No Tiger in the US Open

[GoMuskies]

What will ESPN and NBC do?!?

[Fred Garvin 2.0]

Reminds me of that scene from "A Good Walk Spoiled" when Norman was #1 and it was wall-to-wall coverage of The Shark.

Producer: Go to Greg. Go to Greg.
Assistant: Ah, Frank, Greg's not in the field this week.
Producer: Quick, go to Greg on tape.

[Smooth]

What will ESPN and NBC do?!?

I'm sure they can find a Cougar in the LPGA.

[PMI]

I've been looking forward to this US Open for YEARS. Seriously like 6 years. The US Open on my home course, the week off, it's going to be the greatest week of the summer. It's a shame Tiger isn't playing but this is still the US Open. Plus, why have a physically hurting Tiger go out and either get cut or withdraw? If he were healthy, he was going to be in contention to win this tournament. His problems are very much physical. But the beat will go on just fine without him. Plus, I'm not rooting for any one player this year, I'm rooting for the course. I predict that the winner will be over par. The course is playing over 7700 right now which is downright madness. It's the longest in Open history. The new greens (which Tiger had a big hand in) will be top of the line. The rough will be absurd. It is going to be a grueling test for the golfers, and for myself personally, as I'll attempt to drink heavily for six straight days out in the heat while eating outstanding food in the member's tent. I just hope I don't die of anticipation between now and then.

[X-band '01]

I can't figure out a hotter US Open - the US Open in Oklahoma a few years back or Congressional which does have a history of 100-degree heat in the past (see Ken Venturi - 1964 actually passing out during a round).

As for a winner over par, that's become normal the past few years during a US Open. It's fun listening to golfers bitch and complain about the course being long and greens being lightning-fast. But at the same time, I think they've had the AT&T Invitational at Congressional on 1 or 2 occasions (although conditions were far more inducive to scoring then).

[Emp]

I've been looking forward to this US Open for YEARS. Seriously like 6 years. The US Open on my home course, the week off, it's going to be the greatest week of the summer. It's a shame Tiger isn't playing but this is still the US Open. Plus, why have a physically hurting Tiger go out and either get cut or withdraw? If he were healthy, he was going to be in contention to win this tournament. His problems are very much physical. But the beat will go on just fine without him. Plus, I'm not rooting for any one player this year, I'm rooting for the course. I predict that the winner will be over par. The course is playing over 7700 right now which is downright madness. It's the longest in Open history. The new greens (which Tiger had a big hand in) will be top of the line. The rough will be absurd. It is going to be a grueling test for the golfers, and for myself personally, as I'll attempt to drink heavily for six straight days out in the heat while eating outstanding food in the member's tent. I just hope I don't die of anticipation between now and then.

Home course?? Outa MY league.

I will be there Friday and Saturday, and though I would like to see Tiger, the whole US Open free for all feels right to me. Any recommendations on good holes to watch and get to beer easily, PMI?

[PMI]

Emp, personally I love the 11-15 stretch. More trees (thus shade) and just some really difficult holes. You have to figure that the 10/18 area is going to be packed beyond belief and I'd expect the same of the 6/7/9 area (although I do love it there.) I like to do some walking all over the course and then post up somewhere on the back nine for awhile, but I'm sure I'll reach a point where I'll be more interested in the cool tents with food, drinks, TVs and beautiful women. The first few holes are going to be crowded and hot since there isn't as much shade, so if you are looking for a place to post up under shade, the back nine is a better bet. Personally, I love the hot heat and long walks because I'm just weird like that, but I know most people will be looking for ways to cool down. I'll be on the lookout for you.

Bandman, the AT&T National featured a significantly shorter course with the old greens. The old greens weren't bad by any means, but the new ones are night and day better. Add that to the Open conditions with the cuts and rough like you said, and the scores are going to be MUCH higher. Ernie Els won it at -3 in '97, and the course is much more difficult now than it was then. It should be a blast to watch (and listen to) the golfers next week.

[Masterofreality]

What will ESPN and NBC do?!?

They will go to live reports from Bret Favre's farm in Mississippi as they camp out to see if he's coming out of retirement.

As to Congressional. I played the course with a member about 12 years ago. Best golf course I've ever played- better than Firestone, Inverness and Canterbury.

No, I did not break 80, but I was able to keep it below 90 playing from what they call the "Long" tees (6,704 yds), not the championship tees. When I played the Blue Course, the final hole was the 218 yard par 3- which is an intimidating hole over the lake. They've flipped that hole to number 10 now, because they claimed that it was "anticlimactic". Well, maybe for those guys who hit six and seven irons that far, but not for me.

Anyway, it will be hot and humid as hell there. Ken Venturi almost died of heat exhaustion, but somehow had enough strength to finish his final day 36 holes and win.

[GoMuskies]

Vijay no-showed his qualifier, so he's out of the Open as well (unless he plays and wins in Memphis this week).

[PMI]

They will go to live reports from Bret Favre's farm in Mississippi as they camp out to see if he's coming out of retirement.

As to Congressional. I played the course with a member about 12 years ago. Best golf course I've ever played- better than Firestone, Inverness and Canterbury.

No, I did not break 80, but I was able to keep it below 90 playing from what they call the "Long" tees (6,704 yds), not the championship tees. When I played the Blue Course, the final hole was the 218 yard par 3- which is an intimidating hole over the lake. They've flipped that hole to number 10 now, because they claimed that it was "anticlimactic". Well, maybe for those guys who hit six and seven irons that far, but not for me.

Anyway, it will be hot and humid as hell there. Ken Venturi almost died of heat exhaustion, but somehow had enough strength to finish his final day 36 holes and win.

Even though it's the course I play the most frequently, it's still the course I score the worst on for the most part. It's so damned long and tough and I'm not a long-ball hitter. The greens are really tough and fast, and the rough is very thick, even when there's no pro tournament. It's playing extremely difficult right now. And I'll tell you what, the Gold Course is not as long, but it is just about as tough a challenge as the Blue. It's also equally beautiful (although not nearly as crowd-friendly.) There's nothing I enjoy more than frustrating myself senseless on a beautiful summer day out there.

[bleedXblue]

Golf is going to have to start getting used to Tiger being irrelevant most of the time. We (golf fans) had it great for 15 years and now the young guns are going to have to carry golf for awhile. I dont see a dominant star in any of them. If you think about it, Tiger was the first big star to come since Nicklaus....sure there were some great players in between.......Norman, Faldo etc. , but none of them were stars that could carry the game on their backs. I think we're getting ready to go through a 5-10-15 year period very similar to post Nicklaus, prior to Tiger arriving. Its just he ebb and flow of the game.

Do I think Tiger will win more majors ? If I had to put a number on it, I would say 1-2 more. He better turn things around in the next 1-2 years, or he's the type of personality that could just walk away from the game if his injuries persist.

[PMI]

Tiger will break Jack's record still. People always tend to live in the moment. At one point Tiger was going to win 30 majors, and now he's never going to win another tournament again. It'll be something in between. Tiger will have to get physically healthy and make some adjustments and he will. He's not a tennis player, he's a golfer, and he's got several years left to make pushes for championships, and he will. Bodies wear down and dominance fades, but that kind of talent doesn't just dissolve into nothing.

[Masterofreality]

Tiger will break Jack's record still. People always tend to live in the moment. At one point Tiger was going to win 30 majors, and now he's never going to win another tournament again. It'll be something in between. Tiger will have to get physically healthy and make some adjustments and he will. He's not a tennis player, he's a golfer, and he's got several years left to make pushes for championships, and he will. Bodies wear down and dominance fades, but that kind of talent doesn't just dissolve into nothing.

Well, it may.

Right about now, I wouldn't put any money on Tiger doing anything. The man has serious, serious issues- some mental, some physical. All of a sudden he has knees breaking down and his swing always torqued his legs something fierce. Add to that, now he is changing his swing...again. I can't ever remember Arnie, Jack, Player, Trevino or Sam Snead ever going through "swing changes". Methinks El Tigre is out-thinking himself.

The best thought to have on a golf course is NO thought. I believe that Woods has a boatload of them rolling around in his dome, however.

[chico]

Yeah, I agree with MOR. Tiger's best days are behind him. Besides the reason MOR listed, another prominent one is that he no longer is the young guy intimidating the older pros. There is a whole new batch of kids that every bit the talent Tiger has but none of the fear of him that the older guys had. You saw it at Augusta - Tiger made a run and nobody buckled. In fact, their play got better.

Tiger may win one or two more, but it won't be for at least a year or two, and the window is closing on him getting to Jack's record.

Though the golfers MOR mentioned did tinker with their equipment (Palmer was famous for having a garage full of old irons and clubs he'd used and discarded, and Nicklaus had the putter issues) the swing was always the same. Tiger keeps playing around with things trying to reinvent himself. He should have stayed with Butch Harmon - both of those guys should have swallowed their pride and realized each was the best thing the other had.

[GoMuskies]

I think it's 50/50 on passing Jack. I'm not sure he'll ever be fully healthy again, but I bet in a few years he becomes an excellent "cagey old pro" and remains tough to beat for a while longer.

[xudash]

I can't figure out a hotter US Open - the US Open in Oklahoma a few years back or Congressional which does have a history of 100-degree heat in the past (see Ken Venturi - 1964 actually passing out during a round).

As for a winner over par, that's become normal the past few years during a US Open. It's fun listening to golfers bitch and complain about the course being long and greens being lightning-fast. But at the same time, I think they've had the AT&T Invitational at Congressional on 1 or 2 occasions (although conditions were far more inducive to scoring then).

Oakmont in 94, was very hot over the weekend, when Els won over Montgomery and Loren Roberts in a play-off. But I bet the Open in Tulsa probably still won that unwanted recognition. It will be interesting to see how life goes in the Potomac Basin during that week.

[xudash]

I think it's 50/50 on passing Jack. I'm not sure he'll ever be fully healthy again, but I bet in a few years he becomes an excellent "cagey old pro" and remains tough to beat for a while longer.

You might be right but I have my doubts. He is no longer feared. In fact, I think the contingent that is out there now enjoys passing by him. If he continues to attempt to play the game as he did when he was in his 20's, the injuries are going to mount up and overwhelm him. He is going to have to find a way to gear it back, and that is not of his nature.

Otherwise, Nicklaus is famous for being known as a solid family man who always had that great support structure behind and around him. Tiger is clearly adrift in that category.

I want him to do well for the sake of the sport and for his charities, but I don't want him passing Jack's Major's record.

How many here actually watched the '86 Masters Sunday round? It was an extraordinary achievement in the face of incredible competition - Seve, Norman, Kite and a slew of others. Jack did that at the age of 46. Tiger will be 36 at the end of this year. The kids and technology that are out there now are scary good.

To finish up my rambling, anyone who plays the game knows what Bobby Jones said, "Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course...the space between your ears." Tiger has shown glimpses of his former greatness. But his putting isn't what it used to be. And he has experienced some major collapses along the way, coupled with having to leave tournaments due to injuries. There is no way he is in a good mental place right now, and his mental state may be better than his physical one.

[waggy]

If Tiger were a Jew he'd pass Jack. But he's not.

[Emp]

T

Anyway, it will be hot and humid as hell there. Ken Venturi almost died of heat exhaustion, but somehow had enough strength to finish his final day 36 holes and win.

I have had two serious golf buddies remind me of that. He was delirious for the last 9 holes by all account, dehydrated. I would love to see some archived footage, anyone know of a site?