Southern Hills Still Hopeful For U.S. Open

Ken MacLeod reports on where 2020 U.S. Open hopeful Southern Hills goes from here now that Winged Foot landed the national championship.

"It was disappointing," said Southern Hills General Manager Nick Sidorkis. "We knew it was coming down to us and Winged Foot. "They are two great courses with great tradition. Obviously Tulsa is not the same as New York when it comes to corporate hospitality potential, but we know that we can hold a successful championship."

Sidorakis said Southern Hills remains committed to the pursuit of another U.S. Open Championship and is hopeful about 2021 or 2022. He said the club would not give up and pursue other majors or tournaments unless told by the USGA that it was not interested, which has not happened.

Farmers Final Round Pace Of Play

Tiger Woods, after winning his 75th PGA Tour event and 7th tour event at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open, on the pace of play Monday:

TIGER WOODS:  Well, the group ahead of us was a hole behind most of the entire back nine.  I don't know if they were warned or not or they were timed.  But we were just playing slow.  We were just having to wait on every shot, so it got a little slow.

The three of us were losing our patience a little bit out there.  I certainly was.  Unfortunately, it affected my play a little bit.

Here's a fun and useless fact that I put in my Golf World game story from Torrey: it took the Woods threesome 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete their final 11 holes playing behind Erik Compton, Brad Fritsch and Steve Marino who were more than a hole behind by the end.

The 2008 U.S. Open playoff between Woods and Rocco Mediate was 19 holes and took 4 hours and 33 minutes. And they took their sweet time that day!

2013 Farmers Insurance Open Final Round Comment Thread

Tiger Woods (-17) is through seven holes of his Monday-finish final round, leading Brandt Snedeker (-11 thru 13) and Nick Watney (-11 thru 8).

Golf Channel shows and streams the coverage at 11:10 am PT, while CBS airs and streams the coverage beginning at 1 PT.

Tiger On All Cylinders: "I've driven the ball well, I've hit my irons well, and I've chipped and putted well."

Having watched him a fair amount but much less than some of my peers, Tiger's game looks as complete as it has since, well, you know when.

He has a six stroke lead with ten holes to play in Monday's Farmers Insurance Open.

Broadcast times are as follows:11 am PT on Golf Channel, 1 pm ET on CBS. And streaming live for the office workers of America.

2020 U.S. Open Goes To Winged Foot

Doug Ferguson reports that Winged Foot's West Course will be hosting the 2020 U.S. Open.

This will be Winged Foot's sixth U.S. Open (1929, 1959, 1974, 1984, 2006).

Update on 2013-01-28 03:27 by Geoff

**Peter McCleery's oral history of the wacky 1974 U.S. Open is worth a look.

And Dan Jenkins on the 2006 finish.

Update on 2013-01-28 17:48 by Geoff

**For Immediate Release...

USGA NAMES WINGED FOOT GOLF CLUB AS 2020 U.S. OPEN SITE

Marks the Sixth U.S. Open and 12th USGA Championship

At the Historic Suburban New York Club

Far Hills, N.J. (Jan. 28, 2013) – Reflecting its continuing commitment to deliver the most compelling championship experience in golf to players and fans, the United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced Winged Foot Golf Club, in Mamaroneck, N.Y., as the host site for the 2020 United States Open Championship.

“We’re thrilled to bring the U.S. Open back to this outstanding club,” said Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “Winged Foot offers a spectacular setting in a dynamic market, and has justifiably earned its reputation as one of the premier U.S. Open venues in the nation. And it joins an impressive lineup of future U.S. Open Championship locations that players and fans alike can eagerly anticipate.”

This selection marks the sixth time that the West Course at Winged Foot will have hosted the U.S. Open. This will also be the 12th USGA championship conducted at Winged Foot, all but three of which were held on the West Course. The dates for the 2020 U.S. Open are June 18-21.

“Winged Foot is a quintessential U.S. Open golf course, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring our national championship back to a site that boasts such a long tradition of world-class competition,” said Mike Davis, USGA executive director. “With its wonderfully challenging green complexes and dogleg holes that emphasize proper placement off the tee, Winged Foot offers the best players in the world a spectacular test of golf and delivers to spirited New York golf fans one of the most exciting venues in the game.”

Winged Foot Golf Club, located 25 miles north of New York City in Westchester County, last hosted the U.S. Open in 2006, when Geoff Ogilvy outlasted Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie and Jim Furyk for a one-stroke victory. The club also hosted the U.S. Open in 1929 (won by Robert T. Jones Jr.), 1959 (won by Billy Casper), 1974 (won by Hale Irwin) and 1984 (won by Fuzzy Zoeller). Each U.S. Open at Winged Foot has produced a highly competitive championship, as Jones and Zoeller won in playoffs, while Casper and Irwin registered the first of their multiple U.S. Open victories by narrow margins.

“Winged Foot Golf Club is truly honored to have the USGA select it as the host of the 2020 U.S. Open,” club president John Schneider said. “The club’s relationship with the USGA goes back to 1929 when Bob Jones defeated Al Espinosa to win the U.S. Open in a playoff. The relationship has been cherished by both ever since. Our two A.W. Tillinghast courses have always risen to the challenge of identifying the greatest golfers in the world. Tillinghast’s vision has truly stood the test of time and Winged Foot anxiously awaits its next group of challengers.”

Winged Foot joins Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, Baltusrol Golf Club, in Springfield, N.J., Oakland Hills Country Club, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links as clubs that have hosted the most U.S. Opens. Oakmont is scheduled to host the U.S. Open for a ninth time in 2016. Baltusrol conducted its seventh U.S. Open in 1993, while Oakland Hills hosted its sixth U.S. Open in 1996 and Pebble Beach is scheduled to host its sixth U.S. Open in 2019.

Winged Foot opened for play in 1923 and has a rich and storied history. Beyond its five U.S. Open championships, the East and West courses have combined to host six other USGA championships. The West Course hosted two U.S. Amateurs (1940, 2004) and the 1949 Walker Cup. The East Course hosted two U.S. Women’s Opens (1957, 1972) and the first U.S. Senior Open, held in 1980. The West Course also hosted the 1997 PGA Championship.

The 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club will be the 20th U.S. Open played in the state of New York, the most of any state. Future U.S. Open sites are: Merion Golf Club (East Course), Ardmore, Pa. (2013); Pinehurst Resort (Course No. 2), Village of Pinehurst, N.C. (2014); Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash. (2015); Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club (2016); Erin Hills, Erin, Wis. (2017); Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, N.Y. (2018); and Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links (2019).

Farmers Insurance Open 3rd Round Open Thread

I've just come in from the course where Tiger is cruising and looking as calm, collected and steady as he's looked in a long time. Plus, it's Fleming's lunch day in the media center. #priorities

As I post, the Golf Channel-to-CBS graphics changeover is taking place, but I just have a hunch CBS will come on and show us plenty of shots of the Adidas gliders, slip in a few promos and even show some golfers not named Tiger.

Golf Channel picks up the early fourth round coverage after CBS signs off at 7 ET.

Monday's final roud restart time has not been announced.

PGA State Of The Game Round-Up, 2013

Jason Sobel reports on the PGA of America's "State of the Game" panel discussion and it sounds like the topics were relevant. That is, if bifurcation is your thing.

Tim Finchem continues to make some intriguing comments suggesting he and the PGA Tour see no problem with situational rules for the pro game and amateur play.

"As I said the other day in San Diego, generally it's nice to think that the Rules of Golf can be the same for everybody," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. "You like to think that the participants in the sport can appreciate when they look at the elite players, because they are playing by the same rules; they have an affinity to the elite players. But I don't think that gets eroded from time to time if you were to bifurcate in certain situations.

"College football is the same. Even though you only have to have one foot in, it's still the same game."

Taylor Made CEO Mark King reiterated his belief that we already have bifurcation, so why not expand it in the name of growing the game, but as several prominent voices are quoted as saying in this week's Golf World, there is no data suggesting technology has grown the game.

"It's not coming; it's here," TaylorMade CEO Mark King reiterated. "We already live in bifurcation. We already do. Nobody plays by the exact Rules of Golf on Friday afternoon with their buddies. So I think it's about time that we realize what we have, we have elite players that need a set of rules and we need to create an environment where people want to come in and enjoy this great game, whether it's one foot in the end zone or two feet, we need to create that environment for people."

Dottie Pepper wins the prize for bringing up the topic that gets most people thinking about certain equipment restrictions for professionals.

" I think one of the saddest things I've seen in the time that I've been at this level," said newly appointed PGA of America board member Dottie Pepper, "is that we are seeing places like Merion become really in the rearview mirror of championship golf and places where the game has been born and where American golf and golf worldwide have such great tradition and such great history really become that history."

DVR Alert For PGA Tour Recorders: Expect To See More Of Duke-Maryland Than You Ever Wanted

Duke, ranked No. 1 but coming off a blow-out loss, plays Maryland at 1 pm. ET Saturday.  The Farmers Insurance Open starts at 3:00 ET.

You know what that means! Painful, obnoxious and completely intentional broadcast overlap.

This means at least a fifteen minute delay to the start of third round coverage, but more likely a half hour if the game is close. Even better, Golf Channel is on from 1-2:30 ET, meaning there will be that mysterious 30-minute transition to go from Golf Channel to CBS graphics. Throw in the wait for the college game and a hour of prime PGA Tour golf goes untelevised live. It's a tradition unlike any other!

Meanwhile Tiger Woods leads the Farmers by two over Billy Horshel. But as Doug Ferguson notes, a leaderboard that was looking amazing quickly went in a less star-studded direction.

Regarding Woods and his pursuers:

And when it comes to experience, he has a 74-0 advantage in PGA Tour wins against the next seven guys on the leaderboard.

Update on 2013-01-26 16:34 by Geoff

**Saved by the fog! Delay at two hours of this posting, and it's not looking good to finish Saturday's third round if there are any more delays.

USGA Gets Into The Branded Stimpmeter Business

Knowing how Executive Director Mike Davis feels about the negative influence of faster green speeds on cost, pace of play and even in driving people to anchor putters, today's announcement of a USGA-logoed. $110 Stimpmeter won't go down as one of the best days in the organization's history. While they advocate the Stimpmeter for consistency, superintendents will tell you that the Stimp ends up encouraging faster greens.

Especially when they say this:

While different layouts present distinct challenges, each course needs to offer competitors consistent conditions in order to provide a fair test. And one of the most important aspects of course maintenance is uniform putting surfaces.

Not only do variations in speed from green to green negate a player’s skill, they also greatly decrease enjoyment of a round.

Remember when it was a skill to scout out a course and note the slight variations in speed?

Even for golfers playing a recreational round, a course with greens of varying speeds can be a bewildering, frustrating experience.

Millions of golfers, from U.S. Open contestants to beginners, have benefited from the Stimpmeter, a simple tool offered by the United States Golf Association that allows superintendents, agronomists and course officials to accurately measure the speed of greens and provide consistent playing conditions.

You can order it for $110 according to this link, but get this slab of plastic for just $75 if you trade in your old Stimpmeter. While supplies last! And let's hope for the sake of the superintendents of the world, they last and last and last.

Update on 2013-01-26 07:38 by Geoff

**John Paul Newport reports on the new Stimpmeter and the history of the device. He says they are not for sale to anyone who wants one. I'm still looking for that fine print here:

As exciting as this new Stimpmeter is, you and I won't be able to get our hands on one, even if we come up with the USGA's $110 asking price. That's because the rules-making body won't sell Stimpmeters to ordinary golfers, only to clubs, golf-course superintendents and tournament setup officials.

I'm not seeing that restriction here:

Video: 17-Month-Old Golf Prodigy

Tip of the cap to Chris Chase for spotting this video of a 17-year-old golf prodigy who appears to make solid contact as a righty or a lefty. He's a bit steep at times, but not wipey at least!

PGA Prez: Maybe We Should Consider Bifurcation

Rex Hoggard, talking to PGA of America president Ted Bishop about Tim Finchem's bifurcation comments regarding the golf ball on Wednesday at Torrey Pines.

“(Finchem’s comments) are pretty interesting and powerful words from somebody of his stature,” Bishop said.

“Maybe we are at a point where we need to consider what impact bifurcation would have and if that's an answer or a potential answer to this situation, so that we can avoid some sticky issues like we are currently involved in with banning a long putter and anchoring or even some of the issues that possibly come up in the future.”

I spoke to Bishop for my bifurcation story in Golf World and at the time he was a bit more on the fence.

Finchem and Bishop are on a "state of the game" panel Friday at the PGA Show.