THE U.S. OPEN REPORT

Hello everyone:
Well, we made it back Friday, after a VERY long day at the U.S. Open. I hope everyone had a fun Father's Day and were able to get full use out of the warm, sunny weather we had over the weekend.

THE 106th U.S. OPEN FROM WINGED FOOT
Okay here's the journal of the day as it went on Friday. The guys showed up at my house at 5:10 a.m. We stopped at a local roadside diner for breakfast (the pancakes were the biggest I've ever seen, covering the ENTIRE plate.

We ate pretty quickly and set out. As we were approaching the NYS Thruway, Roy asks the Palooka if he has the tickets. Palooka says, "Oh shit, I left them home." So we make a detour to Palooka's house, and pick up the tickets. Okay, now we can set out. We make a leisurely 2 hour drive to Westchester Community College and park the car. Then it's on to the metal detector area. Let me tell ya, these folks left no stone unturned, don't ya know. The magnetic, handheld wands picked up the slightest bit of metal you may have had in your pocket. The stopped my for having a dime and nickel in one pocket and the aluminum foil paper that was in my cigarette pack. These people were serious....no smiles.

We then got on shuttle buses and drove for another half-hour, during which the Palooka bitched the entire time about how stupidly this system was set up. We finally got on the grounds around 10:00 a.m. After watching a few groups that were playing on adjacent holes, we began to move around the course.

CONDITIONS AT WINGED FOOT
I'd like to describe the conditions of the course very quickly, for those of you who have never been to a major tournament. First off, the fairways. If you were to picture a really thick, coarse, carpet-like piece of felt, that would describe the fairways. Really, it was like hitting off of indoor/outdoor carpeting, with a padding underneath.

The bunkers were large and somewhat trecherous, but the edges were cut so sharp that you may have been able to tear your pants on them. The greens, of course, were gorgeous, well-maintained, and VERY fast. Oh, and undulating. Not too many dead-flat areas. The crowd was polite and friendly. Then, of course there was...................

THE ROUGH AT WINGED FOOT
If you thought you were a frustrated hacker, you had to see the pro's going out of their minds over this rough. So you say, "Big Deal," rough is rough...it's just long grass. That's what I thought until I actually felt the grass. Normally, if you put your hand down into 5-6 inch-long grass it just moves around with no problem. Here at Winged Foot, I never felt anything like this. Picture, if you will, putting your hands into a large box of rubber bands. Your fingers slide in w/ no problem and immdiately get tangled up and you have to work on removing them. As you walk along, your sneaker treads get caught up in the grass. So you can see, especially if you watched the tournament on TV, why the pro's were only able to advance the ball a short distance when they were unlucky enough to get buried in the rough. I think you may have been able to find alot of lost items in the rough.

We were disappointed that Tiger Woods was rusty after his long layoff. He was never a factor and, indeed, missed his first cut, ever, in a major. We saw some nice shots, but only mediocre putting. The temperature hovered around 85 all day. Beers were $5 and $6, and the most expensive food item was $7 (a chicken Caesar wrap). Basically, we walked around, ate and drank all day, while trying to find places in the shade that would give us a good view of the action on the greens.

We finally got back to the car at around 8:00 p.m. (that after spending $154 on overpriced stuff in the Merch Tent). After a cold beer or two, we got back on the highway. Things were going great until we got a few miles north of Poughkeepsie where we came to a dead stop. There had been a serious accident up ahead. So serious, in fact, that they had to bring in a helicopter to take away the injured. We found out later that a 9-year-old was killed. So we sat for 2 1/2 hours until everything was cleaned up. We got back to my house at 1:45 a.m., almost 21 hours after we had left.

THE LEN IS RIGHT TAKE ON THE U.S. OPEN
I was hoping Colin Montgomerie, Steve Stricker, or Phil Mickelson would win on Sunday. After a tremendous birdie putt on the 17th hole, Monty faded on 18 with a double-bogey. Mickelson proceded to have one of the greatest mental meltdowns in history giving away the lead and the title over the last 3 holes. Very un-Phil-like. He will probably beat himself up over this for a while, and he should. He made inexcusable mistakes that cost him his 3rd Major title in a row. But this is what makes the U.S. Open so tough to win and so appreciated for years afterward.

All in all, it was a fun, tiring, long day. If this tournament is played in a location near where you live, and you like golf, by all means go and be a spectator at the U.S. Open The rough was CRAZY, do you hear me? The greens were slick and very undulating, and I'm sure it was an exercise in frustration for most of the golfers. I think if I had played the same conditions, I may have carded a 145. But only if I hit 80% of the fairways. If I'm in the rough, all bets are off.

Happy belated Father's Day to all of those out there who have begat heirs. Until next time, remember that LEN IS RIGHT.

I am,
Len Tollerton