Pressure on the USGA
TOWN OF ERIN - Pressure. It’s the element that will weigh on 156 players as the 117th U.S. Open begins Thursday at Erin Hills. The eventual champion, a golf survivor, will have to deal with four days and 72 holes of unrelenting stress and tension on a course that rolls through the Wisconsin countryside.
But this year, there’s another group that will also face pressure, the organizers of the event, the United States Golf Association.
The last two U.S. Opens have not gone well for the USGA, golf’s guardians.
In 2015, players had to navigate subpar greens at a new venue, Chambers Bay in Washington.
And in 2016, at fabled Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh, a controversial rules decision nearly derailed Dustin Johnson on his way to victory.
USGA officials acknowledge they’re on the spot to produce a smooth, seamless championship.
And they’ve taken on a lot here.
This is the first U.S. Open to be held at Erin Hills and in the state of Wisconsin. Thousands of spectators will park miles away and be shuttled to the grounds.
In every way, it’s a big production. But already, organizers are staring down the elements, with a wet forecast looming over the event.
The results of the last two years affected the entire organization, USGA Executive Director Mike Davis said Wednesday.
“And by that I mean that anytime your competency comes into question, that affects the people that are doing our equipment testing, the agronomic people on the greens section, our people dealing with the history of the game and helping to grow the game.
“So, of course, we want to avoid those things,” Davis said. “But sometimes, things happen.”
During last year’s final round at Oakmont, on the fifth hole, Johnson’s ball moved as his putter inched toward it. Did he cause it? That would be a penalty. If the ball moved on its own, no problem.
Johnson was instructed to play on with no penalty by the referee. But six holes later, after a video review, Johnson was informed he had incurred a penalty stroke. The rule has since been altered. USGA officials said they began looking at the rules and procedures the day after the last U.S. Open.
It’s golf. And it’s complicated. But the organization has focused on three things.
“First, to expedite our ruling process to ensure that we’re more timely in our rulings,” John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director, champions and governance, told the news media. “To be decisive in our decision-making. And to more effectively communicate to the players and to all of you.”
This year, there will be a chief referee of the five-person rules committee, enhanced video technology and a group of stationary rules officials at each hole.
“Our main goal is for this week to be about the players and their journey to the final round,” Bondenhamer said. “They’re the story of this championship.”
The USGA has come under heavy criticism
before, usually about the way courses have been set up, the speed of the greens or the length of the rough.
After Johnny Miller shot a closing round 63 to win the 1973 Open at Oakmont, officials went overboard the next year and laid out a diabolical challenge. Hale Irwin struggled home the winner at 7-over in a tournament that earned the nickname, “The Massacre At Winged Foot.”
The U.S. Open became known as “the toughest test in golf.” Now, organizers want it to be talked about as “the ultimate test of golf.”
This year, the focus has been on the deep rough of fescue, and whether it should be cut back.
“They could feed a lot of cattle with all the fescue that’s been harvested,” Davis said. Weather is a concern for officials, too. “They’re predicting more rain Thursday night into Friday morning, likely some on Saturday,” Davis said. “So I will just tell you that this golf course drains beautifully.”
That’s not exactly a phrase golf fans want to hear. But it’s the reality of Wisconsin’s weather.
In the end, though, it really is the players who make the tournament. The big hitters are eager to take on the challenge.
“It feels like a U.S. Open just walking the golf course,” said Jordan Spieth, the 2015 champion.
Jason Day, winner of the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, said he’s ready for whatever the course and the weather throw at him.
“Tough conditions, windy conditions, rain whatever it is, as long as it’s harder, I feel like I play a lot better in conditions like that,” he said.
The last two years, the USGA got some things wrong.
This year, it’s looking to show that it can learn from past mistakes. Nobody is predicting perfection.
“We’re not going to get everything right,” USGA President Diana Murphy said. “There may be something else we didn’t think of this year. But I think you’re going to see a wonderful championship on Father’s Day Sunday.”