narrominded
I love watching golf on television. Any
event on any tour can catch and keep my
attention. The majors are especially fun
for me to watch. I can plan out my week
depending on which major is going on. Each
one of the men’s major championships has
its own unique style on how they are played
and broadcasted.
I once again was glued to the TV for the
seasons first two majors. However, I was a
bit disappointed in the U.S. Open at Erin
Hills. Before I get to why, I’d like to go over
what I think each major provides the golf
fan which may help me explain why I didn’t
like the way it turned out.
Let’s go in the same order as they are
placed on the calendar. The Masters is the
official start to the golf season. The weather
is generally awesome as springtime in
Georgia can really provide some wonderful
pictures on television. The flowers and
beautiful green turf of Augusta National
draw a diverse viewing audience ranging
from everyday Golf Channel addicts like
myself to people who barley know the
difference between a birdie and a bogey.
Another reason why The Masters is so
much fun to watch is that it always seems to
live up the hype of the event. Lots of lead
changes, birdies, eagles, and bogeys provide
drama that is unmatched by any other golf
event in the world and perhaps sporting
event in general. This year’s edition was no
different as Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose
entertained us with another classic. I think
most everyone outside of Justin’s family was
happy with the outcome as the often cursed
Sergio finally broke through for his first
major championship.
Next on the schedule comes the ultimate
test in the United States Open. Our national
championship is one of the few professional
tournaments that challenges the best players
in the world with par. It is funny to me that
the best new golf courses that have been
built cannot do this to the best players in the
world.
It seems to take an old classic course
built nearly 100 years ago to accomplish
the United States Golf Association’s goal
of making par the winning score. The great
championship tests every part of one’s game
but especially tests the most important part
of playing good golf under any circumstance
– patience. I also love that it ends on Father’s
Day every year, especially for guys like me
who have lost their dads. I don’t mind telling
you I shed a tear or two thinking about the
guy who introduced me to this great game.
If you watched this year’s event won by
Brooks Koepka, perhaps you have figured
out why I was a bit let down by it, but I’ll get
back to that in a bit.
The Open Championship is truly a
worldwide golf tournament. The Royal
and Ancient have qualifiers all over the
world leading up to the mid-July dates. The
uniquenesses of the oldest golf tournament
in the world are the great links courses on
which it is contested. Golf was a ground
game for years and years, but for one week
in July, one must know how to bounce the
ball around a tricky and sometimes unfair
track. I also love getting up very early and
watching the coverage. I can’t wait to see
who wins at Royal Birkdale.
The season’s final major is the one hosted
by my association, the PGA. The Professional
Golfers Association of America does a great
job at testing the worlds best golfers but at
the same time setting up the course so that
good scores are attainable. It also has the
strongest field of any of the other three as
no amateurs are allowed, and the field is set
by the official world golf rankings. There are
also 20 club professional who make up the
field, and that adds some great storylines.
Now back to my gripe with this year’s
U.S. Open. As I mentioned earlier, this
championship’s DNA is all about grinding