2014 U.S. Open running thread

No, Hondo, not my point at all.

Anyway, I really, really dislike the greens not holding good approach shots. Too many balls hitting the green and bouncing back into bunkers and other unpleasant places.

 

He's no Tiger. None of them are. Phil's the most talented golfer of his generation -- moreso than Tiger -- and he's won, what, 5 Majors? And Phil tries hard.

Tiger was the Borg. A pathological golf machine born without the silver spoon in his mouth that most golfers have. He won out of something approximating great hatred for most people. Spieth can't possibly have the amount of motivation Tiger had to smash the sport as we knew it.

IMO, Tiger's mostly done. He shredded his body. Mickelson even said a few months back. The sport needs Phil something fierce. Without him, we're completely back to the late 1980s/90s, where extremely flawed players (Janzen and Daly were two) won multiple majors.

 

The little names can win all the tournaments they want.

But PGA Tour is going to lose a big fat wad of cash in the next two decades. The payouts for everything but the Majors will get in the tank.

 

I like it ... as you say, blends in with the sandhill area of North Carolina. And I heard Johnny Miller bragging about just one sprinkler watering from the center of a fairway, so you better believe the USGA is pushing the "green" angle.

(that's a good thing, BTW ... no reason golf courses can't be smarter about use of water, even on PGA-level courses)

 

The course looks fantastic; I love the dryness of the waste areas. Yes it recalls Whistling Straits but who says that has to be the only one? Course still looks tough.

Best angle? The fact that the native plants look exactly like the native plants at my local muni; so good luck hacking out of that bush Rory!

Fun golf angle; I've discussed the golf advancements in the past 20 years (ball, driver heads, graphite shafts) and what that meant for the average golfer; but I never thought about how that impacted the pros and today I thought about how Phil started with persimmon woods and steel shafts and balata balls and here he is using the newer equipment. For as amazing as the tech is; notice how his scores are not that much lower?

 

Payne's daughter, Chelsea Stewart, poses by a statue honoring her father earlier this week:



Usually a 6 isn't too good at the golf course, but in this case ...

 

Fabulous round by Martin Kaymer, shoots 65, leads by three. Scary thing is he actually had a couple of birdie putts on the back nine that could have made it even lower.

Will be really interested to see how he backs it up Friday. I don't expect another 65, but I don't expect, say, 77, either.

 

Kaymer's round came in the afternoon when the greens have hardened, and he'll have the advantage of playing in the morning Friday. It'll be interesting to see if he can maybe add to his lead.

Then again, it's U.S. Open golf. He'll probably shoot 2-over Friday.

 

I'll take Berman's fake reverence at the Open over Nantz's fake reverence at the Masters. Yeah - seriously.

All of this changes however if he drops a Kevin "Sha Na" Na or Martin "I"m Okay You're O" Kaymer reference

 

Kaymer is not the sort of Open first round leader you expect to go away by Friday night. He might, but it's more likely he's in the mix all the way.

 

Kaymer now at eight-under after eight holes of his second round. He may not be catchable.

 

Kaymer with an eight stroke lead. Lots of players with lots of golf left to play today, but eight strokes is a lot if he doesn't blow up. Hes 10-under where the winning score was predicted to be roughly even par.