PA-PLAYA That's the wort aspect in all of this.

No the worst aspect is people are talking MORE about what Phil did on Sat.,
than what Koepka accomplished on Sun....and for that matter Fleetwood's stellar 63.
Our local Sunday rag had half a page devoted just for what PM did on the 13th. green.

      Interesting Phil supposedly offer to Saturday evening to Mike Davis to withdraw. Davis assured Phil he was well within the rules.

      Granted the 63 shot was very worthy of conversations for years to come. Double winner, sorry I think Saturday made the championship less than what it should be.

        PA-PLAYA The second scenario would've been to simply declare his ball unplayable after the initial putt, go back to where he last struck the ball on the putting green, and with the penalty and 2-club margin of relief under the situation -

        You would not get the 2 club relief if going back to original point. (??)

            darpar

            And all because the USGA can't figure out how to run their tournament these days, because they're hellbent on preserving an image that this is the most difficult test in all of golf. Except they don't know the difference between difficult and stupid.

            I don't find Phil without fault. It was probably his worst moment in his otherwise heralded career. What Phil did was predicated with how negligent the USGA was with setting up the course on Saturday. Again... Fowler needed 19 strokes less on Sunday than was required of him on Saturday.

            That, in itself, was always gonna be the big headline going into Monday morning. Except Phil decided to make it about him Saturday afternoon and assumed the bad guy role and took a lot of the criticism off the USGA.

            Brooks is a worthy champion. But that doesn't mean there weren't issues with the course setup over the weekend. As much as I detest what Phil did, ultimately the blame falls on the USGA. For the fourth consecutive US Open - they've figured out how to screw it up royally.

            The R&A - you don't see them shaving greens and tricking up their layouts for their Open Championship. You don't see nearly as much controversy. Whether +5 wins or -8 wins - they don't care.

            And quite frankly - nobody else cares either. Stenson shot a final round 63 at Royal Troon two years ago in the British Open and I've yet to hear anyone assert that he was an undeserving winner.

              Martee

              The players went from the most penal scenario on Saturday afternoon to an entirely different layout on Sunday that was much more forgiving. It should be just the opposite, and even then they should always proceed with caution, especially on layouts that have a history of being problematic.

              I appreciate the concept that ultimately it's the players vs the course and the ability to adjust to the conditions that plays a huge role, but to go from one extreme to the other? I'm not gonna say that it invalidates the final outcome, but it does play a significant role nevertheless.

              Brooks is a great player and a worthy champion. But I just think the USGA's incompetence takes center stage, especially considering that they've screwed this up for 4 consecutive tournaments now. They just can't get the setup right. And considering that the PGA Tour gets it right 95% of the time week in and week out, and that they have far more many tournaments they oversee - I just can't understand why it is that the USGA can't figure it out once a year.

              They just overstretch the bounds of challenging and unplayable. They can no longer get it right.

              Fowler shot 84 on Saturday and 65 on Sunday. One of the world's best. A whopping 19 strokes difference.

              Nothing left to be said, really.

                PA-PLAYA Yes, but you cannot go back to original spot, then take the 2 clubs. That would be a second unplayable, with another penalty. Unless I missed something in translation.

                    Par4QC

                    Of course, you are correct. Don’t know what I was thinking.

                    He would be required to drop (with penalty) as near as possible to the spot he last played from, no closer to the hole.

                    My bad.

                      +2 but it’s kinda shady. They just need to make a clear cut rule and dq punishment if they never want to see this again.

                        It was inevitable. Mickelson apologized earlier today.

                        “I know this should’ve come sooner, but it’s taken me a few days to calm down. My anger and frustration got the best of me last weekend,” Mickelson wrote. “I’m embarrassed and disappointed by my actions. It was clearly not my finest moment and I’m sorry.”

                        https://www.golfchannel.com/article/golf-central-blog/mickelson-not-my-finest-moment-im-sorry/

                        Time to move on. And well past the time for the USGA to send its higher echelon packing and forge a new direction under different leadership.

                          PA-PLAYA
                          It confirms what many of us figured all along. Phil's claim after the round of a calculated decision was BS. He made an ass out of himself.

                              MidwayJ

                              Figjam has a better ring to it than Fiaajam is more appropriate in this case!

                                bigshank They just need to make a clear cut rule and dq punishment if they never want to see this again.

                                They could call the rule a "Daly" or a "Lefty". The player committed a Daly infraction, breaking rule number blah, bla, etc.😉