Two Minor 2013 U.S. Open Quibbles...

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The most significant quibble I've heard from fans was the lack of ability to see action, particularly on the closing holes. By and large, the Merion experience was reviewed positively and the USGA operations team deserves a big bonus and ensuing vacation for pulling off something pretty extraordinary on a tiny property.

That said, I had two quibbles with the 2013 U.S. Open...

- The lack of spectator access to the area right of 14 fairway, behind 17 tee and right of 18 fairway. For reasons I still can't quite figure out, there was a huge area in this area free of fans that was perhaps the best viewing spot on the entire property and I still can't figure out why it was restricted to inside-the-ropes access. Next time the U.S. Open returns there needs to at least be a small grandstand behind the 17th tee so that fans can see some of 16 green and the tee shot there.

- The lack of retro-logos on merchandise items. One of the fun trends at the Masters and Players was the use of old tournament logos on shirts and hats. I know if there were some 1971 U.S. Open logoed stuff, my Lee Trevino friends who are fans would have gotten a bigger kick out of something with the distinctly 70s "branding" than the 2013 logo.

Justin Rose's Win: Vindication For Sean Foley, England

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Nice story by Steve DiMeglio on Justin Rose's win as vindication for the often unfairly criticized instructor Sean Foley.

The criticism has been relentless at times, which Foley, by the way, deflects with ease, so much so that Rose, even while holding the U.S. Open trophy was asked if the victory was affirmation of Foley's instruction.

"I feel like my golf game has gotten better and better every year. I've picked up distance and I'm hitting the ball straighter. And for me to come into a U.S. Open and feel like this is one of my legitimate chances to win a major is a testament to my ball striking. So I got to give a lot of credit to Sean," Rose, 32, said. "I would say it's more than just a player/coach relationship. I regard him as a true friend and I regard him as someone who, if I ever had a question upon golf or upon life, he would be very much at the top of my list.

"He's a very mentally, I think, a very interesting character and very strong mentally. And he passes that on as well."

John Huggan also looks at this as a big win for the English male golfing contingent who were beginning to wonder if they would ever win a major in the 21st Century. He also points to a Derek Lawrenson interview with Rose prior to Merion where the U.S. Open champion made this frank statement:

"If we're really honest, I think it has now reached the point where it's down to the fact if we (the English) can handle the pressure we will win a major and if we can't, we won't."

For Phil "In the end it wasn't strategy but execution."

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Stepping back from the U.S. Open for a day to consider Phil Mickelson's incredible sixth runner-up finish and while a lot of people want to question his decision to leave the driver in the locker or his putting (everyone stunk on the greens at Merion), it will all really go back to the decision on the short par-3 13th that cost him a spot in a playoff.

From an unbylined USA Today story:

But he hit a pitching wedge instead of a gap wedge to the hole, flying the green and leaving himself with a pitch from the rough he had no way of getting close to the hole. He made bogey, then compounded his error on No. 15 by quitting on a gap wedge and leaving it so short he had to chip from the front of the green for another bogey.

In the end it wasn't strategy but execution.

"Thirteen and 15 were the two bad shots of the day that I'll look back on where I let it go," Mickelson said.

I was standing behind the 13th green after Mickelson's shot with USGA Executive Director Mike Davis, who pointed out that there was a line about 20 feet left of the hole location that a shot with proper spin could take and like spin right to within 10 or so feet of the hole, mitigating the risk.

Justin Rose Honoring His Travelers Championship Commitment

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From the AP...and yes, the U.S. Open Champion committed and of course he should play, but he still very easily could cite fatigue from all of the shuttle busings. But he's not...

Nathan Grube, the tournament director at the Travelers Championship, said Rose's wife, Kate, called shortly after he won his first major title, to confirm they would be in Connecticut for this week's tournament.

"She called last night at about 9:30 and I looked down at the phone and said, 'This is either going to be a really good call or a really bad call,'" Grube said Monday. "It was fine. She said, 'We're coming, we're just trying to rearrange our schedule a little bit because of all the media (commitments).'"

Rose will be making a cameo with David Letterman Tuesday night.

2013 U.S. OPEN GOLF CHAMPION JUSTIN ROSE TO PRESENT THE TOP TEN LIST ON CBS’s
“LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN,” TUESDAY, JUNE 18
 
NEW YORK, June 17 – 2013 U.S. Open golf champion Justin Rose will present the Top Ten List on the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Tuesday, June 18 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.  Rose won his first major golf championship Sunday at the Merion Golf Club, shooting a closing round of 70 and finishing two shots ahead of contenders Phil Mickelson and Jason Day to secure his U.S. Open victory.  Also, Rose became the first Englishman to win the championship since Tony Jacklin in 1970, ending a 43-year U.S. Open drought for England.

Why Tiger Has A Boat Called Privacy Files: Merion Housing Edition

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Jere Longman looked at Merion's successful week and some of the stuff that went on behind the scenes.

He included this anecdote that is yet another reminder why...ah you know the drill.

Woods was the subject of countless rumors about his living arrangements during the Open, all entertaining, none necessarily reliant on the truth.

One rumor, debunked by a police officer assigned to Woods, had him installing a pool at his rental house. On Sunday, Joe DiTomo, a volunteer driver for the players, said that Woods reportedly grew upset with the house and moved into a hotel.

“I wouldn’t repeat it,” DiTomo said, “but I heard it from a nun on the way to church. I didn’t realize nuns followed golf.”

U.S. Open Ratings Up...For An East Coast Venue

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NBC registered a 6.1 for the U.S. Open final round at Merion, down from last year's 6.6 at Olympic that was going to head-to-head with the NBA Finals.

For Immediate Release:

Golf Channel on NBC's Final Round coverage of the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club scored a best overnight (6.1) for an East Coast U.S. Open since 2007 at Oakmont Country Club (7.0).

Coverage peaked in the metered-market overnights at a 9.4 US Household Overnight Rating from 7-7:30 PM EST.

Golf Channel on NBC's Final Round coverage was up 20% from Rory McIlroy's win in 2011 at Congressional Country Club (5.1), which was the last East Coast U.S. Open.

ESPN scored its second-highest Thursday U.S. Open viewership.

For Immediate Release:

ESPN’s live telecast of Thursday evening’s play in the U.S. Open championship from Merion Golf Club near Philadelphia on June 13 was the second most-viewed Thursday telecast of the event ever on the network and the highest-rated since 2002.
 
Additionally, ESPN’s live telecast of Friday evening’s play was the highest-rated east coast venue Friday prime telecast since 2002.
 
Thursday’s evening telecast, which aired from 5-6:10 p.m. and 6:55-8:26 p.m. ET due to a rain delay, earned a 1.9 household coverage rating, averaging 2,209,725 viewers. The rating was the highest since ESPN earned a 2.3 for the Thursday evening telecast in 2002 and the viewership average is exceeded only by the 2,499,860 that watched in 2002.
 
Friday evening’s telecast, which aired from 5-8:42 p.m., earned a 2.0 household coverage rating, averaging 2,458,378 viewers, the highest rating for an east coast U.S. Open venue since ESPN had a 2.1 rating in 2002.
 
ESPN’s live telecast of the rain-delayed afternoon round on Thursday, which aired from noon – 3 p.m., earned a 1.2 household coverage rating, averaging 1,340,169 viewers, while the morning-afternoon session on Friday, which aired from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., earned a 1.5 household coverage rating with an average of 1,672,526 viewers.
 
Throughout the U.S. Open (June 13-16), golf coverage across ESPN digital platforms – including ESPN.com, ESPN mobile Web, ScoreCenter, WatchESPN and ESPN3 – logged an average minute audience of more than 108,000. Additionally, on Thursday and Friday, live coverage of the U.S. Open on WatchESPN and ESPN3 logged 38.6 million minutes, up 64 percent.

Merion Is To America What St. Andrews Is To Scotland

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At least, in the tournament sense though the architectural DNA of so many courses was inspired by Merion.

But since we are fresh from a fantastic U.S. Open, let's stick to Merion's place as the host of 18 USGA championships. I make the case in this Golf World Monday item that this is our St. Andrews and while the setup definitely had its quirks and mistakes, Merion is so good that it overshadowed any quirks. (I elaborate in detail in Golf World this week on some of the setup highs and lows.)

Until that story appears, forgive me if I wax a bit about this special place in golf. My great regret of the week will probably be that I didn't take time to just walk roads surrounding the course, where spectators leaned on fences and cheered players on. And where neighborhoods turned into block parties of folks simply celebrating the return of golf to this special place. Reader Ari, who I met this week after years of online communication, was a witness to this and posted in previous threads about the atmosphere.

Like the camaraderie that envelopes St. Andrews during the Open, otherwise sleepy streets turned into a community that we can only hope becomes a regular occurrence every 8-10 years.

Video: Phil To Mike Davis On 274-Yard 3rd: "Terrible"

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Thanks to GolfChannel.com's Jay Coffin for Tweeting this video where NBC's crack audio team picking up a frank conversation between Phil Mickelson and USGA Executive Director Mike Davis after the 3rd hole, which played 274 yards into the wind.

The transcript:

"274?  That's terrible. Can't even reach it."

The hole was playing straight into the wind as forecasted.

Video: Stefani's Amazing Merion Ace!

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This is just tremendous, both the shot by Shawn Stefani and the reaction in the final round at Merion:

After the round he talked about the shot:

Q.  Obviously the shot you hit, are you expecting that shot where it was going to where it would go in the hole?

SHAWN STEFANI:  Not at all.  I was just ‑‑ I was actually trying to hit the left side of the green and cut it.  And then I kind of pulled it.  I pulled it about five yards.  And the wind was kind of down off the left and it really didn't help at all.  It didn't move it to the right.

And honestly I think I've seen a bunch of balls that week kind of not kick to the right and I was really surprised to see the ball kick to the right.  And then once it did kick, it kept rolling and I was like, well this could be good.  And the fans stood up and then it kept getting closer and closer and then when it went in, I was just super excited because it's the first hole‑in‑one I've ever had in a tournament.

Q.  You've had others, but not in a tournament?

SHAWN STEFANI:  Just one other.

Q.  Which is?

SHAWN STEFANI:  I was 13 years old.  Goose Creek Country Club where I grew up playing golf on No. 16.

2013 U.S. Open Final Round Open Comment Thread

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The big finale is here--well we think--and an exciting group of combatants is aligned to push third round leader Phil Mickelson.

If the weather holds and a few of the more accessible hole locations prove accessible, it should be a grand finish to a special week.

Your leaderboard and starting times.

Course setup notes and hole locations to follow after the USGA feels television partners Golf Channel/ESPN has gotten enough of an exclusive head start sharing this apparently sacred information.