USGA Reverses Field, Allows Thursday Tix Holders In On Monday

Fay Feels USGA Needs To Amend Ticket Policy In Future

USGA Exec Dir David Fay Friday morning said the organization would honor tickets for Thursday’s first round of the U.S. Open “if there's Monday golf” amid criticism from its original ruling that Thursday’s rain-shortened round constituted a full day of golf. Fay described the current U.S. Open ticket policy as "both vague and rigid," adding the USGA in the future is “going to have to amend our policy to provide more information to the ticket purchasers as to what our policy is." Fay: "We're trying to come up with a solution that's fair, we're trying to come up with a solution that can work and we understand that we have to deal with the immediate problem of Thursday and take the lessons from that and work accordingly going forward." The tournament is sold out for the four competition days, and Fay said, “As much as some people might think it's easy to just bring people in and shoehorn them in, the reality is that when you consider the parking situation, the security situation, the transportation situation and of course, the golf course itself -- factoring in everything … we're at 55,000 max. That's what our operations people think that you can get on this golf course without bursting it at the seams.” The USGA examined the rain policies for other major golf and tennis events while making its decision. Fay: “We know that the British Open, for example, their interpretation is a full day is two hours of play. We know that at Wimbledon it's the same thing. We know at Flushing Meadows, the magic number by and large is 90 minutes.” Fay noted a rain check similar to one for an MLB game was not feasible, as “we don't have make-up dates at the U.S. Open” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 6/19). Fay: "We honor the fans -- and particularly here at Bethpage given the history in 2002 -- so we went through a number of different scenarios and we felt in the end this was the fairest thing we could do" ("U.S. Open," ESPN, 6/19).

THE RIGHT CALL, FINALLY: ESPN.com’s Jason Sobel writes the USGA's ruling "should save some of the terrible PR they've received during the past day." Sobel: "But the question remains: If they were going to make this decision anyway, why not announce it yesterday and avoid the huge public backlash against the organization?” (ESPN.com, 6/19). In N.Y., Mike Vaccaro writes, “Every word of the criticism is justified and almost underplayed, and all of it surely guilted the USGA into taking some kind of action, if not anything close to satisfactory action” (NYPOST.com, 6/19).

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS: On Long Island, Michael Amon reports fans were "incensed about the U.S. Open's no-refund policy for Thursday's rain-shortened opening day" prior to the reversal on Friday. Jerris said, "We appreciate the disappointment of the fans. We are also disappointed. There was a feeling that an adequate amount of play was offered." However, fan Ralph Giardina said, "They didn't even play close to 25[%] of the golf that was supposed to be played today, and my wife and I paid $200. There's something not right about that." Additionally, local politicians "expressed anger," and U.S. Rep Steve Israel (D-NY) called on the USGA to "issue refunds" (NEWSDAY, 6/19). Fan Keith Nelson said, "It's an obscene amount of money to pay for this. Like most people and corporations, they are doing this because they can" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/19).

USGA Will Not Issue Refunds To Fans Who Were Rained Out At U.S. Open Yesterday

TRYING TO RIGHT A WRONG: Prior to the USGA's announcement Friday, GOLF.com's Michael Bamberger wrote under the header, "USGA Makes Wrong Call In Not Refunding Fans." While rain put the USGA "in a tough spot," the organization "will come to regret" the move not to issue refunds for Thursday's round. Bamberger: "For crying out loud, you play about one-quarter of the day, and you're not giving refunds?" (GOLF.com, 6/18). In N.Y., Mark Cannizzaro wrote USGA officials "should be ashamed of themselves for their deplorable, inexcusable behavior." The organization "ripped off those fans with one-day tickets" Thursday who "got the equivalent of about an inning-and-a-half of a baseball game before being told to go home with no rain check" (N.Y. POST, 6/19). In Newark, Steve Politi noted the USGA in '08 generated income of $155.8M, including $50M on the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, so while it "can only allow so many spectators onto the course," it can "give refunds to the fans who only saw a few holes of rainy golf" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 6/19). SI's Peter King on his Twitter feed wrote, "Imagine paying $85 to come see Mickelson in vain, and you can't come back unless you buy another ticket. It's abusive" (TWITTER.com, 6/18). In N.Y., Mike Lupica: "The whole thing stinks. The USGA is in a bad spot here, no question, and does have its rules, and can sell only so many tickets and can put only so many people on the grounds. ... But there should be a way to make this right, and for the best possible reason in the world: This is no time in sports to treat your fans like doorstops, no matter how well-intentioned you think you are" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/19).