2020 U.S Open Flyover: First Hole At Winged Foot

The countdown begins to Winged Foot and this year’s delayed U.S. Open and as is the tradition here, all 18 flyovers will be posted. While not as cool as this dreck for Executive Committee members to see youth outreach as envisioned by “adults”, we like to stick to the important stuff here.

This year’s tournament will be played September 17-20, meaning, with 18 holes it’s time to chip away at the memory banks since the West Course has not hosted since 2006’s Geoff Ogilvy win.

Much has changed, as Hanse Design oversaw restoration work of A.W. Tillinghast’s original. Out of the chute we get the drive-and-pitch first with its diabolical green. Squared corners and refreshed bunkers look superb.

At just 451 yards, a nice drive sets up a likely wedge for today’s decathletes. Maybe a Pelz nine on a cooler early fall morning.

NBC, USGA Announce 2020 U.S. Open Broadcast Windows And Peacock Integration

With the U.S. Open’s surprise return to NBC there will be ups, downs, perks and a few remote-control headaches that might include multiple phone calls with older relatives. Be ready to explain Peacock.

Good news?

The new Peacock app has a free option and if you’re only casually into the U.S. Open, probably not necessary since it’s largely handling field outlier broadcast windows. Maybe.

The bad news? If you’re a cord cutter and willing to pay to stay in one place despite Peacock, Golf Channel and NBC Sports existing under the same Comcast umbrella, you’ll be doing some app switching, updating, password entering, yada, yada. But you’ll survive, I promise.

Here is the schedule retaining the same 45 U.S. Open hours as last year on Fox. However, with the need to incorporate Peacock, the U.S. Open is losing 90 minutes of cable coverage each weekday round compared to Fox Sports 1. This year’s event—a one-off played in September at Winged Foot—is down four hours of broadcast television coverage Saturday and Sunday compared to Fox’s 10 hours and 8 hours respectively.

According to a spokesman, plans for Featured Holes and Groups will be announced at a later date. Last year those feeds were both available on Fox Sports Go and USOpen.com.

As for the weekday Peacock late/early scheduling, let’s just say if I were Tiger Woods, I think I know my 2020 U.S. Open tee time schedule already.

Either way, you have a month’s notice to sort out your viewing plan-of-attack and download the inevitable app updates that will need updating again, but it’s what the kids want!

U.S. OPEN – LIVE COVERAGE AIRTIMES (SEPT. 17-20, EST):

Thursday, Sept. 17

7:30a.m.-2 p.m. GOLF Channel

2-5 p.m. NBC

5-7 p.m. Peacock

Friday, Sept. 18

7:30-9:30 a.m. Peacock

9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. GOLF Channel

 4-7 p.m. NBC

Saturday, Sept. 19

9-11 a.m. Peacock

11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. NBC

Sunday, Sept. 20

8-10 a.m. Peacock

10 a.m.-Noon GOLF Channel

Noon-6 p.m. NBC

Video: Justin Thomas Talks Winged Foot After U.S. Open Preview Round With Tiger

I believe that Justin Thomas was booked on CNBC to hype the playoffs and instead the appearance turned into a Winged Foot preview discussion. I’m sure the folks in Ponte Vedra Beach won’t mind a little lunch time talk around the U.S. Open, oh wait, they will.

He did, however, compliment the effort and suggest that golfers are just happy to have the opportunity to be playing safely. For that grasp of reality, he should get some extra FedExCup points on his reset. Or is it off?

Anyway, the world No. 2 reports that he had never been to Winged Foot, found it “very difficult” and already says its “one of my favorite courses”. Thomas said it’s an “old school design”, “not a lot of trees out there”, “holes have defined-definition” (!), “extremely severe greens” and will be a “true U.S. Open test” this September. So if you’re eyeing him for a second major win, take note, he liked the place.

The full segment:

New York Gives U.S. Open At Winged Foot Its Blessing Without Fans But With "Rigorous Protocols" In Place

While the lack of U.S. Open fans garnered most headlines, the status of New York’s quarantine rules and those attempting to make the September event a go has been addressed. From Brian Wacker’s GolfDigest.com report:

Earlier this month, the New York Department of Health issued guidance that eases the travel order for all professional sports teams, allowing players, coaches and team staff to be exempt from quarantine to play games, practice or provide support.

That exemption also extends to competitors in the U.S. Open. And not just to players and caddies but to everyone on site at Winged Foot, including staff, officials and media.

“Every person on site will be considered essential personnel,” USGA CEO Mike Davis told Golf Digest. “Everyone will be tested before they come on site.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo made the news part of his daily update and gives the impression of potentially tougher protocols than essentials have been facing at PGA Tour events.

The USGA will put protocols in place to protect players and staff, including rigorous protocols for testing, cleaning, use of face coverings and social distancing. 

"The 2020 U.S. Open will take place at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck this September. The national championship is a great event. It will be held without fans and the organizers are working with the State Department of Health to ensure everyone's safety," Governor Cuomo said. "Today's numbers show continued progress - and our goal now is to protect that progress as states across the nation see their infections rates surge. We cannot go backwards, so remember to wear your mask and stay New York Tough."

New York’s restrictions on visitors continue to expand, but will now be irrelevant to essential U.S. Open visitors.

International Watch: Pepperell Passing On PGA Due To Quarantine Rules

With the PGA Championship in less than two weeks, player quarantining is a looming issue for the three postponed 2020 majors. Each may see defections on the international front, with potential questions about the legitimacy of the event without players either able to reasonably gain entry or get situated to play.

The PGA is in very good shape after a recent contender in several majors, England’s Tommy Fleetwood, put in two weeks and then went golfing in the Hamptons before turning up at this week’s 3M Championship.

Other major winners whose situations remain unclear: Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Francesco Molinari, along with Lee Westwood.

Eddie Pepperell is the first player to pass up his exemptions to the PGA at Harding Park and the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

Ewan Murray of The Guardian explains Pepperell’s thinking and includes this quote implying some players have not bided by the quarantine rules:

“Under the current restrictions on travelling to America, I won’t go because you have to quarantine for two weeks going out there and that’s not something I am interested in doing,” said Pepperell. “I am still on the entry list in case they change the rules, but I am not interested in spending two weeks in quarantine.

“Some players have clearly gone out there and not abided by the rules, but should I play this event there is no way that I can do that if there is anyone that cares to look at it, they would know I have broken the rules and I am not going to do that. The fact that it is in San Francisco and it is so far away I am not that interested in taking a 12-hour flight, that is way down on the list of priorities.”

More problematic is September’s U.S. Open situation where the state of New York requires quarantining for those entering from 31 states, including California where the prior week’s PGA Tour event is played. International rules are the same.

And the Masters, which covets international participation? Good news? There is plenty of time between now and mid-November. The bad news? There is plenty of time between now and mid-November.

Monahan: U.S. Open Still Trying To Play Before Fans

In his pre-Memorial media session—which came after a virtual luncheon…these strange times—Commissioner Jay Monahan said the likely next event to be played before humans will probably be the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

JAY MONAHAN: You know, obviously we've canceled -- we're not going to have spectators and we're not going to have pro-ams through the TOUR Championship in Atlanta. Right now you look at the PGA TOUR schedule, the next event up is the U.S. Open, and I know that the USGA continues to work with the state of New York and is making plans to return fans. If I had to guess, that would be the first week that we would do so.

I think to give a little more texture to your question, we're spending a lot of time in each of the subsequent tournaments or each of the tournaments in the fall working on a number of different ways to stage the event, which includes full capacity, partial capacity, and obviously the way that we're operating now, which is no spectators, and that will be largely dependent on what we hear from the communities where we play.

As noted yesterday, New York’s newly imposed quarantine restrictions on visitors from pretty much any place with a population seem like a bigger issue for mid-September’s rescheduled U.S. Open at Winged Foot. That said, even a small crowd would make a huge difference in giving the event a major championship field—if safe to do so. Oh, and help move some 2020 merch.

Upcoming Majors: California Closes Most Indoor Operations, New York Tightens Visitor Requirements

With major championships now in site, there are the inevitable complications.

California is hosting the PGA Championship in San Francisco County, on Governor Gavin Newsom’s monitoring list of counties seeing restrictions on essentially any indoor gathering. How this will impact operations at the Harding Park, remains to be seen. CNBC’s Noah Higgins-Dunn reports.

Meanwhile in New York, the Wall Street Journal’s Melanie Grayce West reports on the state installing new safeguards against travelers entering the state with COVID-19. Major forms to be filled out and a summons for non-compliance. There is also the quarantining for visitors from several states.

More than a dozen states, including Texas, California and Arizona, are on the state’s quarantine list. Travelers from those states are required to voluntarily quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in New York. Mr. Cuomo has repeatedly said that the spread of Covid-19 in New York was caused by travelers arriving from Europe at New York’s airports.

Scheduled for September 17th-20th, the U.S. Open in Mamaroneck, New York is to be preceded by the PGA Tour’s 2020-21 season opener in Napa, California.

Rescheduled PGA Professional Championship Cancelled Over Austin COVID-19 Surge, Travel Restrictions

Unfortunate news for the top PGA of America professionals in the U.S. who have seen their annual championship rescheduled and now, cancelled.

Set for Austin in late July, with the top 20 going to the PGA Championship in San Francisco and the top 3 recently announced as U.S. Open exemptions, it’s both a shame and also an eye-opener for August’s championship given the mention of travel restrictions. The PGA Championship will retain the 20 spots for PGA pros by exempting 2019 PGA Player Of The Year standings.

The news was emailed to PGA members. Ron Mintz posted the sad news:

The PGA of America announced on Monday that it has canceled the PGA Professional Championship.

1 of 2

— Ron Mintz (@MintzGolf) June 30, 2020

“With the health and well-being of our PGA Members, volunteers, rules officials and staff serving as our guiding principles throughout this effort, recent COVID-19 surges in the area and various travel restrictions made our collective pursuit prohibitive.” 2 of 2

— Ron Mintz (@MintzGolf) June 30, 2020

USGA Confirms "New Media Rights Partnership" With NBCUniversal, To Include Golf Channel And Peacock Coverage

Press releases these days are usually so light on details and heavy on the fluff. Not this!

Let’s get to it, For Immediate Release:

USGA Announces New Media Rights Partnership with NBCUniversal  

Move is a win for golf fans  

Wow, even the subhead has layers.

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (June 29, 2020) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that the United States media rights for its championships have been transferred to NBCUniversal (NBCU), effective immediately.   

With the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the shift in dates for the U.S. Open from June to September, finding the necessary broadcast hours presented a challenge for FOX Sports, given their commitments to the National Football League, Major League Baseball and college football. What started as an exploration of how FOX Sports and NBC/Golf Channel could work together this unique year led to a broader conversation and eventual agreement for NBCU to take over the USGA media rights.  

No kidding.

As a result, NBCUniversal will broadcast the four championships the USGA will conduct in 2020: the 120th U.S. Women’s Amateur (Aug. 3-9 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.); the 120th U.S. Amateur (Aug. 10-16 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.), the 120th U.S. Open (Sept. 17-20 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.) and the 75th U.S. Women’s Open (Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas).  

So soon!

“We are thrilled to acquire the remainder of FOX Sports’ USGA agreement, and will carry the designated USGA events, including the U.S. Open, through 2026,” said Pete Bevacqua, president of NBC Sports Group. “Adding these prestigious USGA events to our already incredibly deep golf business, led by our long-term PGA Tour partnership, as well as The Open Championship and the Ryder Cup, positions us as absolute leaders in the golf space. This deal is advantageous for all parties, including NBC Sports, Golf Channel, Peacock and the USGA, but also FOX Sports, and we thank them for working with us to complete this transaction. It further solidifies our platforms as the destination for golf viewers and enthusiasts, with NBC, Golf Channel, GOLFNow and GOLFPASS.”  

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new streaming app, debuts in less than two weeks and now adds a pretty hefty sports component.

“Partnering with NBCUniversal, including Golf Channel, gives us an unparalleled opportunity to connect and engage with the core golf audience more directly and routinely, and as a nonprofit, to continue to have a significant and lasting impact on the game,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA.  

While the details are confidential,

Well, except to the AP and Wall Street Journal…

the term of the agreement between NBCUniversal and the USGA will be the same as the previous agreement with FOX Sports, carrying through December 31, 2026, and the financial remuneration for the USGA will remain the same for the duration of the agreement. This allows the USGA, as a nonprofit, to continue to fulfill its mission to champion and advance the game of golf, which includes conducting 14 annual Open and Amateur championships, serving golfers and golf courses and providing pathways into the game.  

Translation, FOX will be paying a lot of money to make the deal go away.

Starting in 2021, when the USGA’s full championship schedule will be played, the agreement with NBCU will allow the USGA to continue the uninterrupted coverage it provides to television fans thanks to its longstanding partnership with Rolex. In 2021, that means eight of the USGA’s televised championships will be completely uninterrupted, including the U.S. Women’s Open and the Walker Cup. For the U.S. Open, thanks again to Rolex, NBCU will continue the tradition of showing the last hour of the final round uninterrupted.   

To Fox and Rolex’s credit, this was an incredible “tradition” that started in 2018 and one everyone hopes can continue if financially feasible.

“In addition to moving our media rights to NBCUniversal, we are also excited by the opportunities that will come from extensive coverage on NBC’s Peacock platform,” said Davis. “We have implemented a defined strategy to build our digital offerings over the last six years and have achieved significant success. The reach and engagement of our championships will only increase through the NBCUniversal family, including their commitment to bring their “Live From” program to the U.S. Women’s Open beginning in 2021 and to cover Golf’s Longest Day linked to U.S. Open qualifying.”  

It’s back!

Golf’s longest and arguably one of its very best days had been covered by Golf Channel prior to the rights transfer, with Fox retaining a wrap-up show element that aired late in the day.

Ok, here’s where we praise FOX…

Heralded as a landmark partnership between FOX Sports and the USGA in 2013, the network first began broadcasting USGA championships in the 2015 season. At the time, the network made its first foray into golf under the talented leadership of Mark Loomis, executive producer of USGA on FOX. Loomis developed a top-notch team of on-air talent and production professionals. This group not only brought to life the annual U.S. Open broadcast, but also the seven other USGA championships it aired each season. 

“FOX Sports has cherished its time as home to the USGA championships for the past six years. This is a relationship and partnership that has been second to none,” said Eric Shanks, CEO and executive producer of FOX Sports.

I’m not sure I would have used second to none, now that it’s none. But go on…

“Recent events calling for the shift of the U.S. Open created scheduling challenges that were difficult to overcome. While we are proud of the success we’ve built over these years, this is a win for golf fans everywhere, a win for the USGA and a win for FOX and NBC Sports.” 

Wins for everybody…

“We have genuinely appreciated the partnership that we have had with FOX Sports over the last six years and are grateful for their steadfast efforts to produce world-class events,” said Davis. “FOX brought significant innovation to golf broadcasting by elevating technology and enhancing the fan experience.”

Very true and let’s hope it continues for the remaining seven years.

And with that ends one of the more bizarre chapters in USGA history.

Hale America 2: USGA Exempts 84 To The 2020 U.S. Open Including Phil Mickelson

Since the U.S. Open will not be “open” for the first time since 1942 when Ben Hogan won, trying to get a field in place without qualifying was no easy task. And for the most part they appeared to a superb job bringing a diverse group of players to Winged Foot this September.

Brentley Romine has the full list of exemptions, including six time runner-up Phil Mickelson thanks to a World Golf Ranking cutoff date of March 15 when Mickelson was ranked 61st.

There were a couple of surprises near the end, pleasant in the case of the Order of Merit winners and top seven ranked amateurs. Surprising but not shockingly so: the top three from the 2020 PGA Professional Chanmpionship scheduled for late July, and of course, that old standby, Special Exemptions.

-Order of Merit winners from the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour and PGA Tour Australasia as of July 15.

-Top three finishers in the 2020 PGA Professional Championship.

-Top seven ranked players, not otherwise exempt, in the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of Aug. 19, following the U.S. Amateur.

-Special exemptions.

September's U.S. Open (Golf) vs. September's U.S. Open (Tennis)

With news of New York approving a U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, this now joins a rescheduled U.S. Open at Winged Foot in the same state. One is tennis, one is golf and some contrasts are emerging.

Christopher Clarey’s New York Times exclusive item confirms the U.S. Open (tennis) will remain on schedule for Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 without fans.

The USGA’s rescheduled U.S. Open (golf) has not ruled out on-site spectators, though with a stated limit of 2000, it’s hard to see more than a handful of non-essential folks on site.

Back to tennis. As Clarey notes in his item, a lot still has to be figured out regarding travel restrictions for the mostly non-American field to get to New York. Top male player sound unenthusiastic for a number of reasons.

One of the women, world doubles No. 7 Gaby Dobrowski, wrote of her concerns on social media today. Note the final portion and a belief that a U.S. Open is not a proper tournament without qualifying and other divisions beyond singles.

My personal thoughts on the @usopen moving forward: pic.twitter.com/wLfoQPb2LN

— Gaby Dabrowski (@GabyDabrowski) June 16, 2020

The USGA is forging ahead without local and sectional qualifyings, and according to Dave Shedloski in this GolfDigest.com piece, “strictly due to safety concerns for players, caddies, administrators, rules officials, personnel at the clubs that host them, and anyone else who might have engaged in those nationwide events.”

USGA officials are now in the process of designing a 144-player field (from 156) to get a round in on a 12 hour day versus June’s 15-hour days. But, without the local and sectional qualifyings. The USGA’s John Bodenhamer in Shedloski’s piece:

“We are looking at data, we are looking at those who play year in and year out in the championship and qualifiers. We want to kind of turn over every stone to build a field.”

Top players, for the most part, have not voiced similar concerns as the top players in tennis.

And finally, there will be this matter for both U.S. Opens to face: can you safely host international fields for this event. Or worse, will this situation make it an easy decision to stay home:

The population of the US is 330 million
The population of the EU is 446 million

[source https://t.co/JtQgQFMvj9] pic.twitter.com/DAVWfkIW15

— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) June 16, 2020

USGA “Nimble” Regarding Spectators At Winged Foot

When the USGA cancelled all local and sectional qualifiers for its remaining four 2020 championships, the number 2000 was cited for the likely maximum number of humans allowed at Winged Foot.

But the idea of more than must players, entourages, families, friends, television and media at the U.S. Open is now on the table based on John Bodenhamer’s comments to ESPN.com’s Bob Harig.

"We are cautiously optimistic that we will have spectators,'' Bodenhamer said. "I'm looking at it as glass half full. Gov. Cuomo was very encouraging about wanting to reopen sports and we're going to be respectful of what New York and Westchester County wants us to do. But we viewed those as very positive remarks.

"We feel social distancing can be done in an outdoor arena, and we know it has been the epicenter, so we will be thoughtful about what are more important issues for them. But we're starting to think about what might be possible as far as fans, volunteers, media, a number of things. We are trying to be nimble.''

More On Why The U.S.G.A. Is Dropping Qualifiers For Its Four Remaining Scheduled Events

Steve Eubanks considers the complicated call by the USGA to cancel qualifiers for its four remaining Open and Amateur championships. While the jokes are flying in texts and emails about open events becoming invitationals, the poll results from you, the readers, show a strong 63% majority wanting a U.S. Open even if means no qualifyings (and presumably the same view for the U.S. Women’s Open and the two Amateurs).

Eubanks adds this from the USGA’s John Bodenhamer and ultimately, I admire the call to scrap all qualifiers in the name of safety and sheer difficulty of rescheduling, even if it seems like the U.S. Open’s could have at least retained a sectional stage, thereby protecting the integrity of the internationally adored From Anyone campaign.

“There were a number of factors,” Bodenhamer said, “and one of them is that with any (competition) that we conduct, there is a need to test and to implement robust health and safety protocols. The inability to do (uniform testing) at 660 qualifying sites, several hundred of those that would have been rescheduled into a timeframe that was already getting jampacked with other things, presented (insurmountable challenges). Those venues and our allied golf associations have lost revenue; they’re struggling; they’ve canceled events; they need to run events; they need to generate revenue, just as the host venues for those qualifiers need to do their own things.”

Revenue at the USGA was never mentioned but those on the outside believe it played a role. It is widely believed that the USGA has a big financial incentive to conduct the U.S. Open in some fashion this year. Fox television network pays a healthy sum for the delivery of the event. No tournament means no revenue, which likely would put a healthy dent in future operating budgets.

Westwood: "Not worth it" To Travel To America For PGA, Other Tournaments

As the PGA Tour gears up for a return, the likelihood of overseas players traveling to the United States appears increasingly unlikely. Tommy Fleetwood before and now Lee Westwood, talking to Todd Lewis on Golf Central, says it’s “not worth it” to travel to the U.S. with concerns about the pandemic, quarantining and other issues.

This increasingly looms as a huge issue for the three planned majors, which pride themselves on field strength and diversity of representation. Should the rest of the world not want to come here to play, will that factor into final decisions on whether to play the rescheduled PGA, U.S. Open and Masters.

The full interview:

Instant Poll: Should The 2020 U.S. Open Go Forward As An Invitational?

As GolfDigest.com’s Daniel Rapaport notes, no one is happy about the U.S. Open having to be an invitational this year, on the slim chance it’s even played at Winged Foot this September 17-20.

The charm of an open national championship has become so profound, the USGA found a few extra pennies to come up with golf’s second worst slogan that is now in a sprint with Live Under Par to the trash heap of ad agency asininity.

So, put me down for conflicted, wanting to see a U.S. Open at Winged Foot but wondering how it can be called a U.S. Open when it’s no longer open. Which is my cowardly way of asking for a deciding vote on whether this is a good idea.

By the way before you vote, can you imagine what His Ownself is saying right now that the U.S. Open has been announced as an invitational while the USGA won’t credit Hogan with a fifth (Hale America) U.S. Open?

Should the U.S. Open be played as an invitational-only event or cancelled?

Yes, cancel it's just not an Open

No, any U.S. Open is a U.S. Open

 

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