True to form, Ames raps Olympic Club course
Calgarian says ‘ tricked- up’ course made life miserable, and nearly impossible, for competitors
SAN FRANCISCO — From the makers of Digestol: What’s Eating Me Today, with Stephen Ames:
“I wouldn’t call it unfair — I’d say tricked- up ... which happens, if I recall, every year with the USGA. Hello?” the 48- yearold Calgarian said Sunday, after holing a lightning- quick, downhill 30- footer for birdie at the Olympic Club’s 18th hole to finish his U. S. Open week with a two- over- par 72.
That represented his best round of the week, and allowed him to avoid finishing dead last among the 72 survivors of Friday’s cut.
In fact, his score was good enough to leapfrog him past a handful of players to a tie for 68th with PGA champion Keegan Bradley at 17- over- par, one shot behind Phil Mickelson, who shot a closing 78 and made just five birdies all week.
But it wasn’t good enough to allow the USGA to escape the ever- outspoken native of Trinidad and Tobago’s evil eye.
“What was really tough about it was how inconsistent it was,” said Ames, who will play next in the AT& T National in the last week of June, then the Open Championship at Royal Lytham.
“The front- nine greens were somewhat receptive, and the back- nine greens became almost impossible to stop and 2 ½ - to almost three- feet faster, only because of the fact that they didn’t add water to them. So it’s a form of a trick- up — and you actually see the difference between the two sets of greens.
“It’s unfortunate, but they didn’t really need to trick up this golf course, it’s such a good golf course the way it is. You know, let it lay, throw your eight minutes of water on it that they normally do. I think last night, they threw less on some greens and more on others.”
“It’s not warm enough to say that the [ back- nine greens] dried out in the hour- and- ahalf it took us to play the front. I don’t think grass dries that fast in this temperature. Both Joe [ Ogilvie] and I thought it was a little unfair.”
CALL FOR BACKUP: Lest someone think Ames was talking through his hat, his playing partner Joe Ogilvie (@ ogilviej) posted these on his Twitter account, post- round: “I fear that [ USGA executive director] Mike Davis will go from the golden boy to a complete disaster with the back nine set up. Tricked up & could lead to Shinnecock.” And later, “Back nine greens were much firmer and 1- 2 feet faster on the stimp. 18 pin position might lead to the most tragic finish in championship golf.” And finally, “I’m hoping moisture from fog rolling in puts enough water on the greens to save the day. Who knows, maybe I just lost feel and have no clue.”
That, too, is possible. He shot 79 and finished last among the weekend warriors at 23- overpar.
Shinnecock, by the way, means the 2004 Open on Long Island, where the USGA completely lost the golf course in hot, dry, windy weather and several greens were basically dead by Sunday.
ON THE OTHER HAND: U. S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love shot 69 Sunday and said: “The course has been set up almost exactly the same every day, same firmness and same green speed.
“If you make a little mistake you’re going to make a bogey, probably, so it’s really tough out there. You just have to be cautious and persistent and very patient.”
Mickelson checked out at 16- over for the week, but didn’t blame conditions.
“It was a challenging test,” he said. “I thought the great thing was how great the greens were. They were in fabulous shape. They putted very true. It was firm regardless, whether there was moisture or not, you were still bouncing balls up.”
BALL- EATING TREE: It may or may not have been the very same tree Lee Janzen hit his tee shot into during the final round of the 1998 Open here, but Lee Westwood’s drive on the fifth hole Sunday flew into the very same stand of tall Cypress trees, and it never came down.
Unlike Janzen — who was on his way back to the tee to hit his third shot when a gust of wind dislodged his ball, and eventually saved par en route to his second Open title — Westwood had no such luck.
He took a double- bogey six on the hole and never was a serious threat thereafter. AS ADVERTISED: The first six holes at Olympic were always supposed to be the toughest stretch on the course. For the week, they played a combined 1,109 strokes over par.