118th US Open Walking Thread, presented by Johnnie Walker

[playthrough]

This is an outdated narrative. It's like saying "The Jaguars sucked in 2015, so they must suck now."

Fox was garbage at Chambers but really good at Oakmont during the rules fiasco and good at Erin Hills during a mostly blah US Open.

CBS' coverage is truly lazy and bad in almost every way. It's just familiar. Fox uses technology that CBS simply refuses to use. TopTracer on every tee, and from the fairways, and green mapping that is way better than CBS. Fox doesn't bring Jack up into the book to masturbate for 20 minutes, nor does it completely miss important shots the way CBS does (like Cantley making a hole-in-one last week, which they DID NOT EVEN HAVE VIDEO OF).

Azinger and Faxon are so much better than Faldo. Azinger works so much harder and is so much more insightful. They just showed an entire Women's US Open without commercials, which is an incredible feat. Meanwhile Dustin Johnson, the world's No. 1 player, shot a 29 on the front 9 at Riv this year, and CBS didn't have any coverage of it. At all. They didn't even have highlights of it, that's how hard they dropped the ball.

More recent: The way CBS ****ed up the coverage of Spieth's run at the Masters was unforgivable. The fact that they went to commercial as he was about to hit his second shot into 13 was insane, and the fact that we never heard any of his pre-shot conversation with Greller (it was only available on the featured group streaming) was ridiculous. The way they ****ed up the PGA Championship last year (not showing and of Kisner's shots down the stretch until JT won) was ridiculous. They literally cannot show live golf. Their motto ought to be "Just a moment ago...."

CBS without Tiger to be the primary driver of the narrative is totally lost. I was down on FOX as much as anyone, but they're so much better than tired ass CBS at this point. FOX strived to get better, while CBS is happy to be totally complacent.

There's two different missions at play, so it's not always apples-to-apples comparisons. Fox only does USGA events and paid a kajillion for them, so the broadcasts get their very best effort and all the bells and whistles. For CBS, golf is a job like yours and mine. Some weeks you're keyed in and excellent, others you're punching the clock. For the latter, watch Hilton Head the week after the Masters. Or the John Deere. Of course they're not getting anything from the front nine at the Riv, the broadcast window is small so CBS isn't covering the course with cameras. CBS has its routines and doesn't stray -- to some that makes for familiar and enjoyable viewing, to others its maddening.

 

[playthrough]

I always liked the 18-hole playoff. Unique. Always thought it was a better way than sudden death or a 2, 3, or 4 hole aggregate.

I think the last US Open playoff was Tiger's win in 2008. Naturally, this one will be a playoff now that they've changed it.

I miss the 18-hole playoff too, just because it was so USGA -- torture for four days, let's do one more! But we're in an instant-gratification era where everyone wants a winner by nightfall.

The Players Championship has the best playoff -- three great holes that all golfers know with 16-17-18. Not sure if the U.S. Open's will be 17-18 every year or if they'll try to pick off the two best holes that are next to each other or what. But I agree, bet on a run of playoffs now.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Prop bets:

Tiger or ...
US Open group (DJ, Spieth and McIlroy)
Masters group (Reed, Garcia, Watson)
The Open group (Stenson, Johnson, Mickelson)
The PGA group (Thomas, Walker, Day)

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Prop bets:

Tiger or ...
US Open group (DJ, Spieth and McIlroy)
Masters group (Reed, Garcia, Watson)
The Open group (Stenson, Johnson, Mickelson)
The PGA group (Thomas, Walker, Day)

He is likely to finish behind all of them, except maybe Mickelson and Watson.

 

[poindexter]

I don't understand those prop bets.. Tiger or.... a group of three?

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

All 3 players finish ahead of TW or no?

And I think he struggles. He'll be lucky to make the cut.

 

[Vombatus]

I’d say he has to beat all three.

I mean, if it were Tiger vs. the field, any one of the field wins the prop.

So, I’d say any one among those triplets outscoring TW would win that particular triplet prop. And I assume those are four different props (four triplets).

???

 

[Chef2]

-2 leading right now.
The old girl is playing extremely tough today.
Someone played his first 9 holes in 47. Rory is +6 through 5. Phil +3.
6 guys out of 78 on course under par.

 

[trifectarich]

At the rate we're going, there will be a lot of really brief post-round interviews today.

 

[da man]

McIlroy just picked up his third double-bogey of the round. He's played 10 holes.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

Phil Mickelson out there dressed like a female waitress at Olive Garden.

 

[poindexter]

Phil Mickelson out there dressed like a female waitress at Olive Garden.

Not sure I get it. he is dressed in all black and black hat as usual.

 

[jr/shotglass]

McIlroy just picked up his third double-bogey of the round. He's played 10 holes.

+10 through 11. No, I don't think I would have predicted that.

Jason Day's not helping himself any, either. +7 through 13.

 

[poindexter]

Haha, rory is in the rough again. Wow.

 

[qtlaw]

Wow is course playing tough; and it’s only Thurs. They better water greens this week, look fast and wobbly already.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Just finished a round on outer Cape Cod. Wind was very strong, and Eastern L.I. it's even stronger. That's why the putts are wobbly. Wind is the one thing that can make pros look like hackers.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Poulter -1 thru 16.
He and Scott Piercy are only guy in red figures.

Most of the favorites are +6 or better.

 

[qtlaw]

Just finished a round on outer Cape Cod. Wind was very strong, and Eastern L.I. it's even stronger. That's why the putts are wobbly. Wind is the one thing that can make pros look like hackers.

Wind makes hackers look like hackers too :)

I don't care how long a course is (well within reason) but wind is a killer, kills your rhythm, your comfort level over the ball. Where I play sometimes, there are 3 club winds on a 80 day and its brutal. Ever notice too that it may be 3 clubs into the wind but you never get that much back with the wind?

Its looking like +3- +5 is not too bad for today.

 

[qtlaw]

The 69s by Poulter and Piercy are phenomenal.

 

[qtlaw]

Tiger, nice 7 to start. Man, Willie Mays in '73 all over again? No, he's got game but Tiger's got to accept (as we all do) that he's just a middling pro before he can get better.