July 05, 2006

Monday Playoffs

July 05, 2006/ Geoff Shackelford

Like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, Monday's 18-hole U.S. Women's Open playoff ushered in the predictable complaints about the USGA's playoff system. Rick Arnett at SI.com and AP's Doug Ferguson did the howling this time around.

Ferguson focuses on the USGA's move from 36-holes to 18 as a precedent for moving to the 4 or 3-hole systems used by the R&A and PGA: "There's no reason for the USGA not to change, especially since it has gone from an 18-hole playoff to a 36-hole playoff to an 18-hole playoff during its 111 years of championship golf."

I have to side with the USGA on this one, despite the sucess of the playoffs in other majors. Your thoughts?

Geoff Shackelford

Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning Drive, is co-host of The Ringer's ShackHouse is the author of eleven books.