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So, the US Open has ended but everyone refuses to let it go. Brooks Koepka won despite the best efforts of everyone around him to take the title away from him. Still, even with Tommy Fleetwood blowing away the field with a 63 on Sunday, the complaints about the course, the conditions and the players couldn’t stop. Sure, Shinnecock played too hard for some of the players. You didn’t see Jordan, Rory or Tiger in contention. You didn’t see a miraculous comeback from a tour pro from west Texas. You didn’t see anything except for some of the greatest golf that the best players in the world could play – and it was done on a stage worthy of calling itself the US Open. Still, the complaints flew, mainly from those that weren’t around for the weekend. The pin placements weren’t right. The rough was too long. The blah, blah blah… You know what guys, this is the second biggest tournament in the US, perhaps you need to get out more and play some courses that are really unfair and then come back to this one. Courses like our local municipal courses that have more divots than grass. Courses with greens that are so inconsistent that it’s impossible to judge the speed of any putt, much less hit it online with the break. Courses that have more mud than sand in their bunkers. Heck, maybe even take away those guys that find their balls for them (even with the aid of a TV crew) and see how they fair. Sure, they may drive a few par 4’s, but the 5 putts that ensued would make for great TV viewing. Enough about stuff that will never happen though, let’s talk about the great (and not so great) moments of this Open.
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Don’t tap that ball Phil… If Mickleson had any clue what was going to happen when he struck that moving ball, I can guarantee you that he never would have touched it. His reaction during the ensuing press conference didn’t help matters, but honestly, this was about as big of non-issue event as ever in golf. Was he right, no. Was he wrong, probably not. All he did was take a two stroke penalty on a very frustrating hole and the world kept moving. Had he been in the top 10 when this happened, that’s another story. He wasn’t, and this isn’t worth talking much more about. The poor guy has been an ambassador of the game for so long and done so much right, let’s give the dude a pass for not wanting to Els’ this green.
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Tommy… I’m really not sure how I feel about writing about Tommy Fleetwood's charge up the leaderboard. Part of me wants to praise the round and part of me wants to strangle him for not making one more birdie on the way in. While Koepka deserves to win the US Open, Fleetwood’s final round deserved it even more. His masterful destruction of a course that many said was unplayable was a round of golf that shouldn’t ever be forgotten. Just one more birdie or one little slip from the winner and we would all be talking about the greatest comeback in the US Open ever. Fleetwood’s round should be an inspiration to young golfers everywhere, that anything is possible in golf, even in the toughest settings. So, Tommy (and I’m going to call you that because you are half my age) – thank you. Thank you for behaving like a professional, and for playing like one too. I was never a huge follower of yours, but you, sir, have my attention and I can’t wait for you to start taking down majors like you took down that course.
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Dustin didn’t win… There’s something about a being a humble golf pro that just makes everyone happy. DJ is one of those players. Johnson led, then didn’t lead, then finished the tournament with class and a tip of the cap to the fans that rooted for him through thick and thin. His play was good enough to win this open, it just wasn’t good enough to beat Koepka and Fleetwood on Sunday. It was a well played tournament for Johnson and when you mention the words, grow the game, Johnson is a perfect person to summon to the podium.
Next time, leave the beer at home folks… The disparaging remarks made by the crowds at this year’s open were the true low point of the tournament. From calling a tour player chubby to openly talking about relations on national TV, the fan behavior at this US Open was terrible. It is 100% apparent that there are more marshals needed all over the crowd and a code of conduct book needs to be signed by everyone coming in. Growing the game of golf does not mean that selling tickets to the rudest people in the universe is a good thing. I have an idea, how about we NOT let them in and give those tickets to kids instead. Just a thought.
So, to wrap this up, it was a great US Open this year. Sure there were some stupid moments – Phil. There were also great ones – Brooks, Dustin, Tommy, etc… Let’s not forget that the GREAT moments will outlive the stupid ones by a long shot. I mean we all remember Tiger’s Masters chip that hung on the hold just long enough for that Nike Swoosh to be seen, but we hardly talk about Els’s putting issue at all. Let’s just call it like it was… It was a great day and a great tournament for golf. It was a true US Open. It was hard. It was challenging. It was the perfect venue to crown the perfect champion, for this year.
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