Is Kaymer Ruining the USGA's Experiment With Width?

[Phil Benedict]

They claim they don't care about the winning score but if he plays the weekend in even par or better they won't like it.  Johnny will be harping for hours about on the telecast about needing 4 inch rough for our national championship.

[Mark Bourgeois]

No, he is proving it.

[Matthew Lloyd]

I really miss the knee high rough at the US Open.  That is not a comment on Pinehurst specifially -- the course looks amazing and better than '99 and '05 -- but from a competitive standpoint and making it a great TV event where the best players struggle, I'm really, really missing the more punitive course conditions.  Not everyone is tearing it up like Kaymer obviously, but I'd prefer to see more punishment being dished out for sure.

[Brent Hutto]

...and making it a great TV event where the best players struggle,

You and I have very different ideas of great entertainment.

[Matthew Lloyd]

...and making it a great TV event where the best players struggle,

You and I have very different ideas of great entertainment.

When it comes to golf I am definitely a masochist.  Also baseball -- would much rather see a 2-1 victory with stolen bases and bunts than a game with a lot of home runs.

But ultimately I don't care what the scores are this weekend -- I just want it to be close and come down to the final few holes.  Worried this will be a repeat of Woods/Pebble and McIlroy/Congressional.

[Frank Pont]

I really miss the knee high rough at the US Open.  That is not a comment on Pinehurst specifially -- the course looks amazing and better than '99 and '05 -- but from a competitive standpoint and making it a great TV event where the best players struggle, I'm really, really missing the more punitive course conditions.  Not everyone is tearing it up like Kaymer obviously, but I'd prefer to see more punishment being dished out for sure.

You should buy a coffee table book of the paintings of Jheronimus Bosch   

[AKikuchi]

But ultimately I don't care what the scores are this weekend -- I just want it to be close and come down to the final few holes.  Worried this will be a repeat of Woods/Pebble and McIlroy/Congressional.

I'm not sure how setting the course up more punitively would stop one guy from playing out of his mind. The only shots he's missed, he's gotten up and down from the bunker.

[Pat Burke]

With no rain, the weekend will get scary on the greens if the USGA stays true to form.

I'd rather see this, and certainly play this rather than FrankenMerion

[Mark Bourgeois]

But ultimately I don't care what the scores are this weekend -- I just want it to be close and come down to the final few holes.  Worried this will be a repeat of Woods/Pebble and McIlroy/Congressional.

I'm not sure how setting the course up more punitively would stop one guy from playing out of his mind. The only shots he's missed, he's gotten up and down from the bunker.

Correct. Look at the rest of the field.

Kaymer is proving the USGA's experiment with width. Or I should say: their experiment with "width." (The speed of the fairways serves to narrow them and make it easier for balls to bound into the crap. This BTW is why I feel The Masters Course should eliminate their rough. Excuse me, "rough." Excuse me again, "second cut." Anyway, let the balls run into the pine straw / crap on both courses.)

[Jeff Taylor]

His play is not enhanced by the width of the fairways. He is striping it. Those fairways could be half as wide and he would still be 10 under.

[Richard Hetzel]

I don't think so, he is the ONLY one destroying the course so far. It will be interesting to see what the weekend brings...

[Lou_Duran]

I played #2 with two other GCAers this past Oct. and I don't recognize the course I am seeing.  No way were the greens holding shots from the fairways like over the last two days even accounting for the extra spin the pros impart on the ball.  The pros are spinning the ball from the rough through the native grasses and weeds.  Cabrera flew his driver to #3 green and held it comfortably!  Another GCAer and I are wondering how much of the current soft conditions are the result of having to keep the course in playable (softer greens) for the women next week.  1/2" rain falling on a deep sand base doesn't translate to the current conditions.  Both the speed and softness of the greens suggest something else going on.

During our round, we played the white tees and on the par 3s, where the pins were tucked, I hit 4,6,5,5 irons.  The pros are hitting 8s and 9s on two of them today.  Why is the USGA leaving some 300 yards unused?  Maybe protecting par is no longer an objective, which is fine by me.  It would be a shame, however, if all of a sudden they decide that under par is unacceptable and they tuck the pins and push the tees to tips for the last two days.

Ralph Plummer opined long ago that the rough is the only controllable and affordable defense the superintendent has against the tour players.  Ironically, the conditions which seem to prevail over the first two days make a lot of sense for most of us.  Hopefully the USGA will not reverse itself and go back to holding its tournaments on venues where the rough resembles a hay field. 

[Carl Rogers]

I don't think so, he is the ONLY one destroying the course so far. It will be interesting to see what the weekend brings...

good point ... if the 10 other players were -8 or better, that might get the USGA thinking.

I do hope that it does tighten up for a Sunday PM's climax. 

I some how did not mind it when TW blew away the field.

[Matthew Petersen]

Phil noted in his post-round interview yesterday that US Open courses often play a little easier on Thursday and Friday because they need to get so many guys around. Obviously you also tend to get drier, tougher conditions as well as the week goes on, unless Mother Nature intervenes. I suspect you will see a more difficult course on Saturday and Sunday.

But if Kaymer keeps hitting it like it has been, all that's going to do is make it harder for other to catch him. As others have said, one guy going low means nothing really. The 2000 Open at Pebble was brutal and what Tiger did doesn't disprove that. At Congressional, Rory blew away the field but there were plenty of guys shooting numbers that didn't resemble a US Open at all. So far, Pinehurst has been somewhere in between those two.

[JLahrman]

At the moment there is one guy playing unbelievably to get to 10 under. There is a player (Na) at -3 halfway through his round, and a total of 16 players under par. 11 of those players are still on the course though, I don't expect 16 players to be under par by the end of the day.

For comparison's sake, here is the 36-hole leader's score relative to par and the number of players under par over the last 10 years:
2013: -1, 2
2012: -3, 3
2011: -11, 14
2010: -2, 9
2009: -8, 15
2008: -3, 8
2007: E, 0
2006: -1, 1
2005: -2, 5
2004: -6, 11

If you believe that the USGA is obsessed with keeping the winning score around par, and if you personally care about the score relative to par, then I suppose we'd want to go back to other years where the scores were low relatively speaking: 2011 at Congressional, 2009 at Bethpage, 2004 at Shinnecock.

Did the USGA panic and somehow adjust the course to bring down the scores over the weekend? Or did we see a much tougher setup relative to par for the next year?

During our round, we played the white tees and on the par 3s, where the pins were tucked, I hit 4,6,5,5 irons.  The pros are hitting 8s and 9s on two of them today.  Why is the USGA leaving some 300 yards unused?  Maybe protecting par is no longer an objective, which is fine by me.  It would be a shame, however, if all of a sudden they decide that under par is unacceptable and they tuck the pins and push the tees to tips for the last two days.

Lou, isn't the posted measurement of the course the maximum distance, and how often does the course play to that distance? Especially during the first two rounds when there is a lot of chaff to cut, and the rounds are already too long?

[Wade Whitehead]

If they're going to use the same course for two tournaments in a row, the men should play second.

WW

[Terry Lavin]

There would appear to be no reason to watch this weekend, unless you're a member of the Kaymer family or the Na fan club.

[Mark Bourgeois]

There would appear to be no reason to watch this weekend, unless you're a member of the Kaymer family or the Na fan club.

Well, good luck watching the sham competition, the fraudulent refs-in-pocket flop fest, known as the World Cup.

[Terry Lavin]

I'd rather eat my dog's paw than watch the World Cup

[Patrick_Mucci]

They claim they don't care about the winning score

Is the tournament over ?

I must have missed the trophy presentation ceremony.

but if he plays the weekend in even par or better they won't like it. 

WHY won't they like it ?

And isn't this just the first quarter of the experiment with width ?

Johnny will be harping for hours about on the telecast about needing 4 inch rough for our national championship.

I don't believe that he will.
It's Doubtful that any announcer will reverse their stated positions should Kaymer play the last two rounds in even par or better

[Paul Gray]

There would appear to be no reason to watch this weekend, unless you're a member of the Kaymer family or the Na fan club.

Or a fan of the fact that the US Open has reverted to proper golf.

[JESII]

There would appear to be no reason to watch this weekend, unless you're a member of the Kaymer family or the Na fan club.

I'll gladly give you Kaymer versus the field Judge...do we have a bet?

[Terry Lavin]

There would appear to be no reason to watch this weekend, unless you're a member of the Kaymer family or the Na fan club.

Or a fan of your the fact that the US Open has reverted to proper golf.

No, I like the golf and the course but there's little chance of proper drama.

[jeffwarne]

But ultimately I don't care what the scores are this weekend -- I just want it to be close and come down to the final few holes.  Worried this will be a repeat of Woods/Pebble and McIlroy/Congressional.

I'm not sure how setting the course up more punitively would stop one guy from playing out of his mind. The only shots he's missed, he's gotten up and down from the bunker.

+1
more puniive often creates even more separation as the guy shooting lights out isn't ever in the deep rough, and everyone else is.

[Patrick_Mucci]

His play is not enhanced by the width of the fairways. He is striping it. Those fairways could be half as wide and he would still be 10 under.

I would stridently disagree with that.