Let this be a lesson
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- June
- 16
So why was this U.S. Open in particular so riveting?
Yes, there was the compelling theater of seeing the game’s greatest player stared down by a guy who could easily be your next door neighbor. There was the golf course set dramatically on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There was the energy emanating from grandstands overflowing with people, not all of whom sounded like they were drinking bottled water.
It was all that, but let’s not forget that it was also a course setup in which players were allowed to play. Make no mistake, Torrey Pines was confounding this week: tight fairways, dense rough, hard greens—all the standard fare we’ve come to expect from our crafty friends at the USGA. But as opposed to the usual back-up fest we see at U.S. Opens, here players were actually allowed to play something resembling golf.
I know a lot of people out there who would love to see an endless parade of triple bogeys at U.S. Opens, but most of these people simply didn’t get enough attention as children.
I prefer what we had today, the perfect balance of utterly difficult conditions, and two players occasionally capable of standing up to them.
If you didn’t like it, you’re probably in the minority (any moment now I should be inundated with e-mails from the PR department at NBC Sports telling me how this was the greatest telecast since the final episode of “MASH”). But don’t worry. Next year it’s off to Bethpage Black, where we can all be miserable together.
