**2013 U.S. Open Thread**

[WhiteWonder 2,182]

Mahan started the final round of the 2009 US Open 5 back. Lost by 4.

 

Yeah, that's in contention. But I still say this is his first time in the grinder. I think being in a pack and trying to get hot while also needing someone in front of you to fall apart is quite stress free compared to what he faces today.

 

I don't remember what Masters he contended in, but I bet it was similar. Part of a pack a few shots back.

 

possibly but he does have 2? WGC titles to his name. those are top 10 fields of the year

[Drizzay 648]

This is hard to watch. No one can hit a focking fairway.

[DankNuggs 305]

Mahan is waaaaay too 'bro' to win a major

[pt_mck 7]

Tough one for Phil

 

Rose deserved tough as much as anybody

[ZeroTolerance 582]

Mickelson is king of the runner ups!

[cbfalcon 824]

 

possibly but he does have 2? WGC titles to his name. those are top 10 fields of the year

I don't think the pressure in a WGC event is anything at all compared to a Major. They are just standard stops with better fields and bigger paychecks. That said, Mahan managed to hang for the most part. His pitches can suck, but overall he showed me something and he will benefit from this.

 

As for Phil....that's golf heartbreak. I'm pretty bummed about this one. I have no idea if that was the last real shot or if he will manage to contend for another 5 years. Gut punch. His putter killed him. They all looked good but nothing would drop.

[patweisers44 701]

Mickelson is king of the runner ups!

He would finish second if he was the only guy entered in the tournament.

[edjr 5,592]

Nippleson!

[TimmySmith 2,782]

What a choke job. Can't drive, can't putt. Phil could have won by 5. Congrats to Rose, he's a class act.

[Electric Mayhem 35]

I'm not a golf fan, but enjoy rooting against Tiger during tourneys, and if there is a big story involved. Also I like watching people implode and/or make horrible shots. Call it scaudenfraude or wahatever, I still think it's funny.

 

So I was in the car listening to the Open, and I got to hear:

 

"Stricker lines up and... OHHHHH, he's hit it out of bounds"

"Stricker is laying three after his provisional tee shot. And... OHHHHH!!! He's hit another out of bounds. That was a hozel rocket."

"xxx's shot is sailing right, right, and OHHHH!!! He's hit a stantion bearer!"

 

Awesome span of 10 minutes or so in the world of radio golf. Best I've ever heard.

[patweisers44 701]

I'm not a golf fan, but enjoy rooting against Tiger during tourneys, and if there is a big story involved. Also I like watching people implode and/or make horrible shots. Call it scaudenfraude or wahatever, I still think it's funny.

 

So I was in the car listening to the Open, and I got to hear:

 

"Stricker lines up and... OHHHHH, he's hit it out of bounds"

"Stricker is laying three after his provisional tee shot. And... OHHHHH!!! He's hit another out of bounds. That was a hozel rocket."

"xxx's shot is sailing right, right, and OHHHH!!! He's hit a stantion bearer!"

 

Awesome span of 10 minutes or so in the world of radio golf. Best I've ever heard.

When they said some chick took a ball in the forehead, I immediately assumed it was Tiger.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Interesting thoughts. Obviously we don't see the biggest names as much as the guys trying to keep their cards or make a living but this sentiment seems strange. Would you say he's lost his passion? Is the fact that he only cares about the majors amd might only play I'm several events each year, if he could, hding him back from actually winning the majors? Maybe he is overemohasizing them

He might be, prolly is. But this is both the curse and benefit of having Tiger woods in the game today. Not only are purses so ridiculous, but the off-the-course money these guys make is mind blowing. The TW's have no desire, nor need, to play the John Deere Classics anymore. They'd rather enjoy life, practice at home, and gear up for the majors.

 

What a great Open this was. Rose was fantastic, and his putter was the club won him the title. But the real star of this major was Merion herself. She held up beautifully and she gave these spoiled brats all the could focking handle. Once again Mickelson blew his chance. Yes he sprayed it at times, but so did everyone. For the week Phil still hit 68% of the fairways, he also led the field in GIRs and scrambling. No what let Phil down is what normally lets Phil down, his putter. He missed what, 4 or 5 10 footers Sunday? I hope Mike Davis and his team comes back to Merion and comes back to her soon - was a great championship.

[Mike Honcho 4,053]

When they said some chick took a ball in the forehead, I immediately assumed it was Tiger.

 

[Mike Honcho 4,053]

He might be, prolly is. But this is both the curse and benefit of having Tiger woods in the game today. Not only are purses so ridiculous, but the off-the-course money these guys make is mind blowing. The TW's have no desire, nor need, to play the John Deere Classics anymore. They'd rather enjoy life, practice at home, and gear up for the majors.

 

What a great Open this was. Rose was fantastic, and his putter was the club won him the title. But the real star of this major was Merion herself. She held up beautifully and she gave these spoiled brats all the could focking handle. Once again Mickelson blew his chance. Yes he sprayed it at times, but so did everyone. For the week Phil still hit 68% of the fairways, he also led the field in GIRs and scrambling. No what let Phil down is what normally lets Phil down, his putter. He missed what, 4 or 5 10 footers Sunday? I hope Mike Davis and his team comes back to Merion and comes back to her soon - was a great championship.

 

He looked like mid 80's-90's Tom Watson...always in position and failing time after time to get those putts down.

[jerryskids 5,239]

He might be, prolly is. But this is both the curse and benefit of having Tiger woods in the game today. Not only are purses so ridiculous, but the off-the-course money these guys make is mind blowing. The TW's have no desire, nor need, to play the John Deere Classics anymore. They'd rather enjoy life, practice at home, and gear up for the majors.

 

What a great Open this was. Rose was fantastic, and his putter was the club won him the title. But the real star of this major was Merion herself. She held up beautifully and she gave these spoiled brats all the could focking handle. Once again Mickelson blew his chance. Yes he sprayed it at times, but so did everyone. For the week Phil still hit 68% of the fairways, he also led the field in GIRs and scrambling. No what let Phil down is what normally lets Phil down, his putter. He missed what, 4 or 5 10 footers Sunday? I hope Mike Davis and his team comes back to Merion and comes back to her soon - was a great championship.

Agreed. I thoroughly enjoyed that tournament. Those must be the hardest greens in the world to read, because they weren't unfairly fast like some past opens, yet nobody could hit a putt. Well, almost nobody.

 

One nit I had was the pin placement on 18 -- back of the green on a downslope pretty much guaranteed that nobody would birdie. I knew Phil was done before he even teed off.

 

Probably my favorite part though was that my two daughters (14 and 11) watched some with me. It being Father's Day and all, they were like "all right... we'll sit with you a little while Dad." Ten seconds in one of them says "I don't see how anyone can watch this." I explain that it is easier if you have played the game and can appreciate the difficulty of what they are doing. Then someone hit a bad shot and they were "oooh, that doesn't look good." Next thing you know they are watching a putt roll saying "go in go in go in aaaaarrrrghhh!" Great stuff.

[patweisers44 701]

Agreed. I thoroughly enjoyed that tournament. Those must be the hardest greens in the world to read, because they weren't unfairly fast like some past opens, yet nobody could hit a putt. Well, almost nobody.

 

One nit I had was the pin placement on 18 -- back of the green on a downslope pretty much guaranteed that nobody would birdie. I knew Phil was done before he even teed off.

 

Probably my favorite part though was that my two daughters (14 and 11) watched some with me. It being Father's Day and all, they were like "all right... we'll sit with you a little while Dad." Ten seconds in one of them says "I don't see how anyone can watch this." I explain that it is easier if you have played the game and can appreciate the difficulty of what they are doing. Then someone hit a bad shot and they were "oooh, that doesn't look good." Next thing you know they are watching a putt roll saying "go in go in go in aaaaarrrrghhh!" Great stuff.

I assume they were rooting for rickie fowler, luke donald, et al. ?

[Cruzer 1,992]

One nit I had was the pin placement on 18 -- back of the green on a downslope pretty much guaranteed that nobody would birdie. I knew Phil was done before he even teed off.

 

I'm totally with you here. I have a general problem with a hole like this being the 72nd of a major anyways. The final hole you have to think is going to have a lot riding on it - the 72nd hole should both be challenging, but also offer a bit of risk/reward for those needing a birdie to force a playoff, or something like that. 520 yard par 4's with a back tucked pin offer one thing and one thing only, survival. The entire viewing audience and watching world is focused on this final scene - give us something to stand on the edge of our seat for. Like you said, even before he teed off, and especially after his hit it in the rough - you knew it was over.

[jerryskids 5,239]

I assume they were rooting for rickie fowler, luke donald, et al. ?

You mean the younger guys? I don't think they were really rooting for any one person per se. One of them said "I like his jump suit" about Fowler; personally I thought it looked like a prison uniform. Certainly, the outfits were a topic of conversation. They asked if the players got to choose their own clothes to which I said... I'm not completely sure. I explained that many had sponsors and wore their logos, but I didn't know if the sponsor said "you will wear the gawd-awful puke green shirt today."

[The Moz 69]

A guy in the office told me I could pick any 5 players and he got the field for 100 bucks. I agreed and Took Woods, McDowell, Kutcher, Rory, and J. Rose.

Just collected my 100 bucks --

[jerryskids 5,239]

I'm totally with you here. I have a general problem with a hole like this being the 72nd of a major anyways. The final hole you have to think is going to have a lot riding on it - the 72nd hole should both be challenging, but also offer a bit of risk/reward for those needing a birdie to force a playoff, or something like that. 520 yard par 4's with a back tucked pin offer one thing and one thing only, survival. The entire viewing audience and watching world is focused on this final scene - give us something to stand on the edge of our seat for. Like you said, even before he teed off, and especially after his hit it in the rough - you knew it was over.

Exactly. With the pin in the front you still would have needed a great golf shot (on the 72nd hole of a major to boot) to have a good shot at birdie. That IMO is a good test of a champion. As it was, you needed a one in a gazillion shot that just happened to stop at the exact crest of the hill and trickled down, to get close.

[The Moz 69]

I'm totally with you here. I have a general problem with a hole like this being the 72nd of a major anyways. The final hole you have to think is going to have a lot riding on it - the 72nd hole should both be challenging, but also offer a bit of risk/reward for those needing a birdie to force a playoff, or something like that. 520 yard par 4's with a back tucked pin offer one thing and one thing only, survival. The entire viewing audience and watching world is focused on this final scene - give us something to stand on the edge of our seat for. Like you said, even before he teed off, and especially after his hit it in the rough - you knew it was over.

Merion played a lot like Pinehurst in as it was just really tough. That said I would have kept the hole but would have made the pin up front

[Cruzer 1,992]

Just collected my 100 bucks --

[cbfalcon 824]

Just collected my 100 bucks --

 

I didn't have Rose up there. Good call.

[The Moz 69]

I knew Rose would breakout sometime -- too good of a ball striker and putter not to.

[Cruzer 1,992]

I knew Rose would breakout sometime -- too good of a ball striker and putter not to.

He's been leading the tour in total driving for a while now. And in case anyone has forgotten - his putter put the stake in our hearts at the 2012 Ryder Cup.

[DankNuggs 305]

I'm not a golf fan, but enjoy rooting against Tiger during tourneys, and if there is a big story involved. Also I like watching people implode and/or make horrible shots. Call it scaudenfraude or wahatever, I still think it's funny.

 

So I was in the car listening to the Open, and I got to hear:

 

"Stricker lines up and... OHHHHH, he's hit it out of bounds"

"Stricker is laying three after his provisional tee shot. And... OHHHHH!!! He's hit another out of bounds. That was a hozel rocket."

"xxx's shot is sailing right, right, and OHHHH!!! He's hit a stantion bearer!"

 

Awesome span of 10 minutes or so in the world of radio golf. Best I've ever heard.

His first one i believer was a pull... The second one was an absolute SHANK

 

Always fun to see a pro shank one like a duffer...

 

 

Fowler almost killed someone in the stands on that 224 yd par 3, sent a hook into the crowd... You take one off the temple and good night...

[Cruzer 1,992]

A foreigner has won 7 of our past 10 US Opens, and Europe has won 7 of the past 10 RC's - that is sum bullshet..........

[The Moz 69]

Ryder Cup we just fold and play like sh!t - no excuse. Right now though Europe has the best players in the world. They days of Tiger and Phil are all but over.

 

If Tiger can't find a way to win a Major in either the Open or the PGA this year I don't think he ever will again. IF he does I can see it being like dominoes and him rolling off quite a few.