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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Tiger Woods missed a birdie attempt at the sixth hole on Friday, heading slowly to his younger brother who was waiting for him, then profusely told Joe LaCava that his balloon was making an unexpected leap to get to the cup. The scene evoked Woods' appreciation of Poa Annua's putting surfaces at Pebble Beach during the previous US Open played here nine years ago.
"The Greens," Woods said in 2010, "are just awful."
David Fay, then executive director of the USGA, tore Woods apart for tearing the greens, and Tiger responded by saying that many players felt the same way as he did but did not have the courage to say it. The good news? Nobody this time chose the greens, the roughs or the tees. In fact, Zach Johnson, who assaulted the USGA at Shinnecock Hills last year, was among those who touted the merits of all of the above.
"I think it's fantastic," he said. "Whatever they do, it's great."
It seems that the governing body of the US Open has finally come to rule and allowed the staggering beauty of this iconic course to hold the day, while allowing the world's best golfers to decide on this championship. background.
The players are happy with the ball, the fans are happy with the conflicting names and everyone is happy with the visual effects at the edge of the ocean.
"The paradise for golfers" Adam Scott called him.
Now, USGA alumni – the masters of disasters – need to spend the weekend to honor this simple sporting and entertaining commitment:
Do not fool him.
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Sounds simple enough, right? When you have good actors on a big stage, is it difficult to stay out of the scene and let the performance speak for itself?
But the USGA has a grim history of spoiling its most compelling dramas. Over the past four years, the Chambers Bay Greens, the Dustin Johnson reigns over the fiasco in Oakmont, the lenient conditions at Erin Hills and Saturday's Spitshow at Shinnecock have conspired to leave the USGA in a defenseless state. Dozens of players and other personalities of the game recently escaped anonymously at Golf Digest, while others have expressed their grievances on the record.
Phil Mickelson, a six-time vice-world champion, told the USGA that his national championship had been "100% of the time" and that only the rain could save the tournament, as the decision-makers in the USGA could not win. governing body "do not know how to control themselves."
There is no rain on weekends in the Pebble Beach forecast.
Of course, it's a good time to remind everyone that Mickelson himself delivered the mother of all American Open clown shows last year by crushing a balloon; his recent massacre at Memorial surely left USGA officials wishing they had a mulligan for their decision not to disqualify him from the Shinnecock field.
Be that as it may, the USGA must be very careful, with its pin placements here on the third and fourth rounds. Pebble Beach's competitors, including Mickelson, almost unanimously praised the course's layout. USGA officials acknowledged that it was a crucial week in the process of rebuilding their reputation. They swore that they had listened to the players a lot and it seems like they were telling the truth.
But Scott pointed out that greens can get firmer "in an instant here". For one man, the players said the Friday greens were faster than the greens on Thursday, when 39 players broke their record, the highest number of open draws ever played at Erin Hills. Henrik Stenson said he did not think the USGA "particularly appreciated the low score we had" – 44 players still managed to stand out on Friday – and predicted harsher course conditions ahead.
"I think the USGA would probably have liked the layout of the course, but she probably would have liked 5 km / h in addition to breeze the two days," said Justin Rose, at 7 under, two strokes in advance from Gary Woodland on 36 holes. "I think the golf course has a lot of teeth in. Because you play near the ocean, you have to respect Mother Nature.You can not prepare it for a perfect time and not have it. . "
And that's a problem – a big problem. Graeme McDowell, the 2010 champion, called Pebble Beach a "sleeping giant." The wind could blow harder this weekend than USGA officials think, which could have a devastating effect on the potential decision to move bowling locations closer to the smaller greens that players will see. all year.
"They did it where they wanted to go," Woods said after shooting a 1-2 over 1-2 to tie for the tournament. He mentioned the firmness of the start-up areas of the course: "So, if they get the greens any where, it will be a helluva test."
Another member of Woods' group, Jordan Spieth, called for faster weekend conditions – if only to help his chances of climbing the rankings – but suggested that it would be a bad idea. speed up the 14th of 580 yards, the longest hole in the world. the lesson.
"It took a little embarrassment at the 2010 US Open here," said Spieth. "So, there are some holes where they probably have to look at it."
The 14th was not the only culprit nine years ago. The impossible placement of the pins on the 17th normal-3 prompted some players to aim at the bunker and take advantage of their lost chances. Ryan Moore, formerly amateur champion in several USGA events, called the 17th in 2010 "completely unreasonable, just a horrible golf hole such as it was designed".
Even with Woodland, Rose and others threatening to double digit, USGA officials do not need to create horrible holes as part of an unnecessary overcorrection for Saturday or Sunday. Will they resist the temptation and seize this opportunity to, as Rory McIlroy said, redeem themselves by refusing to cross the dividing line between fair play and foul play?
John Bodenhamer replaced Mike Davis as Head of Open Course Design in the United States. Bodenhamer said that he had played more than 100 rounds at Pebble since the 1970s and that he had never seen the course as beautiful. But although he acknowledged that the USGA had heard the critics of the players, Bodenhamer made it clear that the power in place was not about to abandon his approach.
"Our philosophy has not changed," he said the other day. "We will continue to try to provide the toughest test, the ultimate test, the most comprehensive test … and really just to create something that will test the players' ability to shoot, their mental resolution and their physical stamina. We will not lose that. "
But they must also not lose their heads and bury their credibility for the sake of the sea. They should be able to rely on stronger than expected winds from the Pacific Ocean and stronger greens than expected. They should keep the pins reasonable, let Pebble be Pebble and, in the end, let the players play.
"Many beautiful stories this weekend," McDowell said.
Hoping that the USGA does not destroy them all.
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