Pinehurst, NC
11:02 PM
What a day it was at the U.S. Open in Pinehurst. I woke up at 4 AM this morning and could not go back to sleep. I was not giddy like a school boy knowing I was going to watch the golf today, but it was one of those nights/morning where your mind doesn’t shut off. I tossed and turned until my alarm went off at 6:15. From there it was a blurry walk to the showers and then my senses came to. I am nit used to 6:15 AM wake up calls. Another one awaits tomorrow.
I made the drive down 74 east to Hwy. 1 in about 2 hours. I pulled into the Blue lot and waited for Bob to arrive. It was a hot and humid day, but there was a nice breeze that hit me as I sat in my car with the windows down. Bob was coming with the tickets and he wanted to put his bag in my car. I tried to nap but I was on the phone up until the time he arrived, which was around 10.
We went in and met my old boss, Jeff, at the Payne Stewart statue. We hit the course. Walking first to number 12 and all around. What a day. We saw Tiger, and Phil, and Sergio, Vijay, we saw everyone. The two guys Bob and I wanted to see (Bob – Davis Love III. Me – Shaun Micheel), they both struggled.
I am not sure how many of you are golfers, but this course is punishing. When we first got there we questioned the length of the rough. “It needs to be longer, this is the US Open.” Soon we realized our error. Any ball that made its way out of the fairway immediately disappeared below a few inches of Bermuda grass. Bye Bye ball and hello bogey. The best players in the world couldn’t knock it around from 100 yards.
The rough was tough. But the greens were sick. Or would’ve made me sick if I were playing. Each one is like a turtle shell. This means you better hit it where you want, or you’re left with a funky chip. The winner will need their short game. And a straight game.
And finally the greens undulate all over the place. All day we didn’t see many putts of any length made. Rich Beem got hot at the end of the day, but other than that, we didn’t see anything drop.
We did a lot of walking. I wanted to see the holes and the greens. Par was tough to come by. Only 9 players were under. We made a good spot on number 4, a par 5. We perched about 20 yards from the hole and had a great spot in the shade, sitting on pine needles, and could see the green and the incoming shot. A lot of the guys went for it in 2. We saw Phil make a birdie and a few others. No eagles though.
We followed Love for some and Micheel for some. We didn’t bring them luck. Maybe tomorrow. There will be a lot of friends in town. My Uncle is flying in. Matt and Ryan will bb there.
It stinks because they don’t let in cameras or cell phones. Communication is non existent. At the same time, it’s kind of nice to not worry about it.
We’ll be back tomorrow. Which means 6:15 AM again. Time for bed.