What a bloodbath…fascinating watching some of the most self-confident people on the planet look so vulnerable, for four days…Good for JJ, he didn’t back into it
For me the US Open is all about challenging the golfer with every aspect of their game … physically and mentally. No course consistently does that as much as Oakmont. For all of the weather issues this week having the course playing softer than I'm sure desired the bottom line is that there was still only a single player under par at the end at -1
Congrats to JJ for finishing it out the way that he did … the drive on 17 won him the tournament but don't sleep on executing to the green on 18 … the putt was a bonus and a giant fuck you to people like me that were saying all week that they'd take an EVEN 280 at the start of the week
The weather delay today IMO was unfortunate to me because the beautiful thing about golf is that there's no timeouts … it's a real-time test in execution and being able to focus on each shot independently of the one(s) before it
The weather delay was massive for JJ and he reset himself … kudos to him
There is no place like Sunday pressure like at the US Open as we saw today … Burns unraveled after the delay and Scott just never really had it today and never seemed to get a break when he needed it. It's also a good example of the difference between 54 hole tournaments and 72 hole tournaments … in a 72 hole tournament it's can you hold it together when you don't have your best and that's going to be a reality at any course worth a damn
There are few players more entertaining to watch than Tyrell Hatton and you got the full experience today but his volatility got the best of him today … both he and Spaun got to 17 today at +1 … Spaun was nails and hit his tee ball to 20 feet … Hatton missed and got about as bad of a stance and you could have asked for leading to a bogey … Spaun hit his tee ball on 18 down the middle while Hatton missed right. The small things …
Lastly, I have to give a shout out to Bobby Mac … probably a name that the casual fan doesn't know but a guy that is going to be around these leaderboards for a bit as a 28 year old going on about 45 (good and proper Scottish boy) … don't be shocked if he's hanging around the leaderboard when we get to Royal Portrush
Cliff's Notes Summary of #TeqThoughts on the U.S. Open:
The U.S. Open Test: It’s about a complete physical and mental challenge; Oakmont consistently delivers this better than any course.
Course Conditions: Despite soft conditions due to weather, only one player finished under par (−1), showing its toughness.
JJ’s Win: JJ’s drive on 17 was clutch and essentially won it for him; his execution on 18 was equally key, and the final putt was the exclamation mark.
Weather Delay Impact: Unfortunate because golf is meant to be continuous and unforgiving; the delay helped JJ reset and ultimately benefit.
Sunday Pressure: Classic U.S. Open grind—Burns crumbled post-delay, Scott couldn’t get traction, showing how 72-hole events expose weaknesses better than 54.
Hatton & Spaun: Hatton was volatile and unraveled late; Spaun stayed solid when it mattered—details like tee shots on 17 and 18 made the difference.
Bobby Mac (Robert MacIntyre): A lesser-known but rising player to watch; mature beyond his years and could contend at future majors like Royal Portrush.
Shinnecock next year has also consistently delivered the carnage. In my opinion in a more pleasing way which is wind and short grass everywhere with mega run offs everywhere.
Would also be fun to see Oakmont baked out next time, with considerably shorter rough and let the greens be the primary defense. It’s fully capable of it. Weather the last month kind of forced them into what we got unfortunately.
Definitely true on allowing the greens to bake out … you ideally don't like seeing US Open courses completely being able to hit, stick, and spin massively like they were
That said, I think penalizing rough is part of the deal with Oakmont … it's a standard feature of a lot of old school parkland courses
Comments
This is chaos. I have no idea who’s going to win at this point. If Scottie could putt today, he’d be leading by 2.
Scottie should be up by like 6.
Incredible comeback by JJ. He was as good as dead after 6.
Scottie looks like he just finished a 4 day bender. His mugshot looks better than he does right now.
Fucking awesome. Good for JJ. What a back 9
What a bloodbath…fascinating watching some of the most self-confident people on the planet look so vulnerable, for four days…Good for JJ, he didn’t back into it
crazy finishing putt and final 2 holes. JJ went out and won it. After a 40 on the front
#TeqThoughts
For me the US Open is all about challenging the golfer with every aspect of their game … physically and mentally. No course consistently does that as much as Oakmont. For all of the weather issues this week having the course playing softer than I'm sure desired the bottom line is that there was still only a single player under par at the end at -1
Congrats to JJ for finishing it out the way that he did … the drive on 17 won him the tournament but don't sleep on executing to the green on 18 … the putt was a bonus and a giant fuck you to people like me that were saying all week that they'd take an EVEN 280 at the start of the week
The weather delay today IMO was unfortunate to me because the beautiful thing about golf is that there's no timeouts … it's a real-time test in execution and being able to focus on each shot independently of the one(s) before it
The weather delay was massive for JJ and he reset himself … kudos to him
There is no place like Sunday pressure like at the US Open as we saw today … Burns unraveled after the delay and Scott just never really had it today and never seemed to get a break when he needed it. It's also a good example of the difference between 54 hole tournaments and 72 hole tournaments … in a 72 hole tournament it's can you hold it together when you don't have your best and that's going to be a reality at any course worth a damn
There are few players more entertaining to watch than Tyrell Hatton and you got the full experience today but his volatility got the best of him today … both he and Spaun got to 17 today at +1 … Spaun was nails and hit his tee ball to 20 feet … Hatton missed and got about as bad of a stance and you could have asked for leading to a bogey … Spaun hit his tee ball on 18 down the middle while Hatton missed right. The small things …
Lastly, I have to give a shout out to Bobby Mac … probably a name that the casual fan doesn't know but a guy that is going to be around these leaderboards for a bit as a 28 year old going on about 45 (good and proper Scottish boy) … don't be shocked if he's hanging around the leaderboard when we get to Royal Portrush
Cliff's Notes Summary of #TeqThoughts on the U.S. Open:
Shinnecock next year has also consistently delivered the carnage. In my opinion in a more pleasing way which is wind and short grass everywhere with mega run offs everywhere.
TYFYS
They are a great back to back test that highlight that there are different ways to test the best in the world
Would also be fun to see Oakmont baked out next time, with considerably shorter rough and let the greens be the primary defense. It’s fully capable of it. Weather the last month kind of forced them into what we got unfortunately.
Definitely true on allowing the greens to bake out … you ideally don't like seeing US Open courses completely being able to hit, stick, and spin massively like they were
That said, I think penalizing rough is part of the deal with Oakmont … it's a standard feature of a lot of old school parkland courses
Retief Goosen with one of the all time putting exhibitions to win at baked out Shinnecock over Phil was a good one
Thanks, Grok.