[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I love the US Open. Every year I wait to watch this tournament as, to me, it is the best and most exciting tournament of the year.

This year it's at Oakmont which should in theory be a great US Open venue.

Unfortunately, they got a lot of rain on Thursday which really softened up the course. Then you usually expect the cream to rise to the top in a US Open. Instead we have Shane Lowrey and Andrew Landry in the final group. Nothing against these guys but I was really looking to a showdown involving Jason Day, Jordan Speith, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and a few more of the top players. Instead, Day is eight shots out of the lead, Speith is well back, Fowler and McIlroy didn't make the cut and Bubba Watson is to far back to have a chance. Dustin Johnson is the only one that's in the hunt.

Again all of the players in this event are great players but it doesn't make for a very interesting event to have a bunch of not very well known players on top.

The other story line that could have been interesting was the possibility of Phil Mickelson winning and completing the career grand slam. Instead Phil is sitting home watching the final two rounds on television.

There are still a few possible good stories, but I'd really prefer to see the top ten players all in the hunt. Instead it looks like we might have another mediocre player win our national championship.

I'll still watch, but this year it just won't have the interest, drama or impact of previous Opens.

[Fredman]

None of these guys are mediocre. Granted a lot will never win a major but they are all capable of winning on any given Sunday. Your assessment of this years open is wrong. regardless of who wins it is always exciting.

[jebartle]

I'm ALWAYS pulling for an American.. At this point they will need leader to crumble.




QUOTE=Dr Winston O Boogie jr;1243114]I love the US Open. Every year I wait to watch this tournament as, to me, it is the best and most exciting tournament of the year.

This year it's at Oakmont which should in theory be a great US Open venue.

Unfortunately, they got a lot of rain on Thursday which really softened up the course. Then you usually expect the cream to rise to the top in a US Open. Instead we have Shane Lowrey and Andrew Landry in the final group. Nothing against these guys but I was really looking to a showdown involving Jason Day, Jordan Speith, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and a few more of the top players. Instead, Day is eight shots out of the lead, Speith is well back, Fowler and McIlroy didn't make the cut and Bubba Watson is to far back to have a chance. Dustin Johnson is the only one that's in the hunt.

Again all of the players in this event are great players but it doesn't make for a very interesting event to have a bunch of not very well known players on top.

The other story line that could have been interesting was the possibility of Phil Mickelson winning and completing the career grand slam. Instead Phil is sitting home watching the final two rounds on television.

There are still a few possible good stories, but I'd really prefer to see the top ten players all in the hunt. Instead it looks like we might have another mediocre player win our national championship.

I'll still watch, but this year it just won't have the interest, drama or impact of previous Opens.[/QUOTE]

[Rapscallion St Croix]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I love the US Open. Every year I wait to watch this tournament as, to me, it is the best and most exciting tournament of the year.

This year it's at Oakmont which should in theory be a great US Open venue.

Unfortunately, they got a lot of rain on Thursday which really softened up the course. Then you usually expect the cream to rise to the top in a US Open. Instead we have Shane Lowrey and Andrew Landry in the final group. Nothing against these guys but I was really looking to a showdown involving Jason Day, Jordan Speith, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and a few more of the top players. Instead, Day is eight shots out of the lead, Speith is well back, Fowler and McIlroy didn't make the cut and Bubba Watson is to far back to have a chance. Dustin Johnson is the only one that's in the hunt.

Again all of the players in this event are great players but it doesn't make for a very interesting event to have a bunch of not very well known players on top.

The other story line that could have been interesting was the possibility of Phil Mickelson winning and completing the career grand slam. Instead Phil is sitting home watching the final two rounds on television.

There are still a few possible good stories, but I'd really prefer to see the top ten players all in the hunt. Instead it looks like we might have another mediocre player win our national championship.

I'll still watch, but this year it just won't have the interest, drama or impact of previous Opens.

Well, at least Shane Lowry has the distinction of throwing an "F Bomb" on TV this year. As for Phil winning the US Open, he blew a sure thing in 2006 by trying to hit spectacular shots instead of trying to score on the 18th. Don't be surprised if the leaders come back to the field.

[Polar Bear]

Originally Posted by Fredman

...Your assessment of this years open is wrong...

How can an opinion be wrong?

I love watching the US Open. And I'm loving watching it this year. But I still agree with much of what Doc says. I would like it even more with Spieth, McElroy, and Day in the mix. And yes, I was even hoping-against-hope for Mickelson to be competing. That would have been special.

There is one thing I feel that is probably heresy to most golf fans though...I'm not that crazy about Oakmont, or more precisely I don't care for the way it is prepared for the open. Don't get me wrong, I like seeing the pros deal with difficult conditions. But to me the speed of the greens sometimes takes away from the game rather than adding to it. I like to see the pros putt fast greens, but what I don't like is for 'good' approach shots that approach the vicinity of the pin, rolling at a modest speed, and then end up trickling 20 yards off the green. I know the pros are very aware of those conditions and need to deal with them. I simply don't like it that much.

Oh well, it's almost time for the leaders to start teeing off...back to the boob-tube.

Oh...almost forgot...Happy Father's Day guys!!

[rubicon]

All I am interested in is viewing good drama and there have been some very exciting shots and some player faux pas that bring the reality of how hard this game really is I also like the fact that it isn't always the usual suspects that prevail. Golf is bigger than any one player and I tired of the sports media focus on one guy at the exclusion of so many good players. Eagles have been plentiful at this weeks play exciting

[John_W]

I'm not looking forward to another Danny Willet type ending with Shane Lowry winning. I would like to see someone who hasn't won a major and Dustin Johnson fits the bill, he certainly has paid his dues and he's no slouch.

[alwann]

Isn't interesting how the USGA sets up the Open courses to be brutal and humiliating for the world's best, with confusing rules, and then runs TV spots promoting golf as a casual sport?

[Marathon Man]

I also do not like to see conditions that make good luck and good fortune a larger part of the game. But, I sure am this tourney.

[Jima64]

Too many rules and officials affecting the outcome. Call the round closed with all the rain and not make players literally stand for 79 minutes waiting. Use monday as the final day for this important tournament. The D. Johnson fiasco also bugs me. Hate to say it but I look for pro soccer on the tv.

[Challenger]

Johnson penalty issue is a fiasco. Very poorly handled. IMHO like in baseball , unless there is clear and convincing evidence--no decision. Why would it take almost 2 hrs? . Why do we let him swing in the wind? Amateur hour for officials.

[Fredman]

So, that was disappointing ????

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion St Croix

Well, at least Shane Lowry has the distinction of throwing an "F Bomb" on TV this year. As for Phil winning the US Open, he blew a sure thing in 2006 by trying to hit spectacular shots instead of trying to score on the 18th. Don't be surprised if the leaders come back to the field.

Phil on 18 at Winged Foot was the worst decision I've ever seen on a golf course.

[ColdNoMore]

It was definitely a crazy tournament!

While I don't think DJ caused the movement (which looked like one dimple length), I also see the USGA's quandary.

The way the wording is, that if you can't determine something else had moved the ball then by default you are deemed to have caused it whether you've 'grounded' your club or not.

In all honesty, it is entirely possible that when he took his practice strokes (very close to the ball) he may have created enough air turbulence to make a ball that was just sitting precariously on a tuft of small grass (too small to see) to move ever-so-slightly a dimple length.

Although I'm no huge DJ fan and I don't think he's the sharpest knife in the drawer, the way the USGA handled the whole thing was pure amateurish at best.

Telling him 7 holes later that he "might" be assessed a 1 stroke penalty (if a rules official hadn't told him to play it, it would have been two strokes) would have gotten into the head of ANY golfer.

Well, almost any.

This is where I actually think of all the top players, having this happen to DJ was probably fortunate for the USGA. I say this because of my earlier comment that he's not all that bright and it probably didn't bother him that much, because he was focusing on each shot and he didn't have time (or the capacity) to think about more than one thing at a time.

Now if it had happened to that whiny little brat Bubba, we may have witnessed the first absolute and total meltdown of a golfer live on television.

But of all the golfers who have had to bear adversity and still keep plugging, DJ is at the top of my list. From grounding in a bunker that he didn't realize was a bunker in the PGA at Whistling Straights, to three putting from 12 feet in last years U.S. Open at Chambers Bay...this dude has had more travails than any other three players combined that I can think of.

So in the end, I was off my chair screaming "YES" when he birdied the last hole and made it all moot.

If it were me, I would have waited for the camera's to be around, find the nearest USGA official and told them to "stick the one stroke penalty up your azz!"

So here's to you DJ, you've more than earned it!

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

As it turned out it was a pretty dramatic finish. Too bad the course played so easy. Damn rain on Thursday really ruined what could have been a real god one.

I'm happy to see Dustin Johnson win and at the same time it was sad to see Shame Lowrey fall apart. But that is what makes the US Open so great. Anyone of them can shoot 80 at any time.

I think it was Bobby Jones who said, "No one really wins the US Open. One person simply survives it."