Was Pebble Beach TOO Difficult?
The 2010 US Open left golfers battered and bruised. Graeme McDowell didn’t even break par as he became the first European in 40 years to win a US Open. Ernie Els came in second, two strokes behind, followed by the rivals Mickelson and Woods, who tied for 4th with a 3 over par 287.
Dustin Johnson lead the pack coming into the 54th hole with a 3 stroke lead over McDowell, and a 6 stroke lead over Tiger. But his ball fell off a cliff near the 8th hole and his game fell with it. His final round score: An 82, adding 16 strokes to his Saturday core. He even beat Gil Morgan’s 1992 81 stroke final round after being the 54 hole leader.
Congratulations Graeme McDowell! But was this Open exciting or just horrifying? This caveman didn’t scream in triumph as often as he groaned in pain while watching this weekend.
Did the changes at Pebble Beach make the game TOO difficult or was it just a bad weekend for low scores?
~Scratch
Bonus: In contradiction, there were some brilliant shots fired, Check here for the Espn’s Video of the top 10!
Pebble Beach was not to difficult for “the best golfers in the WORLD”. They’ve become a bunch of conceited cry babies who expect the golfing public and media to feel sorry for they because the USGA made the course too difficult. For the love of God, . . . What have we created here? These guys don’t have a second vocation that would assure them an equal pay day. If it were up to me, I would “DQ” any golfer who refuses to answer questions straight-up or anyone who refused to take interview. They need to be reminded they have obligations and they’re egos aren’t bigger than the game.
Next, I would fire current crew of TV announcers and hire caddies to provide us with some real insights into the game.
Mike
PS. I would make the 14th green smaller.
I thought it was a good “old school” Open… shoot par for the week and you win!
Golf is not just about competition between the players, but between each player and the course as well. That shooting par was good enough to win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach says that the course was a fair challenge to the players competing in the tournament. McDowell vs. Pebble Beach was a tie. Every other player was beaten by the course. Good for McDowell and good for the course designers at Pebble.
I’d like see more professional golf events where the players are truly challenged by the golf course.
I think people want to see birdies not bogies. Also, punish players for bad shots, not good ones. No. 14’s green was ridiculous. If you hit the middle of the green with a wedge and the ball rolls back to you then shame on the course. No one watches the NFL for field goals or the NBA for layups. We want to see the best in the world on a fair course shooting under par on the last round to win, not someone giving three strokes back on the last day and still winning by 2. They have proven their point that you can make a course so difficult that no one can “beat” it. Next year why not pave the greens with concrete and we can all sit at home and watch as Tiger or Phil shoot 92 on the last day to win the tournament at +47. Wouldn’t that be fun.
It was a tough set up of the course as it should be for the US Open. However the pros should be able to shoot par or slightly better. If they can’t then the course was too difficult.