with the Open. The USGA pulled the plug on them and ESPN will not return the favor very well. It's too bad. Obviously being golf fans, you want to see interest increase, but Fox doesn't market their stuff well. I don't think half the country even knows what Fox Sports 1 is.

It's worse than that, really. Fox and AT&T; have been at a deadlock over subscriber fees since February. Long story short, Fox thinks AT&T; should pay more than they currently do, since Fox has bought the rights to more high-profile events since the fees were last negotiated a few years ago. As a result, AT&T; Uverse subscribers (myself included) are blacked out from anything Fox Sports 1 wasn't already broadcasting before 2014. Therefore, when subscribers of a major service provider want to tune in for the first two rounds, they're going to find nothing but hours upon hours of the Professional Darts Championship. That's what happened during the Four-Ball, at least. I don't know whether or not streaming coverage will be blacked out to AT&T; users as well, but I wouldn't be surprised.

[ChrisP]

It's worse than that, really. Fox and AT&T; have been at a deadlock over subscriber fees since February. Long story short, Fox thinks AT&T; should pay more than they currently do, since Fox has bought the rights to more high-profile events since the fees were last negotiated a few years ago. As a result, AT&T; Uverse subscribers (myself included) are blacked out from anything Fox Sports 1 wasn't already broadcasting before 2014.

Therefore, when subscribers of a major service provider want to tune in for the first two rounds, they're going to find nothing but hours upon hours of the Professional Darts Championship. That's what happened during the Four-Ball, at least. I don't know whether or not streaming coverage will be blacked out to AT&T; users as well, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Wow. That's not good at all. The first time I ever even turned on FoxSports1 was to watch the US Open preview. I remember when it first came out and they got the US Open, they were bragging about this was going to be the new "ESPN" and their morning show would best SportsCenter's ratings in a year's time. I don't even know what to say to how asinine that statement sounds now. The good news is Fox has the coverage from 8-11 Thurdsay and Friday night and all of Saturday/Sunday for those who don't get FS1.

[phillyk]

I'm excited, found out that I have tickets for both Wednesday and Thursday now! Wednesday will be a good dry run to see where you can and can't walk and find a good vantage point for Thursday's rounds.

It was the driest May on record this year in Victoria (150 miles north of Olympia) and this weekend is supposed to be record breaking hot.

The course might be getting pretty dry and hard.

Yeah I don't see any rain in the forecast for the next 7 days, and with it staying in 70's it'll be a dry US Open.  The fescue will all be brown, greens will be hard and rolling, it'll be a true test.

"I don't see the wind being as strong as a typical British Open," Mickelson told the media Wednesday . "They won't be able to get the greens very fast, to where they're out of control. Certainly, there's a lot of contour, but around the hole where the pin placements are, they seem very fair. I really enjoyed it."
Taken from http://www.foxsports.com/golf/usga/story/u-s-open-phil-mickelson-enjoyed-chambers-bay-060415

He also went on to say that players might not like the first time they play the course, but the more you play it, the better you'll like it.  True, it hasn't been really windy lately in the area, but I think the greens will get faster than Mickelson thinks.

[HawkNballs]

They can make Chambers play as hard as they want it to. I don't think the wind is really ever like it is in Ireland. They could definitely make par an amazing score if they wanted to. I heard one of the grandstands will seat 10,000 people. Holy crap, Batman!

[Chilli Dipper]

Wow. That's not good at all. The first time I ever even turned on FoxSports1 was to watch the US Open preview. I remember when it first came out and they got the US Open, they were bragging about this was going to be the new "ESPN" and their morning show would best SportsCenter's ratings in a year's time. I don't even know what to say to how asinine that statement sounds now. The good news is Fox has the coverage from 8-11 Thurdsay and Friday night and all of Saturday/Sunday for those who don't get FS1.

Here's the thing: I've come to despise the echo chamber ESPN has become, and I probably watch more Fox Sports 1 these days, because it still shows more live sports even with the pre-empted darts reruns.

[ChrisP]

Here's the thing: I've come to despise the echo chamber ESPN has become, and I probably watch more Fox Sports 1 these days, because it still shows more live sports even with the pre-empted darts reruns.

Trust me, I have my issues with ESPN as well. I am a huge Tampa Bay Lightning but hate Barry Melrose with a passion. I also hate the NBA, Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless. But I tried watching other sports networks and ESPN still does it the best, IMO, and other people are drawn to the as well. I just turn it off when one of those jokers are on or they are talking about the NBA. But that's sports news shows. As far as live sports go, it depends on the sport and where they are. I watch NBC Sports Network a lot because of the NHL and ESPN for College Football and TGC for golf.

[nevets88]

Discordant Notes Over Need to Practice on a U.S. Open Course [NYT]

Nothing new, here the NYT is usually late to the hot topic of the day, but it's a good summary of who said what if you haven't been keeping up.

Quote:

Davis’s assertions struck many golfers as an amateur’s miscalculation of the professionals’ skills. It called to mind a director handing an actor 100 pages of dialogue with the warning that he would need ample time to memorize it, not appreciating that a photographic memory is part of the actor’s tool kit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/sports/golf/discordant-notes-on-the-need-to-practice-on-a-us-open-course.html?_r=0

[Yukari]

After seeing Tiger's performance this week, I don't think he's going to make the cut at the U.S. Open.

[iacas]

After seeing Tiger's performance this week, I don't think he's going to make the cut at the U.S. Open.

So I have something to care about on Thu/Fri, I'll bet you $5 he does.

[RJH999]

Sectional Qualifying tomorrow. Should be interesting, some big names playing. Surprised to see Luke Donald needs to go through qualifying.

[Wally Fairway]

Sectional Qualifying tomorrow. Should be interesting, some big names playing. Surprised to see Luke Donald needs to go through qualifying.

http://www.usopen.com/en_US/news/qualifying/sectional.html

Bo Van Pelt on fire at -7 for the first nine in Columbus (unless I'm reading the scoreboard incorrectly)

http://www.usopen.com/en_US/news/qualifying/sectional/r_201304171366227721940.html