The US Open Thread

[Doomsday101]

Talk about a featured group.

The USGA released its pairing sheet Thursday for next week's U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, and Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson will be playing in the same group in the first and second rounds of the tournament.

Woods and Mickelson were paired together along with Australian Adam Scott at the 2008 U.S. Open; Woods of course won that tournament, his last major championship win, and Mickelson finished T18.

The Woods/Mickelson/Watson group will start their opening round Thursday at 10:33 a.m. Eastern time; on Friday the group tees off at 4:18 p.m. Eastern time.

The USGA is known to favor quirky pairings for its U.S. Open championship and the 2012 edition is no exception. In addition to the high-powered star-wattage of Woods, Mickelson and Watson, you will also see the all-Korean, all-initialed pairing of K. J. Choi, Y. E. Yang, and K. T. Kim (11:28 a.m. Eastern on Thursday); the all-UK former and current No. 1 players Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald



Read more: http://blogs.golf.com/presstent/2012/06/tiger-mickelson-and-bubba-to-play-in-same-group-at-us-open.html#ixzz1xUWvrdRM

[Doomsday101]

I love how the USGA is putting these groupings together. Tiger, Phil and Watson together along with Westwood, McIlroy and Donald. You have 3 of the premier US players along with 3 of Europes top dogs.

[casmith07]

Tiger started out great today. He's right there at the top...all he's gotta do is keep it on the fairways and he'll be in great position going into the weekend.

Phil struggled...probably played himself out of contention. Unfortunately the US Open courses are almost always ridiculously difficult.

[silverbear]

Tiger started out great today. He's right there at the top...all he's gotta do is keep it on the fairways and he'll be in great position going into the weekend.

Phil struggled...probably played himself out of contention. Unfortunately the US Open courses are almost always ridiculously difficult.

My man, you have nooooo idea how they trick those courses up...

Way back in 1983 the Open was held at Oakmont, in Pittsburgh... I was working as a golf pro at a club about an hour southwest of there, and the local PGA section (the Tri State section) sent out a flyer asking for volunteer help...

Well, the weekend was out for me, that's when golf pros make their money, but I conned the owner into letting me volunteer on Thursday... drove up there, and they stationed me behind the first green, to help players find lost balls... I was a little frustrated, because I figured where they put me, I wouldn't get much action... little did I know...

You see, the first hole was like 470 yards long, a par 4... worse, the USGA had narrowed the fairways down to approximately the width of your average bowling alley, so you didn't DARE try to hit the driver off the tee... that rough was just brutal, which is to say it was your typical US Open rough... if you walked through it, you wouldn't see your feet...

So, lots of folks were teeing off with 1 and 2 irons, which meant they were looking at approach shots of well over 200 yards... this is where it gets really sadistic, the first green actually sloped AWAY from the players (most greens slope toward the player, making it a bit easier to stop your approach shot)... so you had lots of tour pros hitting 2 and 3 irons into a green that sloped away from them... nobody could hope to hold a ball on that green, not even a tour pro... but there were bunkers in front, so you couldn't land the ball short and run it up to the cup...

Let's just say I spent a lot of time that day showing the world's greatest players where their ball ended up behind the green... that was the day I decided I didn't even want to be a tour pro... :D

I haven't even mentioned the fact the greens were lightning fast... Oakmont was a tough enough golf course without narrowing down those fairways and growing the rough up to the bottom of your butt cheeks...

[Doomsday101]

My man, you have nooooo idea how they trick those courses up...

Way back in 1983 the Open was held at Oakmont, in Pittsburgh... I was working as a golf pro at a club about an hour southwest of there, and the local PGA section (the Tri State section) sent out a flyer asking for volunteer help...

Well, the weekend was out for me, that's when golf pros make their money, but I conned the owner into letting me volunteer on Thursday... drove up there, and they stationed me behind the first green, to help players find lost balls... I was a little frustrated, because I figured where they put me, I wouldn't get much action... little did I know...

You see, the first hole was like 470 yards long, a par 4... worse, the USGA had narrowed the fairways down to approximately the width of your average bowling alley, so you didn't DARE try to hit the driver off the tee... that rough was just brutal, which is to say it was your typical US Open rough... if you walked through it, you wouldn't see your feet...

So, lots of folks were teeing off with 1 and 2 irons, which meant they were looking at approach shots of well over 200 yards... this is where it gets really sadistic, the first green actually sloped AWAY from the players (most greens slope toward the player, making it a bit easier to stop your approach shot)... so you had lots of tour pros hitting 2 and 3 irons into a green that sloped away from them... nobody could hope to hold a ball on that green, not even a tour pro... but there were bunkers in front, so you couldn't land the ball short and run it up to the cup...

Let's just say I spent a lot of time that day showing the world's greatest players where their ball ended up behind the green... that was the day I decided I didn't even want to be a tour pro... :D

I haven't even mentioned the fact the greens were lightning fast... Oakmont was a tough enough golf course without narrowing down those fairways and growing the rough up to the bottom of your butt cheeks...

The greens at this US open do not look as fast as some I have seen in the past. No doubt they are still very quick greens but nothing like some in recent years.

[casmith07]

The greens at this US open do not look as fast as some I have seen in the past. No doubt they are still very quick greens but nothing like some in recent years.

The greens are slow, actually, but the structuring of the course is absurdly difficult. Placement and depth of the bunkers, etc.

And the rough is SUPER lush.

[casmith07]

Man Jim Furyk is just getting all sorts of lucky bounces, taps, and rolls today.

[lane]

tiger forearms cameraman walking off 18th hole.

handled his emotions pretty well all day and ruined it walking off the finishing hole.

[jimmy40]

tiger forearms cameraman walking off 18th hole.

handled his emotions pretty well all day and ruined it walking off the finishing hole.looked like he jammed his thumb on the guy's head on accident to me.

[jimmy40]

Man Jim Furyk is just getting all sorts of lucky bounces, taps, and rolls today.I watched every shot and I don't remember anything very lucky much less all sorts.

[casmith07]

I watched every shot and I don't remember anything very lucky much less all sorts.

Then you clearly didn't watch every shot.

I believe on 3, the kick back from the fringe along the fairway/rough when his shot was rolling into the rough, and then I believe on 7, the shot pinging off the pin to stop the ball that at that rate of speed would've clearly rolled off the back of the green into the rough?

He had all sorts of kick backs and lucky bounces all day. But luck is part of the game too.

[Chocolate Lab]

Well Tiger's round just broke my heart, I tell you.

[silverbear]

looked like he jammed his thumb on the guy's head on accident to me.

I'm no Tiger fan at all, I think he's a world-class jerk, but it looked to me like the guy he bumped into actually leaned out as Tiger was walking past, looking at something else...

OTOH, the icy smile he gave the interviewer when asked about this harmless incident is all you need to know about his personality... this is simply not a pleasant man, though in formal interviews he strives mightily to come off that way...

[silverbear]

Well Tiger's round just broke my heart, I tell you.

There was a time when I found myself hoping that he'd get at least part of the way back (not all the way back, I'm in the tank for Jack Nicklaus and don't want Tiger to break Jack's record for most majors)... he'd taken so much crap in the media, had his future written off, that I grudgingly started to feel bad for him...

Today, I was reminded why I don't like the guy...

[silverbear]

A couple of quick thoughts on the Open thus far:

1) I'm not really surprised to see Jim Furyk sitting at the top of the leaderboard this weak, he's the quintessential grinder, and if ever there was a grinder's golf course, Olympic is it...

2) That said, Furyk's swing is just pfugly... I don't know how the hell he can repeat that herky-jerky mess with any consistency... I can only guess that he hits a lot of balls on the range, that swing has got to be high-maintenance...

3) If Olympic had greens as fast as Open greens usually are, nobody would be able to see par... the leader would be 3-5 over going into the final round... as it is, Olympic is eating the players' collective lunch, or drinking their collective milkshake, whatever metaphor you might prefer to describe utter ownage...

4) A 670 yard par 5?? Man, that ain't nothin'; Rock Harbor Golf Club, in Winchester, Virginia has a 693 yarder... the one time I played it, I hit a decent (for me) tee shot, about 280... the lie was good enough for my second shot that I hit my 2 wood about 260... which left me with a full 8 iron to the green for my third shot... and this was on a dry summer's day with a slight breeze at my back...

[casmith07]

I'm no Tiger fan at all, I think he's a world-class jerk, but it looked to me like the guy he bumped into actually leaned out as Tiger was walking past, looking at something else...

OTOH, the icy smile he gave the interviewer when asked about this harmless incident is all you need to know about his personality... this is simply not a pleasant man, though in formal interviews he strives mightily to come off that way...

Tiger's kind of like Jason Garrett in that regard. If you ask golf questions you get golf answers. If you act like a tabloid reporter, you get the spines.

[jimmy40]

Then you clearly didn't watch every shot.

I believe on 3, the kick back from the fringe along the fairway/rough when his shot was rolling into the rough, and then I believe on 7, the shot pinging off the pin to stop the ball that at that rate of speed would've clearly rolled off the back of the green into the rough?

He had all sorts of kick backs and lucky bounces all day. But luck is part of the game too.wow, two lucky shots? what about the approach shot that landed in the middle of the green and bounced hard left into the trap? You must be a Tiger fan.

[MichaelWinicki]

Woods is falling off the cliff today.

After his first two rounds, you had to figure he would be right there at the end.

His game is still (obviously) inconsistent. But maybe that's how it's going to be for him from here on in.

[Rogah]

I'm no Tiger fan at all, I think he's a world-class jerk, but it looked to me like the guy he bumped into actually leaned out as Tiger was walking past, looking at something else...

OTOH, the icy smile he gave the interviewer when asked about this harmless incident is all you need to know about his personality... this is simply not a pleasant man, though in formal interviews he strives mightily to come off that way...He strives to create the perfect image for himself when nothing could be further from the truth. His frequent temper tantrums on the course show what he is made of.

[casmith07]

Woods is falling off the cliff today.

After his first two rounds, you had to figure he would be right there at the end.

His game is still (obviously) inconsistent. But maybe that's how it's going to be for him from here on in.

It puts him level with the rest of the field.

What people should realize is that the Tiger we saw before was like Jordan in his prime.

The media (and fans) are basically lambasting Tiger for not being old Tiger....it would be akin to asking Wizards MJ to be like 93 Bulls MJ.

[Rogah]

It puts him level with the rest of the field.

What people should realize is that the Tiger we saw before was like Jordan in his prime.

The media (and fans) are basically lambasting Tiger for not being old Tiger....it would be akin to asking Wizards MJ to be like 93 Bulls MJ.I don't see many people lambasting Tiger for his performance. Like many athletes who enter their mid to late 30's, there has been a drop off in performance.

The only thing I see Woods being lambasted for is for being a reprehensible human being, which he is.

[casmith07]

I don't see many people lambasting Tiger for his performance. Like many athletes who enter their mid to late 30's, there has been a drop off in performance.

The only thing I see Woods being lambasted for is for being a reprehensible human being, which he is.

What's so reprehensible about him? So he doesn't play nice with the media, and he got married when he shouldn't have.

You realize there are people that have done a lot worse than be a jerk from time to time and sleep with a bunch of girls, right?

[casmith07]

Congratulations to Webb Simpson! Amazing comeback!

Pretty wife, too!

[Rogah]

What's so reprehensible about him?What he did to his wife and family is reprehensible, period. I refuse to kiss his arse like you do simply because he used to be good at putting a little white ball into a hole.

[Chocolate Lab]

I don't see many people lambasting Tiger for his performance. Like many athletes who enter their mid to late 30's, there has been a drop off in performance.

The only thing I see Woods being lambasted for is for being a reprehensible human being, which he is.

:hammer:

I don't think that much of Garrett, but at least he's not an arrogant and spoiled bully like Tiger is.

And that's not even to mention the lying and cheating.

[silverbear]

He strives to create the perfect image for himself when nothing could be further from the truth. His frequent temper tantrums on the course show what he is made of.

There it is...

[silverbear]

What's so reprehensible about him? So he doesn't play nice with the media, and he got married when he shouldn't have.

You realize there are people that have done a lot worse than be a jerk from time to time and sleep with a bunch of girls, right?

Let's see, he's:

A serial philanderer, promiscuous would be a fair accusation

Foul-mouthed

Foul-tempered

Determined to keep everybody at arm's length

Making all of this especially offensive is the way he adopted a public persona as a pitchman that portrayed him as the nice, likable individual...

Reprehensible might be a bit extreme, but he's a jerk...

[MichaelWinicki]

Making all of this especially offensive is the way he adopted a public persona as a pitchman that portrayed him as the nice, likable individual...



Yep. The entire fake Tiger thing just to woo sponsors and sell stuff. When I think of the image put out by he and his handlers showing him, his family, the dog licking his face and Tiger with the big smile... I just shake my head.

[casmith07]

I think you guys are all way over the top.

Jerry Sandusky is reprehensible. Tiger Woods is not.

By your own standards, Michael Jordan is also reprehensible.

[Doomsday101]

There was a time when I found myself hoping that he'd get at least part of the way back (not all the way back, I'm in the tank for Jack Nicklaus and don't want Tiger to break Jack's record for most majors)... he'd taken so much crap in the media, had his future written off, that I grudgingly started to feel bad for him...

Today, I was reminded why I don't like the guy...

Why because the camera man walked into Tiger? Tiger made a mistake in his personal life I have seen nothing from him to take the grief he does. Yes he is intense his expected level of play is great and the focus is on him, that is a lot of pressure. I like Jack but Jack can be rough at times and says many things and pushes for things that I don't care for at all like his view of having courses only allow for 12 holes instead of 18.

[casmith07]

Also, set aside your opinions and give Webb Simpson some credit.

[Doomsday101]

I think you guys are all way over the top.

Jerry Sandusky is reprehensible. Tiger Woods is not.

By your own standards, Michael Jordan is also reprehensible.

I agree. I see other guys on the tour lose their temper break clubs and use curse words no one says anything. Tiger is human he made a mistake let it go, he also does a lot for people and the money he has helped raise for charities as well as the big purses that players get in the PGA much of that is due to Tiger and his effect on the game and viewership of the game. I can promise you more people know who Tiger Woods is who do not even watch golf than 70% of the other guys on tour.

[casmith07]

I agree. I see other guys on the tour lose their temper break clubs and use curse words no one says anything. Tiger is human he made a mistake let it go, he also does a lot for people and the money he has helped raise for charities as well as the big purses that players get in the PGA much of that is due to Tiger and his effect on the game and viewership of the game. I can promise you more people know who Tiger Woods is who do not even watch golf than 70% of the other guys on tour.

Tiger's actions are all we know because they were made public. If we knew of half the tour's personal lives I bet there's some dirt all over the place.

[Doomsday101]

Also, set aside your opinions and give Webb Simpson some credit.

I agree Webb after going through the tough 1st 6 holes went out there and birdied 4 out of 5 holes including 3 birds in a row to fight his way back. His recovery on 18 was a very difficult chip to help him save par that was big.

[Doomsday101]

Tiger's actions are all we know because they were made public. If we knew of half the tour's personal lives I bet there's some dirt all over the place.

I agree. He is in the spot light but look around watch the other guys they lose it they throw clubs, break clubs and use bad words. Heck last week one of the players (forget who it was) had to use a wedge to make the putt on 18 because he broke his putter on 17. Not one word said, if Tiger does that oh he is such a jerk. Sorry it is just wrong

[casmith07]

I agree Webb after going through the tough 1st 6 holes went out there and birdied 4 out of 5 holes including 3 birds in a row to fight his way back. His recovery on 18 was a very difficult chip to help him save par that was big.

It was a great comeback. +1 to win it and he was cut at the last tournament he played.

Just goes to show that now that Tiger is no longer in his prime, every tournament is wide open.

[casmith07]

I agree. He is in the spot light but look around watch the other guys they lose it they throw clubs, break clubs and use bad words. Heck last week one of the players (forget who it was) had to use a wedge to make the putt on 18 because he broke his putter on 17. Not one word said, if Tiger does that oh he is such a jerk. Sorry it is just wrong

I agree with you 100%. The same double-standards that people hate to be used on our Cowboys they are using for Tiger Woods.

[Doomsday101]

2 young guys that really impressed me during the open was 17 year old Bo Hassler and 19 year old Jordan Spieth these kids have a big future ahead of them. Also both members on the Texas Longhorns golf team.

[casmith07]

2 young guys that really impressed me during the open was 17 year old Bo Hassler and 19 year old Jordan Spieth these kids have a big future ahead of them. Also both members on the Texas Longhorns golf team.

Hossler looked a lot younger than 17 :lmao:

Both were impressive for kids. Their bodies/muscles haven't even fully developed yet. They should be pretty good after playing in college and coming back out full grown men.

[Doomsday101]

It was a great comeback. +1 to win it and he was cut at the last tournament he played.

Just goes to show that now that Tiger is no longer in his prime, every tournament is wide open.

I'm sure Tiger will win more majors he is only 36 . Phil has won 2 majors since he was 36 so the window is still open. I will also say the best thing that can happen to the PGA is when the next phenom enters the guy who can take that lead role as Hogan, Palmer, Jack and Tiger did. In the 80 you had some good players but the PGA was lacking that 1 great figure and that did not change until Tiger stepped on the stage.

[trickblue]

I'm sure Tiger will win more majors he is only 36 . Phil has won 2 majors since he was 36 so the window is still open. I will also say the best thing that can happen to the PGA is when the next phenom enters the guy who can take that lead role as Hogan, Palmer, Jack and Tiger did. In the 80 you had some good players but the PGA was lacking that 1 great figure and that did not change until Tiger stepped on the stage.

Payne Stewart was that guy... 24 victories... three majors... perrenial contender and a crowd favorite...

Not as big as those other guys, but an definite icon in the game...

[Doomsday101]

Payne Stewart was that guy... 24 victories... three majors... perrenial contender and a crowd favorite...

Not as big as those other guys, but an definite icon in the game...

He was very good he was not of the level of Hogan, Palmer, Jack. There were many good golfers and Payne was one of them but not to the same status and it is those once in a blue moon players who capture the attention and bring in the masses. I liked Payne not saying anything bad about him but for much of that time as Jack game was gone there was no one to pick up the torch until Tiger came

[Rogah]

Tiger made a mistake in his personal life I have seen nothing from him to take the grief he does.Having a couple drinks and doing something with a woman that you regret the next morning is "a mistake." What Tiger did goes quite a bit beyond that.

[Rogah]

Payne Stewart was that guy... 24 victories... three majors... perrenial contender and a crowd favorite...He was one of my favorites too. I miss seeing him. :(

[Doomsday101]

Having a couple drinks and doing something with a woman that you regret the next morning is "a mistake." What Tiger did goes quite a bit beyond that.

You are right and that is between a husband and a wife not me. Tiger has paid the price but as far as I'm concerned my only interest in Tiger is his play on the golf course.

[Rogah]

You are right and that is between a husband and a wife not me. Tiger has paid the price but as far as I'm concerned my only interest in Tiger is his play on the golf course.If all you want to do is talk about what he does on the course, that's 100% your right. But I have no problem talking about what he does off the golf course and judging him accordingly.

I was going to post some of Tiger's texts here to further support my claim but fact of the matter is that if I did that then I would be violating the forum's rules against posting inappropriate, explicit material.