React: Jordan Spieth Wins The 2015 U.S. Open
/What a nutty finish, but did you expect anything less from Chambers Bay?
Read MoreIn golf construction art and utility meet; both are absolutely vital; one is utterly ruined without the other. GEORGE THOMAS
It’s back!
Twenty years later Tatra Press has kindly allowed me to bring back Grounds For Golf now that golf architecture is of more interest to the masses. A new Introduction looks at what’s driven the interest growth and two new chapters I had a blast adding (plus a few edits to keep things up-to-date).
The Amazon purchase page for the book arriving June 15, 2026.
2015 U.S. Open Final Round Open Comment Thread
/The U.S. Open's final day arrives with a compelling four-way tie,
Read MoreBroccoli Or Cauliflower Greens, Par 4 or Par 5, The 2015 U.S. Open Final Round At Chambers Bay Should Be A Dandy
/A four-way tie heading into the final round should be enticement enough to park yourself in front of the screen Sunday. Then throw in the wacky Chambers Bay and it's hard to rule out even the +1's.
Is the course close to going over the top? I believe it's close, but I also believe they won't lose control because the weather forecast of high 70s and bright sunshine will be taken into account by the USGA. I covered this and some of the player comments about the course at GolfDigest.com, including Rory re-positioning the Chambers greens on the vegetable spectrum. And regarding the poa issue, here were some thoughts from Golf World reminding that this is a west coast U.S. Open tradition.
And then there is the 18th hole.
Jordan Spieth may just play up the first fairway, depending on wind and his place on the leaderboard as we note at GolfDigest.com. The USGA has always love converting par-5s to 4s and playing to a par of 70. This week the first/eighteenth hole interchangeability hasn't been a big deal because 70 was maintained as the par and because we haven't seen a second day of the par-4 version of the 18th. I fear this will be another Oakland Hills in the par-5-to-4 division, and we all know how that worked out in 1996.
And Steve DiMeglio filed this on Sergio's criticisms of the course.
"Why do they do this to the course?" Garcia told USA TODAY Sports after shooting 70-75-70, adding that only the British Open carries more weight in his soul. "This is a great championship with great history. The U.S. Open deserves so much better than this. It hurts to see what they have done to the course. These greens, come on, let's be honest, you can't say they are good. It's just not right."
Update on 2015-06-21 15:18 by Geoff
**Great news: Morning Drive's Tim Rosaforte reported through Rex Hoggard that 18 will stay a par-5, as intended by the architects. This gets the focus away from any controversy. It will be interesting to hear Mike Davis' reasoning, since Fox Sports reported several times yesterday that it would play as a par-4.
Just guessing, but the north breeze and cooler than expected weather we're seeing so far today played a role, as did the fear of the setup detracting from the outcome.
"A fan cannot really watch and follow and get inside the action."
/Golf.com's Michael Bamberger
Read MorePoll: Who Will Win The 2015 U.S. Open?
/It was a wild day at Chambers Bay but we may have some clarity heading into Sunday as it looks like a four-man race. Maybe. Your pick please...
2015 U.S. Open Third Round Open Comment Thread
/We've started with very sunny skies and a light breeze. As we
Read More2015 U.S. Open Seattle Times And News Tribune Coverage
/Though not on the level of the UK's best papers, the U.S. Open
Read MoreGary Player Vents On Chambers Bay: "It's actually a tragedy."
/Gary Player appeared on Morning Drive and before
Read MoreMedia Files: Dallas Morning News' Spieth Dilemma
/Ed Sherman writing for Poynter considers the sad state of affairs
Read MoreJason Day's Vertigo Appears At The Worst Possible Time
/Scary stuff today at Chambers Bay as Jason Day suffered a bout with vertigo
Read MoreSpieth On Chambers 18th: "As a par 4 doesn't make much sense"
/Fox Sports sound gurus picked up some terrific sound of Jordan Spieth
Read MoreVideo: Chris Kirk Eagles 10th At Chambers Bay
/It took a while but we finally got a nice hole-out and huge crowd reaction
Read More"Woods' lackluster play creating challenges for golf retailers"
/Darren Rovell looks at Tiger's missed cut tendencies and
Read MoreButch: Tiger's A Lost Soul And It's Hard To Watch
/Former Tiger instructor Butch Harmon tells the Press Association's Phil Casey
Read MoreFox Sports Off To Strong U.S. Open Ratings Start
/An excellent start over a very long day on Fox Sports no doubt learning to love these west coast venues.
Here goes, with comparisons to 2012, the last time the U.S. Open was played in the Pacific Time Zone.
Fox (Network), 8-11 PM ET: 2.4/4
Up 71% from NBC in 2014. In 2012 at Olympic Club, NBC drew a 2.07.
Fox Sports 1
U.S. Open Noon-8 pm ET: 1.28
That's up 20% from last year’s comparable first round coverage on ESPN (1.07), down from 2012 at Olympic when ESPN drew a 1.6.
Update on 2015-06-20 00:05 by Geoff
**SBD's roundup of coverage calls the ratings flat and touches on the high and lowlights of day one.
Fox Sport's press release on day one with comparison's to last year in the ET zone:
FOX SPORTS’ COVERAGE OF 115th U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP DELIVERS LARGEST OPENING-ROUND AUDIENCE SINCE 2002
FOX Primetime Viewership Produces +100% Increase Over 2014
Combined Average Audience Between FOX Sports 1 and FOX Shows +54% Gain
Digital Live Streaming in the Opening Round More Than Doubles Entire 2014 Championship Audience
University Place, Wash. – FOX Sports’ inaugural presentation of the 115th U.S. Open Championship at Chambers Bay began Thursday with a combined 11 hours of live golf coverage on FOX Sports 1 (12:00 – 8:00 PM ET) and local FOX stations (8:00 – 11:09 PM ET), and the two networks combined to pull in the event’s largest opening-round viewership in over a decade.
The combined audience of the first-day coverage averaged 2.0 million viewers, making it the most-watched opening round since the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, an event that ultimately saw Tiger Woods edge runner-up Phil Mickelson by three strokes to win his second U.S. Open title.
Audience deliveries showed impressive gains on both networks as fans tuned in to watch the opening-round coverage of golf’s most challenging major.
Highlights:
-Thursday’s combined average audience of 2.0 million viewers across FOX Sports 1 and local FOX stations was the largest since the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black (2.3 million).
-The average viewership marked a +54% increase over 2014’s opening-round coverage on NBC and ESPN (2.0 million vs. 1.3 million).
-Primetime coverage on local FOX stations averaged 3.0 million viewers, a +100% increase over NBC’s broadcast coverage in 2014 (1.5 million viewers), earning a 1.9/4 rating that was also +46% better than NBC last year (1.4/4).
-The opening-round of the championship drove FOX to a first-place finish among the broadcast networks in primetime in the key male demographics: 18-34 (0.6), 18-49 (0.9) and 25-54 (1.2).
-Viewership on FOX peaked with 3.5 million viewers from 10:00-10:30 PM ET.
-Top five markets for Thursday’s opening round coverage on FOX broadcast network: Seattle (6.0), Louisville (4.7), Columbus (4.6), Indianapolis (4.4) and Detroit (4.1).
-FOX Sports 1 averaged 1.5 million viewers throughout the day, a +25% increase over ESPN’s delivery in 2014. Viewership on FOX Sports 1 peaked from 5:30-6:00 PM ET at 2.1 million viewers, following the start of Woods’ opening round.
-On the digital front, the number of official U.S. Open live streams accessed during opening-round action were more than double the total combined number measured over the entire four-day championship in 2014. Fox Sports GO, USOpen.com and the U.S. Open official app currently offer multiple channels of live coverage, including featured groups, featured holes and U.S. Open 360.
