US Open 2023

[Syks7]

Still very soft for the first few groups....  #10 pin looks like its going to give up a lot of birdies.

[tony@CIC]

Holy Rickie - that's all I can say. 

[StrokerAce]

1 minute ago, tony@CIC said:

Holy Rickie - that's all I can say. 

really happy to see him back to playing well lately. He made some tough changes recently and it seems to be working.

https://sports.yahoo.com/rickie-fowlers-reboot-works-wonders-234012151.html

[cnosil]

5 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

Holy Rickie - that's all I can say. 

Will have to see if it continues.  Saw a breakdown of his stroke gained totals and it was heavily weighted on the putting side.  Unfortunately this is well above his average which may mean he comes crashing back down to his average which will not be good for a top finish.  

[Swood1994]

Love seeing Rickie making a surge early (trying to have faith he'll keep it going). But I will say I prefer the U.S. Open to play over par or very close to Even. I'm not saying the course should be unfair but any shot outside of very good should be penalized to a degree. For me It's the 1 tournament that has a little carnage to it and showcases just how good the best players in the world are even if they only finish the week at -3 or so.

[richk9holes]

45 minutes ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

What’s with this peacock bs. Grrr. 

It all makes sense now. When I signed up for Golf Pass on the golf now app they gave me a free year of Peacock and my response was "I don't want that." 

I just finished setting up my account. Watching golf all day, then a Real Housewives of NJ marathon later.

[StrokerAce]

10 minutes ago, richk9holes said:

It all makes sense now. When I signed up for Golf Pass on the golf now app they gave me a free year of Peacock and my response was "I don't want that." 

I just finished setting up my account. Watching golf all day, then a Real Housewives of NJ marathon later.

ya have 31 seasons of Dateline after that!

FWIW I think Morgan Pressel is doing a great job.

[Splatt]

1 hour ago, Syks7 said:

I heard that it looked like no one was there on TV and part of that is limited access points.  

Yeah, on TV it looks like very thin crowds. Im glad it's not as bad as it looks.

[StrokerAce]

15 minutes ago, Swood1994 said:

Love seeing Rickie making a surge early (trying to have faith he'll keep it going). But I will say I prefer the U.S. Open to play over par or very close to Even. I'm not saying the course should be unfair but any shot outside of very good should be penalized to a degree. For me It's the 1 tournament that has a little carnage to it and showcases just how good the best players in the world are even if they only finish the week at -3 or so.

I agree; you should reward good shots and punish bad ones. The issue I see with LACC is that some of the greens are gigantic and fast enough so that if you land off the green you're still going to roll it close.

You can only do so much to make a course "really hard"; Homa shot a 61 in college - taking nothing away from him as he is an amazing player, but the course is clearly gettable. the USGA had to know that.

Maybe they tuck the pins 3 feet from the edge on a slope on Sunday?

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

1 minute ago, StrokerAce said:

I agree; you should reward good shots and punish bad ones. The issue I see with LACC is that some of the greens are gigantic and fast enough so that if you land off the green you're still going to roll it close.

You can only do so much to make a course "really hard"; Homa shot a 61 in college - taking nothing away from him as he is an amazing player, but the course is clearly gettable. the USGA had to know that.

Maybe they tuck the pins 3 feet from the edge on a slope on Sunday?

What if they throw a curve ball and really water down the greens. Some of these shots I see near the edge of the green and roll back would get stuck, leaving much longer putts 

[StrokerAce]

1 minute ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

What if they throw a curve ball and really water down the greens. Some of these shots I see near the edge of the green and roll back would get stuck, leaving much longer putts 

That would be a good switcheroo.

The other issue I see is the weather - it's perfect golfing weather. absolutely perfect for going low. no wind, no rain, not super hot. 

Even the members there aren't surprised by the low scores. 

[Swood1994]

7 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

I agree; you should reward good shots and punish bad ones. The issue I see with LACC is that some of the greens are gigantic and fast enough so that if you land off the green you're still going to roll it close.

You can only do so much to make a course "really hard"; Homa shot a 61 in college - taking nothing away from him as he is an amazing player, but the course is clearly gettable. the USGA had to know that.

Maybe they tuck the pins 3 feet from the edge on a slope on Sunday?

Benefit of Working from home on Major weeks is I can listen to a lot of the broadcasts. From what I gathered is the course was set up a lot differently from the PAC-12's where Homa shot 61. Not taking away from that as we had 2 62's yesterday so the course is definitely scorable. However, when you hit 10/13 fairways, 16/18 GIR, and averaging 1.3 putts for the round 62 is achievable anywhere, IMO. I think 2 things can happen to really fortify the course going into the weekend:

1. Like you said pin locations. The green complexes are big and have a lot of quirks. 15 plays 78 yards but they can set the pin on the pitchers mound on the front middle which gives players a 2-4ft landing zone. I believe RF said if that pin is set there he'd lay up...on a 78 yard hole...

2. Mother Nature. If the cloud coverage can clear up and the sun breaks through and the wind picks up this course will get extremely firm and fast and that change from Thursday and Friday to the weekend would throw the players for a little bit of a loop. 

[fixyurdivot]

1 hour ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

I get it. And same with espn+ and it’s all to make an extra buck. I remember days when the full tournament was on local tv and you could tune in easily. Call me an old fart at 34. 

If it isn't on my Sling package, I won't watch it.  The majority of The Golf Channel events are LPGA, Champions Tour, KF, and DP.  The few PGA events are typically a couple hours of Thur/Fri before being switched to those mentioned above.  That works for me as I simply do not find the cost to value ratio acceptable.  

[poprocksncoke]

10 hours ago, Syks7 said:

 

 

Had kind of weird weather last night.  Little bit of drizzle and it was cool and damp feeling all day.  When I was driving in from the Valley my first thought was that it would be gettable for them -- and it was.  There were lots of fairway crossings to get around the course and I did notice that over the course of the day the fairways got considerably harder (even in the areas where I  snuck a few footsteps outside the heavy traffic (official crossing area).  I suspect no water for the course tonight and a little haircut in a few places the fairway was a little too sticky.  I think they'll probably mow the fairways down a little tighter on 8 to make it much harder to hold the shelf everyone was getting to.  If they do that you'll see a lot more people have to play  out of the barranca or play it safe.  I spent a couple hours there, no eagles but a lot of two putt birdies.   I also think they'll do so on three five and thirteen where the penalty for not staying in the right part of the fairway is severe.  It's hard to see on TV but the course is heavily sloped and if the fairways get less sticky they're going to have issues.   

I also think there will be considerably harder pin placements tomorrow.  They looked scary for an amateur like me but I wouldn't say they were in tough spots for pros.  It didn't feel like they had to make tough approach shots for most of them to get it to a good spot.  If they put them in harder places its going to get a lot tougher.  Downhill putts were already lightning today.  I watched several on 8 that were from around 10ish feet that the backswing was less than 1/2"  and they still rolled 3-4 feet past the hole.  So if they start to set it up that you either have to hit a perfect shot or you'll be above the hole or in a bunker we might see some fireworks.

I also did partially follow Ricky & Xander flopping between the two groups.  Those dudes were throwing darts today.  I think they would have gone low regardless of setup.  I think the afternoon played closer to what the actual setup was.  

If it gets sunny and the course dries out we might see that winning number creep back from where Ricky & Xander are.  We'll see.  

In any case.  It was a hell of a day for me.  Showed up at 9:00 A.M. left right after Rory 'saved' bogey after the whiff on 18.  24,104 steps (Right around 13.5 miles walked) 2+ Loops of the course.  I might be a trainwreck tomorrow.

Here's some pics from the day.  

 

Crossing 18

17 is stupid long.  The tee box is up by the tent in the top right of the photo

Closer view of 'Little 17'.  You can see it fully in the photo above.  It's an original green that they found when doing the renovation that is now used for fun.  

15 looking at the narrow tongue where they'll have the flag on Saturday when it's going to play 78ish yards

11 from across 16th fairway

As close as you can really get to the thirteenth green and 14th tee box.  Playboy Mansion behind the hedge top left.

Number 8 when Xander was coming through.

Number 6.  One of the Marshals that had been there all day said he'd only seen one birdie from someone that drove the green.  

Couple more of #6

Number 4

Number 3

Number 2

 

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

[poprocksncoke]

Fitz with the Ace!!  3 so far this week.  Only need one more to tie the record for most in one US Open.

1989 - Weaver, Wiebe, Pate and Price 

[richk9holes]

53 minutes ago, poprocksncoke said:

Fitz with the Ace!!  3 so far this week.  Only need one more to tie the record for most in one US Open.

1989 - Weaver, Wiebe, Pate and Price 

And the 2 who shot 62 yesterday didn't go out yet... 🫨

[fixyurdivot]

Watching on TGC for as long as this lasts.  Brooks, Hideki, and Rory walking up #18 fairway and I noticed just how gigantuan their bags are .  Good grief, what the hell are they keeping in there? I hope the caddies are getting bonus pay by the pound . 

I now recall the "May Gray" and "June Gloom" prevailing weather from my business travels to the LA area. Looking like scoring today is a wee bit tougher but if this weather pattern holds, the typical 8-10 under winning score will likely get lapped.

I presume the 3 aces (thus far) in a US Open is a record? Not only for the ace potential, but the manner in which the ball feeds back to the hole on #15 seems too easy for this venue.  They'll likely move it away from that collection spot for R3 and R4.

Sam Bennett's jackknife swing finish... hurts every time I see it .  

[poprocksncoke]

9 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

 

I presume the 3 aces (thus far) in a US Open is a record? Not only for the ace potential, but the manner in which the ball feeds back to the hole on #15 seems too easy for this venue.  They'll likely move it away from that collection spot for R3 and R4.

 

The US Open record for aces in one tournament is 4 (see post above) 

[richk9holes]

I'm watching that tiebreaker #2 

Isaac Simmons +6 thru 8 holes making a run at a high number.

[fixyurdivot]

23 minutes ago, poprocksncoke said:

The US Open record for aces in one tournament is 4 (see post above) 

I noticed that after posting... good research .  That's nuts when you think about it as 3 seems unobtanium.

[poprocksncoke]

1 hour ago, fixyurdivot said:

I noticed that after posting... good research .  That's nuts when you think about it as 3 seems unobtanium.

Yeah, I figured 3 would be a record but looked it up.  3 has happened at least once before too.

[MaxEntropy]

Hoping Rickie wins this.

What's with the morons on Peacock's US Open All Access. I can't listen to them and they show two or three shots then blather in the studio some. WTH?!?

[fixyurdivot]

Rickie stayed at Holiday Inn Express... throwing darts... in da zone! 

[MacTourney]

Help me off the rant ledge, I'm not one to rant, but the ledge is near.

I was thinking today that all persons in these United States should have free access to live, as it happens, US Open golf tournament coverage for all 4 rounds whether it be antenna television, streaming, cable, apps, Ouija boards, etc.  This is our national open championship, everyone deserves to see it live and USGA needs to get off its butt and make sure it happens.  I'm confident I missed a bunch of extenuating variables but the game needs to be continually grown and what better way than having the USGA lead the way and putting our national open out there for all to see, right here, right now!

 

 

[fixyurdivot]

10 minutes ago, MacTourney said:

Help me off the rant ledge, I'm not one to rant, but the ledge is near.

I was thinking today that all persons in these United States should have free access to live, as it happens, US Open golf tournament coverage for all 4 rounds whether it be antenna television, streaming, cable, apps, Ouija boards, etc.  This is our national open championship, everyone deserves to see it live and USGA needs to get off its butt and make sure it happens.  I'm confident I missed a bunch of extenuating variables but the game needs to be continually grown and what better way than having the USGA lead the way and putting our national open out there for all to see, right here, right now!

 

 

That would be great but it leaves way too much money on the table. I have no idea how much it costs to put these venues together or how much the USGA receives from the various money making streams, but I doubt we'll see free televised coverage anytime soon. At least we have The Masters .

[GolfSpy_APH]

1 minute ago, fixyurdivot said:

That would be great but it leaves way too much money on the table. I have no idea how much it costs to put these venues together or how much the USGA receives from the various money making streams, but I doubt we'll see free televised coverage anytime soon. At least we have The Masters .

PGA was live streamed on YouTube for all to see and watch as well.

[Syks7]

17 minutes ago, MacTourney said:

Help me off the rant ledge, I'm not one to rant, but the ledge is near.

I was thinking today that all persons in these United States should have free access to live, as it happens, US Open golf tournament coverage for all 4 rounds whether it be antenna television, streaming, cable, apps, Ouija boards, etc.  This is our national open championship, everyone deserves to see it live and USGA needs to get off its butt and make sure it happens.  I'm confident I missed a bunch of extenuating variables but the game needs to be continually grown and what better way than having the USGA lead the way and putting our national open out there for all to see, right here, right now!

 

 

Totally agree, but having seen the corporate tents in person and how they make it impossible for general admin tickets to get near the clubhouse, 1st tee, 18th hole, and 9th hole I can tell you definitively that the money involved won't let that happen.  Its sad to be honest but they want you to have to shift around between different TV stations because they signed the deals that will make advertising revenue.  Ugh.

On another note if Rickie kills it again today where it's not as gettable (he's on course to do so) maybe this course just fits his game. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Syks7

[fixyurdivot]

14 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

PGA was live streamed on YouTube for all to see and watch as well.

TGC has had it all day so far.  I'm almost afraid to touch the remote for fear it's a mistake .

[Splatt]

Man, it's great seeing Rickie back at the top of leaderboards.

Opened with 3 birdies today. Lets hope there's a few more coming

[MacTourney]

1 hour ago, Syks7 said:

Totally agree, but having seen the corporate tents in person and how they make it impossible for general admin tickets to get near the clubhouse, 1st tee, 18th hole, and 9th hole I can tell you definitively that the money involved won't let that happen.  Its sad to be honest but they want you to have to shift around between different TV stations because they signed the deals that will make advertising revenue.  Ugh.

That was basically my point, it's bull droppings to have to search around for some holes on this station, some holes on this platform, different times on different platforms, different days, different schedules and show times, it's all just bull crap.   It's our National Open for pete's sake, let's act like it is!  I just cut the cord a while back to antenna television, and still trying to determine what I can get online and apps and such.  SWMBO has a smart tv so maybe I missed an opportunity there but did get the ESPN downloaded today to her televison.  

I guess if I was in charge of USGA our championship would be on one of the old school broadcast networks, all 72 holes.   Vote me in and I'll have it done by next summer, book it.  Back to reality now and watching Wheel of Fortune...

Edited June 16, 2023 by MacTourney