Sunday, June 25, 2017
Another major in the books. And another first time winner.
Brooks Koepka put on a performance for the ages at last week’s 117th U.S. Open, tying the all-time final score record of 16-under par.
Sixteen under.
I’d have to imagine there are some former USGA presidents wondering what happened to their national championship. That is not a number they like to see.
Personally, I’m torn in my feelings about the event.
For years, the USGA has said the intent of its national open is not to punish the world’s best player, but to identify him.
Was Brooks Koepka the world’s best player last week? Probably. He’s the true definition of the “new” golf professional: taller, incredibly well-conditioned, hits the ball a mile and when his wedge game and putter is on, he can literally beat anyone.
Even the golf course was noncontroversial for an Open. There weren’t any unfair greens or pin placements that kept the players complaining for days.
Heck, when the course got a little extra early week rain, the USGA went out and cut back the heather on four holes.
So if the course was fair and if Brooks Koepka was the best player in the world and a more than deserving champion, why do I feel like I missed out on a real U.S. Open?
And the answer is: I think I want the punishment.
I don’t know if I was young and didn’t know any better, but I feel like the U.S. Open I watched growing up is long gone.
I remember the importance of every shot — knowing that an offline shot that found the rough was at least a half-shot penalty. I hardly remember length being discussed. The key was on shot shape, distance control and accuracy into the greens. Not today.
I don’t know if it’s the graduated rough; or the technology in the ball; or the physical conditioning of the players themselves.
But this past week’s tournament felt more like a Whistling Straits PGA Championship than an old-school U.S. Open.
And while I applaud the USGA for trying new courses, I’m glad we’re turning toward an upcoming venue lineup of hard old school courses: Shinnecock Hills in 2018, Pebble Beach in 2019 and Winged Foot in 2020.
I’m very interested to see how the 2018 Open will be set up next year at Shinnecock. It’s a shorter course by today’s standards. And if they can get a week with no rain, the firm, winding fairways should present multiple options for today’s “bomb and gouge” players.
My wish is the USGA eliminate the graduated rough that’s allowed players to miss fairways off the tee yet still advance the ball to the green on their second shots.
Corey Pavin won the U.S. Open at Shinnecock in 1995.
I don’t think next year’s winner will have to hit a fairway wood into the 18th green like Pavin did en route to his victory.
But I’d like to see a set-up where a Pavin-type player — shorter off the tee but a skilled shot maker — could still compete.
Jonah Karzmer is a former golf professional who writes a Sunday golf column for The Vindicator. In his spare time he sells commercial insurance and loves getting feedback on his weekly columns via email at Jonah@thekarzmerinsurance.com.