US Amateur now a traditional Chicago Championship

[Tim_Cronin]

They played 15 holes in 3:23. That's 13:30 a hole. Most of the slowness was taking forever to line up putts.


Up ahead, Bard and Konishi played 16 holes in 3:31. That's 13:10 a hole. It's not like they were pulling away.


But if DeChambeau and Bard play at a 13:30 pace in the final, they'll play the morning round in 4:03 and cut into their lunchtime. And mine!

[Jeff Goldman]

I think Ben Kimball, usga director of the Am, had done a terrific job with some of the set up.  Moving yardages and hole locations and causing the players to really consider what to play. member 11 and 5 (2 and 14 in the championship) have played about 300 and 325 the last couple days and we've seen everything from 2-6 on these holes. Member 8 (17 now) has played as short as I thin 185, and today was set up 275, but neither match got there. Yesterday it was 256 with a difficult hole location and wiped out No. 1 Jon Rahm, who left his tee shot maybe 30 yards short and made 5. I also noticed that until today, very few front hole locations were used, in part because of the soft conditions, but also because those are very, very difficult on the course. Lots of fun watching the players decide what to do.

[Chris Cupit]

The way pace works in match play (at least this week at the US Amateur) is as follows:


The USGA establishes and publishes a "time par" for each group for each hole and for the round.  The referee with each group notes when the hole is complete (i.e. when the flagstick goes back into the hole) and records that on the scorecard they are keeping for the players.  Remember in match play, there are no scorecards for the players.


Anyway, for a group to be "out of position" two things generally have to occur:


1.  The group is behind on the time par established for their round AND
2.  In match play the group ahead of them is at a pre-determined point in front of them such that they are "lagging behind" the group in front.  In stroke play, the standard is staying within 14 minutes of the group in front of you.


In Match play it is a different standard and from memory it basicly says when you reach the tee of a par four or five hole the group in front of you must not have left before you play a tee shot and on a par three hole you need to arrive to the tee before the group ahead has teed off on the next hole.  Please don't hold me to the exact wording as this is from memory and I know it is not exact.


The point is that to be out of position you have to be over the alloted time and not in the "right" spot relative to the group in front of you.


If you are the lead group in stroke or match play, ysince you have no group in front of you, the only standard is your "time par" and if you are over your time par, you are out of position.


Once a group is "out of position" the referee will call a rover and the rover will monitor the group.  As a guideline each player is alloted 40 seconds per shot.  I can't speak to this championship but I know at the four ball this year on several occasions players were warned about their pace in matches, not just stroke play where we use checkpoints.


FWIW, there were five one stroke penalties handed out the first day of stroke play at this championship.

[Tim_Cronin]

Chris, do you recall who received them?

[Chris Cupit]

I am sorry but I can't recall right now--I'll try and look over my pairing sheets if I still have them.  It was two groups on the South Course the first day.  One player of the six was making quite an effort to play quickly so of the six players, he was the only one in either group not to get penalized.  Interestingly, after the word got out that actual STROKES got added to players, round two pace seemed better 

[Terry Lavin]

Great week for a great club!

[Tim_Cronin]

I am sorry but I can't recall right now--I'll try and look over my pairing sheets if I still have them.  It was two groups on the South Course the first day.  One player of the six was making quite an effort to play quickly so of the six players, he was the only one in either group not to get penalized.  Interestingly, after the word got out that actual STROKES got added to players, round two pace seemed better 

I can well imagine. Second round did go better, even with the late start.

[John McCarthy]

1.  One group I saw on the south front on Monday got through 9 in 2:40.  Appalling.

2. Tim:  I read your Olympia Fields small history in the CDGA Magazine.  Great stuff.

[Tim_Cronin]

John, thank you.


It was a tremendous week here, rainstorms aside. The courses never looked better. Sam MacKenzie is a super super.


The 2017 WPGA should be fascinating.