- Edited
2 hole aggregate ( followed by sudden death) vs 18 hole playoff. Mixed feelings but obviously makes logistical sense.
US Open Playoff format change
- Edited
Sign of the times with the packed schedules these tour guys and their entourage have these days, along with the TV guys, imo.
and maybe they have the fans in mind as well.
Only 2 holes seems like a drastic change to me. I really like The Open's 4 holes and the PGA's 3 holes is OK. I'm thinking there will still be many ties after 2 and going to sudden death.
Well, there will be less golf fans playing hooky or streaming from work during the playoff!
Very few people tune in on Monday during a US Open playoff. Volunteers who've devoted 4 days of work can't be expected to miss work that following Monday to support the tournament. Viewers who have tuned in for the weekend, most of them, don't have the luxury of staying home Monday and watching the telecast. The people in attendance on Sunday, most of them, don't have the luxury of staying an extra day, postponing flights and extending hotel stays, to watch an 18-hole playoff on Monday.
I think the British Open is a great example of why a 4-hole playoff based on aggregate scoring works. People continue to watch, it doesn't take forever and a day to complete, and people stay interested.
And it's most practical.
Another move to change the traditions of golf. Next they’ll have a goofy shootout like hockey.
- Edited
Tinker Another move to change the traditions of golf. Next they’ll have a goofy shootout like hockey.
I don't think that they went far enough. Screw the aggregate playoff and just make it sudden death. The game of golf is in survival mode. Everything needs to be done to help it survive.
Traditions that go back to Francis Ouimet, a playoff that put American golf on the map. US Open is my favorite major because it is the ultimate test of golf.
- Edited
Nobody watches on tv because most are at work Monday morning. Most event volunteers can’t stay there an additional day. Most attendees aren’t willing to spend the extra money on hotels and flight changes to show up at the venue and watch for an additional day.
Playoffs have happened 33 times going all the way back to 1895.
Do the math. This is golf’s Haley’s Comet. Doesn’t happen very often.
People haven’t been interested in Monday playoffs in the past, they’re not gonna be interested in Monday playoffs in the future.
Long past due that they got with the times imo.
- Edited
US Open is a tricked up dog and pony show so the USGA can try and humiliate players and chest thump. Its the Worst of the 4 majors. Chambers Bay was a disaster.
There is no "ultimate challenge" in forcing the field to hit irons of tees, Putt greens on which balls don't stop and where luck is as important, if not moreso to skill.
Traditions ? Its called evolution.
Choosing the proper club and making the proper shot is golf. Chambers Bay was picked for it’s regional location, not it’s playability. Marion is a shorter course and it provided a great test. Design creates the challenge, not length.
- Edited
You choose the proper club ( hopefully) for the shot in every tournament. Its not unique to the US Open. If you want to talk about chalkenging every shot , every ball flight , playing the ball in the air and on the ground the true Open Championship is in every way and infinitely a better test of a golf. British Open is undenibly the ultimate test of a golfer.
Not sure why you are bringing length into the discussion? US opens are often the longest course set ups of all the majors.
Back on topic. The 18 hole playoff was stupid. It cost them money, the course lost a day, everybody had to stick around an extra day. This often impacted the next week's tournament .Tv viewership was next to zero and it was unexciting. There was no reason to keep it.
I think the USGA has gotten away from what made their major championship great. It's all about countering distance now, and not by narrowing fairways and pinching doglegs and growing rough, but making holes dramatically longer to counter the longest hitters.
It has significantly reduced the art of shotmaking.
Outside of Bubba Watson, I don't know of a long-hitting player today who has the remote ability to carve the ball on-command like he can. Unfortunately for Bubba - putting is also part of the equation and hasn't exactly been his strongest suit.
The test required years ago in this major has changed dramatically during the bomb-and-gouge era. It's not the same tournament anymore.
That’s what I was referring to. Buying the gas station on the corner and using it to put in a new tee is not the answer. My other favorite tournament is the British Open. The British depend on the elements to create the challenge. Played around Father’s Day the US Open can’t count on weather to help. They took the teeth out of Pinehurst when they got rid of the rough. Now they’re picking links style layouts bot without the weather conditions it becomes bomb and gouge golf. Trees, water, high rough, doglegs, deep traps, you got yourself an open.
They had the right ball, wound balata. The manufacturers wanted to make cheaper balls and sell them for high dollar.