us open 2019 | gd 73patronizes the caddies on the
first tee: “Make sure you’ve got
14 in there—count your clubs.”
That’s insulting. That’s not their
job; it’s mine. And if I have 15,
it’s my fault. I heard a caddie say
once, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.
I do it every week of the year. It’s
only you guys who do it once a
year.” That statement applies to
so much of the U.S. Open.
teacher of multiple major
champions: The USGA is an
organization built on egos.
It’s full of successful people
who are not used to being told
what to do. And they’re very
rich, typically. They don’t listen
when it comes to golf.
major champion: I question
the motivation behind a lot of
their decisions. They seem to be
business-oriented, financially
motivated, to try to grow the
brand of the USGA.
major champion: I think their
intentions as an organization
changed. It was important to
the USGA to get a slice of this
golf-industry pie that the PGA
Tour has a big share of.
teacher of multiple major
champions: I don’t under-
stand why we can’t have a
U.S. Open where the greens
actually have living grass on
them. Why do they turn up at
venues insisting they know
how to take care of a course
when they don’t? Last year at
Shinnecock, they had a meet-
ing early in the week with the
top superintendents from other
Open venues. The USGA was
told the course needed water.
They just don’t listen to people
who know what they’re doing.
major champion: Let’s be
honest: Since Chambers Bay,
it’s been a disaster every year.
major champion: You don’t
get away with the mess-ups
when you’re front and center
saying, We’re the masters of the
game; we know what we’re do-
ing. Well, they clearly don’t.
major champion: It takes a
special sort of arrogance.
coach of major champions:
It’s like the NCAA running pro-
fessional football.
major champion: You either
have to change that process
drastically or change the people
coming up with it.
swing coach for a major
champion: I hear people say
that a ball rollback might stop
the USGA from taking the
courses so close to the edge,
but would it? I suspect they
can’t help themselves.
major champion: Nick Price is
on their committee, but they’re
clearly not listening to him.
teacher of multiple
major champions: They need
a player committee with the
likes of Hale Irwin and Nick-
laus. But they know best—or
think they do. [In March, the
USGA named former PGA Tour
player Jason Gore as its first se-
nior director of player relations.]
former u.s. open champion:
I’ve talked to PGA Tour officials
after U.S. Opens, and they al-
ways say no one ever listened
to them.
multiple european tour
winner: I saw 11 guys out on the
greens at Shinnecock last yearselecting pin positions. None of
them were from the tours, guys
who do that every week.
multiple major winner,
including the u.s. open:
The other majors use the tour
guys. There’s more input.
multiple major winner,
including the u.s. open:
To be fair, it’s harder when you
go to a course only once every
10 to 15 years. You haven’t nec-
essarily seen it in all kinds of
conditions.multiple major champion,
including the u.s. open:
Augusta has been doing it a
long time at the same course.
They know what they’re doing
before the week starts.
multiple major champion,
including the u.s. open:
At the amateur level, the USGA
people are the experts. But
at the professional level, the
PGA Tour and the European
Tour are the experts. You’ve
just got to admit that. Nobody
wants them kicked [out of the
pro game]. I shouldn’t say no-
body. Some people do.... That
wouldn’t be good.TALK OF A BOYCOTT
winner of more than 10 pga
and european tour events:
It will only take player power
to turn the tournament on its
head. If you had a majority of
players say they’re not play-
ing—and that nearly happeneda couple of years ago—if that
doesn’t set alarm bells ringing,
then nothing will.
multiple pga tour winner:
We weren’t getting extra money
originally [after the USGA
signed a 12-year, $1.1 billion tele-
vision deal with Fox beginning
in 2015]. In a player meeting we
talked about it, just to raise ev-
eryone’s attention. [The USGA
rights went from $37 million a
year with NBC and ESPN to
$93 million a year with Fox.]Originally we were getting about
25 percent of the TV money that
NBC was giving to the USGA.
Then we were getting around 10
percent. After 2016 at Oakmont,
we talked about getting players
to boycott the U.S. Open for a
year because of that and what
happened to Dustin Johnson
with the penalty. [In the final
round, Johnson backed away
from a par putt at the fifth hole
after his ball moved. He said he
didn’t make it move, but after the
USGA studied video, it delayed a
ruling, leaving the field unclear
where it stood for hours. After a
post-round discussion, the USGA
gave Johnson a one-stroke pen-
alty, and he won by three strokes.
The rule was later changed to
waive the penalty if a ball moves
on the green by accident.]
winner of more than 10 pga
and european tour events:
The purse should be $15 million,
$18 million [versus $10 million in2015 and 2016, and $12 million
in 2017 and 2018; the purse for
2019 is still to be announced].
major champion: We already
play for so much money.
multiple pga tour winner:
We had about 10-15 guys who
were willing to sit out after- Some of them were big
names—Dustin was one, Rory
was another.
another major champion
and former world no. 1:
I was prepared to do it [take
▶ a 10 versus a disqualification
“Phil has never done anything that wasn’t pre-planned,”
says one former U.S. Open champion.