The Swamp

Merion is absolutely terrifying to look at. Claustrophobics beware.

That looks scary as hell. How are the caddies going to lift the flags on 16 and 18? They look heavy.

govmentchedda wrote:That looks scary as hell. How are the caddies going to lift the flags on 16 and 18? They look heavy.

What's worse is it's the SAME flag. Confusion will undoubtedly reign.

AB_skin_test wrote:Merion is absolutely terrifying to look at. Claustrophobics beware.

What's the big deal? Just hit the ball straight, like this guy:



Joe Poz with an article about that pic

Read that yesterday.

Love the "didn't carry a 7-iron" stuff because there are no seven iron shots at Merion. That's a man that knows his game.

There are some really short Par 4s. Who will be gambling on Sunday?

All this rain will make it hard for USGA to get the greens to roll as fast as they want. This could bring into play a good player who hits it straight, good iron/wedge player, who might struggle with putting.

To me, this brings Lee Westwood right to the top of the list of favorites. Adam Scott, who lost the British last year because of his putter, and now has won the Masters, also moves up the list. Sergio fits this definition too, but his head is too screwed up at this point. If Lefty keeps his drives near the fairway, his short game magic makes him tough to beat, too. But, I'll predict it's Westwood, with another runner-up for Phil.

If I'm as good at golf as I have been at hockey this season, that means he has no chance!

I'll take Stevie Stricks.

AB_skin_test wrote:I'll take Stevie Stricks.

He's a savage when he gets to the golf course.

AB_skin_test wrote:I'll take Stevie Stricks.

Stricker would have been my sleeper pick if Merion were dry and fast. He's a very good putter, and straight.

That's why I'm picking him (excepting of course that I think Tiger will win every time). Miss these fairways and you could be in a world of hurt. Granted, there will be a lot of irons and hybrids, but I like putters on US open courses.

I'm making two picks. I'll take Jim Furyk or Henrik Stenson.

I'm pulling for the ultra dark horse - a Canadian who managed to qualify for the Open despite being a complete unknown and having the worst golfer's name ever.

I present - Ryan Yip.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/g ... story.html

Hey, if anyone is going to watch it live, hit me up. I live only about a 5K away from the course.

Glad the USGA decided to put my least favorites in one group. Makes it easy.

The flagsticks are badass.

Assuming they'll be getting/have gotten a lot of what we'll be getting/have gotten weather-wise, they aren't going to be playing much today.

imagine having 10 hours of live coverage and having it washed out. They might as well show the 1971 US Open.

rass wrote:Assuming they'll be getting/have gotten a lot of what we'll be getting/have gotten weather-wise, they aren't going to be playing much today.

The back end doesn't look too bad, but the front end is probably bad enough to wash out the whole day.

Steve Stricker is dead. He's in a position where making double is probably best case scenario. He missed the green by no more than 25-30 feet.

AB_skin_test wrote:Steve Stricker is dead. He's in a position where making double is probably best case scenario. He missed the green by no more than 25-30 feet.

He's trying to sell that as not being in the bunker!

In case you're wondering what's up with the flag sticks:

http://www.businessinsider.com/wicker-b ... pen-2013-6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sabo wrote:In case you're wondering what's up with the flag sticks:

http://www.businessinsider.com/wicker-b ... pen-2013-6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Menacing!"

Somone is gonna hit one and get a terrible bounce. I hope it's Sergio.

Who is angrier? Who is more pissed off? Tiger at his start? Or golf fans everywhere finding out Chris Berman is announcing?

Wicker fucking baskets? C'mon. That's really stupid. Sorry, but we could all pull up a ton of examples where just the basic infrastructure for a given sport has been updated for various reasons in every sport.

Not seeing the wind direction and speed on the green is a huge issue. You're altering a not insignificant aspect of the game. WTF? This isn't Big Break Merion, it's the g'd damn US Open.

Not a fan.

Nonlinear FC wrote:Wicker fucking baskets? C'mon. That's really stupid. Sorry, but we could all pull up a ton of examples where just the basic infrastructure for a given sport has been updated for various reasons in every sport.

Not seeing the wind direction and speed on the green is a huge issue. You're altering a not insignificant aspect of the game. WTF? This isn't Big Break Merion, it's the g'd damn US Open.

Not a fan.

Well, Merion uses them in part to not give the golfer undue outside influence. And because they're easier to see. And the thing is they have been doing this for a long time, so they're not altering (like they did in 1950 because you can see the flag in the Hogan shot). but staying true to their traditions. If Augusta used them and no one else did no one would bat an eye. Merion is a badass course, too.

AB_skin_test wrote:Somone is gonna hit one and get a terrible bounce. I hope it's Sergio.

Nope:

That's a fair consolation.

Rush isn't the only one full of sports hate today, eh?

rass wrote:Rush isn't the only one full of sports hate today, eh?

Mild loathing.

AB_skin_test wrote:

rass wrote:Rush isn't the only one full of sports hate today, eh?

Mild loathing.

Time to change your avatar, L'Carpetron.

AB_skin_test wrote:

Nonlinear FC wrote:Wicker fucking baskets? C'mon. That's really stupid. Sorry, but we could all pull up a ton of examples where just the basic infrastructure for a given sport has been updated for various reasons in every sport.

Not seeing the wind direction and speed on the green is a huge issue. You're altering a not insignificant aspect of the game. WTF? This isn't Big Break Merion, it's the g'd damn US Open.

Not a fan.

Well, Merion uses them in part to not give the golfer undue outside influence. And because they're easier to see. And the thing is they have been doing this for a long time, so they're not altering (like they did in 1950 because you can see the flag in the Hogan shot). but staying true to their traditions. If Augusta used them and no one else did no one would bat an eye. Merion is a badass course, too.

Harumph. I know Augusta isn't the heart of the argument, but... Augusta already takes a bunch of shit (less so now than in the past) for its "tradition" of excluding women (before that it was blacks). People also gave them shit for not allowing the front nine to be televised until fairly recently. If they also plopped wicker baskets on their flag sticks, and no else did, you bet your butt people would be giving them shit for it.

And if Merion was a regular tour stop, and these guys played it every year (like Augusta for the top players), then there'd at least be some familiarity with them. I'm under the impression that this is the first time the bulk of the field has played there.

An Open is hard enough as it is. I just don't like taking out the flag/wind direction aspect, it just seems like a weird thing to do for such an important event.

Rough day out there for Argentinians.

Luke Donald in the clubhouse at E will probably lead this thing by 8:00.

eta: nevermind, didn't see Horschel's 67.

Large gopher, or small groundhog, running across fairway in front of Phil. "We can do that; we don't even need a reason."

The "While we're young" commercials are pretty good

HAHAHA Sergio is hitting SEVEN off the 15th tee. 3 balls out of bounds!

What a mental midget.

Going to be an amazing afternoon.

Phil is obviously the favourite with the lead but the chasing pack:

Mahan
Schwartzel
Stricker
Rose
Donald
Day
even Fowler at +3

That's an amazing group of players.

Mcilroy showing some temper.