Bravo, Ryan Moore…

…and not just for playing Scratch irons and wedges either (which is seriously, SERIOUSLY awesome).

Let’s delve into some juicy quotes, shall we?  First, as always…link.

“I feel like instead of difficulty, they just go for trickiness, to be honest,” he said.

Moore was particularly critical of the par-five 14th hole and its fast, slopey, raised green. It’s where, in the second round, Zach Johnson made a nine, and Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Y.E. Yang each carded an eight after chipping adventures.

“It would take not much to make that green at least halfway reasonable, and they refuse to do it,” Moore said of USGA officials. “I think they go for a spectacle; they want some hole to draw attention and make everybody look stupid, I guess. It doesn’t reward good golf shots like Augusta (National) does, and I don’t understand why you’d have a tournament that doesn’t reward good golf shots.”

More quotage after the jump.

 

What You Missed: Vomit Inducing Crapfest US Open

I don’t care that the US Open was fantastic for three days or that the course was fantastic and the competition fierce.  I don’t care that I’m going to be extremely petty and biased in the following paragraphs and I CERTAINLY don’t care if any Graeme McDowell fans get upset with me but I thought the final round of the Open sucked royal ass with a capital ROYAL ASS.

 

Fantasy Foursome: The US Open at Pebble Beach

Glorious Pebble Beach. The site of this year’s first Major Championship and our National Championship, the US Open.

First, the standings:

1. spencer096: 74
2. Lefty: 210
3. Tips: 254
4. Schneider: 262
5. AC: 349
6. toneypenna: 349

But before we get to the picks, lets make sure everyone’s playing this week first.

Check.

/Bryce  Molder’d
//St. Jude’d
///I guess I’m the only one who should be worried…

TheRealAC:

Tiger Woods is the pick. He’s due to return to old Tiger form some time and he’s already won the US Open at Pebble in 2000 in historic fashion. The course will be dry and fast so why not take one of the guys who can pull off almost any shot? Did I mention he won in historic fashion in 2000? Oh I did? Well he’s gonna do it again.

 

Course Preview: Pebble Beach

Everyone knows all about Pebble Beach, but there have been some subtle changes to some key holes that are going to make this trip a little different than in previous trips.

From what I’ve gathered, the rough isn’t too crazy except around the bunkers where it’s pretty fuckin’ gnarly.  The course conditions are fantastic, as to be expected, and we’ll most likely see some firm and fast fairways which is exactly what USGA guru Mike Davis envisioned in bringing the ocean more into play along 6, 8 and 10.  The course’s difficulty will be determined in large by the elements…if it’s nice and the wind isn’t blowing expect some reasonably low scores, but the wind will be a factor…you know this.

Anyways, lets just look at some of the updates from the 2000 Open.

 

List Time: The Best US Open Venues

This is written because John Feinstein is a fucking idiot and thinks that Pebble and Shinnecock are the top two and said the rest are “lagging behind.”  Yes, he said that places like Winged Foot, Oakmont and Pinehurst are “lagging behind.”  Lagging behind?

Well pardon my freedom, John, but you’re out of your fucking mind.

Pebble?  No complaints there even if the course is a little played (be it from Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf on Xbox or kitschy motivational posters or highlight films).  But Shinnecock?  Uh…2004 wasn’t really all that long ago, John…and it was right in your back yard too, and I know you saw it.

2004’s US Open was a disaster, no two ways around it.  I’ve obviously never played any of these courses, but I’ve seen their layouts and vividly remember pretty much every Open since 1999, yes, even Michael Campbell’s meh-fest at Pinehurst and the chokercoaster at Southern Hills in 2001.  And what I remember from 2004 was that the US Open was absolutely terrible to watch thanks to those greens and the conditioning.  The USGA or Shinnecock’s members or whomever fucked up, but what was done was done, and the US Open suffered.

Point being, Shinnecock is firmly on top of the short list of the dream courses I’d love to play.  I know that it was rated as the hardest golf course in America by Golf Digest in 2008, and it’s old school, American classic aura is something I dig.  But there’s only been a few US Opens here and that Raymond Floyd and Corey Pavin’s wins were awesome, but there are some heavy hitters that Feinstein says was “lagging behind.”  A few courses that, when it comes to US Opens, don’t lag behind Shinnecock*.

4. Olympic Club: The best nickname on the course…The Graveyard of Champions.

 

US Open: My Journey, Erik Crompton

There are so many story lines out there about the 2010 US Open. Who will I take? Not sure yet, but I do know who I will be cheering for: Erik Compton.

 

US Open Week, Part One: Tiger Woods

It’s THAT time of the golf season, again. This week the greatest major of them all will be held at the prestigious Pebble Beach Golf Links, with a full cast of the Tour’s best players (oh wait, that’s right, a couple of them failed to qualify. oh well). All week long (and hopefully thru the weekend) Tuna Golf will provide a plethora of US Open material of the past and present to insure none one feels left out (I’m staring at you, old man). Because we’ll be damned if some worldwide futbol event ruins one of ‘Merica’s famous pastimes.

Spencer opened this week with a course review of one of the most difficult tracks I’ve yet to come across. This is surely fitting  since US Open courses are notoriously prepped with greens like concrete, 8′ deep rough, and lengthened to such a degree that only Magellan would truly appreciate the course’s layout.  So to kick things off, we’re going to briefly look at a couple circulating story lines regarding the hot topic and the 2000, 2002, and 2008 Open champ, Tiger Woods.

 

The Mysterious US Open Qualifying Process

Umm... awkward.

Ok, it’s not that mysterious after all. In fact, it’s simple: carry a 1.4 or under handicap, fill out the application form, pay the application fee, and report to your regional qualifying course. That, my friends, is easier than 4-foot uphill right-to-left birdie putt. Seriously, this process makes choosing between a cheeseburger and a hamburger look like rocket science. The actual playing portion of the qualifying process is a little different story, however.

 

US Open Update: To Play or Not to Play

The US Open qualifying events have been completed and a number of notables decided that they didn’t have the time to try to make it to Pebble Beach.

Jason Day, Brett Wetterich, Notah Begay, Boo Weekley, Fredrik Jackobsen, and Jeff Overton all withdrew from the qualifying events at Lakes Golf and Country Club and Brookside Golf and Country Club. Oh, and Nathan Green too.

Nathan Green decided that he didn’t want to show up and try to earn a spot in the US Open because he would rather sit on his ass and watch fag ball aka soccer. I like a many others, enjoy the World Cup. It’s the only acceptable form of soccer there is to me.

“I’m really not that interested in playing it. I’d rather sit home on the couch and watch soccer than beat my head against a brick wall for four days.”

This kinda struck a nerve at Tuna Golf headquarters as we all love golf WAY more than the World Cup, so I would do everything humanly possible to make it into the US Open, regardless of venue. I get that Green is youngerish and rich, and I get that the World Cup is important to you, but this isn’t 1998 any more dude…we have DVR’s where you can pause, fast forward, and rewind live TV and watch it later.

What’s Nathan Green’s job? Oh it’s to play golf, so go play golf bro. Green’s just taking his ability to play golf for a living for granted, something we’d all kill for.  Sure he can make his own schedule and choose when he plays, but it seems like he just doesn’t care and nothing pisses of fans who’d jump at the opportunity to play golf for a check like flippant apathy.

If he really did give a shit about golf, he would have made different plans before the season opened.

Don’t be a jerk about it Nathan, don’t act like you’re bigger than the game.

 

Vijay Receives Special USGA Exemtpion

Vijay Singh has experienced his share of road blocks in the past year or so. He’s gone through some back problems, a torn meniscus, and other various injuries, but Vijay finally appears to be healthy. He received a pretty nice surprise yesterday when the USGA announced that they would grant the Big Fijian an exemption to play in the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach.  Singh was supposed to participate in a qualifier on Monday after the Memorial to earn his way into the tournament, but that’s no longer needed thanks to this special exemption.