The post 72 U.S. Open takeaways: hidden moments, lobster rolls and ‘big sexy’ appeared first on Golf.

The post 72 U.S. Open takeaways: hidden moments, lobster rolls and ‘big sexy’ appeared first on Golf.

THE SAMUEL ADAMS TAPROOM, HAPPY TO BE ALIVE, Mass. — You ain’t livin until 2,000 rowdies and 50 cops collapse onto you. If that’s not a saying already, I’m making it one. 

It’s the day after another memorable U.S. Open, we’re toasting the week that was, and takeaway one has to be how I was almost buried into the 18th fairway at The Country Club. Let’s set the scene. Your winner, Matt Fitzpatrick, had just hit his final tee shot, he and Will Zalatoris started their walk up, with me about 20 yards to their right, and as we crossed the forward tees, about 100 yards up, the damn dam broke. 

A fan came from the right. Then another 10. A dozen rushed from the left, and police officers and volunteers slowed them. But that just green-lighted everyone else. At this point, in order, your feelings are: cool, crap, run. A new rope was being established about a football field away, and I was at my own goal line. 

Of course, we all know Fitz, Zalatoris and I survived; they finished their tournament, I’m typing about it. I was through first, though I weaved through about 50 fans and an officer stiff-armed me in the chest. Zalatoris was next. Then out popped from the masses Fitzpatrick, who stunningly hit the shot of the tournament about 2 minutes later, the fairway bunker dart that covered the greenside sand and put him in position for his win.  

Wild. With that, let’s rewind. Our goal is to play 72, and we have 71 more to go.  

2. One of the officers I saw in the melee was one I talked to earlier in the week, on the 5th, the shorter, risk-reward par-4. He was as interested as you were in whether the pros would go for it or lay up. He also told me that officers annually play The Country Club in April. 

3. Another officer told me that working the course beat traffic duty. I can imagine. 

4. I almost got involved in the story on Saturday, too. I mentioned this in our Inside Golf newsletter — which you can subscribe to here! — so my apologies if you’ve read it already. I was following Scottie Scheffler and Matthew NeSmith, and as they teed off on 14, I waited along the right side of the fairway, which shares rough with the right side of 13, which is where Nick Hardy dropped his tee shot. 

Someone shouted. I didn’t pay it much attention. More shouted. I perked up but didn’t still move. Everyone shouted, and when I turned around, there were about 100 folks, including Hardy and his caddie, trying to shoo me out of the way. I ran here, too. 

News

Matt Fitzpatrick's hard-fought U.S. Open win was exactly what the game needed

By: Dylan Dethier

5. Some thoughts on the players. There’s something endearing to the Fitzpatrick win. He’s soft-spoken, but if you listen carefully, he sat down, figured out where he was missing and went about fixing it. There’s a lot to say about that. You have to be willing to put in the time, yes. But you have to admit your weaknesses; you have to check your ego. Lesser players may just continue to press on. 

6. I’m not sure what TV showed for the shot on 18, but here’s what Fitzpatrick saw — bunker and more bunker. He was in one after his tee shot, and the one greenside fronts most of the green and is nearly as deep; you can’t see the hole and maybe a fraction of the flag. The plays were lay up, which I’m betting some pros would have done in that situation; hit it deep and hope for a drop; or go “ballsy” — Zalatoris’ words — and pin-hunt. 

7. If you’re a bettor and didn’t invest in Fitzpatrick, you’re probably ruing it upon some reflection. Everything was lined up — in form, course knowledge, a track where iron play is a necessity. Shoot, you could have picked the top five if you would have thought hard about it — Scottie Scheffler, Zalatoris, Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, all strong ball-strikers, all grinders. 

8. Good for Billy Foster, Fitz’s caddie, who won his first major, too, after a long career of looping. The caddie role can never be overstated. After his man went left on 18, Foster was immediately in his man’s ear. Fitzpatrick’s head was no doubt spinning, but to hear a friendly voice had to have been calming. 

9. Fitz will win another major. 

10. After Zalatoris hit his second shot into 18, Fitzpatrick turned to him and said, “Nice shot.” Classy. 

11. Zalatoris will win three majors. 

News

This is Will Zalatoris' U.S. Open consolation prize

By: James Colgan

12. Scheffler will win four. 

13. I watched a lot of Scheffler. I’m admittedly fascinated by the fact that his game is mostly course-proof and his head is mostly emotionally so. Speaking to the latter, I’m thinking of the moment that proved costly, his double bogey on the short par-3 11th on Saturday. He knocked his iron over the green, nearly into the penalty area, chunked a chip, chipped long and two-putted — and walked off and was talking with partner Matthew NeSmith after their tee shots on 12.   

14. McIlroy wins one more major. If you say no more, I won’t argue. If you say five more, I won’t argue.  

15. Jordan Spieth wins no more, though. There are too many good players. There are too many moving parts. 

16. The most awkward moment of the week came as I watched Spieth on Thursday on the 17th tee, where he turned around and stared at me for two seconds. No, this has nothing to do with the prediction above. 

17. To me, the week’s biggest surprise is Justin Thomas. I thought this course would have fit him perfectly. I think I’d still pick him if they ran it back this week. 

18. OK, let’s talk Phil. Part of me wants to end it right there and move on to No. 19. The story was actually no story, and expert-level crisis management at its best. The question I have then is, do you care about him if he doesn’t talk, he’s mostly subdued on the course and his play begins to slide? Is he just another guy at that point?

News

Phil Mickelson's U.S. Open week was many things — but this was totally unexpected 

By: Nick Piastowski

19. Even a wacky moment on the 3rd hole on Friday was mostly vanilla — Mickelson thought he hit a fan with a ball (Sam Horsfield had, from an adjacent hole), cracked that he would “normally think it’s me,” called over an official for a rules clarification, didn’t move his ball in the end, hit over a TV crane and walked away. There were no cheers. 

20. Beer break. I’m a beer nut, so I had to stop at Sam Adams. It’s on the Freedom Trail, and a half-hour ago, I saw a man dressed in revolutionary dress outside. 

21. Mickelson gave no post-round press conferences, though reporters twice cornered him in the players parking lot. Mickelson remains a story, but he may become irrelevant quickly. And I think he’s fine with that. 

22. OK, let’s talk LIV. No, I have no new insights on who’s jumping ship. But I’ve received more than one email asking why we keep writing about it — one emailer told me that if we ignored it, LIV would go away like Paris Hilton, so there’s that — and I got a more clear indication this week that it’s on a lot of folks’ minds. I mean, someone wrote on a plain black shirt, in white letters, “I live for LIV.” Neat. 

23. Two men alongside the 12th fairway on Thursday were talking about whether LIV would get world-ranking points. An important part of the puzzle, no doubt, but just didn’t see that one coming at a U.S. Open.

24. Brooks Koepka was mad at it all. Justin Thomas was sad. But amateur Travis Vick needed to study up on this LIV thing. “I don’t really know anything. I don’t know a lot about it. I know there’s a lot of controversy that’s going along with that so, I probably need to educate myself a little bit more on kind of all the logistics to it, but it definitely seems that it’s a pretty big deal just based on what I’ve seen on TV.”

25. Let’s move on. Let’s talk The Country Club, as seen through my eyes and some fans. 

26. There’s a curling building on the grounds. If you were curious of the grounds’ expansiveness, there’s your answer. 

27. The practice green was a yard off the 1st hole here this week. It made for a cool scene on Sunday, when players rolled a few putts, then stopped to watch the groups ahead of them tee off. 

28. About 20 yards behind the 3rd green sits a lengthy pond, and the 1956 Olympic gold medalist in figure skating, Tenley Albright, got good there. 

29. On 4, during Monday’s practice round, Jim Furyk hit a punch shot about 30 yards short of the green — but a kid was impressed he just made contact and twice shouted, “Nice hit.” Furyk didn’t look, but the boy’s dad and I laughed. 

30. We mentioned the risk-reward 5th earlier, but we should also note that it was impossible to drive; the fairway bottle-necked near the green, it sloped down and the rough around the green was bushy. Couldn’t someone build a nine-hole course with nine holes like this? 

31. You’ll never know what you’ll hear on the grounds. A conversation between two fans along 6 started this way: “When I had Lyme disease …” OK. 

32. The uphill-8-to-the-downhill-9 sequence was cool. A volunteer along the ropes described the incline to the green on 8 as wicked. Boston! 

33. No. 10 is where I, the 14-handicap, would blow up, whereas the pros mostly didn’t. There’s water maybe 50 yards off the tee; a good collection area for the nervous top. There’s a 100-foot-tall rock on the left side of the fairway; very hittable with a snap hook. There’s a small creek in the middle of the fairway; I would find that with a chunk. 

34. No. 11, the short par-3, gave me another thought: Why hasn’t someone taken a property and made 18 holes like this? Shoot, you could build grandstands around every hole on this course. 

35. No. 14 was a legit par-5 for the pros — 550-plus yards, up a fescue-grass filled hill, small green. If players missed the fairway, they’d lay up short of the hill and have a longer iron in. The hole wasn’t an automatic birdie. 

36. You’d watch a course with nine holes of this, too, wouldn’t you?

37. No. 15! Not the most difficult hole — but the most talked about from the gallery. From the tee, all you could see were the bleachers by the green, and that led to this comment from a fan: “Where the f**k are you hitting this ball?”

38. No. 17 was a fun chance to bite off yards on a dogleg left, which Spieth tried on Thursday, before hitting in the junk, then making birdie anyways, because Spieth. 

39. My favorite holes, in order, were 14, 11, 18, 5, 3, 15, 17, 8, 9 and 10. That’s a lot, ain’t it? 

40. Beer break. A couple at the table next to me are complaining they can’t get a Bud Light at the Sam Adams taproom. 

41. The U.S. Open must return here soon. Put TCC on the rota, USGA. 

News

Tour Confidential: Matt Fitzpatrick's clutch win, The Country Club, Phil's weird week

By: GOLF Editors

42. A man asked me on Wednesday outside of the players lounge, a building about 50 yards to the left of the clubhouse, how I thought the course would hold up. I said I thought the winning score would be seven-under. Not bad! 

43. Then he told me that he was a member, so I quickly asked him for his number. He was worried the pros would chew up his home. I get this; I would imagine most club members don’t want to see their course, where they struggle, reduced to a putt-putt. 

44. Outside of the players lounge — shh, I don’t think I was supposed to be up there — I saw Erik van Rooyen playing cornhole. And Thomas eating a donut. And Ted Scott, Scheffler’s caddie, eating sunflower seeds. 

45. I also saw Mickelson stretching in the parking lot behind the lounge.

46. On Sunday, Patrick Reed, his hat cocked upward, was having a talk with Jason Gore, the USGA’s player liaison. 

47. On Sunday, after congratulating Fitzpatrick on his victory, McIlroy pulled out of the parking lot and was stopped. Jimmy Dunne, business and president of Seminole Country Club, wanted a word. “Hey, I was f***ing rooting for you to do it out there.” He then asked McIlroy about a future round together and wished him a happy Father’s Day. 

48. And McIlroy wished it to him back and jabbed Dunne with a “Happy Grandfather’s Day, too.”

49. Grayson Murray, who snapped an iron and threw his putter on Sunday, threw two other items when he was finished — a ball to one kid and a hat to another. 

News

Pro overhand-tosses putter 20 yards, snaps iron in WILD meltdown

By: Nick Piastowski

50. On Saturday, Cameron Tringale grabbed two balls from his bag to hand out, only there were no kids around, so he kept walking to scoring.  

51. The house of Francis Ouimet, the winner of the 1913 Open at The Country Club and the subject of the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played, was maybe a long iron to the left of the 17th fairway. 

52. A few homes overlook most of the 4th hole, though I never saw anyone watching the golf. 

53. Food review! The lobster roll, from the stand to the right of 14, was buttery and salty and flavorful, with a nice toasted roll. 

54. The Sam Adams out there — their summer beer — was smooth.   

55. My favorite was the crab cake sandwich, from the stand to the left of 18. I’ve had crab cakes as only appetizers in the past, but here it gloriously was, on a hamburger bun, with some sort of seafood sauce.

56. The merch tent was pretty standard tourney fare — hats, shirts, golf stuff. But I asked my cashier — I bought golf balls, a bag tag, a coffee mug and a coaster — what was the most he had rung up during the week. “$1,400,” he said. “And I could have put some stuff in there for me, and they wouldn’t have batted an eye.”

57. The clubhouse is yellow, classic looking and stately, and rather lengthy and a couple stories tall. Its lights were on when I left each night. I imagine it has hosted hundreds of weddings. 

58. Jon Rahm delivered one of my favorite moments, when, on Sunday on 17, he kicked his bag after missing a 5-footer for birdie, only for the bag to start to roll into a greenside bunker. Rahm grabbed it before it did, placed his putter back in and made sure his caddie had it secured.  

News

‘I basically sucked at golf’: This U.S. Open journey is one of the most improbable

By: Nick Piastowski

59. Two of the players I talked to for stories this week had some of the best quotes. Here’s Ben Silverman, playing in his first major championship at the age of 34, on what he thought when he pulled into TCC: “Holy s**t, they set up a lot for this place.”

60. Beer break! In the public square just outside, there’s a statue of Benjamin Franklin, and some street dancers are earning a buck. 

61. Here’s Matthew NeSmith on his mental game: “My mantra, it’s been, it’s OK to suck.”

62. NeSmith also maybe had one of the wildest shots of the tournament. On Saturday on 10, he knocked his tee shot right, it didn’t clear a rocky hill, and so he played the shot with his feet at about a 15-degree angle, then sprinted down after he hit. He was able to play his ball straight and back into the fairway. 

63. On Sunday on 10, I saw three sizable wild turkeys.    

64. Though, of course, the quote of the week comes from Joel Dahmen, in describing his plans for Thursday night: “Fortunate, I’m going to call him a newly best friend, Ben Rector, he is a musician. I got to meet him in Pebble this year, and he is in town tonight. We’re going to go to his concert. It will be difficult to go to that one and not have 100 beers like we typically do at the concerts.”

65. Shane Lowry, a native of Ireland, was called at constantly by fans about the Celtics. 

66. Lowry, a beer lover, was also called at constantly by fans to have a beer. 

News

'You're told it's not upper class': A look into Matt Fitzpatrick's winning formula

By: Nick Piastowski

67. On Sunday, a fan — just one — shouted at Scheffler, during every shot, “Hey, big sexy, you big, tanned sexy man, hit it faaah.”

68. Another fan yelled at Scheffler after he missed a 6-footer on 14, “My mother could have made that!”

69. He was roundly booed. 

70. The fans along the left side of the 14th hole cheered for the standard bearers to “raise their sign!” 

71. The box to the right of the 6 tee asked a standard bearer if they could see his socks. 

72. We’re going to end this with an observation, a thought of what could have been and a story of my hero. I’m selling you a lot here, I know. 

On the way back from the course a few nights, we drove past Fenway. I’m a baseball guy, too, so it was a moment. But the story here in talking about the home of the Red Sox is of a player who, I believe, could have made it but never did only because he stopped his journey himself. 

In the 1940s, they didn’t pay you a lot to play minor league baseball, and it took you far from home, too. And since his dad had died at a younger age, my grandpa turned down a Double A contract with the Sox and chose to stay home to help out his mom. He would teach his one grandson how to play baseball and golf before passing away himself. 

Happy belated Father’s Day, grandpa. Miss you.  

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The post Tour Confidential: Matt Fitzpatrick’s clutch win, The Country Club, Phil’s weird week appeared first on Golf.

The post Tour Confidential: Matt Fitzpatrick’s clutch win, The Country Club, Phil’s weird week appeared first on Golf.

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, we discuss Matthew Fitzpatrick’s U.S. Open win, The Country Club as a U.S. Open venue and Phil Mickelson’s strange week.

1. Matt Fitzpatrick shook two monkeys off his back at the U.S. Open at The Country Club Sunday: winning his first major and also his first professional title in the U.S. A pair of steady two-under 68s on the weekend helped him edge Will Zalatoris by a stroke. What most jumps out at you about how Fitzpatrick got it done?

Jessica Marksbury, senior editor (jess_marksbury): His composure was really evident today. He was clearly pumped for the good things that happened to him but he never seemed down or upset about any adversity. He was comfortable — a very tough thing to be when you’re vying for your first major.

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): I had all but written him off after his bogies at 10 and 11. At that point, it felt like he had lost his magic — and his nerve. But he showed great fortitude in bouncing back with birds at 13 and 15. I also loved how he was yukking up with caddie, Billy Foster, after holing out on 17. Fitz still needed at worst a par on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open to secure his first major title and he looked like he was playing a $5 skins game with his buds. Cool customer.   

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): What also struck me was the way he stayed in rhythm, something you don’t always see from someone chasing their first big one. Fitzpatrick plays quickly. And he continued to, even as the pressure mounted. No turning into a lawn statue. That approach out of the bunker on 18 was a great case in point. He took some time deciding what to do, but once he was over the ball, he pulled the trigger with the same dispatch he’d shown all day. There wasn’t any Hamlet in him. No hemming and hawing. He clearly trusted what he was doing.

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): Hand up, I didn’t think Fitzpatrick had this sort of performance in him. With a bare resume (on this side of the pond), I expected him to shrink when the lights burned their brightest. Boy, was I wrong. Fitzpatrick was a certified killer on Sunday, and he stepped up and hit several all-world golf shots. His ability to respond when things got tight was impressive. 

2. NBC analyst Paul Azinger called Fitzpatrick’s Sunday “one of the best final-round ball-striking performances in a major championship that you will ever see.” Fair assessment, or is Zinger falling prey to recency bias?

Marksbury: It seems like it’s hard to avoid recency bias in golf commentating, but in Azinger’s defense, Fitz’s stats really tell the story: 11 of 14 fairways on Sunday (his most of the week), and an incredible 17 of 18 greens in regulation. I mean, wow. The next-closest players to that stat were Denny McCarthy and Collin Morikawa with 15. So yeah, I think that comment may have merit. 

Instruction

Why Matt Fitzpatrick's U.S. Open win is an inspiration for golf nerds everywhere

By: Luke Kerr-Dineen

Bastable: Zinger has a tendency for delivering analysis with his gut, but as Jess’ stat dive proves, Fitzpatrick’s final round was indeed a masterclass in ballstrking. Missing just one green on a U.S. Open Sunday? That’s silly good. His fairway bunker shot on 18 was stunning. After his round, Fitzpatrick admitted the bunker was the one place he didn’t want to miss with his drive, and yet all he did after that squirrelly shot was step into the trap and hit one of the purest long sand shots you’ll ever see, especially under such intense pressure. The slow-mo replay on NBC beautifully captured just how squarely he caught the ball. Clutch city.        

Sens: He put on a show. Best we’ve ever seen? So hard to compare. Woods playing four days at the Old Course without finding a single bunker was certainly up there with the best I’ve seen. Or Faldo parring all 18 at Muirfield in ‘87. That said, Azinger was right there with Faldo, so he’d be in a better position to say which was more impressive.

Melton: It was certainly one of the best final-round ball-striking performances that I’ve ever seen. But then again, this was only the second men’s major I’ve ever covered on the ground. Still, it was a sight to behold. 

3. The old-timey design at The Country Club, where only nine players finished under par, was roundly praised by the field; there were also few quibbles from players about the course setup, which featured, as expected, dense but graduated rough and slippery greens. Good site selection and setup all around?

Marksbury: Most definitely. I love when the Open is staged on classic courses in big-time markets. There’s something special about The Country Club. I was there for Matt’s U.S. Am win in 2013, and the atmosphere was electric then, too. Book another one, stat! 

News

NBC's quirky U.S. Open goal-post graphic polarizes golf fans

By: Alan Bastable

Sens: That was as good as it gets in terms of quality of course and setup. Let’s not forget the choice of routing. Bringing that little par 3 back into the fold was a great move, too.

Bastable: It was great fun, with, at times, more of a British Open than U.S. Open feel, with all the fairway runoffs and blind shots. Rory McIlroy endorsed the course with the exception of what he described as a few “funky tee shots” — aka, drives that made him uncomfortable. Shots that take the best players out of their comfort zones? Yes, please, more of that. Sens is right about the 11th. A true mighty mite. It played a mere 108 yards on Sunday, and still the scoring average was north of par. Delightful.   

Melton: The Country Club is sick. A proper test and a proper golf course to contest our national open. I can’t wait for them to come back.

4. In his much-anticipated return to professional golf on U.S. soil, Phil Mickelson shot 78-73 to miss the cut by nine — but his form was secondary. The real storyline was how American fans — and his fellow players — would receive Mickelson after his controversial remarks about his dealings with the Saudi-financed LIV Golf series. Generally, the galleries seemed to welcome him back with open arms. Did that surprise you, and did anything else strike you about his week in Boston?

Marksbury: Phil spent three decades building an adoring fan base, so I can’t say I’m too surprised that he appeared to have retained much of that love in Boston. What did surprise me was his lackluster play, especially in the opening round. I realize it was perhaps far-fetched to think he would contend, but I certainly expected something more than the 78 he gave us on Thursday.

Sens: Being from the Boston area, I was surprised there wasn’t more needling of Phil. All I heard were a few wisecracks by people shouting out gambling lines. But Jessica’s right. Three decades of goodwill goes a long way. I was not at all surprised by his scruffy play. You combine a long layoff with all the things he must have swirling in his head–to say nothing of the difficulty of the course–and  I don’t know how he could have put up any kind of scores. The mental part to me is most striking. He looks and sounds like a man bearing a heavy psychic load.

News

‘I’m on it!’: USGA CEO responds to NBC, U.S. Open commercial outrage

By: James Colgan

Bastable: Yeah, that came across in his pre-tournament, deer-in-the-headlights press conference, which was a combination of weird, unsettling and depressing. Surely Phil knew what difficult questions were coming but virtually all of his answers/non-answers were deeply dissatisfactory. It was a soulless performance from one of the game’s great showmen, or ex-showmen. As Sens said, he was never going to make the cut. Too much noise, and we saw a week ago in London that his game is not sharp.     

Melton: The warm response from the fans did not surprise me much. Phil’s spent 30+ years fostering goodwill among fans, and a rocky few months (no matter how rocky they might’ve been) wasn’t gonna tarnish that. 

5. In response to Twitter complaints about overly commercialized U.S. Open coverage, USGA CEO Mike Whan tweeted: “I’m on it! We have the best sports production team in the world here with our partner NBC Sports…and if the amount of interruptions are problematic, we will work with our partner to do better!” What’s the solution here? Advertisers obviously want eyes on their spots when the audience is most attentive (i.e., late in rounds), and monstrous purses — Fitzpatrick won $3.15 million, up from the $2.25 Jon Rahm collected a year ago — don’t fund themselves. What’s the happy medium here?  

Marksbury: I’m not sure how realistic or feasible it is, but putting a limit on commercials during, say, the last hour of coverage would be a nice place to start. Or perhaps charging ultra-premium prices for those later, fewer-and-farther between time slots, like the Super Bowl does. Maybe they already do this to some degree? I don’t know. The encouraging thing is that Mike Whan is listening, and it’s clear he values the viewer experience.

News

What did Joel Dahmen learn this week? A lot about himself (and that he's already in the '23 U.S. Open)

By: Josh Berhow

Sens: Why not have the option of a commercial-free premium package? You can’t handle commercials, pay a little extra, as you do on any number of streaming platforms. What the griping and the governing body’s response to it hammer home to me, though, is how much has changed in our world as well. In my memory, there have always been a ton of commercials. But attention spans are short and the need for immediate gratification is greater than ever. And the USGA, which back in the day used to listen to no one, now appears to have rabbit ears. 

Bastable: Whan mixing it up with a pitchfork-toting Twitter mob? You had to love that. Not a page you would have seen in Mike Davis’ playbook. I think my smart colleagues have cracked it: simulcast the coverage on Peacock commercial-free. NBC’s partner would pick up a bunch of new subscribers, and ad-averse fans would probably be happy to pay the $4.99 monthly fee — even if they only use the service for a round or two.  

Melton: I would pay a hefty sum for a commercial-free option, and I’m certain I’m not alone. My colleagues above nailed it. 

6. The U.S. Open, as ever, shined a spotlight on a handful of players who we don’t typically see in the mix week-to-week on the PGA Tour. From the under-the-radar contenders, who was your favorite story of the week?

Marksbury: Not sure how under-the-radar he is anymore, but Joel Dahmen is a breath of fresh air. From his candid interviews to his unapologetic love of beer, he just seems like a really relatable and fun guy who you’d love to hang out with.

Sens: I’m going to brazenly poach from Bastable here. Loved his tale of Collum Tarren, who for the second time showed up to play in a U.S. Open, only to discover that his clubs hadn’t made it with him

Bastable: Then I too shall brazenly poach, from our own Nick Piastowski, who on Saturday profiled Matthew NeSmith. The world No. 166 was just five off the lead after 54 holes. His Sunday didn’t work out so well — he shot 76 to finish T37 — but NeSmith still delivered to Nick one of the lines of the week, when describing his mantra: “It’s OK to suck. I mean, if I’m going to struggle, that’s totally fine.”     

Melton: Call me a homer, but I’ve got to give some love to my fellow Longhorn Travis Vick. A few weeks after winning a national title for Texas, he earns the low-am medal at the U.S. Open. Pretty sweet way to kick off the summer.  

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With a major title on the line, Matthew Fitzpatrick’s shot from the 18th bunker put the pressure on. Will Zalatoris’ birdie try didn’t go, and the US Open ended in dramatic fashion. GOLF editors James Colgan and Zephyr Melton saw it all unfold.

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The post U.S. Open Recap: Fitzpatrick, Zalatoris rise to the top with superstars in pursuit appeared first on Golf.

Conditions were brutal on Moving Day at the U.S. Open, but Matthew Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris were able to elevate their games and post scores under par at The Country Club despite it. Not far behind, some of the biggest names in the game lurk as they look to chase them down. GOLF editors Zephyr Melton and Luke Kerr-Dineen break down a testy Round 3 in Brookline.

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The post Joel Dahmen dishes on U.S. Open pressure appeared first on Golf.

The post Joel Dahmen dishes on U.S. Open pressure appeared first on Golf.

After a steady rise to the top of the field on Friday, Joel Dahmen dropped three shots on Moving Day at The Country Club. Playing in the cold, wind, and dark, the 34-year-old did just enough to keep himself in the hunt on Sunday. Dylan Dethier spoke exclusively to Dahmen about his Saturday in the final pairing.

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The post The 1963 U.S. Open at The Country Club made this week’s edition look like a pushover appeared first on Golf.

The post The 1963 U.S. Open at The Country Club made this week’s edition look like a pushover appeared first on Golf.

As the weekend approaches at the U.S. Open at The Country Club, in Brookline, the grounds are drying out and the greens are getting crusty. A grueling test for the world’s best golfers. But any player who gripes should count his blessings.

At least it isn’t 1963.

At that year’s U.S. Open, at this same course, conditions were so tough, they made this week’s competition look like the John Deere Classic.

They produced the highest scores the event had seen in nearly 30 years, since a brutal trial at Oakmont in 1935.

Jack Nicklaus, the defending champ, missed the cut. Not a single amateur made it to the weekend.

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At Brookline, golf faces an all-time debate. Distance? Or design?

By: Ran Morrissett

How did it all go down? Let’s review.

Heading into the event, The Country Club was still recouping from a rugged winter. Three of its greens had been so badly battered, they required a dye job. The putting surfaces weren’t the only spots to have suffered. Bare lies abounded in the fairway. At the same time, you could have lost a toddler in the rough.

The tradition of grousing about U.S. Open setups is nearly as old as the event itself.

Chick Harbert embraced it. Taking stock of The Country Club, the former PGA Championship winner described the layout as the “Cadillac of courses — 1911 model.”

Then there was the weather, which did not arrive in a forgiving mood. On Thursday and Friday, the winds were better suited to flying a kite. Only three of 150 players broke par in the first round. By the end of the second, no one was in the red.

Having huffed and puffed over the first two days, Mother Nature then tried to blow the house down. Gusts on Saturday topped 50 miles per hour. Arnold Palmer said they were the fiercest winds he’d ever faced.

If Palmer wasn’t complaining, many others were. That is, when they weren’t pleading for mercy.

Paired with Palmer on Saturday morning, Dean Refram, a journeyman pro who would go on to win twice on Tour, hit a worm-burner off the first tee that didn’t make the fairway. He closed with rounds of 80-79.

This was the era of 36-hole Saturdays at the U.S. Open, a long slog, always, but in this case more like a well-dressed death march. Newsreel footage of the day gives a good sense of the scene — all swaying oak trees and ruffled shirts. The pleats on Arnie’s pants rippled like sails.

Palmer hung on better than most, shooting 77-74 for a four-round total of 293 (at the Massacre at Winged Foot, in 1974, Hale Irwin won with four-day tally of 287). That was nine over par but good enough for a three-way Sunday playoff with Julius Boros and Jacky Cupit.

Boros won. Or, better yet, was the least beaten.

That was then. What a difference 59 years makes. This weekend’s forecast calls for cloudy skies, mild temperatures and modest breezes: nice weather, on a course in mint condition.

But never mind the elements. U.S. Open nerves are always nasty. We are merely in the calm before the storm.

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The post U.S. Open Recap: PGA Tour stars headline Friday leaderboard appeared first on Golf.

The post U.S. Open Recap: PGA Tour stars headline Friday leaderboard appeared first on Golf.

Great conditions on a beautiful day at The Country Club led to big scores on day two of the U.S. Open. Among the leaders are major winners, like Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, who spoke to us about the position they’re in heading into the weekend. GOLF editors Dylan Dethier and James Colgan discuss an amazing day of golf in Brookline.

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The post 5 things to know for Friday’s second round at the U.S. Open appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 things to know for Friday’s second round at the U.S. Open appeared first on Golf.

The 2022 U.S. Open is off and running, and though we’re only one round in, there’s plenty of firepower on the leaderboard to discuss. The gang’s all here, from Rory and Rahm to Scottie and Scott.

What’s in store for Round 2? Here are five things to know for Friday at The Country Club.

Rory’s electric play continues

Rory McIlroy made a serious statement with his win at the RBC Canadian Open last week, defending his title after the tournament took a two-year hiatus due to Covid.

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And it appears his hot play isn’t cooling off anytime soon. McIlroy carded two birdies on his last three holes to finish three under par for the day, and one shot off the lead held by Adam Hadwin at four under.

It’s been nearly eight long years since McIlroy claimed his last major championship at the 2014 PGA. Will this be the week he breaks through for No. 5?

He’s certainly off to a promising start.

A triumphant return for Matthew Fitzpatrick?

Nearly nine years ago, Matthew Fitzpatrick achieved the greatest accomplishment of his young career by winning the U.S. Amateur championship at The Country Club.

Now, he’s returning as a seasoned professional with multiple wins, attempting to win his first major championship.

Like McIlroy, he’s off to a good start, posting an opening round of 68. Two under par, two off the lead. One to watch for sure.

This leaderboard is DEEP!

In addition to McIlroy, this first-round leaderboard is jam-packed with big names. Forty-one players are within four shots of Hadwin’s lead, including:

Dustin Johnson
Justin Rose
Collin Morikawa
Adam Scott
Jon Rahm
Max Homa
Will Zalatoris
Justin Thomas
Gary Woodland
Hideki Matsuyama
Xander Schauffele
Keegan Bradley
Viktor Hovland
Scottie Scheffler
Webb Simpson
Patrick Reed

Phew. That’s what we call a leaderboard. Bring on Round 2!

What about Phil?

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Phil Mickelson's U.S. Open return a reminder of how much has — and hasn't — changed

By: James Colgan

As the defacto spokesman of the new LIV Golf Series, there’s been plenty of intrigue around what Phil Mickelson will do this week.

He arrived in Brookline hoping to contend for the one major that has eluded him in his pursuit of the career grand slam.

Alas, his chances look dimmer by the minute after he posted a round of eight-over 78 on Thursday.

He’s currently T144, ahead of only nine players, and barring a miracle, Friday’s round will likely be the last we see of him at Brookline. But hey, this is golf, so truly, you never know.

The forecast

Thursday’s early players were gifted with calm conditions while the afternoon wave bore the brunt of some not-insignificant gusts.

On Friday, the field order swaps, but the wind speed will remain fairly consistent throughout the day, with 12-16 mph gusts expected. There’s also a chance of thunderstorms from about noon to 3 p.m. local time.

The good news? The temperature is pretty much ideal, maxing out at 84 degrees around midday. Summer golf. You just can’t beat it!

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The post This luckless U.S. Open leader arrived on site without his golf clubs — yet again appeared first on Golf.

The post This luckless U.S. Open leader arrived on site without his golf clubs — yet again appeared first on Golf.

Thirty-one-year-old Englishman Callum Tarren grinded for years on mini tours across the globe without a major start. That changed in 2019 when he advanced to a U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Streamsong Resort, in Florida. With rounds of 64-68, Tarren won the event and punched his ticket to the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. It was a dream scenario.

Now, all he had to do was get to the golf mecca.

The Sunday before U.S. Open week, Tarren and his team hopped a flight from Atlanta to San Francisco. That leg was no problem, but just as his connecting flight to Monterey was about to depart, a passenger dropped an iPhone charger in the doorway; when the door closed, it crushed the charger and damaged the door. Next thing Tarren knew, his flight had been cancelled and he was on his way to Monterey by way of a $450 taxi ride.

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By: Josh Berhow

The airline told him his bags would arrive in Monterey on Monday morning, but you know how that goes. Come Monday morning, no clubs. They had been rerouted to New Orleans and Denver, and “no one knew why,” Tarren recalled at the time.

Tarren still played a practice round that day, just not with his own sticks; he borrowed a set from his countryman, Tyrrell Hatton. Tarren’s gamers didn’t reappear until Wednesday. Not an ideal start to your first major championship.

Surely, then, Tarren’s voyage to his second U.S. Open would go more smoothly, right?

Errr…not so much.

Earlier this month, Tarren earned a spot in The Country Club field by way of the sectional qualifier in Milton, Ontario. A few days later, he played in the RBC Canadian Open, in Toronto, his final tune-up before the U.S. Open. He shot 75-71 to miss the cut by five. Next stop: Brookline, Mass.

On Saturday, Tarren packed up and headed to the airport in Toronto, getting there four hours early, he said, “because people warned me it’s a nightmare up there.”

All was well until he arrived at the baggage claim in Boston to find — you guessed it — no clubs.

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By: Jessica Marksbury

Adding to the sting: Tarren said there were five other U.S. Open contestants on his flight, and all of their bags made it. It didn’t take Tarren long to piece together the cruel coincidence. “It was the second U.S. Open I’ve played in,” he said, “and second time no golf clubs.”

Tarren didn’t let his misfortune get in the way of his preparation. On Sunday, he walked The Country Club with a wedge to get a feel for its subtleties. He made a call, too. Determined not to go two or three days without his babies, as he had at Pebble, Tarren dispatched an acquaintance to the Toronto airport to, as he put it, give “the airport staff a little kick.”

The pep talk worked. By 2 p.m. Sunday, Tarren and his clubs were reunited.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Appears so.

On Thursday, Tarren and his clubs got along swimmingly, teaming up for three birdies and an eagle — and a share of the early three-under 67 lead — in the first round of the U.S. Open. (Update: Adam Hadwin shot a late-afternoon 66 to grab the outright lead by one.)

If he keeps up his fine play, maybe Tarren can treat himself to a hassle-free trip home — by flying private.

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The post The Hickory Challenge: Playing The Country Club’s 17th hole with Francis Ouimet-era clubs appeared first on Golf.

The post The Hickory Challenge: Playing The Country Club’s 17th hole with Francis Ouimet-era clubs appeared first on Golf.

En route to his victory at the 1913 U.S. Open, amateur Francis Ouimet birdied The Country Club’s par-4 17th hole in a playoff with Ted Ray and Harry Vardon. In honor of Ouimet’s landmark win, GOLF’s Darren Riehl and Brendan Walsh, The Country Club’s director of golf, tested their own skills on 17 with century-old hickory clubs. The result? Not exactly Ouimet-like.

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