2016 U.S. Open

[Jack Lambert]

It's that time of year again. The toughest major is being played in Don's neck of the woods this year, at historic Oakmont Country Club. It's generally recognized as one of the toughest courses in golf, and it's looking that way if the 1st half of the first round is any indication. With all of the rain on Thursday, the first round will be concluded in the morning. I'm looking forward to seeing how hard the course will be playing Friday after the weather.

I'll be rooting, as always, for Phil to complete his career Grand Slam. If not, then Spieth or McIlroy to silence their critics, and thrust them back into the "World's Best Player" talk, which Jason Day has taken as of late. I also wouldn't mind seeing someone like Bubba Watson winning either.

Looking forward to a good weekend of golf!

 

[Don Wassall]

Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh area was soaked by rain and severe thunderstorms on Thursday, but the forecast is sunny and zero percent chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday, and Friday should be fine once the remnants of the storm system clear out in the morning. Most players will have to make up a round or part of a round on Friday.

I'll be rooting for Phil too of course, but at 46 he'd be the oldest U.S. Open winner ever. Lots of other players to root for, I'm hoping for lots of drama and that one of the top ten players in the world rankings wins, which is likely to happen given how difficult Oakmont is.

 

[Jack Lambert]

It looks like a lot of big names missed the cut this week: Rory, Phil, Rickie, Patrick Reed, and Justin Rose, to name the big ones. Should still be a great weekend, though! Dustin Johnson is the current clubhouse leader at -4, although I expect that number to drop as the course dries out and starts playing tougher.

 

[Don Wassall]

Dustin Johnson got the monkey off his back in a big way, playing outstanding golf under the most pressurized of conditions to win the U.S. Open. He had to play most of the back nine with the specter of a possible penalty shot being added after his round, a ridiculous situation that would have blown up big-time to the detriment of the USGA if Johnson hadn't ended up winning by four strokes, one of which was subtracted after the round when it was ruled ex-post facto that he caused a ball to move on the fifth green even though the rules official walking with his pairing ruled at the time that Johnson shouldn't be penalized.

Johnson's career arc has been a lot like Phil Mickelson's -- lots of wins but also lots of near misses in majors. Once Phil broke through at the '04 Masters he went on to win four more majors, with a slight chance of winning more at his advanced golf age.

Graeme McDowell tweeted after the championship that Johnson is the most gifted athlete to ever play golf, high praise indeed considering Tiger Woods was often absurdly called the greatest athlete in the world. Dustin is now ranked third in the world, passing Rory McIlroy. The British Open is in three weeks.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Congrats to Dustin. I was pulling for him. Glad to see him nail that second shot on the 18th to finish in style.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Dustin Johnson an Kansas Chiefs QB, Alex Smith, could be brothers. Just sayin'