The USGA…the Real Winner of the 2012 U.S. Open
The 2012 U.S. Open’s finishing at the Olympic Club. Photo By: Albedo20
I take nothing away from Webb Simpson who played the best of anyone in the field on Saturday and Sunday shooting back to back 68′s to pick up his first major championship. In fact I applaud his victory as I always prefer to see someone scoring to earn a major title on Sunday than just holding on to receive the trophy or Green Jacket.
However, the real winner of the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club was the USGA, who arguable put together the toughest challenge of any major since the 2007 US Open at Oakmont, striking back to redeem themselves from the unjust criticism leveled at the organization after the lower scoring shootout that was the 2011 U.S. Open at Colonial and Rory McIlroy’s winning score of 16 under par.
It may seem odd to praise a golf organization for their handling of a major, but majors in golf shouldn’t be about creating conditions on a given course that allow the greatest golfers in the world a challenging yet scoreable setup where under par is achieved by the majority of the field. There is already a name for that type of setup…it’s called the PGA Tour. Majors, and particularly the U.S. Open should be the toughest of contests, repeatedly punishing participants for any minute error, draining their mental capacity for rational though, and thereby forcing the most worthy to top of the leaderboard.
And this is exactly what happened over the course of four days at the Olympic Club.
A balance of opportunistic and unforgiving holes allowed golfers to write their own stories. Stories of hope, opportunity, hubris, punishment, and patience were all about abound.
Each golfer’s moxi was challenged with the likes of 1st hole and some of the most unforgiven pin placements of the tournament or the over 600 yard crescent moon shaped Par 5 16th hole which almost seemed more unrelenting in it’s punishment when the tee box was moved up on Sunday. And yet the USGA still created balance (and frustration) with shorter holes like the Par 4 7th and Par 4 18th where aggressive play was reward, but only when accuracy was achieved.
Jim Furyk succumbed to the pressures of the Olympic Club on Sunday and fell short of winning his second U.S. Open. Photo By: Keith Allison
All in all, the USGA produced a course setup that humbled some of the best golfers in the world and ensured that only the worthy were in contention for the U.S. Open Trophy in 2012. In fact three out of the Top 5 golfers in the world didn’t make the cut: Luke Donald, Master’s champion Bubba Watson, and defending champion Rory McIlroy. Even the world greatest modern golf icon Tiger Woods, was broken by the course after having shown the focused eyes of his former self on Thursday and Friday.
This is not to say that these top golfers and all those failed to make the cut or score reasonable well are not great golfers. One has to be great to have found their way into the tournament.
Still no one was able to crack the code devised by the USGA for the Olympic Club. Of a field of 156 players there were only 5 rounds of golf played where a competitor shot 67 or better equating to only 1% of the total rounds played. (Olympic Club was set up as a Par 70 for the US Open).
Meaning the course and the USGA won.
And yet the course’s difficulty didn’t negate the drama during the Final Round (though NBC’s coverage was more about dismissing than enhancing the drama). Spectators and those viewing at home were witness to the ups and downs of each player who was in contention on Sunday and their attempts to overcome not only the course, but the mental strain of winning a US Open.
The tournament culminated in watching the steadfast and sure footed 42 year old Jim Furyk mentally collapse under the strain during final holes, while Graeme McDowell regrouped after a mostly subpar round, showing the resiliency and determination of a championship fighter to nearly force a Monday playoff between him and Webb Simpson.
So I congratulate the USGA for producing a memorable test that humbled the greatest golfers in the world and once again presented the United States with deserving winner of its national championship.
Copyright © sports-glutton.com, 2010-2012. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from sports-glutton.com is strictly prohibited.
That’s a beautiful looking club-house and a lovely course. I am in awe of anyone who can play golf and play it well. What a difficult sport. xx
In my mind there is no greater mental challenge in sports than playing golf…been there done that.
Great stuff Jed. I do enjoy seeing the pros struggle. It proves that golf is the ultimate in physical compromise and mental control.
Thanks Jay and I feel the same way.
loved watching the open this year and what a great post spotlighting it!
Thanks Jessica!
Great post, Jed. The Olympic Club really did rule the day. No one was spared and I’ve never seen so many drives into the rough and approach shots into the bunkers. It was a war of attrition and Simpson was the last man standing — well, besides Olympic.
Love the site Jed, good for you. I love how Furyk expressed disappointment in the USGA’s decision to move the 16th tee box up 100 yards on Sunday, a move he says no one could have anticipated and therefore practiced for. So….if he had anticipated the move he would NOT have snap hooked it off the tee?
Much appreciated Brian and thanks for checking out the site. Completely agree about Furyk. Also I distinctly remember Furyk was the only one complaining about the length of the hole prior to the start of the tournament, calling is a gimmick and promotional tool by the USGA. Then they move up the tees to a normal length and it’s still unfair? Ridiculous.
Hope everything is going well for you in good old SB. Cheers!
Hi Jed, second sentence has a typo, I think.
Back in the early and mid 90′s JT and I were invited by Dial Corp (one of JTs suppliers at the time) to the Seniors Open in Scottsdale Arizona. I had never played golf, or was even the least bit interested in it. But it was a sweet deal: all we had to do was get there and they picked up everything else. And I mean everything. We were given VIP tickets to the event every day. I was even given a little golf lesson by one of the seniors who’s name escapes me now. We saw Chi-Chi Rodríguez in our hotel! But I was MOST surprised at how I enjoyed watching them actually play. The courses are incredibly manicured and beautifully landscaped considering it is the desert. It was amazing. And now, although I would never sit in front of a TV to watch a game of golf, I miss watching it in person.
Hi Eva and thanks
What a great experience with having the VIP treatment at a tournament. Live golf can really be amazing, experiencing so much more than you can in person…though I will see that tv producers (if good) can create absolutely fantastic drama not seen in person.
I’m hoping to be able to cover at least one more tournament this season and share all the images/experience with everyone.
Great golf tourney and great post honoring it. It probably was the perfect place to find the U.S. Open after the previous year’s “easy one.” Loved the fact the fog and mist never quite lifted in the final round, adding to the mystique of the course…and the drama of the action on it.
I hear ya on the fog Bruce. Definitely one of the things I miss about living in the Bay Area. Cheers!
I saw Tiger three-putt two or three times this weekend. Guys were missing three-footers on the regular.
It made me feel better about my game, that’s for sure.
It shouldn’t always be easy for those guys.