[Matthew Petersen]

Why do we have The Players Championship, World Golf Championships, and other top flight tournaments? So that there are tournaments that feature the very best fields the game can offer.

That's not the point of an Open and that some people are ready to throw overboard the "open" concept just for the sake of a marginally stronger field is really, really sad to me.

[Sean_A]

Sorry Judge, what makes the US Open great is the competitive process, not the ranking of the players or the strength of the field.  I too think there should be a more complete qualifying process where there are much fewer exemptions with the exemptions being predicated on previous USGA events and to a lesser degree The Masters and The Open.  I leave out the PGA because they do their own thing in a closed shop. 

Ciao

[Dan Kelly]

Like you,in a perfect world,I'd want the Open to have the best 150 players in the world.

I wouldn't.

In a perfect world -- from either a "playing" or a "watching on TV" perspective -- I'd want the U.S. Open to have the players who have survived the open (lowercase and uppercase) qualifying process.

Thankfully, on this one occasion, we live in a perfect world.

[JMEvensky]

Like you,in a perfect world,I'd want the Open to have the best 150 players in the world.

I wouldn't.

In a perfect world -- from either a "playing" or a "watching on TV" perspective -- I'd want the U.S. Open to have the players who have survived the open (lowercase and uppercase) qualifying process.

Thankfully, on this one occasion, we live in a perfect world.

Doesn't my sentence after the one you quoted say the same thing?

[Alex Miller]

Like you,in a perfect world,I'd want the Open to have the best 150 players in the world.

I wouldn't.

In a perfect world -- from either a "playing" or a "watching on TV" perspective -- I'd want the U.S. Open to have the players who have survived the open (lowercase and uppercase) qualifying process.

Thankfully, on this one occasion, we live in a perfect world.

+1

[Dan Kelly]

Like you,in a perfect world,I'd want the Open to have the best 150 players in the world.

I wouldn't.

In a perfect world -- from either a "playing" or a "watching on TV" perspective -- I'd want the U.S. Open to have the players who have survived the open (lowercase and uppercase) qualifying process.

Thankfully, on this one occasion, we live in a perfect world.

Doesn't my sentence after the one you quoted say the same thing?

Honestly, I wasn't sure.

I should have read the whole thread. Then I'd have been sure, I think. Sorry.

[Terry Lavin]

Well, I guess it's time to officially label my position a "dissent" and move on to the next "case".

[JMEvensky]

Well, I guess it's time to officially label my position a "dissent" and move on to the next "case".

At least give us a Scalia-like dissent--make those of us in the majority really feel intellectually challenged.

[Dan Kelly]

Well, I guess it's time to officially label my position a "dissent" and move on to the next "case".

At least give us a Scalia-like dissent--make those of us in the majority really feel intellectually challenged.

I suspect that Scalia's dissents tend to buttress his own sense of intellectual superiority, while having no humbling effect whatsoever on the majority!

[Terry Lavin]

True about Nino Scalia.

As for me, I'm at least smart enough to know I lack intellectual superiority!

[Dan Byrnes]

I think that there are a bunch of folks who make it via exemption or qualifying that have no realistic chance to win.  Certainly the exempt players have survived the rigors of playing professional golf and one would assume they could win.  However some off these guys will never win a regular PGA Tour event let alone the US Open. (The top150 in rankings on the world golf site doesn't include a wins category, so maybe I am wrong)

I like the stories even if they have no realistic chance of winning.  I don't know when the last time a player who wasn't a college player, spent significant time on the PGA to junior tour has made a impact at the open but there are PGA tour pros who are going to card 80's, so I would rather see those score come from a person who earned there opportunity qualifying.

Dan

[Bill Shamleffer]

I think that there are a bunch of folks who make it via exemption or qualifying that have no realistic chance to win.  Certainly the exempt players have survived the rigors of playing professional golf and one would assume they could win.  However some off these guys will never win a regular PGA Tour event let alone the US Open. (The top150 in rankings on the world golf site doesn't include a wins category, so maybe I am wrong)

I like the stories even if they have no realistic chance of winning.  I don't know when the last time a player who wasn't a college player, spent significant time on the PGA to junior tour has made a impact at the open but there are PGA tour pros who are going to card 80's, so I would rather see those score come from a person who earned there opportunity qualifying.

Dan

Actually 3 of the last 17 US Open winners went through Sectional Qualifying (Steve Jones, Michael Campbell, and Lucas Golver).  Back in 1969 Orville moody went through both Local and Sectional Qualifying.  I believe Ken Venturi may have also come through Sectional Qualifying.

[Dan Byrnes]

Aware of that.  I was meaning that a fair number of the exempt players who don't have to qualify that have no real shot of winning a US Open either imho.  Certainly there are talented Pros who for one reason or another aren't exempt.

http://www.usopen.com/en_US/news/qualifying/exemptions.html

Dan

[Martin Toal]

Sectional qualifiers winning the U.S. Open:

2005 - Michael Campbell

Michael Campbell wasn't really a Tin Cup style plucky outsider. He had finished in the top 30 of the European Tour for each of the five seasons before his 2005 win, during which time he had 6 wins.

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