Running 2020 PGA Tour thread

Not necessarily East Coast-centric, but the USGA had to have a (theoretically, I know it's been significantly altered) Ross course in its rotation, and the Country Club doesn't want the honor. As for the East Coast thing, now there's LACC, Pebble, Olympic and Torrey Pines.

 

I would imagine that Hazeltine will get one every so. Oakland Hills, too. The Midwest has lots of golfers. The South gets screwed because of the calendar, just too damn hot, but it has the Masters, so it's less onerous.

 

I heard Tirico mention Oakland Hills more than once yesterday, I'm sure.

 

I regret not being here last night to have your back on this; Harding Park was the most entertaining tourney in several years.

 

I’ve heard the Shinnecock membership will likely pause before they take another one after 2026. I know it’s the most logistically difficult site.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Chambers get another shot if they managed to get decent greens. Never understood how Bandon had good ones and Chambers didn’t. Something in the agronomy got screwed up. Erin Hills was always a bad idea.

One advantage of the public venues is we don’t have to hear about the members, for better or worse. I think it was the Cabrera year at Oakmont where Rosaforte wouldn’t shut up about how much he liked “the hang”.

 

I could be wrong, but it sure seems like this is the least tricked-up Open I've seen in some time. The pin placements are nasty and the rough is thick, but it's not all burned out like the USGA seems to like it.

There was a great stat just posted. The field's hitting right around 40 percent of the fairways, the lowest number since at least 1995. Dustin Johnson yanked his first two drives today and is already scrambling.

To win the Open, you have to play what the course gives you instead of trying to overpower it, like these guys do every other week. This isn't a crush and chip course. I can only think of a couple of occasions where somebody destroyed the course (Tiger at Pebble, for example) instead of just accepting pars and staying away from big figures.

Who can think their way around Winged Foot and stay composed for 36 more holes? Rory? Harris English? That's what I find intriguing about this compared to the PGA.

 

Among other problems, 2015 had an unusually dry spring and early summer by Northwest standards. Usually the dry spell is later, like July -September (this year is, unfortunately, an extreme example).

The Chambers Bay site is a beautiful location and is physically perfect for a demanding links-style course. They just really botched the setup for fans and, obviously, the greens.

 

Sun is gone by 7 p.m., we’ve had a decent amount of rain in the last few weeks and I Don’t think we’ve had a day above 80 in the last week and a half. They can’t do the June bake in September.