United States Open Discussion

I have always considered the U.S. Open as the hardest tournament to win of all the tourneys for the entire season. The course is setup to be impossible to play if you are off in one aspect of your game but especially tee to green. This championship is really about survival until the back 9 on Sunday. At any time prior to that point a player can shoot himself out of the tourney at a moments notice but good play rarely puts a player in a position that he is too difficult to catch. I think this tourney has always been one for grinders. For those types of players that are really good at scrambling to save pars. Usually the lead tends to be at par or a little under by the time the tourney is finished. I don't look at this tourney as one where someone play out of their mind to win at the end. It's usually about who survives the elements the best. The tourney isn't won as much as the tourney just runs out of holes and whomever is lucky enough to have shot themselves in the foot the least is declared the winner. It is always a very difficult tourney to predict as well. Just about anyone can win it and so many good players falter at it.

I too like this course as a change for the US Open. It will play much like the "Open" championship does. Links golf w/ probably less wind.

www.pgatour.com/power-rankings/2015/06/15/us-open-top-20-chambers-bay.html

Before looking at the rankings it might be just as accurate to pick 20 names out of a hat than to try to rank the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy bucked the trend of unpredictability last year so can someone of prestige win it again this year?

Rankings

1) Rory McIlroy - he is my pick to so Bolton and I are on the same page to start. He needs a much better week this week than he had last week.
2) Jordan Spieth - This is a far cry from the Masters at Chambers Bay. I feel that his putter will have to be on fire to finish top 10 this week.
3) Hideki Matsuyama - it's easy to pick Rory and Jordan 1 and 2, here is where the real rankings start.
4) Phil Mickelson - everyone wants him to do well but I just don't think he can handle the grind for 4 rounds.
5) Billy Horschel - He is so inconsistant that this just might be a place that he can do well but I wouldn't count on it.
6) Justin Rose - They say his average putting won't hurt him here, I would like to know how putting is ever NOT important.
7) Rickie Fowler - a good choice here, so far no horrible choices by Rob except for maybe Horschel.
8) Henrik Stenson - if there is a guy that I think is built for U.S. Opens it's him.
9) Patrick Reed - another top ranking for the dough boy - due to recent form I will slide him down 10 slots.
10) Brandt Snedeker - I can agree with this one but don't feel majorly confident in it either.
11) Jim Furyk - his only major was at the Open, can he make it two. I think he is also built for this tourney.
12) Francesco Molinari - Put it in the short grass so I agree with this because of that.
13) Sergio Garcia - not consistant enough to win this tourney, Ever.
14) Jimmy Walker - I am neutral on this pick. nothing good or bad to say.
15) Jason Day - just not consistant enough for me to pick his first major to be at the big U.S. tourney. Maybe British or PGA but not here, not now
16) Ryan Moore - of all my golfers I have the best feeling about Moore. I will actually not bump him down. I can understand if most think this is too high
17) Kevin Na - he chokes on easy courses so imagine what he would do if he was near the lead on Sunday here. It could get ugly.
18) Dustin Johnson - I think he excels at putt putt courses but the tough ones will eat him up. Move down 20 spots.
19) Charley Hoffman - has been remarkably consistant this year and that is exactly what he will need to be this week. He can contend.
20) Brooks Koepka - I am not so sure he will be able to survive the 4 round grind. Still too wet behind the ears for me this week.

I have been hearing that putting may not be as important here. I can understand accuracy takes the cake this week but a guy still needs to be able to putt to make up for a few mistakes further from the hole. I think Par putting this week will be as important as ever because there will be alot of medium to long par putts to be made.

Deserving Consideration

Paul Casey - he could use his Euro roots to stay alive on a links type course.
Ernie Els - he always plays his best when nobody expects it and does so on big stages.
Bill Haas - no one will be thinking he can seriously win, but will he contend
Russell Henley - I could see a good week from him
Zach Johnson - he plays well when the chips are on the line, he seems like a grinder to me.
Chris Kirk - will be hiding in the field as a player that could definately finish top 10.
Matt Kuchar - he has never won a major and no one is talking about him this week. Does need to ramp up the consistancy factor.
Ian Poulter - when things get really tough he seems to excel but will he be able to stay out of the rough.
Bubba Watson - wow not ranked this week, without looking he must have a bad history at the U.S. Open
Tiger Woods - only mentioned because he is gonna suck in a big way this week. This tourney will expose every bit of lack of confidence he has right now. I wouldn't be surprised if he threw a tantrum or two out of frustration this week. He is gonna miss the cut.

My top 10 - since this is a major

1) Rory McIlroy - With so much uncertainty why not go with #1
2) Henrik Stenson - I think he is one of the most likely to be able to scramble for pars.
3) Rickie Fowler - Hey what can ya say it's a major
4) Justin Rose
5) Jim Furyk
6) Chris Kirk
7) Zach Johnson
8) Charley Hoffman - I said I had the best feeling about Moore but Charley has been rock solid and that is needed here.
9) Ernie Els - this could be a completely wrong selection
10) Jordan Spieth - because of his credentials

Of my top 10 I will bet with a fair amount of certainty that I will get 7 or 8 of these golfers wrong and I have no idea which golfers they will be. That is the way of the U.S. Open.

Agree with a lot said here and in other threads. For my team...If Stetson and Day are truly healthy they contend. Both were zipping along...then Stetson loses 22 pounds from two different flus...and Day gets vertigo and has it linger the next week. Day almost never misses a cut...it is rare...so that showed how badly he was effected. At least it wasn't an INJURY, though....and the additional week off will only help. If Jason...is JASON, I can see him do well here...He and Fowler are so alike in that both at times can just get in a mindset and roll at anytime during a tourney...and usually big ones. Stenson...same way...guy has barely had a poor round all year...and the Masters...ugh if he was just a bit healthier...I think he might have been Jordan's main competition. I also like his style of game for U.S.and British Opens. It isn't like Henry cannot shoot many birdies...but he excels at being cool in Open like conditions and not getting bogeys when most everyone else is. Hide has yet to finish outside Top 25 in a tourney ALL YEAR...so he rounds out my Super Trio. Poulter has played well all year...but do not know what to think on a relatively unknown course. Dubuisson...The flashes have been there...just not a full four rounds. Sometimes...playing and focusing on part golf..rather than many weeks where you feel like you need to be shooting for birdies and even eagles...could help. It would be nice to see him do well. Have many other high ranked guys..who can do some things...just a lot of unknown factors. I also don't see Roy or Spier winning...Lefty..would be awesome...and he HAS tailored how to play this major more than any other...especially in not going for gambles the way he will at August a or a PGA...He doesn't want to have one hole potentially lose it for him. He will be determined. Darkhorse...I REALLY like Bob's addition of An....I think maybe this tourney could be where many here in the States learns who this guy is...I don't see him winning...but I do have a hunch he will make some noise.

Off course,

I am actually now in your corner as well. I initially gave this course way too much credit but I have changed my mind. The Pic looks pretty nice above but the course is a piece of s**t in my opinion. It is too much like the British Open with no trees or water. 1 British Open a year is enough so we don't need 2 of them. The Euro Open is never gonna have their tourney on a U.S. style course so why should we give them an extra British. The Greens do seem to suck and it is way more brown than I originally thought. Imagine if it was windy out there. So far the scores aren't quite as high as I thought they would be. I like the traditional U.S. Open courses better that have long thick green rough, heavy tree lines and certainly more water than what we see at Chambers Bay.

It was basically unwatchable. Between the broadcasting, the greens, and a lot of terrible golf in Tiger's group, I had to turn it off. At least we didn't have to put up with the train every 20 minutes.

I really hate Fox for the most part. The tradition of CBS and NBC I like. ABC I don't care for and Fox is trying to butt into the golf business which kind of sucks. At least they don't have Joe Buck calling the action like the great Jim Nance does for CBS. At least they don't yet but I wouldn't put it past Fox to put Buck on the coverage in the future.

The one thing I do like are the rolling hills at this course but everything else I don't like. It's way too brown, and it's not just brown like the British but it's a wierd blend of green and brown that almost looks worse. Sometimes when they show the greens they look downride disgusting. They look like they are as long in grass length as the fairways on most other courses. It seems like there is no difference between the greens and the fairways here either. What some of the putts as the greens are really choppy. The ball rolls like it is rolling over dirt rather than grass. It's a very choppy roll out for most puts. Nothing smooth about it. It's just all one big mess of fairway and green combined together. The ball rolls on this hard pan like it's on a large kitchen table. When is the ball gonna stop rolling. It's not just on the green but on the fairways as well. Why mess around with the fairways why not just pour some concrete on the course and have that act as the fairway. Same difference but at least that would produce a fair roll. Why do they have to grow the weeds so that they look more like Haystacks than rough. It's hideous. Why can't they just grow long grass for the rough like rough is supposed to be. Let the grass grown 2 feed high for all I care but make it be grass and not hay. Are they just so lazy that they just let it grow uncontrollably without care for what it actually looks like. Maybe they just borrow hey from nearby farms and spread it on the course. That is what it really looks like they do. My gosh put a pond on this place somewhere. The grounds are on a nice location right by the Puget Sound and the rolling hills give this course so much promise but than the designers have to pretend this is England and ruin the whole course.