"A PGA veteran’s callous joke about blackface and Tiger Woods turned into a lesson on empathy"

I’m not sure I would have dropped on day one of the U.S. Open and might recommend bookmarking if you want to stay focused on the tournament. But Michael Williams files a lengthy, shocking, bizarre and eye-opening piece for The Undefeated detailing something he witnessed at last year’s U.S. Open.

Shocking because it involves one of the best people you’ll meet in professional golf—Charles Howell—who has gone above and beyond to learn from the incident. As always, please hit the link and take all of Williams’ piece in, but below is the setup.

I’ll add this to expedite matters: picture a lot of affluent people in a Lexus tent at Pebble Beach, one that make you wonder why need to have these corporate tents in the first place (oh, right, growing the game).

Williams writes:

I had been invited to the tournament by one of the corporate sponsors of the USGA, the organization that owns and operates the US Open. One of the perks was the opportunity to attend private post-round interviews with players, including Howell, in the sponsor’s hospitality tent beside the 18th fairway. As a golf journalist, I was familiar with Howell as a player, but I didn’t know much about him personally. While he wasn’t a contender to win (Howell finished tied for 52nd, 17 strokes behind winner Gary Woodland), I decided to attend to get some insight into how a physically unremarkable guy had willed himself to a remarkable career.

Todd Lewis of the Golf Channel was slated to ask Howell and fellow pro Patrick Cantlay about how the players thought they did, what their chances were, the difficulty of the course, etc. Typically, the players’ answers would match the banality of the questions.

But after a couple of softballs, Lewis started describing a story that Howell had shared with him when asked for an amusing anecdote. “You all remember the night Tiger Woods hit the fire hydrant with his car, right?” The 75 or so people in the tent laughed nervously and nodded, unsure why the 2009 accident outside Orlando, Florida, that contributed to Woods’ tragic fall was being raised at the national championship.

Lewis continued: “Now just to set the scene, there were reporters crews, camera crews, outside the gates of Isleworth from all over the world. I mean, it must’ve been 150 to 200 people there. There were helicopters flying above, trying to get pictures of Tiger’s house, the hydrant, Tiger, whomever. And looking for [his then-wife] Elin. Well, Charles decided he’d have some fun with all of that. Charles, pick up the story from there.”

Howell then told a story about how he thought it would be funny to punk the media looking for Woods.

And then it goes in rather unimaginable places from there, but with a happy ending! I promise.

Koepka Cruises To 22-Shot Win In The 2019 Majors (Among The Cutmakers)

I’ll have to look back but I don’t remember this kind of dominance except from you know around the turn of the century.

From Kyle Porter of CBSSports.com:

Report: PGA Tour Players On A Random Clock And It's Not Ideal (Kisner Exempted)

Nice work by Andy Johnson at FriedEgg.com to time one grouping at the U.S. Open for nine holes.

While it’s still not as powerful as the visual of watching the difference in how these players work, anyone with any imagination can easily envsion the agony of watching some of the longer debate sessions that took place. As other professional sports fret about the length of their games, the PGA Tour has made clear slow play and the slowest players are just not a a big deal. Even the USGA, which has had amazing success with time par systems, backs off at the U.S. Open out of fear of upsetting the most important people on the planet.

Given that players have 40 seconds to play a shot, the regularity with which they break the rules is, frankly stupefying given how rarely penalties have been dished out. And we know how hard it is to watch in person.

Unless Kevin Kisner is playing or Justin Thomas is hitting a tee shot…

As DeChambeau, Kisner, and Thomas worked their way through Pebble Beach’s front nine, I recorded the amount of time it took each player to hit each shot from the moment that it became clear the previous shot had ended. I also noted the order in which they played their shots within the group. To determine the exact start time for each shot, I simply used common sense. On approach shots, I started the clock when both caddie and player had arrived at the ball and the group ahead had vacated the green. On successive shots within the group, I started it when the previous shot had clearly ended—that is, when the previous player had picked up his tee, or when the preceding putt or chip had been marked, etc.

The results are below. The numbers in the left column—1, 2, and 3—represent the order in which the player hit the shot within the group. 1* signifies shots for which a player was first in the order but had to wait on the group ahead or called for a ruling. Finally, I have color coded the times: green = a time under 40 seconds; yellow = a time between 40-60 seconds; and red = a time over 60 seconds.

Oh and the red flows…

Classic Sports TV's Count Of 2019 U.S. Open Shots Shown By Fox

As he always does, Jeff Haggar at Classic TV Sports tracked all of the shots shown by Fox during the 2019 U.S. Open final round coverage.

He started about 30 minutes before the leaders teed off to maintain some consistency with other major telecasts. Fox showed 1.17 shots per minute, down a touch from the 1.24 shown at Shinnecock Hills. But Fox appeared to do the leaders justice and also show a good number of players contending.

He also tracked holes shown the most. Check it out here.

For comparison to prior majors, see this table with links to all of Haggar’s charts since 2014.

How Gary Woodland's Incredible Wedge Shot Was Influenced By (Restored) Golf Architecture

You may have heard…Chandler Egan and friends remodeled Pebble Beach for the 1929 U.S. Amateur into the Pebble Beach we’ve come to know. Over time, many features have been lost to the point of dysfunction in U.S. Open conditions. The boiling point was reached in the 2010 U.S. Open when the 17th green could not be held. As we detailed in the above link, a remodeled 17th hole was an opportunity to see if Pebble Beach would play better in the 2019 edition.

I’d say it did.

Since that U.S. Open, the green was expanded and the bunker faces reduced. The neck of the “hourglass” green created by Egan had been reduced to a sliver, the green unpinnable anywhere near the surrounds. The square footage restoration estimate was over 1000 square feet and while the green was still not as large as the original, the remodel made the 17th was made functional again.

But more important than the reclamation of architectural roots or reminding us of this wonderfully bizarre vision by Egan, the expansion gave Gary Woodland the opportunity to hit a shot for the ages, requiring him to clip the ball and land in a very small area and join Pebble Beach’s other 17th hole classic moments by Nicklaus and Watson.

The shot reminds how important golf course design is to giving us golf-watching thrills, and the vitality of caring for architectural gems.

Gary Woodland nearly holed the chip from ON THE GREEN! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/IWGxmVouf4

— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 17, 2019

How The 2027 U.S. Open Might Look At Pebble Beach

Apologies in advance to those mentioned in this somewhat satirical take for Golfweek on what the 2027 U.S. Open might look like when returning to Pebble Beach.

2019 U.S. Open: 5.2, Up 44% And Best Rating Since 2013

Strong numbers for FOX with Gary Woodland outlasting Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose to win in prime time.

No wonder Pebble Beach’s next U.S. Open is year one of the next television contract! West coast is best…

Gary Woodland Wins The U.S. Open, Your Initial Reactions

Here are my winners and losers of the week for Golfweek, with Gary Woodland winning in style with a dramatic chip at the 17th and resounding birdie at the 18th. That last putt is no picnic to two-putt.

Other than the June gloom, it was a sensational week for a journeyman player who has hung around and persisted, the USGA and Brooks Koepka despite a second place finish.

A Word About Willie Anderson While We Have The Excuse To Revisit His Three U.S. Open Wins In-A-Row

As Brooks Koepka prepares to tee off and pursue the incredible feat of three U.S. Open wins, Douglas Seaton gives us an excuse to revisit the short life and times of four-time U.S. Open winner Wilie Anderson.

North Berwick born and raised until his family emigrated to America. He was most famous for telling the Myopia members to stick their kitchen-dining plan for the pros:

At the 1901 US. Open played at Myopia Hunt Club near Boston, Massachusetts, Willie and Alex Smith posted a 72-hole score of 331, to tie the tournament. In the first 18-hole play-off in Open history, Anderson won by one stroke, 85-86. At that championship, the American media picked up on Anderson's quote when he growled " No, we're no goin tae eat in the kitchen." Willie was furious when told the professionals could not enter the clubhouse. The players were eventually allowed to eat in a specially erected tent.

Anderson is in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

How The FOX Drones Are Getting Such Amazing Views At Pebble Beach

I chatted with Fox Sports’ director Steve Biem Sunday for this Golfweek story to better understand how the Kaze Aerial team is getting the remarkable drone images from the 2019 U.S. Open, as well as an audible with the new FlightTrack tracer covering the 6th tee shot and now, the 17th.

It was fascinating to hear about the adjustments made to get where they are, which is providing us views like we’ve never seen before.

Tiger Falls Out Of Contention, Praises Setup, Admits To Being Achy In Cooler Conditions

Tiger’s third round 71 left him at even par and out of contention for the 2019 U.S Open, but he praised the balanced setup Saturday.

“I think they did a great job of setting it up so that we can make birdies,” Woods said. “And if you do miss them in the wrong spot then you still can get up and down here, which is not always the case.”

He did admit after the round that the cool conditions have made it harder to get loose. From Bob Harig’s ESPN.com story:

Woods was predictably coy when asked about any physical issues as he wore KT tape -- a therapeutic strip often worn to treat pain -- on his neck, just as he had during The Open at Carnoustie last year.

"When it's cold like this, everything is achy," Woods said. "It's just part of the deal."

Phil: "I’ve got to give it to — hand it to the USGA for doing a great setup. It’s the best I’ve ever seen."

Phil Mickelson’s 75 Saturday at Pebble Beach ended his chances here, so it’s never too early to start rebuilding his Golf Gods karma credits.

From Todd Kelly’s Golfweek story:

“I tell you, I think it’s — I’m really happy that I had this chance, this opportunity this week. I’ve got to give it to — hand it to the USGA for doing a great setup. It’s the best I’ve ever seen. And it’s identifying the best players. It’s making the players the story,” he said.

“I think the biggest thing was pin placements, instead of putting them right on the edges they were in good spots, rewarding great shots. I can’t say enough great things about how this week has gone so far. And I’m appreciative to the effort they’ve put in and for the opportunity that I had this week.”

FOX Reports Best Second Round Ratings Since 2012

Have I ever mentioned that more people watch U.S. Opens in California?

Biggest second round numbers since the last one here in 2012 at Olympic Club:

Fox: Best U.S. Open First Round Ratings On A Network Since 2002

With Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose in prime time, Fox drew an impressive number given the NBA Finals competition.

Their numbers:

The Numbers Say An AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Is Breaking Out In June

It’s almost unimaginable to see scoring averages and eagle counts you’d find in the February AT&T, but that’s where we’re at after one round at Pebble Beach. With no end to the good scoring in sight.

My Golfweek roundup of the astounding day one numbers that are a tribute to the amazing condition of the course, the talent of today’s players and of course, the incorporation of coconut oil in their morning coffee allowing them to hit 6 irons off 428-yard par-4 tees and wedges into half the par-4’s.