Dustin Johnson is making a nonsense of Chambers Bay as me auld buddy Bruce Critchley would say. Heck of a round. When it all falls right on the day for a pro they can make any course look soft and Johnson along with a few others are certainly on song. Big Phil and Bubba just finished there on -1 and level respectively and that stands them in good stead for tomorrow. I'd be more than happy with level par for any of my picks going into Saturday.
Dustin will always through a bad little run in somewhere, he always do. But with his time off recently for, how did they put it, medical problems, or medicinal problems more like it, he may well have turned a new leaf. I never really took to him but always liked how he attacked a course with that almost cowboy swagger... I wish him luck but fear it will end in tears for him, but an opening round -6 under is gonna scare a few before they even get out there... Oh, and my random pick, Mr Kevin Chappell sits at -1 under par after an opening round of 69... Still no idea why I picked him...?!?!?!
Great shot by Johnson on the 9th (his final hole) albeit he made a bogey, it was some shot from the grass/bunker to get down around 16ft or that.
I looked this morning, thought about how bad Tiger must have played to shoot +10 then realised he wasn't the worst in the 3 ball - 28 over the 3 combined were. I watched Fowler play the 1st 4 as well and would never have dreamt he'd be that far off the pace
When I was checking the scores this morning I scrolled up and down thinking I'd missed him I see he's already bogied one, +12 now Ricky FFS!
I had him favourited on the app and woke up about 5:30 had a look and thought it said T5 - nope it said 155 1 over through 2 so with 16 to play, 16 birdies and he's only 1 off the lead
Course is really a suprising me so far, by all reports no one was going to be under par here. I suppose a lot of it is guesswork as it's the first time Chambers Bay has held such an event. It should get tougher at the weekend when they alter it but there is certainly biridies to be had. I was the same when I checked the scores this morning, shocked Fowler has been so poor especially when he was apparently doing great in his practise rounds there! What a difference a day makes huh.
Have to say Justin Rose is a fantastic ball striker. I feel he has under achieved somewhat because with his swing he should definitely be winning almost every other week. The flat stick is his biggest downfall but when that's on he's contending mostly.
I always find myself quite disappointed with the coverage of golf. Sky's coverage has been on air for 3 hours now, and at this moment there is around 50+ golfers out on the course, but for the last 3 hours all we've been seeing is the same 10-15 players. I understand they want to mostly show the players who are doing well or players making a move but for guys like us who've had a punt or even for fans just to see their favourite player, it would be nice to be able to see them play a few shots. If I hadn't checked online I wouldn't even know where most of my selections stood on the leaderboard (not doing very well btw!).
Well 2 down by halfway Rickie and Willet but Grace doing well finishing his 2nd round at -4, only 1 off the lead as I write. Hopefully Rory can hit some form on the greens today, from what I saw his tee to green yesterday was decent. Spieth leads at -5 with the joint leaders yet to go out. This kids something pretty special, huh!
What we are watching is what the yanks are watching also Fabio... A shot from Tiger, then someone else, then Tiger, then the current leader, then more of Tiger, then replays of Tigers first shot just in case you missed it, then finally Tigers putt on the green... And repeat... I sometimes find it hard to watch when its like this but the powers at be say that when Tiger is winning - some years ago now mind - the viewing figures are through the roof. 50% of the viewers wanting him to fail and the other 50% wanting him to win, or so the media tells us... But there are other great golfers playing at the same time, equally playing great golf that we just don't see... At least the SKY coverage of the European Tour tends to spread the love around to all of the golfers... Anyway, don't worry the next two days are going to be Tigger free...
Rory ended up +4, just makes the cut but how nicely placed would he have been without 3 dropped shots on the last 2 holes Looks like Spieth's tournament to me, this guy is proving to be as good as they've been saying for a while over there...
I wouldn't rule anyone out from back as far as +4 for the weekend here. I'm not saying that the winner will definitely come from there just that it's not beyond the realms of possibility at a US Open especially if they get crafty with the set up for the next 2 day's. Oosthuizen made a nice move yesterday shooting -4 to get into contention for the weekend. He could be a dark horse lurking under the radar as he will be familiar with conditions. All to play for.
...and on that note I've just convinced myself of a €3 bet @ 300/1 on Louis Oosthuizen. He sits on +3 currently, 8 shots back. His -4 yesterday could be a flash in the pan as he's been struggling for consistency the past 24 months but at the odds and given the nature of the US Open I don't mind chancing it for small stakes. My other picks were Bubba (M/C) and Lefty who sits on +3 also after a disappointing showing on Friday. A lot needed to get involved for both Phil and Louis but if things get rolling right ya never know