Did the USGA and NBC drop the ball Monday?

[Mike Sweeney]

On Sunday night, even my self-professed "golf widow" of a wife was watching Tiger and Company at 9:00PM. It was the most compelling thing on TV. The NY Times reports that the US Open got a 13.5 share on Sunday which is unheard of for golf I believe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/sports/golf/17sandomir.html?partner=rssnyt

Now Monday we are playing a four hour twosome on the West Coast where the "marine layer" typically burns off in the midday. Why would the USGA and NBC not tee off Tiger and Rocco at 3:00PM (6:00PM East Coast time)? Tiger and Rocco with the sun going down over the Pacific........

Even if Rocco folded early, it had to be more compelling than Battle of the Bighorn and would have been worth the risk.

Yes, I watched it, but I am an easy target and they could have had a once in a lifetime event in prime time.

Maybe next time at Olympic and Chambers Bay.

PS. We needed one USGA bashing thread, even Shackelford was going easy on them this week. 

[Ally Mcintosh]

Why would the USGA and NBC not tee off Tiger and Rocco at 3:00PM (6:00PM East Coast time)?

Because then we wouldn't have been able to see it on this side of the pond...

I'm sure that was the USGA's prime reason for scheduling that time slot...

[Mike_Clayton]

A few hours later would have been better for us in Australia. We were up at 2.00 am for the first shots.

[Sean_A]

Yes, because there should have been a 4 hole play off a la Open style on Sunday.

Ciao

[Mike Sweeney]

Screw you overseas guys.  I need the East Coast bias guys to wake up!

[Dan Herrmann]

Mike - sorry - we're sleeping in so we can watch the NBA finals tonight, which will run till about 1am Eastern time.

[cary lichtenstein]

Good Point. I was lucky enough to be able to watch.

NBC and the USGA made a bogey here, but I don't think it will happen again.

What about the other Majors?

[John Kavanaugh]

I think they have to play early so the thousands of people that it takes to put on and report about this tournament can get on with their lives.  This includes the competitors.  Quit being so me.

[Mike Sweeney]

Quit being so me.

Listen your 45 year old guy pick last week was Davis Love when a Poker Playing Pro with a loopy swing was yours for the taking. You peaked a month too early on Torrey!

For a 13.5 share Dick Ebersol would sell out his workers quicker I would sell out Mr. Moore for a shot at Myopia!

[John Kavanaugh]

Quit being so me.

Listen your 45 year old guy pick last week was Davis Love when a Poker Playing Pro with a loopy swing was yours for the taking. You peaked a month too early on Torrey!

For a 13.5 share Dick Ebersol would sell out his workers quicker I would sell out Mr. Moore for a shot at Myopia!

My vision was of a slightly effeminate 45 year old qualifier.  When I saw Love climbing up the leaderboard I figured it must be him.  My mistake.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Mike,

The real question posed in Post No. 1 is now that Geoff S is part of Golf World and "main stream" is he toning down his writing style a little bit?

[Tony_Chapman]

Mr. Sweeney -- Would you have clamored for this primetime playoff if Westwood had made his putt and Tiger had missed?

One would think the USGA would need to set the playoff time prior to the event, not taylor the time to who is in the playoff.

[David Kelly]

I don't think NBC was prepared to cancel the Nightly News and most of their prime time lineup when there was a chance Tiger was going to shoot 69 to Rocco's 79.  Or for a Mediate/Westwood playoff.

[JohnV]

I think they have to play early so the thousands of people that it takes to put on and report about this tournament can get on with their lives.  This includes the competitors.  Quit being so me.

For once JK got it right.  Of course, it could be argued that if that was the concern, why wait until Monday to play?

I personally like the 18-hole playoff for the US Open.  With conditions as difficult as they are and the players being tired at the end of the day, one bad hole could make all the difference in a sudden-death or 3/4 hole format.  As we saw yesterday, even being 3 stroke down doesn't mean you are finished in an 18-hole playoff.

[Jason Connor]

Yesterday was far better  theatre than 4 holes Sunday night would have been.

Given a choice this weekend will you play 18 holes or 4?

That's what I thought.

[Bryce Mueller]

i think them playing in the morning mostly is due to trying to help the players move on to next week.... not knowing who will be in the playoff, these things are determined MONTHS in advance, so that staff can be prepared etc etc. If we had somehow had 3 no names all playing in SD and then trying to get over to hartford, it would have all but ruined their opportunity to play well the next week...

[Tim_Cronin]

Starting times for the 18-hole playoff have varied over the years. This one was 9 a.m. course time. I seem to recall that in 1990 at Medinah, the playoff began at 1 p.m. course (and Central) time, so ABC could come on the air at 3 p.m. Central for a two-hour (plus) show.
Part of it is TV. Part of it is location. Part of it is getting out of Dodge.

[Brad Klein]

I can think of only one reason:

-Golfweek and Golf World had to meet their Monday press deadlines, and the earlier finish allowed them (barely) to do that.

[Matt_Ward]

Mike S:

In a word to answer the title of your thread ...

Y E S

Although I would have started the play no later than 2:00 PM local time.

Having the playoff in prime time would have been fitting given the west coast location and most importantly because you have a guy named Tiger in the mix.

The weekend ratings prove your point.

Case closed.