PGA Tour: The Olympic Game: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).Notes this week from the Land That WiFi Forgot; but the beach cricket pitches are spectacular - if anyone only knew how to play. So: Notes very short, if not sweet.

2).Last week's entertainment in Memphis was predictably unpredictable. Good to have Dustin Johnson back in Victory Lane, but a short stint in front of the telly would have suggested that, if Rory had made just half the putts he missed under five feet, he'd have probably won.

3).Glimmer of form from two unlikely Aussie sources with Nick O'Hern registering his first top 25 finish of the season. Expect him also to play well in Hartford in a fortnight. And Robert Allenby was back on the leaderboard after a couple of months in the weeds. Allenby, who could always be depended upon for his ball-striking - and his unpredictable short game. Now the whole lot has been unpredictable. Maybe that will change with some confidence from a good result..

4).More good results from Greg Owen, now almost certain to qualify, not just for The Barclays, but for the Deutsche Bank also.

5).Dustin Johnson now has six wins since 2007 - only Woods (16), Mickelson (10), Stricker (9) and Zach (7) have more. About 3/1 against one of those five increasing his total this week?

6).Robert Karlsson has sunk to #50 in the World Rankings, perhaps just a continuation of his rotten form away from leaving for the Top 50 for the first time in over 4 years. The leaders in consecutive weeks in the top 50 might surprise:
Mickelson - 968
Donald - 406
Poulter - 299
Stricker - 275
Zach Johnson - 270
Westwood - 249
Kaymer - 229

7).No-one has won the US Open after winning on the PGA Tour the previous week, in recent history at least. Dustin Johnson has a lot to prove and his successes (and an ultimate disappointment) at Pebble Beach suggest that he's a strong candidate to upset that line in the record book. But the past two US Opens at Olympic have been won by Scott Simpson and Lee Janzen, top-class golfers to be sure but known better for steady play and sometimes excellent short games. Furyk-like, Donald, Stricker? Not sure I've got the faintest idea, but Olympic will certainly test the patience.

8).More as an item of interest than an indicator for this week, the 1998 leaders from this week's field include:
5th: Stricker
7th: Westwood
10th: Cink, Mickelson
14th: Furyk, Kuchar
18th: Woods
23rd: Casey Martin
25th: Bjorn, Singh,
32nd: Durant, Harrington
43th: Olin Browne
49th: Els

9).The forecast for Thursday and Friday at least suggests cool, breezy weather with temps not reaching 70F until the weekend. Combined with the traditional "heavy" ocean air, the course yardage of approx 7,100 yards will play much longer, especially given the very narrow actual landing areas on some fairways caused by the sloped landing areas. I'd guess that will favour a Westwood over a Donald, a Mahan over a Stricker, but really can't think of any "favourite".

10).So who are we going to be staying up late to see crowned "US Open Champion"? Not McIlroy or Donald for me, and not Bubba or even Tiger, despite his return to winning form at Memorial. In 2009 he won each of his last pre-Major start but came up empty; it would be a brave punter who bet on a repeat, but this may not be the opportunity for him. Best bet might be e.w. on someone like Peter Hanson. Or even a real stretch, Spencer Levin. And by that time I’ll have returned to the land of wi-fi.



From incontinentia (merged from another thread):


Site: The Olympic Club (Lake Course)

The course: The Lake Course was designed in 1924 by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, and then Whiting redesigned it three years later because of significant storm damage. Its main characteristics are sloping, tree-lined fairways as the property works its way down toward Lake Merced. There is only one fairway bunker on the entire course, at the par-4 sixth. There have been minimal renovations over the years, except for a new hole created for the par-3 eighth that now plays 200 yards and was moved to the right. Hundreds of trees have been removed, opening views down toward Lake Merced.

Length: 7,170 yards
Par: 34-36—70

Last time at Olympic Club: Lee Janzen overcame a five-shot deficit against Payne Stewart and closed with a 2-under 68 for a two-shot victory. Janzen got a huge break in the final round when his ball, stuck in a tree on the fifth hole, was dislodged as Janzen was headed back to the tee to play his third shot. It was his second U.S. Open title.

U.S. Open champions at Olympic Club: Jack Fleck (1955), Billy Casper (1966), Scott Simpson (1987), Lee Janzen (1998).

Noteworthy: The four players who finished second in the U.S. Opens at The Olympic Club won a combined 27 majors. The four winners won a combined seven majors.

Quoteworthy: "Now we are going to get back to where it's not going to be so much fun and games out there. It's going to be hard work."—Johnny Miller on Olympic Club.

Key statistic: The U.S. Open is the only major Tiger Woods has not won in consecutive years.

Key coincidence: The U.S. Open champion played with Phil Mickelson in the opening two rounds twice in the last four years.

Tiger tales: Tiger Woods has gone four years without winning a major. The longest Jack Nicklaus went without a major was five years, a drought that began at age 41.

Will watch a few guys with extra interest today...

Rory - He's saying he'll hit 8 or 9 drivers per round? Well that's pretty aggressive. At first I thought the 20mps constant wind would be a big factor against him, but hearing more about it, maybe not. It seems that on the East side of that big sand dune where the course is... the wind is usually about half that compared to top of the hill or other side of lake Merced.

Phil - Bubba - Both have expressed at least some negativity towards the course. What was it Jack said? Something to the effect of when people would complain about the course, he already knew he had them beat.

Tiger - What's it gonna be... GOOD Tiger that has control of his ball and easily shapes 3-woods and stingers into the fairways... or BAD Tiger... as in "Where'd that one go... anybody see it... anyone?" My guess... one or the other, not much in between, but I'm leaning towards GOOD Tiger... in fact... while I didn't pick Tiger to win, that's only because it's a "math thingy" (and I'm saving him for Bridgestone). There's no single player in this field that I think has a better chance than TW... but still probably 10-1 against. Luke's my #2 choice this week... but I already used him in the pool as my Players pick.

And they're off!
First two groups after 1st hole (9th): 5 score bogeys and one, who looks to be the exception that confirms the rule (Matt Bettencourt) with a birdie!

Phil OOB on his first hole.

McLaren wrote:...The last time the US open was in California I watched the coverage from a little bar overlooking the pacific while enjoying the local beer. I guess sitting in your boxers with some crisps is just as good.

Hmm, interesting image Mac. Think I'd plump for the bar with a view of the Pacific all things being equal.

dynamark wrote:...Weve done Hollinwell a few times over last few years and would concur.After the first its a right old battle especially when they leave the rough up.Great though

Even the 1st is a bit of a bleeder at the moment. The "pink" (the tall, wiry grass) is up and the other rough is very thick as well all over the course.

sirbenson wrote:Phil OOB on his first hole.

Not a good start...

incontinentia, nbs, ban_bam: Thanks for your help this week, and thanks to incon for your thread also! Great stuff!!

Lovely weather in SC as well as in SF.

Still no idea about likely contenders - my whimsical choice of the admittedly nervous (grand?) son of Bernard Levin is guided only by his good form recently, his nice effort as an amateur at Shinnecock and, most of all, the fact that he's one of very few Northern Cal boys in the field, Michael Allen being the most notable "local (old) man".


PS: Welcome Conehead! Related to David?

Phil made a birdie with the second ball

benson

Where are you getting shot information from?

twitter updates Mac

bugger, cant get on twitter at work and the us open site is about 10 minutes behind the play.

anyone got any other decent live text feeds?

Thanks Kwini.
I have a brother called David but looking at where you're based it's doubtful we have a link as i'm settled in the North West of England.

Nightmare start for Phil! I remember Tiger knocking a ball OOB / losing one with his first shot of a major once (The Open at Sandwich i think?) and it ended up costing him the tournament.

Such a blow especially with the way the majors are built up. The players get themselves all pumped up and then to hit your first shot OOB must be such a confidence drainer!

Yeah, twitter updates....most of the journos said they weren't allowed tweet on the course yet they are seemingly doing that!

Conehead

Did tiger not loose a ball on the first a muirfield as well?

WOW! Amazing Grace is in the lead already!! 2-under after 3 holes...

This one is reasonable, but mostly focused on Tiger, Phil and Bubba group.

blogs.golf.com/presstent/2012/06/2012-us-open-round-1-live-blog.html?sct=hp_t11_a0&eref=sihp

David Cone was a top-flight pitcher in Major League Baseball! His followers were known as coneheads.

Super pick by me in the Fantasy Game then to choose Phil, but would feel the best hole to screw up is his first, especially if he was able to mitigate the damage. No repeats though.

thanks alciG.

Steady par start for Harri... C'mon Padraig!!!

US Open just tweeted a picture of Phil's ball.

Actually stuck in a tree!! It wasn't OOB he just didn't find it in time.

Not sure about Tiger losing one at Muirfield McLaren but very probably knowing Tiger.

Hank Haney stated in his book that he used to always get nervous for Tiger on the 1st tee as it really was a case of it could go anywhere as he struggled with 1st tee jitters.

kwinigolfer wrote:Super pick by me in the Fantasy Game then to choose Phil, but would feel the best hole to screw up is his first, especially if he was able to mitigate the damage. No repeats though.

Errr, I'm afraid he did just that... Enjoy the holidays, kwini!

Bogey bogey start for Phil

Bogey,bogey,bogey start for Phil.

3 bogeys in a row for Phil.

Missed a 4 footer on the 11th for par.

20-1 starting to look very generous for Mickleson now!

Nice birdie for Matthew Baldwin to get back to 1-over. Great for him just to be there... Z.Johnson with a birdie at the dreaded 1st hole...

Phil was never a viable bet for the US open, he has poor most of the season, is currently one of the worst driver's on tour. If he makes the cut i'll be surprised.

Bad start for the 14 year old. Triple at the first! Welcome to the US Open!

Poor young Zhang... starts with a triple at 1st hole...

5 bogeys in 3 holes for the superstar group probably not what they were expecting.

Tiger looking solid though

Can sometimes be hard to concentrate if your playing partners start imploding so hopefully Phil and Bubba can improve.

(Yes I am a closet Tiger fan for my sins!)

Triple bogey start for the young 14 year old - far too young to be competing in such an event in my humble opinion. Could destroy his confidence and set him back years.

Conehead wrote:...Triple bogey start for the young 14 year old - far too young to be competing in such an event in my humble opinion. Could destroy his confidence and set him back years.

Yep. Shame for him and I hope he doesn't have a nightmare. Of all the Tour events to be baptised in, I don't think this is the one!

Birdie for Phil at the 13th... Steady 5-par start for Tiger....

Good point Conehead.Wie and Rose spring to mind but they eventually did OK.

Popular opinion has it as by far the most difficult of the Majors. Why put him through what is going to probably (but hopefully not) be mental torture.

What does a 14 year old get out of this really? A few fun headlines and a bit of attention. I think whoever advises him got carried away with the prospect of 15 mins of fame for him without thinking of the bigger picture.

I'll be willing him on to not humiliate himself because he can clearly play the game but this is not the right time or place for him to be trying to play with the pro's.

Agree with the comments on Zhang, but I doubt anyone would've said no to this... Another double bogey at the 2nd, now propping up the LB...

Kevin Na seems to be ripping it up (so far).....I'm sure that'll please a lot of people!

Don't see why everyone's getting on the 14yo's back. He's entitled to enter just as much as anyone older is, and he played better than a ton of older players to earn his space through qualifying. It's not like he's just in on the whim of a sponsor, he's played his way in, so clearly he's got a good enough game.

Wouldn't write Mickelson off yet either. He made a similar start at Augusta, he's certainly capable of turning it around.

Dynamark:

Don't know much about Wie but I think Rose was thinking of turning pro after his Open appearance anyway even though he was young. (17 if I remember correctly?) 16 or 17 missed cuts later and people were questioning his decision.

At 14 Zhang is years away from turning pro so i just fail to say the positives for him here bar people have learnt his name for a while and will probably forget it again as soon as he misses the cut.

Would loved to be proved wrong by the way. i'm in no way wanting him to do badly, it would be a great story.

As I said before he can clearly play but I don't think a 14 year old should be put into the type of pressure environment that can reduce grown adults with millions in the bank to emotional wrecks.

Perhaps a positive thought for Master Zhang to bear in mind that he's still probably playing better than Casey would have done at the moment...

[although I hasten to add that I very much hope that Paul overcomes his injury issues and regains form soon]

Dear, oh dear... Double bogey for Podge at the monster 16th...
Lots of Swedes doing well so far, apart from the one many thought could really shine here, P. Hanson @ +5

I'm with Ned-H here about Zhang. He had to qualify like everyone else so deserves to be here. No invite, no playing off different tees so hear on merit.

Obviously whether it breaks him is another question. If he's bright enough to see it as an experience then I can only see it as good. He'll realise how good he needs to be to compete. I doubt there is any pressure on him from those around and as he is so young I am sure that he will be able to rationalise it if he continues his shocker.

It would probably be harder if he was actually more like 21 and about to turn pro than his age.

Obviously not everyone comes through though. Look at Zane Scotland.

Tiger playing beautiful golf

Thank god for twitter updates and everyone on here I've seen no coverage or heard any apart from these updates due to being at work, same issue tomorrow. Now for the 3 mile walk home from station then golf on till I fall asleep on sofa

OMG.. Tiger playing brilliantly.

The bookies think its a 4 horse race at this moment in time. tiger,rory ,donald and westy

Anyone else think Tiger was playing memorial in the way he knew he would need to play this week? Testing the stinger in the heat of battle.

It certainly sets him up nicely, he's barely needed his driver and is predominently playing a similar way to how he did at the Memorial, not perfect but he's striking it right out the middle. Phil and Bubba on the other hand driving it like a 20 handicap might, albeit a tad longer

top 3 brits!!!

you mean top 3! full stop

Think Woods will be a bit dissapointed in the end, a couple of sloppy bunker shots but you've got to say he was infinetely better than at the Masters and with nobody likely to do better than 3 under it's unlikely he'll have much chasing to do.

Terrible start for all 3 Brits!

C'mooooon Peteeeeeeeeeeeeerr!!
Brilliant start from the Dubliner!

the first holes are ridiculasly tough- so hopefully the brits can mellow out abit and havent lost much

They should think about watering the green's for the next few days, the greens already look nigh on unplayable.