Soon enough, Joe Everybody will be cramming into the back seat of his Chevy Cavalier and spending the night in the parking lot at Bethpage, hoping to be one of the select few heading to No. 1 tee at the Black Course come Monday morning. Consider the U.S. Open torch passed to Pebble Beach.
I’ve had a few days now to rest and recover from my trip to Long Island on Monday, and reflect on the happenings of U.S. Open week.
An article I read on Newsday.com yesterday confirmed a feeling that was lingering somewhere in my subconscious as I drove home from Jones Beach State Park; this particular golf tournament didn’t seem all that grueling if you get past the rain and resulting mud. I had to laugh when one guy extended his arms to the heavens upon arriving back at his car in the Jones Beach parking lot and screamed, “It’s over.” I think it was more taxing on the fans who attended the entire week.
The USGA has received its fair share of criticism during past U.S. Opens when it’s demanding course set ups have been labeled as unfair by players. But a grueling test of golf is what the U.S. Open is all about. Standing aside the 16th green for the majority of the day Sunday, players were taking dead aim at the pin whether they were front and center in the fairway, or deep in the rough. David Duval stuck a shot within a few feet and he had to go over a tree on the left side of the fairway from what would've been an impossible lie a few years ago. I don’t think I’m a big fan of graduated rough.
And we were all we warned about the shortcomings of the 18th hole prior to the tournament. Those doomsday predictions turned out to be kind of true. Lucas Glover went 6 iron and 9 iron to get home on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open. There are likely to be changes made to No. 18 if and when the Open returns to Farmingdale.
"They made it choke-proof," local pro P.J. Cowan told Newsday. "I have 10-handicappers who I'd trust with a two-shot lead on that hole." Cowan said his students on the lesson tee Tuesday morning shared his opinion. Of the USGA's setup, he said, "It was a local disgrace."
I think if you advertise your golf course as a test of golf that’s so bad ass it requires a warning label, you should be concerned when local professionals are referring to it as “Bethpage Pink” following the U.S. Open.
And the more I read post-tournament commentary, the more I reconsider my position that the discrepancy in difficulty resulting from vastly different Thursday morning and Friday afternoon conditions wasn’t the No. 1 predictor of this event’s outcome.
On second thought, I think it’s very possible that you could’ve substituted a player like David Duval or even Lucas Glover with Padraig Harrington or Boo Weekley, two players who dealt with harsh Thursday morning conditions and missed the cut, and they too wouldn’t have been around for the weekend. Tiger Woods did have every opportunity to win the Open, but his tournament was far different than Phil Mickelson’s.
Comparing the 2002 U.S. Open to the 2009 version is like comparing the Thriller album to Michael Jackson’s 2001 release Invincible. It didn’t look like a U.S. Open, it didn’t feel like a U.S. Open and there will always be the looming question of whether or not every player in the field had an equal opportunity to win.
Finally, I’d like to make a passing comment on the New York fans at Bethpage. One side of the argument claims that the media was far too generous in praising the fans for their unbridled enthusiasm. Other reports claimed that the drunken buffoonery of a few bad eggs (very Donald Rumsfeld) sullied the reputations of the clever, witty and quietly conforming members of the gallery.
During my two days at the Open, I didn’t see an abundant amount of goofballish behavior. There was one inebriated individual yelling, “Mike Weir is Queer,” quite loudly by the 17th tee on Sunday, but out of a crowd that large you’re bound to find a few assholes hell bent on playing into stereotypes.
The majority of fans I interacted with were very knowledgeable and passionate, about the game and the golf course. Not everyone is as tactful as they could be. I loved when this guy who was probably 20 or 21 pushed his way into our section behind the 17th green on Monday and asked me, “Hey when Mickelson comes through here, can I get past you to the rope?” I wanted to say of course, I’ve been standing here since 8:30 in the morning, but why don’t you just push your bulbous head into my direct sight line and then get right up front while the most popular player in the field passes by. I suppose some people are just that oblivious to the principles of proper decorum.
By and large I think the NYC fans are the victims of an inevitable Catch 22. If they would waltz into Bethpage and behave like a wine and cheese crowd, the media would have a field day portraying them as lackluster fans. Everyone expected the crowd to be loud and at times, unruly. But these spectators don’t deserve to be portrayed as soulless hollow cavities to be filled with beer, which in turn fuels their insult reflex.
People in Manhattan have better things to worry about than if Golf Channel or a local columnist thinks a few louts got hammered and made a dozen or so mean comments in the direction of Rod Pampling late Saturday afternoon. New Yorkers were simply giving everyone what they were waiting for. Did you expect to find reserved gentlemen sipping Mint Juleps and discussing the finer points of on-course etiquette?