No matter how the 2015 U.S. Open will be remembered, there will always be critics of Chambers Bay.
It was a complete departure from the typical U.S. Open course, and it was working with little margin for error trying to break into a rotation full of American classics with decades of tradition and reverence.
But there were setup and conditioning problems all week, particularly with the fescue greens playing excessively bumpy and unpredictable. Players danced around the edges of criticism and were largely diplomatic, but there were a few softened critical comments. The broadcasters at FOX have hardly had anything negative to say.
Then there was Gary Player.
The 79-year-old nine-time major champion has no obligations to FOX or the USGA, and he was unhesitatingly candid when it came to the course.
After a cursory introduction Saturday on the Golf Channel, and before he was even asked a question, Player went into an unsolicited monologue before beginning a rant that left no doubt how he felt about this year’s venue.
Among his more entertaining comments compiled by SBNation.com:
“This has been the most unpleasant golf tournament I’ve seen in my life.”
“The man who designed this golf course must have had one leg shorter than the other.”
“It’s actually a tragedy.”
“There have never been so many people that missed the cut that are so happy to go home.”
Hey, Pinocchio
Add Billy Horschel to the growing list of players who savaged the condition of the putting surfaces at Chambers Bay.
There was already a running commentary about what kind of bumpy vegetable the greens most resembled. Henrik Stenson suggested broccoli, while Rory McIlroy went with cauliflower.
Following a 3-over 73 on Saturday, Horschel took to Twitter and called the greens the worst he’s ever putted on in his career, and by a good margin. Prior to that, Horschel — presumably in a lighthearted way — had implied USGA Executive Director Mike Davis hasn’t exactly been truthful this week.
On the FOX broadcast early in the day, Davis dug in and said the greens were rolling just fine. He said they could get a little bumpy in spots, but that the USGA was perfectly comfortable with the course. Davis also said TV made the color of the greens look worse than they really were.
Horschel wasn’t having any of it.
“Umm wrong! If he was Pinocchio, his nose would be a mile long after some of the comments he’s made this week. Haha,” Horschel tweeted to 1995 PGA Championship winner Steve Elkington.
Raffle for a ring
The San Francisco Giants are holding a raffle for one of the team’s actual 2014 World Series rings — not one of those 40,000 replicas that the team handed out earlier this year.
In addition to being an exact copy of the ring that the Giants received for their 2014 championship, the ring also will be engraved with the raffle winner’s last name.
The winner will get to attend the August 28 game between the Cardinals and the Giants, where he will receive the prize in a special pregame ceremony.
Raffle tickets are $2 each, but you have to buy at least five to be entered. Proceeds from the raffle are going toward the Giants Community Fund. The deadline to enter is today.
QUIZ
When did Gary Player win his last on nine major championships on the PGA Tour?
ANSWER
Player won his final major at the 1978 Masters.