Here’s the latest from my contact in the media centre and the weather forecasters hut at Olympic Club. The Course The “unfair” green on 1...
Here’s the latest from my contact in the media centre and the weather forecasters hut at Olympic Club.
Lots of the European contingent had expected tree lined fairways only to be a bit disappointed by the sparse look in places. Hundreds of giant Pines have been removed; they were either diseased or unstable.
What this has done is to allow the wind from the sea to whistle across the course.
The greens are a hybrid bentgrass, they used used to poa annua. Stimpmeter readings from the greenkeeping staff (unofficially) are said to be between 11 and 13 metres and maybe even a little faster, depending on the wind drying the course on the weekend.
The greens are tiny but the rough is not even close to being as punishing as expected. Sure. there will be bad lies but in places it is very patchy.
The course is set up to mostly favour a player comfortable with a left to right shot. Eight holes have been redesigned to require a new shape with the drive.
The hardest part of the course according to those in practice is the run off areas around the greens. These are cut shorter than average greens and gathering any errant balls. Expect lots of precise clean contact chipping for anyone expecting to get up and down.
The front nine is playing harder than the back nine. The first six holes in particular are brutal. The longest hole is the 670-yard par five 16th.
and finally the consensus among the players and caddies is that 10 under could win!
7:15 a.m./12:30 p.m. -- Scott Langley, Manchester, Mo.; Steve Lebrun, West Palm Beach, Fla.; A-Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif.
7:26 a.m./12:41 p.m. -- Jason Bohn, Acworth, Ga.; Raphael Jacquelin, France; J. B. Park, Korea
7:37 a.m./12:52 p.m. -- Michael Thompson, Birmingham, Ala.; TBD; Steve Marino, St. Simons Island, Ga.
7:48 a.m./1:03 p.m. -- Brendan Jones, Australia; George Coetzee, South Africa; Gregory Bourdy, France
7:59 a.m./1:14 p.m. -- A-Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif.; Jonathan Byrd, Sea Island, Ga.; Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash.
8:10 a.m./1:25 p.m. -- Retief Goosen, South Africa; Vijay Singh, Fiji; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
8:21 a.m./1:36 p.m. -- Paul Casey, England; Hiroyuki Fujita, Japan; Mark Wilson, Elmhurst, Ill.
8:32 a.m./1:47 p.m. -- Adam Scott, Australia; Keegan Bradley, Jupiter, Fla.; Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.
8:43 a.m./1:58 p.m. -- Tim Clark, South Africa; Toru Taniguchi, Japan; Rod Pampling, Australia
8:54 a.m./2:09 p.m. -- Francesco Molinari, Italy; Bo Van Pelt, Jenks, Okla.; Peter Hanson, Sweden
9:05 a.m./2:20 p.m. -- D. A. Points, Windermere, Fla.; Dong-Hwan Lee, Korea; Kevin Streelman, Scottsdale, Ariz.
9:16 a.m./2:31 p.m. -- Edward Loar, Dallas, Texas; Paul Claxton, Claxton, Ga.; Alistair Presnell, Australia
9:27 a.m./2:42 p.m. -- Mark McCormick, Middletown, N.J.; A-Nick Sherwood, Albany, Ore.; Cole Howard, Fort Worth, Texas
Thursday (June 14), hole #9; Friday (June 15), hole #1
7 a.m./12:45 p.m. -- Shane Bertsch, Parker, Colo.; Martin Flores, Dallas, Texas; Tommy Biershenk, Inman, S.C.
7:11 a.m./12:56 p.m. -- Scott Piercy, Las Vegas, Nev.; Matthew Baldwin, England; Matt Bettencourt, Greenville, S.C.
7:22 a.m./1:07 p.m. -- Thomas Bjorn, Denmark; Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.; Branden Grace, South Africa
7:33 a.m./1:18 p.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Tiger Woods, Hobe Sound, Fla.; Bubba Watson, Scottsdale, Ariz.
7:44 a.m./1:29 p.m. -- Joe Ogilvie, Austin, Texas; Stephen Ames, Canada; Tim Herron, Deephaven, Minn.
7:55 a.m./1:40 p.m. -- Davis Love III, Sea Island, Ga.; Padraig Harrington, Ireland; David Toms, Shreveport, La.
8:06 a.m./1:51 p.m. -- Carl Pettersson, Sweden; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Charles Howell III, Windermere, Fla.
8:17 a.m./2:02 p.m. -- Robert Karlsson, Sweden; Bob Estes, Austin, Texas; Robert Rock, England
8:28 a.m./2:13 p.m. -- K. J. Choi, Korea; Y. E. Yang, Korea; K. T. Kim, Korea
8:39 a.m./2:24 p.m. -- Fredrik Jacobson, Sweden; Robert Garrigus, Phoenix, Ariz.; Alexander Noren, Sweden
8:50 a.m./2:35 p.m. -- Gonzalo Fernandez-Castan'o, Spain; SangMoon Bae, Korea; Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Spain
9:01 a.m./2:46 p.m. -- Marc Warren, Scotland; Anthony Summers, Australia; Michael Allen, Scottsdale, Ariz.
9:12 a.m./2:57 p.m. -- Hunter Hamrick, Montgomery, Ala.; Tim Weinhart, Alpharetta, Ga.; Scott Smith, Fallon, Nev.
Thursday (June 14), hole #1; Friday (June 15), hole #9
12:45 p.m./7 a.m. -- Casey Martin, Eugene, Ore.; A-Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn.; Dennis Miller, Youngstown, Ohio
12:56 p.m./7:11 a.m. -- Jim Herman, Palm City, Fla.; William Lunde, Las Vegas, Nev.; David Mathis, Wake Forest, N.C.
1:07 p.m./7:22 a.m. -- Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium; Charlie Wi, Korea; Simon Dyson, England
1:18 p.m./7:33 a.m. -- Alvaro Quiros, Spain; Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; John Senden, Australia
1:29 p.m./7:44 a.m. -- Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Luke Donald, England; Lee Westwood, England
1:40 p.m./7:55 a.m. -- Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Bch, Fla.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland
1:51 p.m./8:06 a.m. -- Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.; Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Lucas Glover, Sea Island, Ga.
2:02 p.m./8:17 a.m. Ernie Els, South Africa; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia; Angel Cabrera, Argentina
2:13 p.m./8:28 a.m. -- Martin Laird, Scotland; Ben Crane, Beaverton, Ore.; Anders Hansen, Denmark
2:24 p.m./8:39 a.m. -- Matteo Manassero, Italy; Aaron Baddeley, Australia; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain
2:35 p.m./8:50 a.m. -- Brian Harman, St. Simons Island, Ga.; TBD; Mikko Ilonen, Finland
2:46 p.m./9:01 a.m. -- Brice Garnett, Gallatin, Mo.; TBD; Jesse Mueller, Mesa, Ariz.
2:57 p.m./9:12 a.m. -- Brian Rowell, Lafayette, La.; A-Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz.; Brian Gaffney, Monmouth Beach, N.J.
Thursday (June 14), hole #9; Friday (June 15), hole #1
12:30 p.m./7:15 a.m. -- John Peterson, Baton Rouge, La.; Morgan Hoffmann, Jupiter, Fla.; Aaron Watkins, Mesa, Ariz.
12:41 p.m./7:26 a.m. -- Jeff Curl, Birmingham, Ala.; Nicholas Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.; Casey Wittenberg, Memphis, Tenn.
12:52 p.m./7:37 a.m. -- Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark; Chez Reavie, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Peter Lawrie, Ireland
1:03 p.m./7:48 a.m. -- Michael Campbell, New Zealand; Olin Browne, Tequesta, Fla.; Joe Durant, Pensacola, Fla.
1:14 p.m./7:59 a.m. -- Bill Haas, Greenville, S.C.; Nick Watney, Las Vegas, Nev.; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.
1:25 p.m./8:10 a.m. -- Martin Kaymer, Germany; Hunter Mahan, Colleyville, Texas; Justin Rose, England
1:36 p.m./8:21 a.m. -- Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.; Ian Poulter, England; Matt Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.
1:47 p.m./8:32 a.m. -- Jason Day, Australia; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Jason Dufner, Auburn, Ala.
1:58 p.m./8:43 a.m. -- Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.
2:09 p.m./8:54 a.m. -- Hunter Haas, Fort Worth, Texas; Tadahiro Takayama, Japan; Lee Slattery, England
2:20 p.m./9:05 a.m. -- Alex Cejka, Germany; Kevin Chappell, Fresno, Calif.; Blake Adams, Eatonton, Ga.
2:31 p.m./9:16 a.m. -- James Hahn, San Bruno, Calif.; Darron Stiles, Pinehurst, N.C.; Roberto Castro, Alpharetta, Ga.
2:42 p.m./9:27 a.m. -- A-Brooks Koepka, Tallahassee, Fla.; TBD; Samuel Osborne, England
The Course
The “unfair” green on 18 was redone after the 1998 US Open and the players this week have all reported it to be fair. Punishing if you are in the wrong position, but fair.
Lots of the European contingent had expected tree lined fairways only to be a bit disappointed by the sparse look in places. Hundreds of giant Pines have been removed; they were either diseased or unstable. What this has done is to allow the wind from the sea to whistle across the course.
The greens are a hybrid bentgrass, they used used to poa annua. Stimpmeter readings from the greenkeeping staff (unofficially) are said to be between 11 and 13 metres and maybe even a little faster, depending on the wind drying the course on the weekend.
The greens are tiny but the rough is not even close to being as punishing as expected. Sure. there will be bad lies but in places it is very patchy.
The course is set up to mostly favour a player comfortable with a left to right shot. Eight holes have been redesigned to require a new shape with the drive.
The hardest part of the course according to those in practice is the run off areas around the greens. These are cut shorter than average greens and gathering any errant balls. Expect lots of precise clean contact chipping for anyone expecting to get up and down. The front nine is playing harder than the back nine. The first six holes in particular are brutal. The longest hole is the 670-yard par five 16th.
The Weather
The official weather man for the USGA has posted charts for the week indicating mild weather, approx 20 degree Celcius with no rain. A Westerly sea breeze at 15 mph is expected to prevail for the duration of the event.and finally the consensus among the players and caddies is that 10 under could win!
Tee Times
Click read more below for full list of tee timesTee Times
Groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open Thursday (June 14) and Friday (June 15) at the par 34-36—70, 7,170-yard, The Olympic Club (Lake Course) in San Francisco, Calif. (A=amateur)
Thursday (June 14), hole #1; Friday (June 15), hole #97:15 a.m./12:30 p.m. -- Scott Langley, Manchester, Mo.; Steve Lebrun, West Palm Beach, Fla.; A-Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif.
7:26 a.m./12:41 p.m. -- Jason Bohn, Acworth, Ga.; Raphael Jacquelin, France; J. B. Park, Korea
7:37 a.m./12:52 p.m. -- Michael Thompson, Birmingham, Ala.; TBD; Steve Marino, St. Simons Island, Ga.
7:48 a.m./1:03 p.m. -- Brendan Jones, Australia; George Coetzee, South Africa; Gregory Bourdy, France
7:59 a.m./1:14 p.m. -- A-Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif.; Jonathan Byrd, Sea Island, Ga.; Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash.
8:10 a.m./1:25 p.m. -- Retief Goosen, South Africa; Vijay Singh, Fiji; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
8:21 a.m./1:36 p.m. -- Paul Casey, England; Hiroyuki Fujita, Japan; Mark Wilson, Elmhurst, Ill.
8:32 a.m./1:47 p.m. -- Adam Scott, Australia; Keegan Bradley, Jupiter, Fla.; Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.
8:43 a.m./1:58 p.m. -- Tim Clark, South Africa; Toru Taniguchi, Japan; Rod Pampling, Australia
8:54 a.m./2:09 p.m. -- Francesco Molinari, Italy; Bo Van Pelt, Jenks, Okla.; Peter Hanson, Sweden
9:05 a.m./2:20 p.m. -- D. A. Points, Windermere, Fla.; Dong-Hwan Lee, Korea; Kevin Streelman, Scottsdale, Ariz.
9:16 a.m./2:31 p.m. -- Edward Loar, Dallas, Texas; Paul Claxton, Claxton, Ga.; Alistair Presnell, Australia
9:27 a.m./2:42 p.m. -- Mark McCormick, Middletown, N.J.; A-Nick Sherwood, Albany, Ore.; Cole Howard, Fort Worth, Texas
Thursday (June 14), hole #9; Friday (June 15), hole #1
7 a.m./12:45 p.m. -- Shane Bertsch, Parker, Colo.; Martin Flores, Dallas, Texas; Tommy Biershenk, Inman, S.C.
7:11 a.m./12:56 p.m. -- Scott Piercy, Las Vegas, Nev.; Matthew Baldwin, England; Matt Bettencourt, Greenville, S.C.
7:22 a.m./1:07 p.m. -- Thomas Bjorn, Denmark; Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.; Branden Grace, South Africa
7:33 a.m./1:18 p.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Tiger Woods, Hobe Sound, Fla.; Bubba Watson, Scottsdale, Ariz.
7:44 a.m./1:29 p.m. -- Joe Ogilvie, Austin, Texas; Stephen Ames, Canada; Tim Herron, Deephaven, Minn.
7:55 a.m./1:40 p.m. -- Davis Love III, Sea Island, Ga.; Padraig Harrington, Ireland; David Toms, Shreveport, La.
8:06 a.m./1:51 p.m. -- Carl Pettersson, Sweden; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Charles Howell III, Windermere, Fla.
8:17 a.m./2:02 p.m. -- Robert Karlsson, Sweden; Bob Estes, Austin, Texas; Robert Rock, England
8:28 a.m./2:13 p.m. -- K. J. Choi, Korea; Y. E. Yang, Korea; K. T. Kim, Korea
8:39 a.m./2:24 p.m. -- Fredrik Jacobson, Sweden; Robert Garrigus, Phoenix, Ariz.; Alexander Noren, Sweden
8:50 a.m./2:35 p.m. -- Gonzalo Fernandez-Castan'o, Spain; SangMoon Bae, Korea; Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Spain
9:01 a.m./2:46 p.m. -- Marc Warren, Scotland; Anthony Summers, Australia; Michael Allen, Scottsdale, Ariz.
9:12 a.m./2:57 p.m. -- Hunter Hamrick, Montgomery, Ala.; Tim Weinhart, Alpharetta, Ga.; Scott Smith, Fallon, Nev.
Thursday (June 14), hole #1; Friday (June 15), hole #9
12:45 p.m./7 a.m. -- Casey Martin, Eugene, Ore.; A-Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn.; Dennis Miller, Youngstown, Ohio
12:56 p.m./7:11 a.m. -- Jim Herman, Palm City, Fla.; William Lunde, Las Vegas, Nev.; David Mathis, Wake Forest, N.C.
1:07 p.m./7:22 a.m. -- Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium; Charlie Wi, Korea; Simon Dyson, England
1:18 p.m./7:33 a.m. -- Alvaro Quiros, Spain; Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; John Senden, Australia
1:29 p.m./7:44 a.m. -- Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Luke Donald, England; Lee Westwood, England
1:40 p.m./7:55 a.m. -- Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Bch, Fla.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland
1:51 p.m./8:06 a.m. -- Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.; Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Lucas Glover, Sea Island, Ga.
2:02 p.m./8:17 a.m. Ernie Els, South Africa; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia; Angel Cabrera, Argentina
2:13 p.m./8:28 a.m. -- Martin Laird, Scotland; Ben Crane, Beaverton, Ore.; Anders Hansen, Denmark
2:24 p.m./8:39 a.m. -- Matteo Manassero, Italy; Aaron Baddeley, Australia; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain
2:35 p.m./8:50 a.m. -- Brian Harman, St. Simons Island, Ga.; TBD; Mikko Ilonen, Finland
2:46 p.m./9:01 a.m. -- Brice Garnett, Gallatin, Mo.; TBD; Jesse Mueller, Mesa, Ariz.
2:57 p.m./9:12 a.m. -- Brian Rowell, Lafayette, La.; A-Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz.; Brian Gaffney, Monmouth Beach, N.J.
Thursday (June 14), hole #9; Friday (June 15), hole #1
12:30 p.m./7:15 a.m. -- John Peterson, Baton Rouge, La.; Morgan Hoffmann, Jupiter, Fla.; Aaron Watkins, Mesa, Ariz.
12:41 p.m./7:26 a.m. -- Jeff Curl, Birmingham, Ala.; Nicholas Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.; Casey Wittenberg, Memphis, Tenn.
12:52 p.m./7:37 a.m. -- Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark; Chez Reavie, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Peter Lawrie, Ireland
1:03 p.m./7:48 a.m. -- Michael Campbell, New Zealand; Olin Browne, Tequesta, Fla.; Joe Durant, Pensacola, Fla.
1:14 p.m./7:59 a.m. -- Bill Haas, Greenville, S.C.; Nick Watney, Las Vegas, Nev.; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.
1:25 p.m./8:10 a.m. -- Martin Kaymer, Germany; Hunter Mahan, Colleyville, Texas; Justin Rose, England
1:36 p.m./8:21 a.m. -- Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.; Ian Poulter, England; Matt Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.
1:47 p.m./8:32 a.m. -- Jason Day, Australia; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Jason Dufner, Auburn, Ala.
1:58 p.m./8:43 a.m. -- Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.
2:09 p.m./8:54 a.m. -- Hunter Haas, Fort Worth, Texas; Tadahiro Takayama, Japan; Lee Slattery, England
2:20 p.m./9:05 a.m. -- Alex Cejka, Germany; Kevin Chappell, Fresno, Calif.; Blake Adams, Eatonton, Ga.
2:31 p.m./9:16 a.m. -- James Hahn, San Bruno, Calif.; Darron Stiles, Pinehurst, N.C.; Roberto Castro, Alpharetta, Ga.
2:42 p.m./9:27 a.m. -- A-Brooks Koepka, Tallahassee, Fla.; TBD; Samuel Osborne, England
Technorati Tags: 2012 US Open Media Centre
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