Friday, June 17, 2016

U.S. Open: First Round Wrap-Up

As is often the case when the U.S. Open is played in the mid-Atlantic region, the weather was pretty brutal on the first day at Oakmont Country Club, out in the Pittsburgh suburbs.  Rains and thunder delayed play throughout Thursday, and the golfers are only just now completing the first round.  In such chaos it's hard to identify any discernible pattern, except for the fact that Rickie Fowler (who shot a 76) and Rory McIlroy (who shot a 77) are probably out of it.  Jordan Spieth didn't play very well, struggled with the weather, but held on for a 72 that leaves him only six shots out of the lead.  As of right now, Dustin Johnson is the only golfer given a decent chance to win by the British betting houses; he is listed at 4 to 1, and no one else is listed at better than 10 to 1.  If Johnson bounces back from last year's problems, and wins the National Open, that would be quite a story.  Personally, I'm surprised the bookies don't have more faith in Lee Westwood.

In the meantime, congrats to Andrew Landry, who gets to be this year's "Unknown Guy Leading the U.S. Open After the First Round."

1.  A. Landry:  -4 (66)

T2.  L. Westwood (ENG):  -3 (67)
T2.  D. Johnson:  -3 (67)

T4.  S. Piercy:  -2 (68)
T4.  S. Lowry (IRE):  -2 (68)
T4.  S. Garcia (ESP):  -2 (68)

T7.  Mr. S. Scheffler (am):  -1 (69)
T7.  K. Streelman:  -1 (69)
T7.  B. Watson:  -1 (69)
T7.  D. Lee (NZL):  -1 (69)
T7.  H. Stenson (SWE):  -1 (69)

75 comments:

  1. They've now started the second round, but Spieth won't tee off until 8:50 A.M. tomorrow (Pittsburgh time).

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  2. Landry tees off tomorrow morning at 7:11 A.M. (Eastern Time).

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  3. Leaderboard:

    T1. D. Johnson: -4 (25 holes)
    T1. A. Landry: -4 (18)
    T3. S. Piercy: -3 (27)
    T3. L. Westwood (ENG): -3 (18)

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  4. Jason Day is six over par through 27 holes, and he is at serious risk of missing the cut.

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  5. Leaderboard:

    1. A. Landry: -4 (18 holes)
    T2. D. Johnson: -3 (29)
    T2. L. Westwood (ENG): -3 (18)
    T4. S. Piercy: -2 (31)
    T4. A. Sullivan (ENG): -2 (18)
    T4. S. Lowry (IRE): -2 (18)

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  6. Daniel Summerhays just completed a second round of 65 -- five shots under par. He shot 74 in the first round, so he's in the clubhouse at 1 under par.

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  7. Dustin Johnson birdies the par-3 sixth hole -- his 15th hole of the second round -- and moves into a tie for the lead at 4 under par.

    Sergio (who is playing with Johnson) matches the birdie to move to 2 under par.

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  8. Mickelson is 7 over par through 34 holes, and he probably will not make the cut.

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  9. Sergio drains a looooong putt to save par on the very difficult 9th hole, and he is in the clubhouse with a score of 68+70=138, 2 under par. He has looked very sharp.

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  10. Johnson pars the 9th hole, and he finishes with a 1-under par 69. He is tied for the lead at 4 under par after rounds of 67 and 69.

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  11. They've blown the horn for darkness.

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  12. Thanks for posting this. Fun at the HP is one of my most dependable avenues to tasting heaven, I honestly do believe, and, then, within that dependable category, talking about the major golf tournaments together is one of the absolutely most dependable avenues.

    Glasgow's Kent Bulle is through two rounds at 10-over; the live video has now started, and The Internet Is Amazing.

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  13. Landry has opened his second round par-par-par.

    His playing partner, Andy Baldwin of England, has gone birdie-birdie-par, and now he's at 3-over for the tournament.

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  14. Oosthuizen birdies five of the last seven holes of his second round, and he's even for the tournament, and now I get to second-guess and reGoogle "Oosthuizen" the rest of the weekend.

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  15. Andrew Landry bogeys 6, and now he's one off the lead of Dustin Johnson--and Lee Westwood, who birdies 1 to open his second round.

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  16. I might start blowing a horn for darkness at the end of every day.

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  17. I don't quite understand how video games work, but I'm interested in checking out something called WGT.com that is being advertised on the U.S. Open live stream.

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  18. Leaderboard:

    1. L. Westwood (ENG): -5 (22 holes)
    2. D. Johnson: -4 (36)
    T3. S. Piercy: -2 (36)
    T3. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (36)

    Bubba Watson is 1 under through 23; Jordan Spieth is 2 over through 21; Rory McIlroy is 5 over through 22.

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  19. I don't think anything would please the golf press more than a last-day battle between Westwood, Dustin Johnson, and Sergio -- three very nice guys who have never won a major.

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  20. Jordan Spieth birdies the 4th hole, and he is now 1 over through 22.

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  21. They just showed Matt Kuchar, and I guessed that he has won five PGA tournaments in his career. I looked it up, and the real answer is seven.

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    Replies
    1. There's something about Matt Kuchar that makes me he is always about 23 years old.

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  22. Westwood bogeys the 6th hole and falls back into a tie for the lead at 4 under.

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  23. By the way, Andrew Landry is 4 over through 11 holes today, and I doubt we will see him on the leaderboard again.

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  24. Westwood bogeys the seventh hole, and falls back to 3 under par. Dustin Johnson now has the lead to himself.

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  25. McIlroy birdies the 16th hole (which is his seventh hole of the day). It's his fourth birdie in seven holes, and it moves him to 3 over for the tournament.

    Meanwhile, Spieth goes into a bunker on the 6th hole, and cannot get up and down to save par. He falls back to 2 over.

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  26. Gregory Bourdy, of Bourdoux, France, just holed out from the fairway on the par-4 11th hole. That's an eagle, and he is now 3-under par, only one shot off the lead. Bourdy has four wins on the European Tour, the last of which was the 2013 Wales Open.

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  27. Spieth, at 2 over, is tied for 24th.

    McIlroy, at 3 over, is tied for 31st.

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  28. McIlroy is feeling it now. He comes to the 318-yd par 4 17th, and whacks a drive that goes all the way to the green. He will have a very long putt for eagle.

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  29. McIlroy's long eagle putt ended up about seven feet from the hole. He can't read the break on the birdie putt, and he blows a great chance to move to 2 over.

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  30. Leaderboard:

    1. D. Johnson: -4 (36 holes)
    T2. G. Bourdy (FRA): -3 (29)
    T2. L. Westwood (ENG): -3 (26)
    T4. S. Piercy: -2 (36)
    T4. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (36)

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  31. Jason Day finished his second round at 5 over par, and it looks as though he will make the cut. But Mickelson (7 over), Els (10 over), and Brandt Snedker (10 over) will not.

    J.B. Holmes is 7 over through 27 holes. The cut line is 6 over for now, so he has some work to do.

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  32. Leaderboard:

    T1. D. Johnson: -4 (36 holes)
    T1. G. Bourdy (FRA): -4 (31)
    T3. S. Piercy: -2 (36)
    T3. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (36)

    Westwood has bogeyed 9 and 10, and is now 1 under par.

    Spieth is 2 over through 26, tied for 24th.

    McIlroy is 3 over through 27, tied for 28th.

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  33. Bourdy birdies the 14th hole, and he now has the lead all to himself at 5 under par. If he pars out, he will post a 64 for this round.

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  34. Spieth bogeys the 9th hole, and falls back to 3 over par. He's not looking right today.

    Westwood takes yet another bogey -- his fifth in the last six holes -- and he falls back to even par.

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  35. With the exception of Bourdy, Oakmont is slowly squeezing the life out of everyone. There are only 10 golfers left under par.

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  36. Leaderboard:

    1. G. Bourdy (FRA): -5 (32 holes)
    2. D. Johnson: -4 (36)
    T3. S. Piercy: -2 (36)
    T3. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (36)

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  37. The guys on PGA Tour Radio -- who usually know what they are talking about -- think Spieth is missing too many fairways to win this tournament.

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    1. This is probably so. And or but I saw him on Thursday, and he was nervous as a cat.

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  38. Andrew Landry proves me wrong by getting back to 2 under through 35. McIlroy takes a double bogey on the 3d hole, and he is now 5 over through 30. Speith bogeys the 11th, and he is 4 over through 29.

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  39. The guys on PGA Tour Radio explain that Zach Johnson's game is not usually suited to the U.S. Open, even though he seems like the sort of boring, straight-down-the-middle guy who should do well at a place like Oakmont. They say that Zach Johnson hits a flat ball that tends to hit and roll, and that this kills you at the Open, where you need to hit it high and stop it dead. That is really good analysis, and is exactly the sort of thing I would never have figured out on my own.

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  40. Andrew Landry birdies the 18th hole! He goes out in 39, but comes home in only 32 shots. He is 3 under par, only two shots off the lead.

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  41. J.B. Holmes is 10 over par through 31, and he is going to miss the cut.

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  42. There are now only 8 golfers left under par.

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  43. Bourdy bogeys the 16th, and falls back into a tie for the lead.

    Leaderboard:

    T1. D. Johnson: -4 (36)
    T1. G. Bourdy (FRA): -4 (34)
    3. A. Landry: -3 (36)
    T4. S. Piercy: -2 (36)
    T4. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (36)

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  44. Bourdy's birdie putt on 17 looked good all the way, but lipped out a the end. He remains tied for the lead at 4 under.

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  45. Zach Johnson birdies the 13th hole, and moves to 1 under par.

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  46. Now here is Spieth, who really needs this birdie putt on 13. He curls the 10-footer, and it just misses. He stays at 4 over par, and he's just not dialed in.

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  47. Bourdy double bogeys the last. He shoots a 67 for the day, and he is two shots off the lead at 2 under par.

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  48. Spieth bogeys the 14th. Spieth, Day, and McIlroy are now all at 5 over par.

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  49. Leaderboard:

    1. D. Johnson: -4 (36 holes)
    2. A. Landry: -3 (36)
    T3. G. Bourdy (FRA): -2 (36)
    T3. S. Piercy: -2 (36)
    T3. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (36)

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  50. The USGA just announced that the National Open will return to Oakmont in 2025, and will be at Shinnecock Hills in 2026. That's a blow to the DC Area, because Washington golf fans were hoping to get the 2026 Open as part of the Nation's celebrations for its 250th birthday.

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  51. Rickie Fowler is 9 over through 33, and he is going to miss the cut.

    Rory McIlroy is 6 over through 33, and he is in danger of missing the cut.

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  52. And there it goes! Spieth holes a long birdie putt on 16, and he moves back to 4 over par.

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  53. Zach Johnson bogeys 16, and falls back to even.

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  54. Bubba Watson finishes with a 76 that leaves him at 5 over par.

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  55. Shane Lowry birdies the 6th hole, and is 2 under through 33.

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  56. McIlroy is 6 over with one hole (the 9th) left to play. He has to make no worse than par to make the cut, but his drive on the long par 4 sales off into the rough.

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  57. The guys on PGA Tour Radio say that something is badly wrong with Rickie Fowler's game -- he has struggled for most of the year -- but they don't know what it is.

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  58. Zach Johnson holes a 15-footer to save par on 17. He stays at 17. Spieth had a nice drive, but could not make birdie, and he stays at 4 over. According to the folks on PGA Tour Radio, he's been in a dreadful mood all day.

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  59. Westwood birdies the last to finish at 1 under for the tournament.

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  60. McIlroy is actually in a bunker on 9, 158 yards from the green. Desperately needing to make par, he tries a low long shot -- but the ball hits a mound and bounces right back into the bunker. That will probably sink McIlroy, who will almost certainly miss the cut now.

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  61. Leaderboard:

    1. D. Johnson: -4 (36 holes)
    2. A. Landry: -3 (36)
    T3. S. Piercy: -2 (36)
    T3. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (36)
    T3. G. Bourdy (FRA): -2 (36)
    T3. S. Lowry (IRE): -2 (34)

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  62. What a mess for McIlroy. On Thursday, in the middle of all the rain and wind, he shot a 77. Then this morning, he went out in 31, and all seemed fine. Now it looks as though he's going to come home in 39 or 40, and he is done.

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  63. End of an era watch. Since Mickelson has missed the cut, neither Phil Mickelson nor Tiger Woods will appear in the third round of the Masters or the U.S. Open this year. The last year in which neither Mickelson nor Tiger made the cut at both the Masters and the Open was 1992.

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  64. McIlroy takes a double bogey on the last. He goes out in 31 comes in with a 40, and shoots 77+71=148. He's 8 over par, and his tournament is done.

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  65. Zach Johnson makes a great two-putt to save par on 18, and he is at even par after 36 holes.

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  66. Jon Rahm of Spain and Arizona State is the only amateur to make the cut. He's at 5 over par, and he will be low amateur.

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  67. Spieth makes par on the last, and he is four over par after back-to-back rounds of 72. He is tied for 35th, and not quite out of it.

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  68. Lowry pars the 9th, and that will basically wrap up the second round.

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