This is shaping up to be a really interesting tournament. After a few years of trying to replicate Pinehurst, the USGA finally wised up and grew out the rough. Who knew that they could set up a course that played to even par without tricking up the greens? Oh wait, everyone did.

Thoughts...

1) I cannot wait for the broadcast to switch over to NBC. Chris Berman is even worse than Brent Musburger.
2) David Duval!!! Wow!!
3) Tiger missing the cut -- not surprising. He bogeyed the first three holes and it was downhill from there. It was bad enough not playing for two months, but given how he sprays the ball Winged Foot just isn't the kind of course he can play well at consistently.
4) Graduated rough -- great idea. Punish really bad shots more than sort of bad shots.
5) The "slow" greens. No, they're not slow, but the players just can't seem to deal with the extreme back to front tilt of most of the greens. Colin Montgomerie is the only person making putts at the right speed, so barring some huge meltdown he is going to be very dangerous.

I picked Furyk before the tournament so I'm sticking with that, but there are as always a few questions. How will Montgomerie hold up? Mickelson has won the last two majors and the crowd is for some reason fully behind him. If I were going to make a bet, I'd choose him. And how about Stricker? He always plays well in the US Open, but I don't think he's going to be at the top. Stricker's 139 should hold up, so that brings in everyone from about 147 and lower into the picture.

People to watch...
Duval -- probably not going to last long, but that would be a great story
Harrington -- always there, but never seems to be right in the mix on Sunday
Ogilvy -- definite possibility
Clarke -- who knows, maybe it's time? He'll need a 68 tomorrow, though.

The US Open is my 2nd favorite tournament to watch, after the British Open, so you all know where I'll be this weekend (except for a morning round with my dad on Father's Day).

[ June 16, 2006, 02:23 PM: Message edited by: golfer 23 ]

Have only caught snippets of it (agree with you about Berman, golfer23) and its been staggering to watch. The stat that jumped out at me from the first day: 35 of the golfers--and these are world-class golfers--failed to score a birdie!!

~Adam

Tiger probably needs more time to deal with the greiving process. This year's US Open tournament is not the same without him. I've seen him hit bad tee shots and irons many times before, but never this poorly. The long lay-off hurt him badly. Before, he usually managed to save par, even when he hit a bad drive, but not this week. I don't think his heart was in it at all. He never looked comfortable, or focused. I feel bad for him, and wish him the best.

I don't like Phil Michelson. He's a terrific golfer, but several players say he's fake; smiling at the crowd but a snob in the locker room. Too much of that kind of talk around for it all to be simple jealousy. Monty seems like a good guy, but his game, like Furyk's, is boring to watch, and he has no personality. Tiger, because of his inconsistent driver, and his ability to create par-saving shots, is the most exciting player I've ever seen. He's a lot like Jack Nickalus.

[ June 17, 2006, 10:38 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

I hate how 90% of mainstream golf coverage is about, well, personality, but whatever.

My thoughts for tomorrow...

Mickelson is the clear, clear favorite. I see him shooting 71 tomorrow and winning by 2. Ferrie will implode, I can't see Ogilvy outdueling Phil, Montgomerie would need an absolute miracle, and Stricker just isn't going to be a factor. I am discounting all the Europeans because they have won ONE Open in the last 79 years. The big thing is, there aren't any 66s or 67s on this golf course. Anyone at +6 or higher is going to need everyone above him to shit it up, but I don't think that's going to happen. The one wild card is Vijay Singh. He has been hitting it fantasic all week but can't seem to make any putts. If his 7-footers start falling, he could shoot a good score and put a real scare into the rest of the field. Furyk has a 69 in him but no better, so he would need a lot of help from the rest of the field.

Anyway, Mickelson by 2. We'll see what happens.

[ June 17, 2006, 11:01 PM: Message edited by: golfer 23 ]

Well everyone choked and collapsed in the final round of the Open. To say Mickelson and Montgomerie made bad decisions would be an understatement. Well actually Colin made one bad decsion on his second shot on the final hole and it cost him the tournament. Phil was all over the place, in a garbage bag, off the roof of the media tent, and everywhere else except the fairways. In the end Aussie Ogilvey won at 5 over par!!! He was the final survivor at WingFoot.

I thought Phil had gotten over all that nervousness and choking stuff. You would think that after his recent success in the majors, he would would have dealt with this better. Not surprised at all that Colin choked. That's what he does.

Golfer 23: personality has always been a factor in sports. Purists might not understand it, but viewers love big personalities, televison execs love them, and we all know sponsors sure do. The golfers with big personalities and/or big successes always get the biggest endorsements, and, they increase television ratings, which brings in more money and increases the tournament's player purse, and increases golf's television exposure; meaning we golf fans get to watch more tournaments..

[ June 18, 2006, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

Ugh...thank goodness I don't have to hear the broadcasters pontificate on how Phil is becoming equal to Tiger. 10 to 3 is all that matters and Phil isn't and never has been close to Tiger's lead. Tiger doesn't blow a major lead..up 2 with 3 left to play. I knew with a win they would've been making so many Tiger comparisons and "oooo Tiger's got a real rival now" and all that bullshyt!! THANK YOU THANK YOU Geoff Ogilvy for saving me from that crap!! MICKELSLAM OVER!!

I was actually quite happy to see Geoff Ogilvy hold it together at the end. I don't know much about him, but he seems like a nice guy who really did earn the victory. He made incredible saves on the last three holes to stay steady at +5. The rest of the field melted and the steadiest player took the day.

I had hoped Padraig would make a run. I like him too.

Phil and Colin really will need some time to recover. Their meltdowns are really unfortunate, given the experience they have in the game. To make such horrible decisions on 18 and flush their opportunities is really unfortunate for them. Jim Furyk should also spend some time on the therapy couch as he totally blew 15 and 18 or he would have won outright today.

I do have to say that I am not sure how much I like it when the course is as much of the personality as the players. While I too grow tired of the Phil build-up (he was the primary American contending, so that didn't help either), I really think the USGA makes the US Open courses entirely too complex. I don't think there will be another tournament the whole year where the winner will be in positive numbers, let alone +5 to win.

I thought I was looking like an absolute genius when Phil was sitting at +3 with two to go, about to shoot 71 and win by two. I had been rubbing it in my brother's face but he didn't even bother to make a comeback when everything went to shit. You could just sense Montgomerie was going to push his approach shot but damn, what a terrible spot he ended up in.

As for US Open courses being too difficult, NO WAY. First of all, this is the first time since 1978 that the winner has finished over par. Second, this is the one time of year when the best players in the world play the hardest courses in the world, the one time when good play is about avoiding bogeys and not making birdies, the one tournament above all others that rewards patience and a superhuman mental game. Unlike Southern Hills in 2004, Winged Foot was an totally fair test -- every time someone made a bogey or double bogey, it was because they f**ked up. Mickelson and Montgomerie made doubles on 18 because they hit the ball in places that they knew they had to avoid.

The shot of the year on the men's tour will probably be Mickelson's drive on 18, especially if he wins the British. What an absolutely unexplainable decision. Anyway, best tournament of the year so far.

"Party of three: Van de Velde, Norman, and Mickelson--your table is ready." wink

I think Phil just tried to get too aggressive or tricky at the final hole and it got away from him. Kind of like his honesty about it today, calling his play on that hole "stupid" and like his response to what he does now: "Go to bed for a few days."

~Adam

Golf trivia...

1) Who said "what a stupid I am" and why?
2) What year, and what tournament?
3) Who ended up winning instead?

Well off the top of my head I would have to guess... wink

1) Roberto De Vicenzo because he had signed his scorecard that did not accurately show his score. He had actually shot a birdie on 17 but his playing partner Tommy Aaron had marked it as a Par-4. It cost him a playoff.
2) 1968 Masters
3) Bob Goalby

Very interesting story. Thanks 23!

[ June 19, 2006, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: Maddog ]

Looks like Phil has worked himself into some elite company, golf's biggest chokers:

Retief Goosen
Greg Norman
Jean Van Der Welt
Phil Mickelson

Not good, Phil. Why the blaze of glory (a driver?), when a nice easy par would have sufficed? I agree. Tiger would never have done anything that stupid. He would have used a two-iron.

[ June 19, 2006, 06:37 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

The point of my trivia question was to show that in the long and storied history of major championship choke jobs, Phil has brought nothing new to the table. Making a double to lose by 1 stroke was accomplished by none other than Arnold Palmer, in the 1961 Masters. Even if you limit it to US Opens, Retief 3-putting from 12 feet to get into a playoff, TC Chen's double chip final round, and Sam Snead, who has won more PGA Tour events than anyone in history, making a triple on the 72nd hole in '39 were all worse. Phil has lots of time left to win one of these things.

By any measure, Jean Van de Velde's triple to get into a playoff was the worst choke in a major since at least Doug Sanders in the 1970 British (maybe Hoch missing the 2-footer at the 1989 Masters), although his putt for 7 was admittedly clutch. And Thomas, if you're going to invoke him, at least spell the name correctly!

Who says baseball fans are the only statistics nerds in sports? wink

[ June 19, 2006, 10:24 PM: Message edited by: golfer 23 ]

Here's an interesting artice about Johnny Miller's announcing...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/sports/g...20sandomir.html

Yeah. I know I have a problem with spelling. And I know it's my duty as a member to post a well-written comment. But, it's not deliberate. I edit my posts more than anybody and they still have mistakes. I'm trying to correct that.

We might have some real battles if and when Tiger gets his game back. I'm a diehard Tiger Woods fan (and of course, homeboy, David Toms), but I'm definitely not a Mickelson fan. This has nothing to do with his game (I actually liked Phil's wild and crazy game of the early days, but not the cookie-cutter control game he's adopted now). Why don't I like Phil? Because he doesn't like Tiger. It's that simple.

[ June 24, 2006, 11:12 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]