U.S. Open Thread & Predictions

[Nigel Tufnel]

So, who wins this weekend? I took the following golfers to add to the entertainment this weekend:

Short Odds
Stricker 20/1
KJ Choi 22/1
Kuchar 22/1
Watney 25/1

Middle Odds
Day 40/1
Bubba 40/1
Snedeker 50/1
Rose 66/1
Ogilvy 66/1 -- Coming off an injury and in bad form...but he's my favorite golfer.
Glover 66/1

Long Odds
Quiros 80/1
Overton 125/1
Hoffman 150/1

Thinking about adding Streelman....he's been playing well of late. Also would like to add Jacobson with the long odds, but for some reason, he isn't listed on my betting site.

Should be a great weekend. While I always root for Ogilvy, I seriously doubt he has the form to be a contender. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing Stricker, Choi or Kuchar win this weekend and that's not just because I picked them. Three strong and classy players that deserve to win a major. I like Day's game too, plus, if he's in contention, we get more camera time for his hot wife.

[Jumpy]

He probably won't even survive the first two rounds, but I heard an interview with Beau Hossler, the 16 year old amateur that is playing in the Open, on the Dan Patrick show and I came away very impressed. The kid has a very level head on his shoulders and was surprisingly mature for a sophomore in high school. I will be following him with great interest, and while I probably won't get to see him on Saturday, I bet this won't be the last we hear from him if he keeps his shit together.

[Smails]

I absolutely love the US Open and I hope the course is a blood bath by Sunday.

My picks

Steve Stricker- Safe, sexy pick. Hits it straight and putts lights out

Jonathan Byrd- Coming into his own, having a great year

Lefty- He's not going to hit enough fairways, but he hits his irons longer than anyone else on tour which could be a huge advantage on this track

Martin Kaymer- Tons of game, my favorite Euro player

Out on a limb...Sergio. He's gonna win a big one before it's all said and done

[XUglow]

Out on a limb...Sergio. He's gonna win a big one before it's all said and done

Saw a lot of Sergio in Memphis last week. He played 37 holes at Tunica on Monday to get into the Open. He played a corporate event on Tuesday. He played the Pro-Am on Wednesday. All of these rounds were in the high 90's and very draining. On the 3rd hole at Southwind on Thursday, he made an 11 which practically eliminated him immediately from weekend competition.

The good news is that he didn't withdraw after Thursday. That won him a lot of fans in the area, and then he went and undid all of that in 30 seconds after his round on Friday. He dissed the course, the greens, the city, the weather, and the fans. The Memphis sports heads started calling him "the Lebron of golf" -- all talk, no results.

[Titanxman04]

I'm just pumped that my girlfriend came into town and she has to study for her Boards every day. She was pleased that a major tournament was this weekend because "I can totally ignore that while I study!" In other words, she'll let me watch it as she works. How awesome is that?

It's ok, you're allowed to be jealous.

[Smails]

Louis O (British Open champ) just jarred one in on a par 5....in two.

[Smails]

Saw a lot of Sergio in Memphis last week. He played 37 holes at Tunica on Monday to get into the Open. He played a corporate event on Tuesday. He played the Pro-Am on Wednesday. All of these rounds were in the high 90's and very draining. On the 3rd hole at Southwind on Thursday, he made an 11 which practically eliminated him immediately from weekend competition.

The good news is that he didn't withdraw after Thursday. That won him a lot of fans in the area, and then he went and undid all of that in 30 seconds after his round on Friday. He dissed the course, the greens, the city, the weather, and the fans. The Memphis sports heads started calling him "the Lebron of golf" -- all talk, no results.

I certainly think he can be quite the beyatch at times which doesn't win him any favor over here, that's for sure.

[XUglow]

Louis O (Masters champ) just jarred one in on a par 5....in two.

Louis won The British Open at St. Andrews. Another South African, Charl Schwartzel won the Masters.

[Smails]

Louis won The British Open at St. Andrews. Another South African, Charl Schwartzel won the Masters.

Thats what I said the first time....duh ;)

Pgatour.com had it wrong anyway as they originally had him making double eagle 2 on #6 but it was actually a birdie 2 on #7.

[XUglow]

I played a lot of golf with Alex Rocha way back when. He is from Brazil, played college golf at MSU and spent his summers in the US playing golf. MSU's golf course is so-so. Tupelo Country Club is very nice, so he played up here as much as he could. OK, so maybe just maybe it was my oldest daughter that fascinated him so much and not the golf course, but still, I did get to play a lot with a guy that was T4 in the US Open. He is dropping back today as I write, but it was fun to see him and a few of his highlights on The Golf Channel last night. Alex came close to quitting golf completely 2-3 years ago. I am glad to see him hanging in there.

[Emp]

Just back from the Open, attended Friday and Saturday. Had a ball, though PMI did not invite me into the club members tent, the cheeze. Well actually, he couldnt find me among the 40K there each day. First day sat behind 4 early and saw Rory can a 20 footer, then 15, 10, and walked the back side following Davis Love, Ernie Els. What a beautiful layout, impressive huge clubhouse. 1500 golf members must keep those two courses really busy. Saturday sat at 7 from 9 until 5 holding a greenside spot, and saw the entire field come by. Sergio made an amazing save from the left rough, and the crowd was not on him at all.

Everyone is all over the USGA about the course. There was nothing to be done about the greens, way too much rain. The graduated rough seemed very odd, a first, second and third cut. The course was 7500 or something outrageous, and they were still breaking par. I think they need to do something about the ball, as Jack suggests, or put governors on the drivers, a la the NCAA on the metal bats, because the new players can hit it 350 and rescue buried ball out of the rough now, they are so strong. I was not really up on Day until this tournament, he has a bag full of shots and should be a contender.

Im going to go up to the Senior Open in Toledo in late July, and hope the setup is as nice.

[boozehound]

Great tournament. I can't remember the last time I watched a PGA event with this much interest. McIlroy dominated from wire to wire. The kid is really something special.

Regarding the course: I don't see why people get so butthurt when players break par in a US Open. Par is just a number. Most years the winning score has been close to par. This year the weather didn't cooperate. IMHO the last thing that they need to do is to start rolling things back. Golf is a difficult enough game for people to learn, it doesn't need to be made any more difficult by rolling back the ball, grooves, etc.

[Emp]

Regarding the course: I don't see why people get so butthurt when players break par in a US Open. Par is just a number. Most years the winning score has been close to par. This year the weather didn't cooperate. IMHO the last thing that they need to do is to start rolling things back. Golf is a difficult enough game for people to learn, it doesn't need to be made any more difficult by rolling back the ball, grooves, etc.

The problem, if there is one, is that golf's sanctioning bodies have allowed the clubs and ball technology make it possible for top players to overwhelm courses, so that it is not the traditional game of golf. Yes, things change, technology improves, but golf courses are finite, and they cant keep moving the tees back foreever. If you want to watch highly trained athletes go driver-wedge, driver wedge , and never have to use all the clubs in the bag, I can understand that dialing back the ball and the clubs would seem undesirable. Personally, I would have no problem with a tour ball and tour clubs that would put a premium on shotmaking and penalties for inaccurate play, so the pro game would approximate the game that I play. As it is, I find it harder and harder to identify my game with that of a guy who can hit a 3 wood 300 yards.

I would also like to see a pro golf "shot clock." Take your shot within 30-60 seconds of the previous player, or suffer a penalty. Taking 3-4 min to line up and take a putt seems ridiculous to me. This pro behavior is spilling over onto the course, and 5.5 hour rounds on a weekend are becoming the norm, despite better tools. That's not pleasurable to me, to be backed up 2-3 groups by the third tee.

[boozehound]

The problem, if there is one, is that golf's sanctioning bodies have allowed the clubs and ball technology make it possible for top players to overwhelm courses, so that it is not the traditional game of golf. Yes, things change, technology improves, but golf courses are finite, and they cant keep moving the tees back foreever. If you want to watch highly trained athletes go driver-wedge, driver wedge , and never have to use all the clubs in the bag, I can understand that dialing back the ball and the clubs would seem undesirable. Personally, I would have no problem with a tour ball and tour clubs that would put a premium on shotmaking and penalties for inaccurate play, so the pro game would approximate the game that I play. As it is, I find it harder and harder to identify my game with that of a guy who can hit a 3 wood 300 yards.

I would also like to see a pro golf "shot clock." Take your shot within 30-60 seconds of the previous player, or suffer a penalty. Taking 3-4 min to line up and take a putt seems ridiculous to me. This pro behavior is spilling over onto the course, and 5.5 hour rounds on a weekend are becoming the norm, despite better tools. That's not pleasurable to me, to be backed up 2-3 groups by the third tee.

I guess I just don't really agree that the players are 'overwhelming' the courses. In a typical US Open the rough is so thick and deep that players avoid it at all costs. This year was an exception due to the weather. If they want to discourage long driving then they should narrow the fairways and grow the rough out (which they have done) to discourage going for it on every hole.

I think that having a tour ball and tour clubs would be horrible for the game. The average golfer wants to be using, more or less, the same clubs that the pros are using. That is why endorsement contracts are so huge. The average player also wants to measure themselves against the pros (as ridiculous as it may be).

I think that the USGA has already missed the boat. I don't think you can ever 'roll back' anything successfully. I think that you can freeze it in place, but you can't roll it back. Imagine if they rolled the ball back and suddenly a long drive on the tour was 250 yards. How lame would that seem after watching guys crank it 340?

What they could do, however would be to have a "turn back the clock" tournament every year in which they all have to play with clubs and balls manufactured pre-1980 or something along those lines. I think that would be very interesting to watch.

With regards to pace of play, I agree completely. I do think that there is some type of rule in place regarding pace but I have never seen it enforced.

[waggy]

I like the idea of a tour spec ball. Any manufacturer could make them, so players don't have to give up contracts. Amateurs would buy them (and pay thru the nose) just to so they could play the same ball as the pros. I don't see how it would be possible to police specs on clubs though.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Well, it was a very compelling weekend of golf. Day finished 2nd...but that won me absolutely nothing. Oh well.

On a side note, I was watching The Golf Channel over the weekend and they have this show on in the morning called The Morning Drive. One of the hosts is named Holly Sonders. Has anyone seen this woman? Holy crap is she smoking. Guess she played golf at Michigan State. I don't know how to do post pics....but I would take a second to google her.

[XUglow]

http://www.howtomeetbroads.com/wp-content/files_mf/cache/th_924bb7b2a647669540aed775d70f13f5_hollysonders35 .jpg

[bobbiemcgee]

She could never work @ Fox...... Fox Interviewer: You seem to be a smoking hot enough Blond, can you also speak? Interviewee: Yes! Fox: When can you start?:)

[paulxu]

I don't know how to do post pics....but I would take a second to google her.

That took Glow all of 10 minutes, which is pretty amazing in itself.
And yes, she is smoking.

Bobbie...what are you drinking? I want some so her hair looks blond to me too.

[bobbiemcgee]

She could never work @ Fox cuz they're all blonds, no brunettes. nm

[XUglow]

Fox Interviewer: You seem to be a smoking hot enough true Blond, can you also speak?

http://fox-pictures.co.tv/images/ik/dhue2520legs255b5255d11.jpg
Fixed that for you.