OT: US Open
My observations: NBC sucks at most everything, but couldn't they at least get golf right? Chris "WOW!!! Berman?? This is the US Open fergodsakes-Chris Berman? Miller is good (not popular with many, but I like his honesty), but the rest are either bad or marginal. The course is not fit for a national championship, narrow, slanted, curved fairways, tiny greens that don't hold a good shot and shaved areas behind the greens, a 670 yard par five-wtf? Golf courses at that level should reward good shots not lucky shots where a one yard difference in landing spot off the tee is the difference between a crappy lie & a good one. But the 17 year old kid from Texas, that's something to WOW about.
I like the course, I hate watching these pros shoot 11 under. It does reward good shots, and it makes a golfer use every part of his game. As for Chris Berman, he needs to retire.
I don't like when players can win a major at say, 10-under par. I'm glad that we are half way done and there are only 3 guys under par, and even that is only 1-under.
And yes, the OP is right about that kid being a wow story. Pretty amazing that someone who just finished his JUNIOR YEAR of high school (that's a 2013 recruit!!) is only 3-over par on a course playing like that one. Here's hoping he keeps shooting great. I'd love to see him and Tiger duke it out on championship Sunday.
That kid is really going to help Texas in a few years. I just feel that when he looked up and saw his name alone at the top of the leader board he became tense and had a few bad shots. He also played the hardest part of the course late in the day.
It will be interesting to see how these leaders do throught the first six holes so late in the day.
If he stays in it today, he should turn pro, take the pay day, and leave Texas in the rear view mirror. He has no reason to play college golf if he is as good as he looks right now. And if he is set on college, I would consider playing for Casey Martin (who just missed the cut) at Oregon.
he was the guy who wasn't allowed to have a cart on the PGA tour back in the late 90s. He's also in charge of Oregon football's uniforms.
I'm very glad they let him have a cart this year, he looked to be in some pain at the end.
Cart or no cart, a 7 hr round of golf is exhausting, not to mention that golf course.
I don't see any good reason for him to not go to college and go pro instead. First, we've seen it time and again where a player has a great tournament and then does basically nothing else near as good ever again. Next, getting a college degree (and the tutelage of the golf coaches there) is something he should definitely do over trying his hand at going pro right now
College is a really important step in becoming a successful professional golfer. If he is good enough, golf will always be there. I remember Justin Rose turned pro after a 4th place finish in the British Open. We didn't hear his name again until 4 years later. After a quick glance, I couldn't find one top U.S. golfer that skipped college. I couldn't imagine turning pro at such a young age and having your parents follow you around (similiar to what Michelle Wie had to go through). College allows you to live on your own and travel with your team. In the United States, pretty much every golfer goes to college.
http://www.pgatour.com/2012/r/01/27/player-colleges/index.html
PS I agree, why on earth is Chris Berman bringing his shtick to golf? Scott Van Pelt is the only Espn anchor that should do golf.
with so many people under par what led you to make such a bold prediction?
The force.
The course is perfect for the US Open. People aren't supposed to shoot -15 in this tournament.
Love how challenging the course is playing. You can see in the post-round interviews how mentally spent the players are. They hate it. You dont get the luxury of taking a shot off, as a misstep on any swing could result in a double.
This is the first time in my life that I have rooted for Tiger Woods. I just want him back at the top so I have somebody to root against. Golf is probably the only sport where I enjoy a giant at the top. All others I prefer parity.
but things get bland that way, to me. I like teams to get up for, teams to look forward to rooting against. Hockey is a prime example of what parity gets you, nobody even caring. I want Tiger to get back to winning because I'm a Tiger Man, but I like golf better when the big names are doing well; you can usually hear it from the galleries as well.
This ends on Father's Day. Euro 2012 doesn't end until July 1.
As for the course, it is great. It rewards great shots, not good shots. As others have said, that is how a USOpen should play.
work for NBC, so must be a blend, but still-this is the US Open. The difference between a great shot and a good shot in my opinion is mostly luck, not what I want to see, not what is fair and right. Score relative to par means nothing except to us hackers who like to see the pros shoot above par.
I'm a fan of the course playing this hard. You actually have to make your shots, darn near perfectly, to stay in contention. This way you have to stay on top of your game or you're done. And thus, you don't have players like Westwood and McIlroy just hanging around a few shots back despite shooting god-awful (I hate when this happens because they don't deserve to be in contention). So, players who are on their game and playing well are rewarded, which I'm a fan of.
Disagree with me if you must, but I like hard courses. It adds thrill to the game that many call boring
All I know is that the northern Michigan courses are going go all US Open on me in 2 weeks (havent golfed all year and playing 72 holes over 3 days) so my heart goes out to these guys.
at Arcadia Bluffs would be awesome.
Wilderness Valley kicked by tail a few years back when I was near a scratch golfer.
it just doesn't have the infrastructure. The PGA of America has considered it before.
Just getting you ready.
Hope you are still living the dream. Go Blue!
I heard Bubba bitch, he said "the course is just to tough for me."
I love Johnny Miller. He has some edge, keeps it simple and is always interesting. Everyone else seems dull by comparison.
I kind of like the way this course moves the tee boxes to create "different" holes every day. Also loving the 104 yd par 3 15th followed by the 671 par 5 16th. The difference between those holes would still be a par 5!
the second he/she determined Olympic Club is not worthy of hosting a major championship. You sir do not know major championship layouts. The USGA has conducted no less than 8 national championships at Olympic (US Open's/US Amateur's), they seem ok with it.
Also the 17 year old, Beau Hossler is going to the Univesity of Texas. He's from Southern California