U.S. Open Reads: Late Saturday Edition

The greens (maybe a bit unfairly) have become the player's focus while other elements of the setup have gone unmentioned (except Ogilvy's comments in the post below).

And before I forget, the fairway contours are the handy work of Tom Meeks, leftovers from the 2004 U.S. Amateur. Just wanted to clarify in case someone wanted to point the blame at Mike Davis, Jim Hyler or Tim Moraghan for that element of the setup. They did tweak a few, but the basic parameters were already set. 

Josh Thomson talks to Davis about the state of the greens, which was one of the main themes in Saturday's early coverage. It's still not entirely clear if the complaints center around small bumps created by spikes and Softspike craters, or by the areas dying out (while others are green). I'm guessing the latter, which is never fun.

Andrew Both reports on a "out of position" warning that Scott Hend wasn't too happy about (rightfully so) and also quotes several Aussie players about the greens.

Dan Daly makes fun of the player whining.

Stan Awtrey wonders if the greens will survive the weekend.

Darren Clarke says the greens are the worst he's ever seen in this AP story.

Ed Sherman offers his first 36-holes birdies and bogies.

And Matthew Futterman talks to NBC producer David Neal about the weekend coverage and with some fans who won't be watching now that Tiger is out.  But at least this spokesman is honest about how the ratings play out: "It's a factor of a great story and if the program goes into prime time," said Mike McClary, a spokesman for NBC Sports.

So that's why they tee off so late!