So for those that don't know, Bubba Watson told Golf Channel's Todd Lewis that he no longer has his yardage book of Oakmont Country Club from 2007 (when he had his best finish at a US Open, T-5) because he gave it to Paula Creamer to use in 2010 when she went on to win the US Women's Open. He then said that she just kept it and never gave it back to him.
Classic Bubba, here - HEY EVERYBODY! LOOK HOW NICE I AM! I GRACIOUSLY ALLOWED HER TO USE MY PRIZED POSSESSION AND NDB, SHE WON.
This might be the most sneaky passive-aggressive tweet ever. Some people will point out that the tweet includes a grammar error. No, it doesn't. It was meant to be the slight of slights because Bubba doesn't know that it's grammatically incorrect.
Oakmont Country Club returns as US Open host, and let the bloodbath begin.
It’s back. The United States Open Championship returns to one of the most formidable venues on Earth, and I can’t wait for all the whining and tears.
The US Open is our yearly reminder that even the best in the world -- those that make the game look so effortless – can look like you at times. We have tournament after tournament that allows the world’s best to show us their talent and prowess. It’s nice to see them look (and sound) just like us for once.
Gotta love Bill's take there. He perfectly wove the "I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed argument," with the "It's shame for all of these great fans out there,". See it's clearly not all about him. Not all heroes wear capes, Bill.
Oakmont Country Club will be hosting the US Open for a record ninth time and hosting a major for the twelfth time. It is widely regarded as one of the hardest, if not the hardest golf courses, in all of the world.
"Courses are either fun, great or hard," Phil Mickelson said. "There's nothing fun about Oakmont. There's nothing great about Oakmont. But it's extremely hard. It's probably the hardest course I've ever played."
"One of the phrases somebody coined a while back," explained Curt Coulter, a seven-time club champion, "is that Oakmont is a place where we punish our members, torture our guests and no one can wait to come back tomorrow."
Here's a look at the church pew bunkers on No. 15. Take notice because the only thing that you'll grow sicker of this weekend than hearing about Oakmont's greens is hearing bad puns about these bunkers.
Of the eight previous winners of US Opens at Oakmont, only one, Sam Parks, Jr., was a one-time major winner. Therefore, when looking for the winner this week, look for someone who is either already a major champion or one that is capable of winning multiple major championships in his career as Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera, and Tommy Armour each one his first of multiple major at the famed layout. In fact, of the eight winners, six are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame with only Cabrera and Parks being the exceptions.
Oakmont last hosted the Open in 2007 when Cabrera posted a final round 69 (nice) to beat Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk (both Open winners) by a shot.
Oakmont is famous for its daunting green complexes which are thought by many to be the toughest in golf. Therefore, most prognosticators place a premium on putting when predicting an Open at Oakmont. However, I chose to look at putting statistics from the high finishers in 2007 and saw no significance.
One noticeable fact did emerge from the leaderboard in 2007. Of the 12 players to finish in a tie for 10th place or better, nine were ranked inside the Top-40 of the official world golf rankings at the time. Bubba Watson, now a world class player, was one of the two who did not while Nick Dougherty was the other.
Make sure you boo that man early and often.
Arnold Palmer once quipped that, "You can hit 72 greens [in regulation] in the Open at Oakmont and not come close to winning,".
Simply hitting greens is not the secret to conquering Oakmont although one could argue that no one conquers it rather simply survives. You have to be in the right spots on the green to have success.
Of the aforementioned 12 players who tied for 10th or better, eight qualified for the statistic, Strokes Gained: Approach-The-Green. Of those eight qualified, seven were inside the Top-32 on the PGA Tour for the statistic. Therefore, when looking for a player to pick, focus on players that are Top-40 in the world that rank near the top-30 in the previously mentioned stat.
Players that fit the mold sorted from highest-to-lowest rank in the latest Official World Golf Rankings are Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Henrick Stenson, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama, Charl Schwartzel, Paul Casey, and Russell Knox (Note that Danny Willet (No. 9 in the world), Chris Wood (No. 23), Rafael Cabrera Bello (No. 28), and Lee Westwood (No. 30) do not qualify for the statistic as they are not members of the PGA Tour.). On the fringe are Jason Dufner, ranked 60th in the world while holding the No. 10 spot on SG:A-T-G, and Branden Grace, ranked 12th in the world and 33rd in SG:A-T-G.
Two noticeable omissions from the consideration list are world No. 1 and 2, Jason Day and Jordan Spieth.
First I would rather lose my bet than bet the favorite, but hey, I'm a value guy.
Day currently ranks 50th in SG:A-T-G and 179th in proximity to the hole on Tour. So much of Day's brilliance comes from being the No. 1 putter on the planet at the moment. Open winners at Oakmont are known more for their swings and ball striking than their putters. Day also has a tendency to miss both ways (98th in Right Rough Tendency and 115th in Left Rough Tendency), a fact that typically doesn't bode well in traditional US Opens.
Additionally, Day ranks 163rd in accuracy while ranking 134th in approaches from 100-125 yards, 185th in approaches from 125-150 yards, and 128th in approaches from 150-175 yards. If your missing fairways at Oakmont, these ranges are where you have to save yourself as the rough is so penal. I don't like the recipe.
Now on to Spieth. Let's start with the obvious. No one has won back-to-back US Opens since Curtis Strange did so in 1988 and 1989, and only two people have won consecutive Opens in the last 83 years, Strange and Hogan. Neither Jack Nicklaus nor Tiger Woods won consecutive Opens, so it's quite difficult for me to project that Spieth will be any different. Also, how much is the collapse at Augusta weighing on him? I don't know maybe someone should ask him about it. I think I only heard 38 different versions of the same question at his Monday media opportunity.
Spieth currently ranks 114th in SG:A-T-G on tour and 93rd in driving accuracy. He's also 95th in proximity to the hole and 117th in greens in regulation.
Though Spieth and Day have played well in the last two Opens, it is important to note that both courses, Chambers Bay and Pinehurst No. 2, feature wide fairways with limited rough. Setups that mirror Augusta National and the Old Course at St. Andrews, places where both thrive.
Also, you'll hear about the Turnpike at the top and bottom of every hour, and just a reminder that just like the people of Pittsburgh, Oakmont is tough.
The average age of the previous winners at Oakmont is 29.63 years of age, and no one over the age of 38 (Hogan) has won at the venue. This fact would eliminate Dufner and Stenson.
Garcia, Knox, and Casey don't strike me as multiple major championship player, so I leave them on the table too.
McIlroy, Schwartzel, and Scott's constant putting tweaks bother me, and I begrudgingly Rory them on the boards as well.
Fowler and Matsuyama both fit the mold of young player looking to break through and go on to a hall-of-fame, multiple-major-championship career, but I'm very much in the "prove it to me" stage with both, especially Fowler.
Therefore we're left with quite the Sophie's Choice of Bubba Watson (sick) or Louis Oosthuizen and Justin Rose, both players that would be awesome picks if the hole concluded when one reaches the green.
I hate myself.
I'm taking Rose. He won the last US Open staged at a traditional US Open venue and has at times looked like the player that won at Merion in 2013.
My sleeper pick is Emiliano Grillo recapturing the spirit of The Duck at Oakmont.
