cville deac
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- Apr 14, 2011
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There’s been a trend during the last few Opens of winners being a few strokes under par to significantly under par, including Koepka last year at 16 under. That’s a John Deere Classic score, not US Open. I have not had a chance to watch any of it today, but it would not surprise me if the USGA really put some teeth into Shinnecock in the course set-up.
Actually, the set-up this year is very similar to last year's set-up with wide fairways, a few yards of penal rough and then hay. The hay last year and this year is a 1 stroke penalty. The major difference between last year and this is the wind. Last year they had none and got a little rain to soften it up. Had they had wind and no rain at Erin Hills, the winning score would have been much closer to par. The other difference is the greens. Some of Shinnecock's greens have limited spaces where you can put pins, and a few of them are incredibly difficult. Hell, they were hitting 60-100 yard pitches to 10 and still making bogey and double. The other thing Davis did in this year's set-up was to shave around the greens. So when you go long, you're pretty much toast. The chips would be easier if you were only a foot over the green in the rough.
I really like Mike Davis. He's the opposite of the USGA nimrod predecessors. He has done tough but fair set-ups. This year the weather is exactly what he wants, and even par could win it. When the weather doesn't cooperate, like it didn't at Erin Hills and Congressional, he hasn't panicked and has let them go low. In 2004, the USGA panicked after some low scores the first couple of days and dried the greens so they were almost like asphalt. Then the winds picked up, and the course wasn't playable. Davis' only mistake has been murdering the greens at Chambers Bay. If Chambers Bay wants to host another big event in the summer, they should change the greens from fescue to bent or bermuda so they won't die when it's 80+ degrees.