Goose’ bumped
USGA wrong for denying Retief’s Shinnecock return
IF you’re a golf fan, and you happen to be the sentimental type and you’re stoked to see the U.S. Open next month at Shinnecock Hills, you might find it appalling that Retief Goosen doesn’t have an invitation into the field from the United States Golf Association.
Goosen won the U.S. Open the last time it was played at Shinnecock Hills in 2004, and he should be there when it returns June 14-17 to the iconic venue on Eastern Long Island.
But life isn’t always fair. We live in a cold world and the temperature inside the USGA offices when the organization’s officials were deciding whether to give Goosen a special exemption into the field obviously was not so toasty.
The British Open and Masters, which welcome their past champions into the field until they’re in their 60s, specialize in sentimentality. The USGA? Not so much.
So the 49-year-old Goosen, the winner of the 2001 and 2004 U.S. Opens, is on the outside looking in at the moment for Shinnecock — and his only ticket to get into the party, at which he should be honored, is to survive the grueling 36-hole sectional qualifying June 4.
Ernie Els, the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Open winner, and Jim Furyk, the 2003 winner and current Ryder Cup captain, were given special exemptions to Shinnecock.
Goosen was not and is bummed out about it, and I don’t blame him.
“It was disappointing,’’ Goosen told The Post. “They rung me about two weeks before [Els and Furyk were announced] and told me, ‘Sorry, it doesn’t look like the exemption’s going to go to you.’ Obviously, they felt Ernie and Jim were a little bit more qualified for the event than I am.’’ I believe this is wrong. So does Colin Byrne, Goosen’s caddie at that ’04 U.S. Open.
“It doesn’t make sense,’’ Byrne, who now caddies for Rafa CabreraBello, told The Post. “You don’t begrudge Ernie or Jim for the invite, but you’d certainly think Retief would be more deserving given the circumstances — particularly when he’s still competing.’’
Els, while delighted to be invited by the USGA, actually thought Goosen had been granted an exemption until informed by The Post he hadn’t.
“That’ll be a hard one to take — to be the defending champion at Shinnecock and not get a nod,’’ Els said.
There are 156 spots in the field and, according to Jeff Hall, the managing director of rules and open championships for the USGA, the goal is for about half of those 156 spots to be available to players qualifying for them.
Hall, in an interview with The Post on Monday, acknowledged the sentimental value of having Goosen in the field at Shinnecock, and he said the committee discussed the possibility but eventually opted not to give him an exemption.
Though he said he didn’t have a clear memory of the circumstances, Hall said Goosen, through his representatives, asked for the 2016 exemption and was granted it for Oakmont. Listening to Goosen, however, seems to contradict that.
“They gave me an invite a couple of years ago, which was surprising,’’ he said. “You’d have thought they might have held it back for Shinnecock just in case.’’
“When we give out a special exemption, that’s one less spot for the open qualification process,’’ Hall said.
Hall said the reasons behind Els and Furyk getting in this year was largely based on their consistent appearances and long-term U.S. Open performances. He said he “understands’’ Goosen being disappointed, but …
“We certainly hope he does qualify because there is a great story there and a history there that we hope we can celebrate with him,’’ Hall said. “But there’s also the practical side of conducting a championship.’’
In this case, pursuit of the “great story’’ and “history’’ would have been the better way to go than the cold, corporate way.