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Digging into Open leftovers
Posted: Thursday June 22, 2000 10:14 AM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle will answer your questions every Thursday during the golf season. Click here to send him a question. Did anyone talk about a subject other than Tiger Woods last week? Didn't think so. The Tiger Effect may be revving up even more. I was playing golf Tuesday near Gilroy, Calif., two days after the Open -- it was deep research at an exclusive private club, if you must know. My caddie said he worked the day before at a major golf-discount store in Santa Clara. On Monday after Tiger's win at Pebble Beach, he said, the store must've sold 20 junior sets and many more putters and single clubs sized for three-year-olds -- an unusual amount of junior club activity, he said. Tiger may be unwittingly creating his own next future rival. Wouldn't that be ironic? Meanwhile, here's more Open-related mail:
Do you think the USGA learned anything from last week's tournament, and will no longer offer so many exemptions? None of their honored guests played very well, and while it was nice to see Jack Nicklaus close out his Open career, there were too many free rides. Do you agree? If you can't qualify for the Open, you sure can't win it. Let's lose the sentimental crap and give exemptions out only to players who have fallen through the cracks, such as New Zealand's Michael Campbell. Sorry, Jack. Sorry, Curtis Strange. Let's keep free lunch where it belongs -- in the press room.
If memory serves, the beginning of Tiger's current hot streak was pretty close to when he switched caddies. I would be interested in your take on caddies' contributions in general -- and Steve Williams' contribution to Tiger's success in particular. What, if anything, does Steve bring to the table that Fluff Cowan didn't? The ability to be invisible. Fluff was becoming a celebrity and a distraction. Also, he broke a Tiger rule by telling a magazine how much Tiger paid him. Williams is a highly capable, professional caddie who won't talk to the media -- Tiger's kind of guy.
After watching another Colin Montgomerie flop at the Open I began searching (again) for a reason why this guy seems fated to never capture a major. Not to delve into too much psychobabble, but Monty is the only prominent European tour player who played college golf in the States. Deep down, could it be he doesn't truly believe he can beat the same golfers who handed him his a** in college tournaments (Ryder Cup match play excluded)? Your opinion, Dr. Van Sickle? Paging Dr. Curley! Paging Dr. Moe! ... You're in way too deep, Bob. Maybe it has to do with his mommy. I don't know, but as charming, intelligent and witty as Monty can be, he also seems immature, spoiled and petulant -- and in the majors, so does his game. Take two Viagra and don't call me in the morning.
Tiger Woods aside, to what do you attribute the strong showing of the international players at the U.S. Open? Maybe they couldn't wait for a chance to hand Monty his a**, as our previous writer so delicately put it.
Is it me, or was the play at the U.S. Open really poor -- save Tiger, of course? It seems that all Tiger has to do is show up and the rest of our great players assume the fetal position. That was embarrassing. I just can't picture Arnie, Jack, Gary and Trevino, etc., doing that if they were in their primes today. It was just you, Lawrence. Pebble Beach provided some of the toughest Open conditions ever. Paul Azinger predicted five to seven over par would win it. The guys who bettered that played great, given the conditions. Compared to Tiger, they appeared to be total hacks. Was it a crappy Belmont field when Secretariat won by a kazillion lengths or was it a once-in-a-lifetime performance?
Jack had Tom Watson and Lee Trevino. Nick Faldo had Greg Norman and Fred Couples. Tiger doesn't seem to have any real challengers. Phil Mickelson is too inconsistent, David Duval forgot how to putt and Sergio Garcia isn't ready yet. Is Tiger that much better, or have the other guys just failed to step up yet? Tiger is that much better, Joe. Get used to the idea.
When will the public (other pros, PGA Tour types, USGA, golf fans) say enough is enough to John Daly after yet another on-course blowup and withdrawal? I like John, but he is taking the spot of somebody else, someone who wouldn't dare think of packing it in the first time a tee shot skips under a fence. Don't worry, Tim. Daly may have played his last U.S. Open. His five-year exemption for winning the 1995 British Open has expired and Daly has already said it would be a blow to his ego -- like there's any left? -- to try to qualify. His Open career is done.
Am I the only person who found the deliberate polluting of the aquatic areas near Pebble Beach obscene? What kind of tribute to a great golfer (Payne Stewart) is it when two dozen golf balls are launched into the ocean? Why not split the fairway? Golf balls belong in the short green grass whenever possible, not in the intestinal tract of a sea lion. Bad news, Chris. You are the only person. The rest of us found wasting perfectly good golf balls obscene.
How does the USGA decide on the rotation for U.S. Open venues? For example, how could it have taken so long to get to Pinehurst or Shinnecock? Is there any rhyme or reason to its approach? Personally, I think it's decided by bar dice. Officially, host clubs must invite the USGA to come over to their house to have an Open. The USGA doesn't go to clubs, no matter how worthy, and ask. The Pinehurst Open was a success. It gets the Open again in 2006. Pebble Beach is a slam dunk. So is Shinnecock Hills. Oakland Hills, Olympic Club and Oakmont have long been in the unofficial rotation, although Olympic Club's too-sloped fairways and 18th green were exposed in'98 and Oakmont's return is held up by the addition of another spectator bridge over the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Click here to send your golf question to Gary Van Sickle.
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