2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Discussion Thread

[ChrisP]

10 minutes ago, Chilli Dipper said:

Now, picture that rough after an afternoon thunderstorm, and see why I believe some people's predictions that the tournament will become a birdie fest if it rains is a little premature.

For the wild drivers, yes. But there are going to be guys who hit all the fairways, especially if there's not much roll. Those guys will stick some shots. I don't think it will be a birdie fest, but it certainly won't be 2007. It would be probably look more like '94 where there'd be a few guys who would get to Even Par or better. Of course, it all depends how much rain falls. Adam Scott made it sound today like a lot of birdies would be falling if this place gets soft. Rory said otherwise. So who knows.

Edited June 15, 2016 by ChrisP

[Aflighter]

I dont know but with that rough and the speed of those greens they better be on.I honestly dont see anyone breaking par to win.+3 looks good to me.The early rain might help for  day but the weekend will show the courses teeth.Its like Phil said.The accurate driver off the tee will have advantage.

[nevets88]

Rory McIlroy last minute prep:

 

Why am I not surprised. The church pews has its own Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/churchpewbunker

 

[nevets88]

Dusek thinks approaches are the key:

 

[iacas]

A gallery of some images…

Enjoy!

P.S. There are no longer bandwidth limits.

[ChrisP]

I'll be there tomorrow morning. Looking forward to it. I'm in PIttsburgh right now and it's already pouring. If the golf course is getting what we're getting, it'll definitely take some of the sting out of the course. I'm expecting some pretty good scores the first two days and then things will start to gravitate back to Even Par by the weekend. Can't wait for tomorrow, though. Looking forward to following both Rory's group and Jordan's group.

[Scotsclaff]

2 hours ago, ChrisP said:

I'll be there tomorrow morning. Looking forward to it. I'm in PIttsburgh right now and it's already pouring. If the golf course is getting what we're getting, it'll definitely take some of the sting out of the course. I'm expecting some pretty good scores the first two days and then things will start to gravitate back to Even Par by the weekend. Can't wait for tomorrow, though. Looking forward to following both Rory's group and Jordan's group.

Have a great day Chris,so envious.

I'm still mulling over who to bet on,intend 4 EW bets but can't decide,The US Open is really Open!

[Braivo]

5 hours ago, iacas said:

A gallery of some images…

Enjoy!

P.S. There are no longer bandwidth limits.

Great looking pics there, Erik. Some of those shots give a true appreciation for how narrow the fairways are. 

[jamo]

10 hours ago, Chilli Dipper said:

Now, picture that rough after an afternoon thunderstorm, and see why I believe some people's predictions that the tournament will become a birdie fest if it rains is a little premature.

That was my thinking as well.

[boogielicious]

Pin positions round one. http://www.geoffshackelford.com/

[saevel25]

It looks like they got 1 inch of rain over night. They are looking at possibly another 3/4 of an inch this afternoon. There might a good possibility that part of the round today will be postponed due to thunderstorms. 

The weekend looks to have great weather. I'm not sure how much they can do to dry out the course over the weekend. I presume the fairways might play. They might be able to harden the greens up on Saturday and Sunday. 

Maybe they grow the rough up a tad more? 

 

[RandallT]

Seemed like a lot of divots in the fairway on the 10th for early morning on Thursday. Jordan teed off and it just rolled through a bunch. Maybe normal, but struck me as more than I typically see.

[nevets88]

Featured groups via streaming, not bad at all:

@JordanSpieth
@ZachJohnsonPGA
@b_dechambeau

Fowler, McIlroy, Willet:

 

[pumaAttack]

Hole 3 is bruuuuuuuutal

[GolfLug]

14 hours ago, tdiii said:

So, all this talk about the 288 yard "par 3". . . it irks me.  If you label it a par 4, everyone is excited at the prospect of a drivable par 4.  You label it a par 3, and everyone is saying how unfair it its.  Whatever you label a hole -- a par 3, a par 4, or a par 5 -- one plays for one's lowest score. Everyone plays the same hole and the tourney is won or lost based on total strokes.  Par is just a construct to make it easier to keep track of guys who are playing different holes. 

Rant over. 

LOL! Boy I will hang it up the day I manage to start thinking about golf with such abject simplicity. Ha ha.

Even at my level I have NEVER stood on the tee of a 200+ par three thinking "Hmm just a couple of wedges to the green, two putts, maybe half a chance of a one putt and let's get the hell outta there, ". Can't bring myself to it. Pros??..not a chance, especially when they know that chances of par for every single one of them (as a 3) are north of 50%. I think the reason they complain is because a par on a hole like this starts to factor more luck than other holes. IMO shots surrendered due to bad shots are easier to get over than bad luck.

[Chilli Dipper]

Watching the live stream, it seems like the players are a little befuddled by where to land their approaches on the softer greens.

And, as I type that, Jordan Spieth's pitch on 12 looked like it stopped fifteen feet of the hole...but then crept down a slope, dimple by dimple, until it was within tap-in range. So the greens aren't exactly like sponges.

[tdiii]

Just now, GolfLug said:

LOL! Boy I will hang it up the day I manage to start thinking about golf with such abject simplicity. Ha ha.

Even at my level I have NEVER stood on the tee of a 200+ par three thinking "Hmm just a couple of wedges to the green, two putts, maybe half a chance of a one putt and let's get the hell outta there, ". Can't bring myself to it. Pros??..not a chance, especially when they know that chances of par for every single one of them (as a 3) are north of 50%. I think the reason they complain is because a par on a hole like this starts to factor more luck than other holes. IMO shots surrendered due to bad shots are easier to get over than bad luck.

Wasn't there a year the USGA changed the par from 3 to 4 (or vice versa) for a certain hole at the U.S. Open?  That shouldn't change your approach.  Play for the best score you can get.  It probably means going for the green off the tee, but if not going for the green is the best play when it's a par 4 why would you change when it's a par 3? 

[krupa]

31 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

LOL! Boy I will hang it up the day I manage to start thinking about golf with such abject simplicity. Ha ha.

Even at my level I have NEVER stood on the tee of a 200+ par three thinking "Hmm just a couple of wedges to the green, two putts, maybe half a chance of a one putt and let's get the hell outta there, ". Can't bring myself to it. Pros??..not a chance, especially when they know that chances of par for every single one of them (as a 3) are north of 50%. I think the reason they complain is because a par on a hole like this starts to factor more luck than other holes. IMO shots surrendered due to bad shots are easier to get over than bad luck.

So what are you thinking on the tee of a 200+ yard par 3?  Personally -- and I suck so hard that I blow so my opinion is worth nothing -- I try to only think about how far away I am from the hole. What some guy says "par" is doesn't change that.