Was Congressional set up too easy for the US Open?

[DesotoCountyDawg]

The rough looked too easy for US Open rough. I know that the rains during the week and weekend softened the greens but these guys were nailing the pins all week. As long as these guys hit it, why were they not either hitting from the tips or somewhere close? Just looked too easy to me for US Open.

 

[AssEndDawg]

The rough looked too easy for US Open rough. I know that the rains during the week and weekend softened the greens but these guys were nailing the pins all week. As long as these guys hit it, why were they not either hitting from the tips or somewhere close? Just looked too easy to me for US Open.

you are competing against other players, so the course doesn't matter too much.

BUT, this was by far the easiest US Open course ever. In the history of the US Open 4 people had made it through all 4 rounds under par. Today that number doubled. Usually the US Open has insanely long play, roughs that you need a damn machete to get through and greens so hard you couldn't stick a lawn dart. This looked like a minor event, not the US Open.

 

[drt7891]

I don't think it was the rough so much as it was the amount of rainfall this week. The greens seemed to be softer and responding more as opposed to years past. Usually, USGA keeps the greens fast and firm, and I'm sure they had that in mind this week, but it rained almost every night and yesterday was mostly overcast. <div>
</div><div>On another note (because I've heard and seen this brought up several times), there was not much the USGA could do to stop Rory's run. The guy hit the fairway on almost every drive and was deadly accurate with his irons, particularly his wedges and higher loft irons. I hope they don't make that into a big deal because, although the course is supposed to play much tougher (and really, until today, it did), Rory did everything he was supposed to do to beat it (hit fairways, which left much more managable second shots, which gave him a great chance to make it out of the hole with 2 putts or less). He literally played about the best 72 holes I have seen a player since 2000 U.S. Open Tiger Woods play. Most players though, including Rory, struggled to play out of the rough, so I don't think it was the rough so much as it was the amount of rainfall this weekend. </div>

 

[Shmuley]

decided they had to do something to generate eyeballs after Tiger withdrew. People like birdies. The vast majority want to see low scores. Several players alluded to the course being set up easier. Easier tee boxes. Easier rough cut. One guy said point blank, "people want to see birdies."

Take nothing away from RM because he earned it. And frankly I'm ready for someone else to be the face of golf.

 

[jacksdawgs]

But in the end it didn't matter. If they would have played at Tupelo Country Club Rory would have blown away the field.

 

[mstateglfr]

Nobody was even close to him.

When you hit fairways and have softer greens, you can score. He did that perfectly.
Saying it was set up easy because tiger wd'd is baseless. It's like the SEC targeting only MSU.

 

[HubDawg]

Absolutely correct. The USGA and NBC needed low scores and a "story" to get people to watch. Worked too, because I watched the whole final round with a list of no-names on the leaderboard. The reason I love watching the US Open is so that I can see how the best in the world who shoot 66's all year long deal with hanging around par to win a tournament and the pressure that goes with it. The GRIND of the Open is what makes it a great tournament. That wasn't there this year. If they do it next year, it will KILL the U.S. Open. Yeah, I said it.

 

[Center Z]

but he made a good point after Saturday's play was finished: the only dangerous holes on that course were 10, 11, and 18. The soft greens combined with the decision to move the tees forward for most of the tournament as an enticement to take chances made the course very un-U.S. Open like.

 

[Dawgzilla]

As John Feinstein wrote, "The USGA protects par like state secret". Back in 2003 at Olympia Fields, 18 players were under par after 36 holes. The USGA then moved the hole locations to tougher positions and backed up the tees, and only 4 players wound up under par (with Furyk winning).

This year there was no response, and in fact on Sunday the tees for the par 5's were moved CLOSER to the holes, and several of the pin positions were in little bowls where the ball would roll toward the cup. I suspect they were trying to give people a chance to shoot low scores and make a run at Rory to create excitement, but it really just made things more boring.

Just by comparison, Tiger Woods' AT&T National was held at Congressional in from 2007-09. The winning scores were -9 (KJ Choi), -12 (Anthony Kim) and -13 (Woods). The course setup was different for the Open, but the changes were not intended to LOWER the scores.

And I agree that the rough was not to USGA standards, and you would think with all the rain that the rough would have grown up. The USGA went to a graduated rough starting in 2005, with light rough for two yards off the fairway, followed by a deeper rough for a few yards, and then the "pitch out" type of rough beyond that. But I didn't see much "pitch out" rough at all this week.

 

[jtk47]

IMO, the USGA could have done two things for the Sunday round. #1 they could have made the course play much harder and hope Rory would implode to an extent, and someone else shoot the lights out. Personally I could not see that happening. #2 Make the course play easier on Sunday, hope that Rory shoots a 74 and that someone else shoots a 65 or lower to catch him. That would have made for an interesting final round. I liked the Open, and I wanted Rory to win. He will help the game and, bring in a larger crowd. These are just my two takes on what they could have done on Sunday, and they made the course much easier. <div></div>

 

[aTotal360]

coupled with great weather made it look a lot easier than it should be. I only go the opportunity to watch the final rd, but everyone was sticking the greens. May have been coincidence, but I didn't see a ton of balls skidding off. <div>
</div><div>It wasdefinitelythe perfect storm for low scores.</div>

 

[drt7891]

IMO, the USGA could have done two things for the Sunday round. #1 they could have made the course play much harder and hope Rory would implode to an extent, and someone else shoot the lights out. Personally I could not see that happening. #2 Make the course play easier on Sunday, hope that Rory shoots a 74 and that someone else shoots a 65 or lower to catch him. That would have made for an interesting final round. I liked the Open, and I wanted Rory to win. He will help the game and, bring in a larger crowd. These are just my two takes on what they could have done on Sunday, and they made the course much easier. <div></div>

It didn't really matter how hard the course was playing, when you play perfect golf like Rory did (hitting fairways on nearly every tee shot, allowing him to set up his putts nicely), it's hard to stop that from happening. On the flip side, the few bogeys he had this weekend (including 18 on Friday), were because his tee shot went into the rough, so I don't think it was so much the rough as it was Rory was able to play perfect golf on a course that had been rained on most of the weekend. Not much the USGA could do about either one of those and I hope they don't go crazy because Rory ran away with it.

 

[Dawgzilla]

And that is far too many for a US Open. They won't "go crazy" because Rory ran away with it, but they will certainly make efforts to ensure they don't get this many players under par in the future. The greens were really soft, which was the primary reason the scores were low. But the rough was too short, too, and they should have played the 6th hole as a par 4 like it has been in every other professional tournament played there. (That move alone could have eliminated 12 of their under par scores).

My guess is the Open won't return to Congressional for quite some time.