Billy Horschel was one of the most outspoken golfers about the set-up of Chambers Bay for this weekend's U.S. Open, stating the greens were not "very good" and saying, "I lost a little respect for the USGA this week." Speaking to Fox' Holly Sonders following his round yesterday, Horschel said, "I’m not going to hold tongue on this. It’s very disappointing to hold a championship-caliber tournament on greens like this, very inconsistent. We’re not looking for perfection, but they sure aren’t very good.” He added, “It’s frustrating on the greens when you hit really good putts and they’re bouncing worse than I’ve ever seen" ("U.S. Open," Fox, 6/21). GOLFCHANNEL.com's Will Gray noted several golfers "criticized Chambers Bay and its setup," but "none were as demonstrative in the middle of their rounds" as Horschel was yesterday. After missing a short putt on No. 6, Horschel "feigned a tomahawk chop of his putter into the green, and on No. 9 he swerved his hand left and right to mimic the unpredictable route of his missed birdie attempt." Horschel joined the "chorus of players criticizing the green conditions this week, noting that it was a 'complete lie' that the putting surfaces simply looked worse on television than they actually performed." But Horschel also "harped on the fan experience." Chambers Bay offers a "difficult hike for players and spectators alike," and most fans were "shepherded to grandstands atop dunes from which multiple holes can be seen." Horschel: "When you’re not able to get up close and watch championship-caliber players play a golf course, it’s disappointing. I feel like the fans got robbed this week [of] being able to get up close to the players and see the shots we hit and see the course to the degree that we see it.” He added, “For the architect ... to say they built this golf course for the U.S. Open is awful" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 6/21).
OTHERS SPEAKING OUT: Horschel was far from the only golfer to express anger with the USGA's set-up of the course, as ESPN.com's Bob Harig noted Ian Poulter "went off on Twitter and Instagram following his final round." Poulter wrote, "It is disgraceful that the @USGA hasn't apologized about the greens. They simply have said 'we are thrilled the course condition this week.' It wasn't a bad golf course, In fact it played well and was playable. What wasn't playable were the green surfaces. If this was a regular PGA tour event lots of players would have withdrawn and gone home on Wednesday. ... They were simply the worst most disgraceful surface I have ever seen on any tour in all the years I have played. The US Open deserves better than that" (ESPN.com, 6/21). Chris Kirk yesterday tweeted, "The U.S. Open is a great tournament with incredible history. The @usga should be ashamed of what they did to it this week. ... The course wasn't overly difficult, just tricked up" (TWITTER.com, 6/21). Sergio Garcia on Saturday said, "The majors deserve to be in great shape. Unfortunately, that didn't happen this week, and the U.S. Open deserves better than that" (NEWSDAY, 6/21). Henrik Stenson on Friday said it was "pretty much like putting on broccoli." Rory McIlroy quipped, "I don't think they're as green as broccoli. ... It is disappointing that they're not in a bit better shape. But it is somewhat mental" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/20). Two-time U.S. Open winner Ernie Els said of the greens yesterday following his round, "They're basically not living anymore." In L.A., Tod Leonard notes fellow former U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy "acknowledged the difficulty for the fans, but defended the greens." He said, "People who are struggling with their putting really have trouble on the bad greens, and the good putters just get on with it" (L.A. TIMES, 6/22).
COURSE OF ACTION: USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes a golf course is "never supposed to be the story of the U.S. Open," and it is "never meant to overshadow the things that really matter at the national championship of men's golf." It is "never supposed to do what Chambers Bay did this week and hog the spotlight for itself" (USA TODAY, 6/22). Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee said it is a "shame that the national championship is not conducted in pristine conditions." Chamblee: "They should have conditions here worthy of the talents that are here to contend for the national championship. ... They had eight years to get this right.” Golf Channel’s David Duval: “They had some problems getting these greens up to their standards, and I think the USGA would readily admit they’re not quite what they want." Golf Channel's Notah Begay III: "Every single player that I've talked to, regardless of what they're saying through the media, is displeased with the putting surface” ("Live From the U.S. Open," Golf Channel, 6/20). Golf Channel’s Cara Robinson said the greens "quite simply ... didn't live up to major championship standard." Robinson: "These players have a higher level that they expect to be putting on, and it just simply let them down this week” (“Morning Drive,” Golf Channel, 6/22). In Tacoma, Don Ruiz writes under the header, "Chambers Bay Greens Were Dark Spot Of 2015 U.S. Open" (Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 6/22).
CHAMBERS, NAY: Golf HOFer Gary Player on Saturday said this U.S. Open had been the "most unpleasant golf tournament I've seen in my life." Player: "This is a public golf course. This is where we try to encourage people to come out and play and get more people to play the game ... It's actually a tragedy" ("Morning Drive," Golf Channel, 6/20). But USGA West Region Agronomist Larry Gilhuly, who helped prepare Chambers Bay, said the greens were "smooth as a billiard table." Gilhuly: "These are superb putting conditions." He said he was “over-the-top excited’’ about the job done by the crew preparing the course each day. Gilhuly: “All I can tell you is that Mike Davis is very pleased with the putting surfaces. And if he’s pleased then we are pleased." In Seattle, Bob Condotta noted poa annua grass "contributes to the splotchy look that is more vivid on TV than in person" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/21). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's John Paul Newport wrote a course like Chambers Bay "gives even more power than normal to the USGA." One "legitimate concern going forward is that courses like Chambers Bay could make Opens more about the setup than about shot execution, more about the course than the players." This year's event was "a test, part of a general push by the USGA to think about golf in fresh ways, especially on issues relating to the game’s sustainability in the years ahead." The results of the experiment "will take years to assess" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/20).
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST: SI Golf Group Senior Editor Jeff Ritter said, "The final 45 minutes saved this Open. The course conditions were disappointing, but now those baked-out, lumpy greens will be bumped down the page in our stories, and in our memories." SI Senior Writer Gary Van Sickle added, "The finish might have saved it but Chamber Bay's fescue greens were clearly a failure. Not every experiment works. Replace the greens and remove the berms around the edges of the holes so spectators can see something. Otherwise, don't bring the Open back" (GOLF.com, 6/22). ESPN.com's Michael Collins wrote, "Overall, if the greens had been in wonderful condition then we would probably say we had quite a nice golf course here." But they "look dreadful, and it's a real shame for TV." He added of Chambers Bay, "I don't view this as being very public-friendly. Nobody gets close in (to the players). (The fans) don't get a very good view. They didn't also at Pinehurst. And I'm wondering if whether (the USGA) is missing a trick there. This game's about the public being close to the athlete, and there's something very special about that" (ESPN.com, 6/19).
