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If they’re hitting drives like this with a helping breeze, Winged Foot’s 9th might be drivable in 2028, 2031 or whenever Winged Foot hosts the U.S. Open again.

From the 2020 U.S. Open final round where all three players made “eagles” after video game length drives.

Bryson DeChambeau, the “short” one of the group at 374.4:

Matt Wolfe, outdrove himself from Saturday’s 377 yarder and gave himself a wedge approach Sunday after this 388.5 yard tee shot.

And without the aid of a cart path, lucky bounce or any other known assistance beyond strength, launch optimization and some roll, a 418.8-yard drive from Dustin Johnson.

This 2020 U.S. Open post-final round comment from Rory McIlroy has been getting mostly negative reviews and I believe, incorrectly so. McIlroy posted a final round 75 to finish T8 at Winged Foot.

Q. Your golf followed from Tiger's and Tiger's followed from Faldo, Watson, and back to Nicklaus, very kind of straight line. Then you see this guy doing it completely in his own way, and I'm wondering what that says to you about the guy and about the game.

RORY McILROY: So I think -- about the guy, I think it's brilliant, but I think he's taken advantage of where the game is at the minute. Look, again, whether that's good or bad, but it's just the way it is. With the way he approaches it, with the arm-lock putting, with everything, it's just where the game's at right now.I'm not saying that's right or wrong. He's just taking advantage of what we have right now.

DeChambeau’s approach should raise questions about whether this is where the game should head. But you have to admire how he’s taken advantage of technology and put his body on the line in ways no one ever has. McIlroy seems to be saying that with his where the game “is at the minute.”

Which is also code for: where the game is because the governing bodies did not adequately anticipate many things that are happening.

They pulled off a fall U.S. Open and there were many more winners than losers at Winged Foot.

Winners

Bryson DeChambeau – You’ve taken enormous risks, listened to no shortage of doubters and now are a worthy, convincing major championship winner. Most impressive is the accomplishment coming on a course supposedly rigged against your aggressive style of play. Plus, no run-ins with the rules or officials, and you gave credit to your parents for the sacrifices they made. Classy win.

Matthew Wolff –  Just two majors and already a second place and a T4 at age 21. Oh and an ebullient style when so many players look so joyless.  

Westlake Golf Course – Wolff’s home away from home is also where Chris Como, DeChambeau’s distance-boost coach, got his start in the game. What a day for Thousand Oaks. Check out Sean Martin’s story here on the little course that is producing so many characters.

Lee westwood after round 3

Think about all the effort put into juicing the roughs with fertilizer, fine tuning the lines a bit to make the players lay up so the ball doesn’t have to be regulated and the excitement at seeing them punished!

Not happening. At least, not for the 2020 U.S. Open leaders.

The most stout rough we’ve seen in some time is not meaning a darned thing at Winged Foot, as Matthew Wolff takes a two stroke lead into Sunday. Two, also happens to be the number of fairways hit in a 65 that featured two very makeable birdie misses. Wolff has hit 12 fairways after three rounds leaving him tied for 58th. The bottom portion of the fairways hit ranking:

In second place sits Bryson DeChambeau, whose found 17 of 32 fairways, placing him T31 in that category.

Matthew Wolff hit two fairways and twelve greens en route to a sensational third round 65. He leads the U.S. Open at Winged Foot by two over Bryson DeChambeau in what figures to be a wild Sunday race.

Who you got?

Who Will Win The 2020 U.S. Open?Matthew Wolff (-5)Bryson DeChambeau (-3)Louis Oosthuizen (-1)Xander Schauffele (E)Hideki Matsuyama (E)Harris English (E)Rory McIlroy (+1)Someone elsepollcode.com free polls

The short par-4 sixth features such a simple design and yet remains one of the world’s best short par-4’s, even with the fairway shrunken down to counter advancements by today’s physics majors.

Through two rounds of the 2020 U.S. Open, notice how No. 6 played depending on the hole location. The more players tried to drive it, the worse they played it. (3.806 v. 4.028 scoring avg difference).

Yet only a few who laid up in round 2 made birdie, perhaps due to the tricky angle from the fairway center. (The fairway has been moved in on the right.) Those who got their tee shot just in front of the green fared best:

A close up view from round 2 where the best lay-up spot is now rough:

Jump back in time to one of the 1929 U.S. Open’s 36-hole playoff rounds documented by The American Golfer. You can see how much wider the course was and see the role rough plays today for those laying up in what was once fairway. You can also see that Bobby Jones hit a 300-yard drive, to which O.B. Keeler told spectators that it was all in the agronomy. Al Espinosa bogeyed the hole after a tee shot into the fairway bunker.

These guys know how to mash it! Even the golf ball!

Round three of the 2020 U.S. Open features two of the game’s elite, First Team All-American mashers of terra firma in the vicinity of their golf ball.

I bring good news: if their past run-ins with the golf laws are any indication, drama looms this weekend at Winged Foot.

Patrick Reed(-4), was called out on live TV pushing rough down behind his ball in a major, and digging a canal in the Bahamas and has a lawyer trying to silence those branding him a cheater. He’s also hitting just 38% of fairways and half the greens, so there is a sustainability question heading into the weekend.

Bryson DeChambeau (-3) came to the forefront of rules official bad dreams with incidents along the way, but nothing like this year’s combo package at Muirfield Village. While most of the footage has been taken down after takedown requests by the PGA Tour, though there remains a couple here where Bryson handles a ruling with absolutely no class. The scenes of him turning his driver into a spatula, however, sleep behind a password.

It’s easy to poke fun at the old guard USGA and their stodgy ways. But every now and then some stodginess would do wonders for the American spirit.

Take the group of loudmouths sandwiched together during our pandemic in New Rochelle-adjacent COVID-19 hotspot. They’re not wearing masks but screaming their brains out and to cap off this coronavirus sundae, are anchored by NCAA hooligan and world famous restaurant regular Rick Pitino.

He even made the USGA post round notes in another leg of the USGA’s Barstool transformation:

Current Iona men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino watched some of the action from a home behind the third green. Pitino coached the University of Kentucky to the national title in 1996, and also led Providence College and the University of Louisville to the Final Four during his career.

Yes he did. Also, he and his friends—including tournament volunteers—are sandwiched together and should think about following state guidelines because they are on national TV.

Oh I jest. At least about the horrors of red numbers.

Because you have to step back. Savor the absurdity of 600 or so rich folks investing so much passion into protecting par, as if they will add height or portfolio heft.

Even after all these years. Par matters to the folks of means. But I’m going to predict here and now: the folks at Winged Foot will recover. Live will go on after round one of the 2020 U.S. Open’s sensible, get-the-round-in-during-early-fall-days setup which, admittedly, rendered the vaunted West Course a tad overwhelmed by today’s jock-strap wearing, former boxers who randomly discovered the Royal and Ancient game.

I offer this for those “of means” who are grieving near the blue and white awning that really doesn’t fit with Clifford Wendehack’s masterful clubhouse:

—Your course is in perfect condition.

As predicted some time ago, the inclusion of Peacock as part of NBC’s streaming strategy might upset U.S. Open fans. This, even though the app was free and shockingly, completely free of ads during its round one debut on Comcast’s big foray into streaming.

Todd Kelly reports on the viewer issues with Peacock, which picked up the last and first two hours of weekday coverage (more weekend windows early are looming).

Problem is, Peacock doesn’t quite have Netflix-level penetration across the U.S. and many sports fans are probably still scrambling as this story was being typed, looking for that app. NBCUniversal reported on Sept. 15 that 15 million people have signed up. It first debuted about three months ago for Comcast and Cox subscribers.

They’re probably banking on acquiring more by using a major championship to spur sports fans to jump on board.

Good news: You can find Peacock on your computer by going here. You do need to create an account but it’s free.

Reports on Twitter are that Peacock is not on the Roku. It’s been confirmed that it’s also not on the Amazon Firestick, but, there’s a work-around for that.

Nothing says well-oiled machine like a workaround and being unattached to Roku and Amazon.

But the kids love their streaming no matter how clunky it remains for sports viewing. Personally, I had no issues with Peacock working on a smart TV other than a noticeable loss of picture quality and whites looking blue, some of which was verified by many on Twitter if you hit this and read the replies:

Brendan Quinn at The Athletic dropped a doozy of a feature that I’ll return to next week when Golf Channel’s U.S. Open coverage is over.

But among the many exclusive details: NBC (and therefore Comcast)’s dismantling of Golf Channel: the stunning end of the channel’s reliable, award-winning golf website, GolfChannel.com.

Quinn writes:

Golfchannel.com is being shuttered at the end of the year. Its content will move to NBCSports.com, where it will be found as a drop down option off the main page, like any other sport. Its staff is shrinking dramatically, weakening the focus on written content and originally produced journalism.

Now holding heaps of live programming costing countless millions of dollars, including documentary work and television series, Golf Channel is expected to dramatically reduce if not outright eliminate original productions.

Coffee for wellness, 19 clubs, 2 launch monitors, last minute driver adjustment...US Open Thursday for Phil. pic.twitter.com/wvuvk5Y1IE

— Geoff Shackelford (@GeoffShac) September 17, 2020

Not sure if you’ve heard, but to recap: Phil Mickelson did not finish well the last time Winged Foot hosted the U.S. Open, New Yorkers are just amazing in every way, and Danny Noonan caddied in the tournament practice rounds.

The only story of those that matters: 50-year-old Mickelson’s return hot off a Champions Tour win. But a 79 ended his bid to win the 2020 U.S. Open. He was gracious after a round that probably was over before it started judging by the range scene four hours prior (above).

Q. Obviously you got off to a great start.

PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah. I don't know what to say. It's a disappointing day.

I’m not sure I would have dropped on day one of the U.S. Open and might recommend bookmarking if you want to stay focused on the tournament. But Michael Williams files a lengthy, shocking, bizarre and eye-opening piece for The Undefeated detailing something he witnessed at last year’s U.S. Open.

Shocking because it involves one of the best people you’ll meet in professional golf—Charles Howell—who has gone above and beyond to learn from the incident. As always, please hit the link and take all of Williams’ piece in, but below is the setup.

I’ll add this to expedite matters: picture a lot of affluent people in a Lexus tent at Pebble Beach, one that make you wonder why need to have these corporate tents in the first place (oh, right, growing the game).

Williams writes:

I had been invited to the tournament by one of the corporate sponsors of the USGA, the organization that owns and operates the US Open. One of the perks was the opportunity to attend private post-round interviews with players, including Howell, in the sponsor’s hospitality tent beside the 18th fairway. As a golf journalist, I was familiar with Howell as a player, but I didn’t know much about him personally. While he wasn’t a contender to win (Howell finished tied for 52nd, 17 strokes behind winner Gary Woodland), I decided to attend to get some insight into how a physically unremarkable guy had willed himself to a remarkable career.

Todd Lewis of the Golf Channel was slated to ask Howell and fellow pro Patrick Cantlay about how the players thought they did, what their chances were, the difficulty of the course, etc. Typically, the players’ answers would match the banality of the questions.

But after a couple of softballs, Lewis started describing a story that Howell had shared with him when asked for an amusing anecdote. “You all remember the night Tiger Woods hit the fire hydrant with his car, right?” The 75 or so people in the tent laughed nervously and nodded, unsure why the 2009 accident outside Orlando, Florida, that contributed to Woods’ tragic fall was being raised at the national championship.

USGA

The appeal of hack-out, last-man-standing golf has always been a mystery.

The joy of seeing tour pros brought down to a lower level is deeply narcissistic. To want to watch skills reduced or nullified, to make you feel better about your lousy game is both selfish and terribly simplistic.

But it’s been a while since we’ve heard of a setup so anticipated for the carnage it will inflict. Winged Foot this year sounds legitimately cruel, with spot-fertilized rough, tight fairways, old-style rough, restored hole locations and no fans to mash down the tall stuff.

Players made very clear in pre-tournament assessments that they expect this to be a war of attrition.

The next time someone mentions “ironclad” and sports rights contracts, you’ll probably think of this story by Dave Shedloski at GolfDigest.com.

He speaks to several figures, including NBC’s Jon Miller, who largely orchestrated the unbelievable swap of USGA rights from Fox back to NBC/Golf Channel by staying in touch with the Fox execs. Former USGA official and now-NBC Sports head Pete Bevacqua also played a key role in bringing the two sides back together after the shocking end to NBC’s prior deal.

Most amazing in the sequence of events might have been this revelation:

FOX and NBC had to hammer out a deal in which the two sides split nearly equally the cost of the remainder of the FOX contract. Talks wrapped up in early June. But that was hardly the end of it. FOX did not have the right to simply assign the TV rights to NBC. The USGA had to sign off on it, essentially negotiating an exit deal with FOX and closing on a new deal with NBC.

FOX representatives broke the news of their agreement with NBC to Davis at a June 17 meeting at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.

Well that must have been a surprise!

The USGA’s annual U.S. Open news conference this year was a roundtable went 47 minutes and highlighted initiatives, corporate sponsors, the high rough and the distance issue.

We learned about the “cadre of social media influencers” helping to bring the tournament to everyone who can’t be there. So there was some humor.

I enjoyed this from John Bodenhamer on why the opening pairing was selected:

We can't wait for two local players, a little special start tomorrow. Brandon Wu from Scarsdale and Danny Balin from White Plains will hit the first shots off the 1st and 10th tees tomorrow morning when we start, and we're pleased by that.

Warning, there is now a brand anthem that you’ll be tired of by Sunday. From Craig Annis, Chief Brand Officer:

Thanks to reader Brian for this Caroline Wilson story where the Herald writer tells us American golfers are less likely to hit balls into the Old Course hotel than Scots.

This “news” comes as the hotel has filed for netting to protect the Jigger Inn’s outdoor revelers from incoming golf balls after all these years.

The five-star hotel, which is owned by Herb Kohler, a bathroom hardware magnate from the US, has historically had a problem with wayward balls hitting its walls and it seems Scottish golfers may be mostly to blame.

According to hotel bosses it is the American golfers who are able to add enough curl in their stroke to prevent it hitting the walls of the hotel, which borders the famous 17th ‘Road hole’. Scots golfers, are said to be more likely to hit the building.

A hotel source said: “They have to hit it over the green sheds which is part of the hotel. It is famous and notoriously difficult.”

And we know those Scots all just hit it a few feet off the ground!

The story does seem to be talking about a pair of different tasks here: hitting over the faux railway sheds from the Road hole tee, versus slicing one into the actual hotel.

Martin Davis considers the role playoffs have played in creating epic U.S. Open memories. While I don’t agree with some of the sentiments expressed in the story questioning the end of Monday 18-hole playoffs—one unnamed voice calls it the equivalent of a pop quiz—the new format remains befuddling after so many years of lectures about the importance of 18 holes to decide a tie.

The USGA settled on two-hole aggregate playoffs when The Open and PGA Championship use three holes (The Masters remains sudden-death). The two-hole setup is especially curious this year given the natural three-hole loop and this:

If a playoff is required at Winged Foot, it will be decided by a two-hole aggregate playoff on Holes 10 (a par 3 of 214 yards with the deepest bunkers on the course) and 18 (a dogleg left par 4 of 469 yards to an elevated, well-bunkered green) immediately after play. If the playoff results in a tie, play will continue on a hole-by-hole basis on Holes 10, 11 (a short par 4 of 384 yards) and 18, repeated, if necessary, until a champion is determined.

So in the aggregate playoff setup, the 11th hole providing a natural bridge to the 18th tee will be skipped, but in sudden death it would be used. Presumably the two-hole idea is for television, but it sure chips away at the championship’s cache, particularly when it’s so obviously setup for a perfect three-hole playoff.

Above is the overhead of the holes in play, with the 10th at the bottom. That’s 10, then a cart drive to 18 tee, but in sudden death the sequence would be 10-11-18. Ok.

Paul Sullivan of the New York Times considers what the loss of normal U.S. Open revenue means for the various initiatives receiving USGA support. The story, as with others on the topic, mentioned a general number of $165 million in tournament revenue with $70 million in profit.

The two entities mentioned that got my eye:

Girls Golf, which works with girls to teach them golf and life skills, was hit with a double whammy in March. It receives $1 million from the U.S.G.A. and the L.P.G.A., the governing body for women’s golf, which halted its season in March.

“We didn’t really know what was going to happen,” said Nancy Henderson, chief teaching officer and president of the L.P.G.A. Foundation. “Our initial focus was our Girls Golf sites weren’t able to do programming in person, so we moved a lot of it online.”

While grants from both organizations came through, Ms. Henderson remains worried about next year. “That’s the big question,” she said. “You don’t know if you’ll be back to a new normal.”

Regarding the new normal and the sites hosting, there is a startling change in fees for 2020 host Winged Foot. According to Bryan Marsal, the chairman of the 2020 U.S. Open, the club will see only about 10% of what was expected.

“Our compensation was based on the number of fans that came to watch the tournament, plus the amount of merchandise that was sold in the merchandise tent, plus the corporate tents that were sold and the rental of the property,” he said. “We’ve had a 90 percent reduction in the revenue going to the club.”

If you’ve watched early week coverage from Winged Foot, you know the 18th green just has something special going on. I don’t recall that sense the last time the West hosted in 2006. So we’ll chalk up that eye-catching quality to the restoration work reclaiming both shape, size and artistic flair to this historic location.

John Fischer takes us back to the putt that changed golf history and forced a 1929 U.S. Open playoff. Carve out a few minutes to go back to his moment, which now is easier to visuale in 2020 thanks to the green reclaiming its identical look.

The 12-foot putt that Jones faced on the 72nd hole was downhill on a fast green, with a left-to-right break. Jones took a few extra seconds to look over the putt. The gallery had swelled to 7,000, some standing back as far as the knoll in the 18th fairway to get a good view of the green.

Jones decided on his line and aimed 1½ feet above the cup. He stroked the ball amid dead silence from the huge crowd. The ball slowly rolled down the slope and seemed to hesitate at the edge of the cup. The gallery let out a collective gasp. Then, after seeming to hang on the lip, the ball fell into the cup. Thunderous cheering and applause followed. Jones had done it. He had tied Espinosa.

If you want to keep going back, why not get a little Grantland Rice in your life. His dispatch well after that day and one of the last things he authored.