[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

This has always been my favorite tournament to watch and the one that I most aspired to play in. Sadly, I never go there.

Watching this year and last year look a bit odd for a US Open. One of the reasons that it's usually such a good tournament is the the course is so difficult. The main features being very long, thick rough, narrow fairways and firm, fast greens.

This year they are playing on a new course that looks very much like British links. Now, I love British links golf courses, but I'm not sure that I like it for a US Open.

Last year they played it in Pinehurst #2 which is a beautiful old American golf course where Payne Stewart won a few months before his untimely death. But, old number two had been revamped. They removed all the rough. Again, it wasn't that it was a bad course, it just didn't have a US Open quality about it. Of course Martin Kaymer made it look like it wasn't a US Open either so that didn't help. Nothing against Kaymer, it's just that he ran away from the field and there was no drama. Usually the US Open is filled with drama. With a few exceptions, we usually see a player with a small lead just trying to survive the back nine.

So this year I'm watching and I don't get the same feeling that I've had watching so many US Opens in the past.

Why is the USGA trying make the US Open look like the British Open?

The four majors have a distinct look and feel to them.

The Masters with it's perfectly manicured Augusta National Golf Club with it's big, fast, incredibly undulating greens. Very little rough and all of those holes that we are all so familiar with.

The US Open for years moved around to traditional American courses that the USGA would go into and set up with narrow fairways, long, lush rough and rock hard greens.

The British Open of course had it's very distinctive looking courses of the ten or so in it's regular rotation.

OK, the PGA Championship was pretty indistinct and usually thought of as the least of the majors.

But now we have the USGA trying to make the US Open look and feel like the British Open? Why? We already have a British Open.

I'm not sure how I feel about it, I was very disappointed in last years event but part of that was the lack of competition. Runaways are not usually fun to watch. We'll have to see how things turn out, but I'll be really happy to see them get back to Winged Foot.