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Another U.S. Open at Merion? Not if pros can help it

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:04:00 GMT

By Luke Kerr-Dineen

Cromwell, Conn. -- Merion may be the new favorite course of Justin Rose, who's busy making the rounds on the late night talk shows after his U.S. Open victory, but inside the ropes, it seems the topic of returning to the legendary course isn't a popular one.

Speaking at the Travelers Championship on Tuesday, a number of PGA Tour pros said they wouldn't like to see Merion GC host another national championship in the future because it lacks the infrastructure needed to host such a large-scale event.

(Photo by Getty Images)

The logistics of holding the event at Merion had been a major concern in the lead-up to the tournament. The wrinkles included a 20-minute shuttle ride from the practice range to the first tee and both player's registration and hospitality centers hosted in nearby houses.

Related: The Big Bet On Merion

"No," said Charley Hoffman, who finished T-45 at the U.S. Open at +15, when asked if he'd like to see Merion host another U.S. Open. "It had horrible logistics, the gallery was very restricted, but I guess that's what happens when an organization runs a golf tournament."

Hoffman added that he didn't mind the course setup, but said the site just wasn't equipped to hold a U.S. Open, a thought echoed by Nicholas Thompson:

"We went from Olympic, which was as smooth as a tournament could be, to Merion, which was just difficult," Thompson said, who finished T-56. "It's a great golf course . . . but there are no hotels near the course and there's only one road leading to the course, so in the back of your mind you're always thinking, 'Am I going to catch traffic and be late for my tee time?'"

Former Masters champion Zach Johnson, who shot 74, 77 to miss the cut, stirred controversy after he said the USGA "manipulated" the course. He said that while he "loved" Merion because of its history and emphasis on accuracy, he also acknowledged logistics were a problem.

"It's not ideal," he said, "but I would love to see something hosted there. Maybe not a U.S. Open, but something, because it's such a great course."

But not every pro was willing to take up arms against one of the game's most storied venues.

Nicolas Colsaerts, who finished T-10, said he didn't have any complaints because he felt lucky just to play in the U.S. Open. Jason Dufner, whose final round 67 shot him up the leaderboard into a T-4, took a different approach altogether:

"Probably doesn't make much of a difference for me," he said. "The USGA works on a 10 to 15 year rotation, so I'm not sure I'll be playing in another U.S. Open in 15 years."

Follow @lukekerrdineen

The Grind: Rose's big win, Phil's bigger heartbreak & why we're all wickered out

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:39:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where the next person who mentions Merion's wicker baskets risks being beaten with one of Merion's wicker baskets. Seriously, it was fun while it lasted, but all this attention might give other clubs ideas. What's next? Birdhouses on top of flagsticks? Car tires? Wicker chairs? Probably not, but if it ever happens, NBC and Jimmy Roberts will have a field day. In the meantime, here's what we're focusing on.

WE'RE BUYING

Justin Rose: A 32-year-old who was once a teen phenom breaking through to win his first major? Hmm. We think we've heard that one recently. . . There was a joke going around after the FedEx St. Jude Classic that the only English winner on the PGA Tour in 2013 was Harris English. Not anymore. What a performance by Rose at the U.S. Open, especially considering he'd never seriously contended down the stretch at a major before.

It was good to see Phil hasn't lost any of his hops. (Photo: Getty Images)

The U.S. Open: The course. The carnage. The NBC theme music. The star-studded leader board. The finish. Johnny Miller saying, "Chunk and run" every two minutes. Our favorite week of the year delivered in grand fashion.

Jason Day: Who says Jack Nicklaus' major record is safe? Day is just 25 and seems on pace to challenge the Golden Bear's mark of 19 runner-ups with his latest T-2 at the U.S. Open. Add a third-place finish at Augusta already this year and the question must be asked: Why isn't this guy contending more in regular PGA Tour events?

Phil Mickelson: Let's focus on the positive. In the last two weeks, Phil has two T-2s that bookend him seeing his daughter, Amanda, graduate from middle school. Apparently, she even gave a speech at the ceremony in which she quoted Ron Burgundy from the movie "Anchorman". What a proud papa he must be! Yes, adding to his record of runner-ups at the U.S. Open stings, but obviously, you can't have this many close calls without being a great player. That being said. . .

WE'RE SELLING

Phil Mickelson: I thought I had our office pool wrapped up with Jason Dufner's Sunday run and Mickelson's Miracle-at-Merion holeout for eagle on No. 10 to take the lead. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Finishing runner-up is tough. I'll be thinking about that close call for awhile. What, you thought I was talking about Phil?

Steve Stricker: SHANKAPOTAMUS!!! Seriously, that train wreck was painful to watch. A U.S. course is tough enough, but under Sunday pressure, Stricker reminded us that even the world's best players are susceptible to weekend hacker moments. The shank OB on No. 2 virtually ended the 46-year-old's (last?) golden opportunity to win a first major. And he's already snuffed out his next chance by saying he won't play in next month's British Open. Disappointing.

Players complaining: The rough is too thick. The hole placements are too tough. The par 3s are too long. Wah. Wah. Wah. Guys, the U.S. Open is one week out of the year. Is it difficult? Sure. But there's a difference between setting up a challenging course and an unfair one. Players who hit bad shots paid the price, but players who hit good shots were rewarded. And oh yeah, enough about what par is. Everyone played the same holes and added their scores up at the end of the day the same way: 281 won this tournament, not one over.

Tiger Woods:. When Tiger won his 14th major at Torrey Pines in 2008, what odds could you have gotten that he would go (at least) the next five years without winning another big one? 1,000 to 1? 10,000 to 1? Elbow injury or not, it's getting tough to explain Tiger's disappearing acts in golf's biggest events. Even tougher is explaining why he chipped and putted at Merion like a mid-handicapper. But never fear, Woods will still be made an overwhelming favorite for Muirfield by experts like us!

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship, aka that tournament they usually play after the U.S. Open. We have a lot of respect for Rose, who kept his commitment to playing this week instead of taking a vacation in the mountains of cash he earned himself with his first major championship. Actually, we have a lot of respect for anyone who competed in that grindfest teeing it up again so soon.

Random tournament fact: Tim Norris owns the best score in relation to par with a 25-under performance in 1982. He's so obscure we're not even sure Google has heard of him.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

The day before the tournament, I talked to Rose about mudballs as he signed autographs. When our chat was over -- he did a tremendous job multi-tasking -- I thanked him for his time, patted him on the shoulder and wished him good luck. Maybe I'm not such a jinx after all. . .

Starters -- (A-List): Jason Dufner: Did you see the ball-striking display this guy put on at Merion on Sunday?!

(B-List): Bo Van Pelt: BVP has finished in the top 25 at TPC River Highlands six of the past eight years.

(B-List): Fredrik Jacobson: The site of his lone PGA Tour win in 2011, the Swede finished T-8 in his title defense last year.

(C-List): Rickie Fowler: After a respectable showing at Merion, we think the time has come for Fowler to pick up that second PGA Tour title.

Bench -- Bubba Watson, Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson and Kevin Streelman.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

In honor of Pinehurst, the site of next year's U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open, we present this frisbee golf video the resort sent me. In it, Ken Climo, who is apparently the 'Jack Nicklaus of Disc Golf,' takes on the famed No. 2 course:

It also gives us a chance to link to this classic Seinfeld clip in which George Costanza chooses 'Frolf' over helping out Jerry.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- A player will hit a driver on one of TPC Highland's par 3s this week: 1,000-to-1 odds

-- Sergio Garcia will have nightmares about the Philly fans at Merion: 5-to-1 odds

-- Sergio Garcia will have nightmares about Merion's 15th hole: LOCK

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY DISPLAYS OF PUBLIC AFFECTION

Unfortunately, we didn't cross paths with Paulina at Merion. We're guessing she's not a fan of walking around in the mud. But we do know that her and DJ are still an item thanks to this tweet photo of the two of them kissing their dog goodbye before heading off to Germany:

BAD JOKE ALERT: Apparently, DJ likes big dogs both on and off the course!

THIS AND THAT

Phil praised Merion, but ripped the USGA for the par-3 third playing 274 yards on Sunday. Phil, you played right into Mike Davis' head games! . . . Billy Horschel wore octopus pants on Sunday. Sorry, Mr. Style, but he looked ridiculous and Johnny Miller agreed. . . . It was not a good week for people being hit by stray golf balls. Luke Donald almost killed someone on Sunday and Golf Digest's own Max Adler was a victim of another wayward Sergio Garcia drive (above). Now that's going all out to get a story.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will Phil Mickelson ever win a U.S. Open?

Will Tiger Woods ever win another major?

Will any player ever wear octopus pants in a major again?

-- Alex Myers is an Associate Editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

The Grind: Rose's big win, Phil's bigger U.S. Open heartbreak & why we're all wickered out

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:39:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, the next person who mentions Merion's wicker baskets risks being beaten with one of Merion's wicker baskets. Seriously, it was fun while it lasted, but all this attention might give other clubs ideas. What's next? Birdhouses on top of flagsticks? Car tires? Wicker chairs? Probably not, but if it ever happens, NBC and Jimmy Roberts will have a field day. In the meantime, here's what we're focusing on.

WE'RE BUYING

It was good to see Phil hasn't lost any of his hops. (Photo: Getty Images)

WE'RE SELLING

ON TAP

Random tournament fact: Tim Norris owns the best score in relation to par with a 25-under performance in 1982. He's so obscure we're not even sure Google has heard of him.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Starters -- (A-List): Jason Dufner: Did you see the ball-striking display this guy put on at Merion on Sunday?!

(B-List): Bo Van Pelt: BVP has finished in the top 25 at TPC River Highlands six of the past eight years.

(B-List): Fredrik Jacobson: The site of his lone PGA Tour win in 2011, the Swede finished T-8 in his title defense last year.

(C-List): Rickie Fowler: After a respectable showing at Merion, we think the time has come for Fowler to pick up that second PGA Tour title.

Bench -- Bubba Watson, Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson and Kevin Streelman.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

It also gives us a chance to link to this classic Seinfeld clip in which George Costanza chooses 'Frolf' over helping out Jerry.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- A player will hit a driver on one of TPC Highland's par 3s this week: 1,000-to-1 odds

-- Sergio Garcia will have nightmares about the Philly fans at Merion: 5-to-1 odds

-- Sergio Garcia will have nightmares about Merion's 15th hole: LOCK

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY DISPLAYS OF PUBLIC AFFECTION

BAD JOKE ALERT: Apparently, DJ likes big dogs both on and off the course!

THIS AND THAT

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will Phil Mickelson ever win a U.S. Open?

Will Tiger Woods ever win another major?

Will any player ever wear octopus pants in a major again?

-- Alex Myers is an Associate Editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

Video: Jaime Diaz on Charlie Rose

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:10:00 GMT

If you watch Charlie Rose enough, you'll come to learn he is clearly a fan of golf. From the pros to those who cover it, Rose is always interested in learning more about the game. And who better to learn about the game than from Golf Digest? Digest writers are almost regulars by now, and prior to the U.S. Open this past weekend at Merion Golf Club, Rose sat down with our own Jaime Diaz to discuss the tournament and why Tiger Woods is still the face of the game. Too bad neither had the foresight to predict Charlie's namesake would win the Open.

TourCaddie: A virtual caddie in an app

John Strege — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:41:00 GMT

By John Strege TourCaddie obviously is not a caddie per se. But what it is is an iPhone app that has the ability to perform some of the same functions as a caddie does, and...

11 People You'll See At Every Golf Tournament

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:26:00 GMT

By Derek Evers

In the world of blogging, listicles are worth their weight in SEO-gold, which is why it can be easy to pass most of them off with nothing more than an eye roll. Then again, sometimes they get it oh-so-right.

BuzzFeed, the world's preeminent list maker -- and butt of more than a few Onion jokes -- can turn just about any event into an odd-numbered countdown, even the U.S. Open. In fact, when we first saw this list of The 11 Kinds Of People You'll Meet At Every Golf Tournament, our reaction wasn't disbelief, but a general interest in how many we witnessed this year at Merion.

From the guys who yell, sometimes obnoxiously, after every tee shot, to the perfectly dressed fans, we've seen them all. Unfortunately, sometimes we even become them. Like the guy who gets rocked by a stray shot.

Sorry, Max.

Follow @DerekEvers

Justin Rose was ready at 'moment's' notice

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:02:00 GMT

By Tim Rosaforte

From the June 17 edition of Golf World Monday:

As he prepared last week at Lake Nona for the 113th U.S. Open, Justin Rose did more than beat balls, work out and review his game plan for Merion. He watched a YouTube download of "The Empire Strikes Back." The scene that sport psychologist Gio Valiante wanted Rose to absorb was Yoda's famous discussion with Luke Skywalker. "I wanted him to know he was ready," Valiante said Sunday from his home in Orlando. "That he was finally mature enough to come into his own."

Rose proved ready, willing and able for the challenge not only of Merion, but also of Phil Mickelson, the star-crossed U.S. Open hero who once again finished second -- for a record sixth time.

Nothing got in the way of Rose's two-stroke victory. Not the karma of Phil's flying home for his daughter's middleschool graduation. Not the hole-out by Mickelson on the 10th hole or the Philadelphia fans who wanted Lefty to win not only on Father's Day, but his 43rd birthday.

"If anybody deserves to do it, Justin does," said Tony Jacklin, who 43 years ago was the last English golfer to win the U.S. Open. "He showed his true colors." Rose, 32, had been trending toward this, starting with wins at Jack Nicklaus' tournament (the Memorial) and Tiger Woods' tournament (AT&T National) in 2010, a FedEx Cup playoff event (BMW Championship) in 2011 and a World Golf Championships event (Cadillac Championship) in '12.

Last September he proved to himself he could make pressure putts by beating Mickelson in a pivotal Ryder Cup singles match. Two weeks later he knocked off Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood in succession to win the World Golf Final in Turkey.

"Adam Scott sent me a fantastic message after he won the Masters saying, 'Your time is coming soon,' '' Rose said. "He's a wise man."

The consensus is that Rose is also a good man, as attested both by Jacklin and Nick Faldo, the last Englishman to win a major. Just two weeks ago Faldo had lunch with Rose in the Muirfield Village clubhouse. Faldo came away thinking Rose had everything right in his life. "He's a classy guy," said Faldo. "No matter how many times he got knocked down, he still had self-belief."

The reference was not only to 21 straight missed cuts at the start of his professional career, but also the loss of his father, Ken, to leukemia, 11 years ago. For seven years Rose had no wins on the PGA Tour. Now he has five quality wins in four years. The only question remaining was whether he was competitively tough enough to close out a major and that was answered by the way he played the 72nd hole yesterday.

"It was Hoganesque," said Colin Montgomerie. From just right of the Ben Hogan plaque, Rose rose to the occasion and hit the type of shot into the 18th green that, historically speaking, will define his career. Even more than the hole-out at Birkdale 15 years ago, even more than the reaction to the putts that beat Mickelson at Medinah.

"I thought this is my moment," Rose said. "I saw the photo a million times and suddenly it was me. I'm just so glad it worked out."

Ready are you, Justin Rose? Ready he was.

Follow @TimRosaforte

The U.S. Open: Defining Shots

Alex Myers and Sam Weinman — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 04:00:00 GMT

A look back at the shots -- both good and bad -- that shaped the outcome at Merion.

The heartbreak at Merion was heartwarming to see

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:08:00 GMT

By Ron Sirak

ARDMORE, Pa. - This was not the fault of Merion Golf Club, Mike Davis, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Lee Trevino or the Philly Fanatic. In fact, it is to their great credit. This is the way the U.S. Open is supposed to be played -- as a complete test where par is a good score.

Too often players, and even more so fans, confuse this country's national championship with the old Bob Hope Desert Classic and think it should be a swing-from-your-heels birdie-fest. But that's not what it's all about.

To win the U.S. Open, you have to drive the ball in the fairway, hit greens, make up-and-downs when you miss greens, putt well and, most of all, maintain your composure when the course starts to kick you in the butt.

(Photo by Getty Images)

What Justin Rose did on Sunday in winning his first major championship was prove he had all the shots in the bag plus the toughness and focus to stay mentally engaged. Not everyone did.

Rose closed with an even-par 70 to finish at one-over-par 281, two strokes better than Phil Mickelson and Jason Day. But Rose's round had as much to do with perseverance as it did precision.

The Englishman erased five bogeys with five birdies and closed the door on Mickelson, who was playing behind him, with pars on the difficult 17th and 18th holes.

In fact, Rose was brilliant on the brutal closing five holes at Merion, playing them in one-over par after hitting four fairways and the fringe 15-feet from the hole on the par-3 17th.

"You almost have to take par off the scorecard," Rose said. "Maybe two-over par is par for the last five holes."

That is exactly the kind of mindset that wins a U.S. Open. You have to recalibrate your brain and think very differently than you do at a regular PGA Tour or European Tour event.

Mike Davis, executive director of the USGA, is the guy who has been setting up the U.S. Open courses for almost a decade and he has yet to whiff. He got it right once again, turning a relatively short course into a demanding track that humbled and impressed the best players in the world.

Down the stretch, the top three players -- Rose, Mickelson and Day -- played the final five holes a combined six-over par, making no birdies. No one birdied No. 18 on the weekend.

Related: A Retro Look At A Retro Course

"I thought it was a great setup all week," Mickelson said after his record sixth second-place finish in the U.S Open. "I thought that the golf course was fabulous. We had weather and we had some conditions with Sunday pins, it was difficult. But I thought that it was really well done and, you know, it was ââ I loved having the hard holes be really hard. And I loved having chances on the birdie holes."

Rose seemed to be especially proud that he got his first major championship on such a demanding layout and one steeped in history.

"Yeah, this golf course, I found that was the toughest thing," Rose said. "Because you could make birdies, you could get ahead of the card, around the middle of the course you could be one or two under. No round was safe until you played 18 holes. I think we learned that yesterday, the way I finished. I finished bogey, bogey. Schwartzel bogey, bogey. Luke bogey, double bogey. Hunter, bogey, bogey."

All around the top three, others were crashing and burning. Charl Schwartzel and Luke Donald needed 42 strokes to play the front nine and Steve Stricker required 41.

Jason Dufner made a charge, getting to five under par on the day -- deeper in the red than anyone had gotten all week -- but made a triple bogey 7 on No. 15, finishing tied for fourth.

"I'm just glad I was kind of the last man standing," Rose said. "I dreamed of holing a putt to win a major championship, I'm just glad it was a two-incher."

One of the great things about the victory by Rose was how much he knew about where it took place.

"Yeah, this golf club is steeped in history," he said. "That really sort of hit home when I came here Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, last week. I was able to appreciate this golf course in the quiet moments, when there was nobody around, when there weren't thousands of people here for the championship. And that's when I did fall in love with the golf course. Trevino says, 'Fell in love with a girl named Merion, just didn't know her last name.' I've been sort of joking about that all week. I feel like I established a game plan that really held true for me."

Rose even cited the line (first written by Jerry Tarde, now Golf Digest's Editor-in-Chief) that describes Merion as "the first six holes are drama, the second six holes are comedy, and the last six holes are tragedy. Like a good play, like a good theatrical play."

That's what this U.S. Open was: high drama at its best. And that's why no one should be surprised if this course thought for 32 years to have been surpassed by technology will hold another U.S. Open as soon as a date is available. It's that good.

Follow @RonSirak

Jason Dufner makes a bid for his first major, leaves Merion with tough emotions

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:17:00 GMT

By Max Adler

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Start the day at eight over, tee off more than two hours before the leaders, shoot 67 and backdoor into a tidy T-4 at the U.S. Open. Sounds nice, right? Don't be fooled by the box score. Jason Dufner left Merion Golf Club fighting back tears. In his mind he'd thrown away the tournament.

"This is going to hurt him," said wife, Amanda, waiting outside the scorer's tent.

"This isn't going to hurt him," quickly snapped his caddie, Kevin Baile. "He's going to win a major this year." But Baile bore an even sicker look than Dufner had as he walked into the tent.

Only in the most singular of circumstances does a golfer ever grow disgusted by how purely he's hitting the ball. This was the sad case of Dufner his final three holes. He had made just one bad swing on the day, a pulled tee shot that went out-of-bounds at the finicky 15th hole, leading to a triple bogey. Every perfect strike from thereon after was a stinging reminder of how costly that error was. It was his day. He'd woken up swinging well enough to shoot 64 or 63, easily.

"I had tons and tons of birdie putts inside 10 feet. I don't know the exact number," said Dufner, a playoff loser to Keegan Bradley at the 2011 PGA Championship, and a 36-hole leader at last year's Masters.

Dufner hits his approach to the 18th green. He just missed a birdie putt that would've been the only birdie of the day at Merion's home hole. Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images

After the triple, he immediately bounced back by holing a 20-foot putt for birdie at the 16th. Then his 12-foot birdie chip on the 17th grazed the cup and settled an inch from the hole. The normally deadpan Dufner raised his wedge in the air dramatically and gasped "Oh my God" when the ball didn't drop.

To finish, he didn't do anything more than rip a tee shot 310 yards down the center cut of the fairway and then connect a long iron to 12 feet. That birdie attempt would also just miss, but by then it was a little too late. He ended up finishing T-4, and four shots back of Rose's winning number.

"It's a tough tee shot," Dufner said of the 15th. "The wind is pushing the ball to the bunkers where you don't want to be. Then you've got out-of-bounds literally one pace from the fairway, which is a little unnerving. It's the kind of hole that you feel like you want to push at it off the tee, because the green is very severe and it could be one of your last realistic birdie chances. But as I learned today, you can definitely pay the price for pushing it."

The 15th produced 18 "other" scores, more than double the amount of any other hole. It's where Sergio Garcia hit three tee shots out-of-bounds en route to a 10 on Saturday when he played the rest of the course in one-under par.

After signing his card, Dufner kissed his wife and told her one word: "Media." Head down, he waited in complete silence for a technical difficulty with a TV camera to get sorted. Then he was led 10 feet in front of another camera. At this point the leaders were making the turn and bouncing around both sides of even par. But Dufner seemed to know better than any of the reporters what his total of five over meant.

With puffy eyes, he held it together for two last thoughts. "I've had some tough finishes in majors and I'd really like to win one. If you don't take the chances you never know."

Follow @MaxAdlerGD