Erin Go Record Low

The U.S. Open has now completed three rounds and I hate to sound like an old school fuddy-duddy but the U.S. Open, once the preeminent major golf tournament,  has now fallen to the back of the pack of the four major golf tournaments. Here's why;

The U.S. Open used to be consistently difficult. Fairways were narrow, rough was high and greens were fast.  Hey, a score below par would likely place you in the top five if not guarantee you would win the tournament. (From 1949 through 1963, only three golfers won the U.S. Open with a score under par.  They were:  Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus!  More recently, since 2005, six of the twelve champions have finished either even or over par.  (Of course, Rory McIlroy smashed Congressional for a record score of sixteen below par during that time, which has been discussed elsewhere in this blog.)

The USGA,  as a result of its  course selection for the past several U.S. Opens, appears to have lost its collective mind. Two of the last three U.S. Opens have been held  in the State of Washington and Wisconsin, both for the first time in each state and both on links-type courses.    The courses have been brand-new (compared to the venerable tracts, such as Oakmont, Baltusrol, The Country Club in Brookline Massachusetts, and  Winged Foot, that have hosted numerous Opens between them) and completely bereft of trees. Furthermore, this year the fairways have been wide enough to land Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose.   here driving accuracy, not distance, used to be a prerequisite for Open success, admittedly resulting in some anomalous. results (Andy North has won two U.S. Opens; this total is one more than his total of PGA tour wins in other tournaments; Michael Campbell has one PGA Tour win to his credit, the 2005 U.S. Open), the U.S. Open has now become a long driving  contest. Tiger Woods must be more than sad that he was unable to compete in this type of competition. For the first time ever the top three ranked golfers in the world did not make the cut. To me that's a  disaster.   I will most likely skip watching the final round on Father's Day to watch a bunch of unknowns compete for one of golf’s most prestigious. titles.

Wait a minute, I have Justin Thomas in my fantasy golf pool.  Forget what I just said – I will be watching the 2017 U.S. Open with keen interest this afternoon.   Stay out of the fescue, Justin!

 

Go For It, Justin!

 

 

 

 

 

                                     Copyright 2012-2017 R.E. Kelly

                                                  AMDG