Friday, June 19, 2015

U.S. Open: Day One Wrap-Up

I have never had a more negative visceral reaction to a golf course than the reaction I had to Chambers Bay.  The course is ugly, it seems fake and unnatural, the holes all seem to run together, and there are big portions of the course with few to any spectators.

I am also very unhappy with Fox's coverage.  It's bad enough that Fox has hired a bunch of guys with little major broadcast experience.  Greg Norman?  Tom Weiskopf?  But Fox also seems to be committed to covering certain stories and golfers regardless of what is actually happening on the course. For example, last night in prime time, we had to watch almost every shot taken by Rickie Fowler.  We even had a five-minute feature on Fowler.  Fowler shot an 81.  He was playing with Tiger, who shot an 80.  It was painful to watch both of them -- I kept thinking Tiger would withdraw at any moment.  Fox stuck with them the whole time -- and did not show other golfers who were actually in competition.

So for me, last night was probably the worst experience I've had watching golf since Ray Floyd ran off and left everyone at the 1976 Masters.  The only redeeming factor for the day was that we do seem to have a decent leaderboard.  And maybe the course will grow on me.  And surely Fox will show the leaders on the last day, right?  They won't just run features on Rickie Fowler, right?

Right?

Here's the leaderboard:

T1.  D. Johnson:  -5 (65)
T1.  H. Stenson (SWE):  -5 (65)

3.  P. Reed:  -4 (66)

T4.  Mr. B. Campbell (a):  -3 (67)
T4.  M. Kuchar:  -3 (67)
T4.  B. Martin:  -3 (67)

T7.  J. Day (AUS):  -2 (68)
T7.  J. Dufner:  -2 (68)
T7.  C. Gribble:  -2 (68)
T7.  J. Luiten (NED):  -2 (68)
T7.  F. Molinari (ITA):  -2 (68)
T7.  J. Spieth:  -2 (68)
T7.  M. Warren (SCO):  -2 (68)

20 comments:

  1. Justin Spieth, who got remarkably little attention from Fox last night, is now leading the tournament:

    1. J. Spieth: -6 (26 holes)
    T2. D. Johnson: -5 (18)
    T2. H. Stenson (SWE): -5 (18)
    T4. Mr. B. Campbell (a): -4 (22)
    T4. P. Reed: -4 (18)

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  2. Through 28 holes of play, J.B. Holmes is 2 under par -- four shots off the lead.

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  3. On Fox, they have a panel of four guys, two of whom are (I think) Corey Pavin and Brad Faxon. They're having a long conversation, while golf is presumably taking place in the background.

    Leaderboard:

    T1. J. Spieth: -5 (28 holes)
    T1. D. Johnson: -5 (18)
    T1. H. Stenson (SWE): -5 (18)
    T4. B. Grace (RSA): -4 (29)
    T4. B. Martin: -4 (27)
    T4. P. Reed: -4 (18)

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  4. I hate it when professional golfers start their rounds on the 10th hole. The only reason they have to do that is because the golfers are so slow that otherwise they couldn't play the entire Second Round in a day. Instead of forcing the golfer to play slower, we changed the schedule so that now you have to do calculations in your head to figure out what hole everyone is on.

    I will be really, really happy if Spieth wins this tournament. Otherwise, I will be annoyed.

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  5. Doesn't it ever rain in Seattle? This course looks like it's been left out in the sun for about five months. I keep thinking they're in West Texas or some such place.

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  6. My cable has gone out, but I may enjoy the tournament better this way.

    Leaderboard:

    T1. D. Summerhays: -5 (31 holes)
    T1. B. Grace (RSA): -5 (30)
    T1. J. Spieth: -5 (30)
    T1. D. Johnson: -5 (18)
    T1. H. Stenson (SWE): -5 (18)

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  7. I have never before turned off the U.S. Open to watch the College World Series, but I'm going to this year.

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  8. Leaderboard:

    T1. J. Spieth: -5 (36 holes)
    T1. D. Johnson: -5 (19)
    T1. H. Stenson (SWE): -5 (19)
    T4. B. Grace (RSA): -4 (36)
    T4. P. Reed: -4 (18)

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  9. Here is the complete list of men who have won the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year since 1952:

    1953: Ben Hogan
    1960: Arnold Palmer
    1972: Jack Nicklaus
    2002: TIger Woods

    Could Spieth really make this list?

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  10. Tiger finished with 80+76 = 156, sixteen over par. He won't be here for the weekend.

    Neither will Ricky Fowler, who posted 81+73=154, fourteen over par.

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  11. J.B. Holmes will be around for the weekend. He shot 72+66-138, and he's only three shots off the lead.

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  12. We don't know if Jason Day will be around. He shot 68+70=138, but was overcome by vertigo on the last hole, and had to be helped off the course.

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  13. Leaderboard:

    T1. J. Spieth: -5 (36 holes)
    T1. H. Stenson (SWE): -5 (21)
    T3. B. Grace (RSA): -4 (36)
    T3. D. Johnson: -4 (21)
    T3. P. Reed: -4 (19)

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  14. Leaderboard:

    T1. J. Spieth: -5 (36 holes)
    T1. H. Stenson (SWE): -5 (21)
    T1. P. Reed: -5 (20)
    T4. B. Grace (RSA): -4 (36)
    T4. D. Johnson: -4 (21)

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  15. Dustin Johnson hits a wedge to within about 2 inches of the fourth hole, and he moves into a four-way tie for the lead.

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  16. I haven't completely made up my mind about the new commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken. But I'm very glad that they've gone back to calling themselves "Kentucky Fried Chicken" instead of "KFC."

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  17. I love the trains! One passes about every hour

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