Turning The Page Without Reading It

Surviving Golf

Turning The Page Without Reading It

Oakmont was everything I wanted it to be. The course won. Exactly one player under par. Chaos. Players getting frustrated, lockers being broken, clubs being slammed, range grass being torn up, horrible body language…I loved it all. I. Loved. It. All…except the winner.

I was trying to find a way to write this entire newsletter without mentioning the US Open and without mentioning the winner of the US Open. I’m going to do one of those two things. So, here are some of my bigger points on the US Open…

1. The Course Wins!!

As I mentioned above, Oakmont won. It beat professional golf. And, best of all, it actually played softer than it was supposed to play because of some of the weekend storms! I want a US Open to be total madness, and that’s what Oakmont provided to us. It was amazing to see professional golfers hit approach shots to outside of 40 feet from the hole, and the announcers gush over how good the shot was. That’s what I want to see one time per year. Every other week, these guys are making tons of birdies, tucking approach shots close, and dominating courses with their distance. The Oakmont rough was all it was built up to be — punitive to the max, rewarding excellent tee shots, prioritizing accuracy off the tee over everything else. Total round of applause for the Course winning, and…now I have a more open mind to rolling the golf ball back. Weeks where pros are suffering are pretty solid!

2. Long Term Ryder Cup Implications!

Let’s start with Team Europe, who, despite the current betting odds, feel like the superior team because of their immense depth. Now, they have Viktor Hovland coming back to what he once was — the best iron player in the world and in the shortlist of the conversation for best player in the world, period. Jon Rahm is doing the same. The putter would not cooperate at Oakmont to keep him in contention, but the rest of the game — especially driving the golf ball — looked like it was back to being what we’re accustomed to seeing from Jon Rahm.

On the American side, I think we’re locked into the following players: Scottie, Xander, Bryson, the winner of the US Open, Morikawa, and probably Justin Thomas. Russell Henley is somehow a near-lock at this point. Projecting Cantlay as a likely lock feels smart as well. Sam Burns, with his relationship with Scottie, performance on the 2023 Ryder Cup team, and recent form looks like a decent bet to make the team too. After that? Man. If it were me, I would look at Brooks’ US Open performance — a return to something resembling form — very closely. Also peaking at the US Open was a personal favorite: Cam Young. Young, a New York native, on paper, has many of the ingredients to succeed at Bethpage Black. However, tough to rely on a few weeks of decent form to override a season of disappointment to this point. The pool gets very thin when we’re looking right outside the top 8 guys. Is Jordan Spieth, who is currently in the 20s in Ryder Cup points, a contender to play? Ben Griffin has been red-hot for months, hits the ball a ton…but is Ben Griffin. Andrew Novak, same story. Do you really want Andrew Novak going against Ludvig in singles on a Sunday with the Cup at stake? I don’t know. Obviously performances at the Open Championship will determine a lot of this as well, but the American pool of players gets real shallow real quick…something to keep in mind if you like Team Europe at positive odds!

3. Rules Officials Are Stupid

Sam Burns had to hit the ball out of a puddle at one of the most crucial points of the US Open, a ball that eventually snap hooked into an impossible spot in the rough, led to a tournament ending double bogey, and essentially allowed the winner of the US Open to eliminate one potential on-course competitor with whom to deal. That’s stupid. I don’t understand how that was not considered standing water when, immediately following the shot, multiple videos showed peoples’ shoes being covered in water when they stepped in that exact spot. Just a brutal, brutal break.

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All in all, I cannot emphasize enough…pleased with the US Open and primed for an exciting final stretch of the season, leading to one of the most anticipated Ryder Cups of my lifetime!

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Eddy’s Ryder Cup Rosters — Post US Open

I’m going to keep track of my live thoughts on both Team USA and Team Europe rosters as the season heads towards September and Bethpage Black. These are not MY PERSONAL rosters, but what I think the rosters WILL BE when the tournament locks in based on the captains, resumes, and what Bethpage demands. These will be updated every so often, and certainly after all “big” events.

USA

1. Scottie Scheffler

2. Xander Schauffele

3. Bryson DeChambeau

4. JJ Spaun

5. Justin Thomas

6. Collin Morikawa

7. Russell Henley

8. Sam Burns

9. Patrick Cantlay

10. Cameron Young

11. Brooks Koepka

12. Ben Griffin

Europe

1. Rory McIlroy

2. Tyrrell Hatton

3. Shane Lowry

4. Tommy Fleetwood

5. Viktor Hovland

6. Jon Rahm

7. Robert MacIntyre

8. Ludvig Aberg

9. Sepp Straka

10. Justin Rose

11. Rasmus Hojgaard

12. Thomas Detry

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SHORT NEWSLETTER THIS WEEK! Family is going to the Jersey Shore most of the week. Podcast is out, please check it out.

Newsletters will start to focus on the Ryder Cup — both the one in September at Bethpage, and the more important one…