Live at the US Open - Chambers Bay - Saturday June 20, 2015

It’s Saturday early evening and the US Open moving day marathon is over.  For a bunch of guys who shot even par or worse – save Mr Day – it was pretty darn exciting.  And tomorrow should have enormous drama with four tied for the lead and four others three shots behind.  It is truly anyone’s championship to win – or to lose.

It was very hard to watch Jason Day start the round and even harder to watch as he struggled mightily to stay upright.  How he managed a 68 is beyond my comprehension. I admit I would love to see an US player win the Open because we haven’t won it in several years.  If we do not, I truly hope it is Jason Day.  I worry that he is pushing himself to the limit because it is a major.  Any other tournament he would have withdrawn.  And rightly so.

Good luck to all.  May the best man win.

It was quite interesting to watch on TV rather than be on site.  The course looks so very different in person.  Without all the people, grandstands, tents and roads it looks incredibly different.   If you are into lush, green golf courses you cannot understand Chambers Bay.  If you are into links courses like one sees in the British Isles or at Bandon Dunes then you love Chambers Bay.

I thought moving day did not move much.  The only players that really moved were Patrick Reed and Louis Oosthuizen – in opposite directions.  I have to say I was very surprised by Reed’s play.  I make no judgment on Reed’s scandals since there are no facts.  I think his arrogance as a young player is stupid and misplaced.  He has so much talent and instead of being praised as a star he is the object of derision and harassment both in the media and with fans.  A few fans were so vocal in their harassment of Reed earlier in the week they were removed from the course.  The callouts at the first tee today were unpleasant and true golf fans should know better.

And then there is FOX.  Talked a bit about it last night but having the entire day to listen to the broadcast gave me more insight.  First and foremost – get some of those people out of the booth.  Two is perfect.  Three or four is too much.  Second and maybe more important – this is a golf tournament commonly known as our National Championship.  Up until the leaders teed off it was about 45 minutes of chit chat and 15 minutes of coverage of the game per hour.  It was absolutely ridiculous and the USGA should chastise FOX immediately.  I sat there wondering what was happening on the course and I am listening to a lot of boring people being boring.  I was furious.  And I am pretty sure others would agree with me.

And how about that leaderboard graphic?  What hole was each player on???  Were only four men playing?  Occasionally we would see the next four and rarely deeper into the field.  Where was the crawl showing each player in alphabetical order?  Once an hour?  It was frustrating if you wanted to know what was happening on the course.   Not knowing what hole a player was on until he was ready to hit was beyond frustrating.  I know the course pretty well by now and could usually tell by looking at the hole.  But viewers at home?  Never.

I thought in some ways today’s coverage was much better than yesterday.  Joe and Greg seemed less nervous and more settled.  The on-course guys were ok I guess.  None are Feherty (who is?) or Maltbie.  Norman has a long way to go to be Faldo much less Miller but they were not great starting out either.  If I recall Faldo was a nervous wreck when he started.

In reviewing the tee times for tomorrow I realized that a player named Cameron Smith is 1 under and will play in the third to last group.  Up until this moment I had never heard of him.  I do not remember anyone mentioning him today.  Who is he?  Where is he from?  Is he a qualifier?  And he is 1 under within three shots of the lead.  This is not a good thing FOX.

All that said we will be there bright and not quite so early in the morning.  The last group we will probably see go through 3 before our shift ends will be Paul Casey and Jack Maguire.  After much thought we will return home and watch the fireworks on TV.  By the time our shift is finished every grandstand will be past capacity and every fairway 10 deep.  I can listen to the cheers and see each and every shot on the big screen.  It isn’t the same as being there for the back 9.  Nothing is.

Good luck to all.  Sleep well!
PS I know I promised photos.  You will see them!
PPS I misspelled Rickie Fowler’s name yesterday – shame on me!