2013 U.S. Open Running Thread

[Chef2]

5 par 4's under 400 yards. Don't remember ever seeing that at a U.S. Open before.

You better chip and putt your ass off.

I'll take Snedeker. Westwood a couple shots back. Woods in the Top 10. Dont be surprised if Els is in contention as well.

 

[MileHigh]

Old school meets new school. First time in more than 30 years they've been to Merion and I'm sure they will set up that bandbox (by today's standards) to be as tough as possible. Always a quirky tournament with lesser names/first-timers winning. Oh, and the dreaded return of the walrus to the microphone for the first two rounds.

 

[pressboxer]

One of our local college kids played in the Dallas sectional and finished a respectable 1-under, finishing in a six-man group with Justin Leonard and a shot ahead of Scott Verplank. But the big story was the 12-hole playoff to determine the fourth qualifier. They played eight holes Monday before it got too dark to continue, then played four more this morning.

 

[Mark2010]

Better to be short and in the fairway than long and in the rough. I've been very critical over the years of the way the USGA sets up the course. Too often, it is long and narrow. This may provide an interesting option.

 

[Alma]

The way the course is set up, you'll have guys shooting 32 on the front (to a par 36) and 35 on the back (to a par 34).

So long as the USGA is comfortable with the winner shooting -8, should be a great tournament. If the USGA wants to show nobody who gives a **** how hard it can make a course, we'll have another Olympic hackfest, where the most enjoyable thing was the British peacock at the end.

 

[Mark2010]

I never understood what was wrong with -8 winning the tournament. These are the best players in the world; they should make a few birdies over 72 holes.

It's far more enjoyable to watch guys make putts for birdie than for double bogey. That's why I like the other majors better.

 

[Mark2010]

Oh, and the dreaded return of the walrus to the microphone for the first two rounds.

Craig Stadler? Or Roger Maltbie?

 

[MileHigh]

Oh, and the dreaded return of the walrus to the microphone for the first two rounds.

Craig Stadler? Or Roger Maltbie?

Leather.

 

[trifectarich]

I never understood what was wrong with -8 winning the tournament. These are the best players in the world; they should make a few birdies over 72 holes.

It's far more enjoyable to watch guys make putts for birdie than for double bogey. That's why I like the other majors better.

This is why I love the U.S. Open — because it's the only time all year I'll have a chance of seeing the world's best players go through some of the same thing I go through during my weekend rounds, and that is, 'I've just hit it in the one place I shouldn't; now what in the hell am I going to do?'

 

[Chef2]

I think the USGA would be OK with 6 to 8 under winning this Open. I can appreciate good golf, and I can appreciate tough courses and tough playing conditions, but what the USGA did to Olympic last year and Shinnecock previously was no fun to watch.

 

[Mark2010]

I think the USGA would be OK with 6 to 8 under winning this Open. I can appreciate good golf, and I can appreciate tough courses and tough playing conditions, but what the USGA did to Olympic last year and Shinnecock previously was no fun to watch.

Yep. Same thinking here.

It's one thing for me to go out and fail to break 100. But these players are supposed to be the very best in the world, and get paid like they are. It's sort of reminds me of one instructor I had in university, who would make the exams so hard that only 10 percent of the class would get better than C. In his mind, that was the way it was supposed to be. As a student, I felt I deserved better for the time and effort I had invested.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Tiger is peaking.

 

[hondo]

I think the USGA would be OK with 6 to 8 under winning this Open. I can appreciate good golf, and I can appreciate tough courses and tough playing conditions, but what the USGA did to Olympic last year and Shinnecock previously was no fun to watch.

Last time there was an Open at Merion was in 1981. David Graham shot 7-under.

Give me Kuchar as my favorite, Furyk to place (he's from the area) and Woods to show. My underdog: David Lingmerth. Don't laugh. Did very well at The Players and didn't show any nerves at being in the final twosome on Sunday with Sergio. While Sergio was hitting two in the water at 17, Lingmerth stuffed it to 7 feet. Plays a very controlled game. He's 21st in driving accuracy on the Tour, 26th in scrambling (pars after missing the green) and his scoring average gets better from Friday to Saturday to Sunday. One key stat for him: The Tour has a stat for average distance to the hole when hitting the green from the rough of a fairway bunker. Lingmerth is 19th.

 

[User 11148]

I think the USGA would be OK with 6 to 8 under winning this Open. I can appreciate good golf, and I can appreciate tough courses and tough playing conditions, but what the USGA did to Olympic last year and Shinnecock previously was no fun to watch.

I'm of a like mind. Sometimes they set those courses up so that luck, more than anything else, determines whether a shot is a good one or not. Luck is a part of the game, but it's not that big a part of the game.

 

[Chef2]

The USGA would be wise to take lessons from the R&A on how not to mess up an Open course. (Only exception that immediately comes to mind is 1999 at Carnoustie.)

 

[qtlaw]

Love the fact that this will be a more traditional course (loved that it was at Olympic in my backyard last year as well.) Just hope someone who does not use a broomstick wins.

This is tailor-made for a guy like Sergio who can bomb it yet hit it straight as an arrow; alas he's horrible with the putter.

You'd think a Zach Johnson type would be perfect, straight and consistent, deadly with the wedges. This has got to be Luke Donald's best shot in a long time.

As much as I want Tiger to break his 5 yr drought, this is just the wrong venue.

I'm taking Donald, Watney and Jason Day.

Last thought, really respect Furyk but damn him blaming his loss on the tees being MOVED UP last year? You're saying that on a Par 5 on Sunday they move the tees up to the ladies/red tees and you're COMPLAINING??? Ridiculous. Learn to hit a 4 Iron/Hybrid off the tee.

 

[MileHigh]

The USGA would be wise to take lessons from the R&A on how not to mess up an Open course. (Only exception that immediately comes to mind is 1999 at Carnoustie.)

Agree completely. Here's the course. Go play. Let the best man win.

 

[Chef2]

The USGA would be wise to take lessons from the R&A on how not to mess up an Open course. (Only exception that immediately comes to mind is 1999 at Carnoustie.)

Agree completely. Here's the course. Go play. Let the best man win.

I would have thought the USGA would have learned it's lesson after the debacle at Shinnecock. That will always be the prime example of how you lose a golfcourse.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Shinnecock they lost the greens out of the desire to keep them too fast to putt. Since then, USGA setups have been notably less intense -- even last year. Merion, which I was once fortunate enough to play, is a wonderful course, but it's also muni-short by current pro performance standards. Unless there's some freak of nature (a day with a windy storm, a drought baking the fairways to cinders), the winner will be at least 5-under this year. That's a cinch.
Sometime between the Masters and the Players, Woods began having trouble keeping his tee shots in play again. That's not a formula for Open success.

 

[Chef2]

2 things you can be sure of:

What happened in 2011 will never happen again.
Chambers Bay will be an absolute bear.