78 gd | us open 2019
10:57, shot four-under-par 66
to lead with Dustin Johnson
(77) and Brooks Koepka (72).
Rickie Fowler, starting at 2:26
p.m., shot 84, then started at
8:43 a.m. Sunday and shot 65,
his 19-stroke improvement set-
ting a U.S. Open record between
the third and final rounds.
Patrick Rodgers finished 83-67,
Hideki Matsuyama 79-66, and
Mickelson 81-69. The field scor-
ing average went from 75.33 on
Saturday to 72.18 on Sunday,
when Tommy Fleetwood shot 63
and the USGA said green speeds
averaged 10 to 12 inches slower
than the previous two rounds.]
caddie for multiple major-
championship victories: The
USGA shit themselves—there’s
no other way to put it—after
Saturday. Sunday was too easy.
They ruined the whole event.
former u.s. open champion:
It was two different golf ourses.
Every shot I hit Sunday came
up short, even though I was
hitting them where I wanted,
and every putt was coming
up short, too. I knew it, but
it was hard to adjust from the
day before.
multiple pga tour winner:
They’ve been lucky the past few
years that Koepka won, and DJ.
former u.s. open champion:
They said there were only a
couple of bad pins in the third
round, and that apart from
those, the day was perfect.
Give me a break. The greens
were three feet too fast. They
were probably rolling at 18.
winner of more than 10
european tour events:
One of the most frustrating
things on Saturday night,
when we experienced what
we’d experienced, the CEO,
Mike Davis, says, “If we got
a mulligan, we would have
slowed the greens down.” Tell
me where mulligan is in the
game of golf. How is a mulligan
allowed in the professional
game of golf? I’m confused as a
player, and I’m confused as
a fan. [That night, Davis added
this: “We saw some examples
late in the day where well-exe-
cuted shots were not only not
being rewarded, but in some
cases penalized.”]
winner of more than 10 pga
and european tour events:
The membership can’t be hap-
py. The USGA tarnished your
course twice in 15 years.
multiple major winner,
including the u.s. open:
Shinnecock is a rock star of a
course, but that was lost. The
controversy was the star.THE MICKELSON DRAMA
multiple major winner,
including the u.s. open:
All of this, in a roundabout way,
is why Phil did what he did.
multiple european tour
winner: Don’t drive the field
mad to the point where one of
the best players of the last 50
years is running after his ball
and stopping it on the green.multiple major champion,
including the u.s. open:
Phil has had a thing with the
USGA for a long time. That
wasn’t a rash decision. He’s
been wanting to do that for
10 years.
former u.s. open champion:
Phil has never done anything
that wasn’t pre-planned.
teacher of multiple major
champions: Phil was sending
a message: You cocked up Shin-
necock last time, when I should
have won, and now you’ve done
it again. So now I’m going to
show you up for what you are.
coach of multiple major
champions: It was a big middle
finger to the USGA.
winner of more than 10 pga
tour events: We all wanted
to do it.
former u.s. open champion:
The only thing Phil got wrong
was his bullshit excuse. I loved
every minute of it otherwise.
It was the right guy saying theright thing: F--- off. I’ve been
playing in this event for over
25 years, and I’m the biggest
lover of the event in the world,
but you’ve finally ruined it
completely.
winner of more than 10 pga
tour events: I’ve talked to
Phil since, and he put so much
energy and effort into trying
to play well that week, and he
thought he could go in there
and win. And then when he saw
that it wasn’t going to happen,
the frustration got to him.
winner of more than 20 pga
and european tour events:
Phil had fallen for the U.S. Open
trap and lost it mentally. That’s
what they’re trying to do—break
you mentally.
former u.s. open champion:
Every player should have
walked off. I wouldn’t have
disqualified Phil; I’d have given
him a medal.
multiple major winner:
If I had done that, I would have
DQ’d myself. I wouldn’t putanyone else on the spot.
swing coach for a major
champion: A regular player
would have been thrown out.
Phil was saved by his star
quality.
european tour winner:
Do you think the top players get
treated the same way as the rest
of us? Get real.
multiple major winner,
including the u.s. open:
Can you imagine if Phil had
done that at Augusta?
teacher of multiple major
champions: He must have
known he would be DQ’d, but
he wasn’t. The rule was poorly
written, so he got away with it.
He should have withdrawn and
said to the world he was making
a point about the way the USGA
runs the national Open. I would
have said OK to that.
teacher of multiple major
champions: Phil’s temper
tantrum [about 2014 U.S. Ryder
Cup captain Tom Watson] end-ed up being good for that event.
It could have been the same for
the U.S. Open.HOW TO REGAIN
THE U.S. OPEN’S IDENTITY
multiple pga tour winner:
I miss the U.S. Opens of old,
where you had narrow fairways
and thick rough, and it tested
everything.
former european ryder
cup captain: The old DNA was
worth defending. It had always
been that way. The majors
should pose different ques-
tions. The Open is about the
weather. The Masters is about
the course. The PGA is a more
difficult PGA Tour event. And
the U.S. Open is about narrow
fairways. What makes Grand
Slam winners so great is that
they’ve passed all four tests.
winner of more than 20
european tour events:
The U.S. Open was always the
fairest of the four majors. It was
tough, but only bad shots were
punished. As we saw at Paris
[in the 2018 Ryder Cup], that’s
the way forward.
former european ryder cup
captain: The Ryder Cup last
year was more about accuracy,
and the Americans couldn’t hit
the ball straight. At Erin Hills,
the fairways were 60 yards
wide. That’s not a U.S. Open.
But the USGA has adapted to
the modern game rather than
making the game adapt to the
U.S. Open. If a 280-yard drive
straight down the middle was
most beneficial, no one would
be hitting drives 350 yards.
Straight should be as important
as long.
multiple european tour
winner: The wide-fairways
thing is not working. Too many
guys have no chance if you
don’t hit it 350 yards off the tee.WHAT WILL HAPPEN
AT PEBBLE BEACH?
multiple major champion:
By playing Augusta every year,
we get to see history. We get to
see great shots and try to re-
create them the next year. To
me, the U.S. Open is Pebble
Beach. If I was going to pick a‘LET’S NOT TRICK PEBBLE UP.
LET’S LEAVE PEBBLE TO BE PEBBLE. IT’S HARD ENOUGH AS IT IS.’
—MULTIPLE PGA TOUR WINNER
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