It's time for me to choose my "five to Watch" for this week's foremost. But those are the toughest alternatives I've made in quite a while, often due to the fact Pinehurst #2 -- best approximately 2 hours from where I live -- offers a undertaking unlike whatever the present day PGA Tour has seen at a US Open.
The restoration of Pinehurst #2 by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore has set the Wayback Machine to 1943, only five years before architect Donald Ross died and throughout the peak of Pinehurst's legendary fame as a Tour prevent. It's not constructed for the "target golf" performed on maximum American courses; now it's being described as an American inland links path, more like a go among Augusta National and Carnoustie.
When you upload within the opportunity of bad climate -- the identical the front that hit Memphis remaining week -- it's now not smooth to wager how cutting-edge pros will carry out on the sort of classic venue. Do I select gamers with right records on the Open Championship? At the Masters? Or is traditional Pinehurst a special animal altogether? I'm not sure...
I've removed Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, and protecting champ Justin Rose because of their injuries. I'm unsure how tough the "hard" at Pinehurst can be, but I can see a very actual threat for those players to re-injure themselves with a awful shot or . (Yes, I know Justin says his shoulder is exceptional... But I've had shoulder injuries before.) And all of these gamers have had an inclination towards wild photographs these days.
Rory's still too inconsistent for my tastes, as is Henrik Stenson. And I query Adam Scott's setting on Pinehurst's tricky veggies.
I like Sergio and Jim Furyk, however despite their recent properly play I just can't see both of them getting it accomplished here. (I wish I'm wrong; I'd be surely thrilled if both of them received this week.) I suppose Zach Johnson DOES have an excellent chance right here -- he's gotten his ball flight up a touch -- however I simply can not bring myself to call him a Top5 pick out. However, I do not feel right approximately Matt Kuchar on this direction in any respect.
So here, with some reservations, are my 5 to Watch:
- Phil Mickelson: As usual, everything seems to be against Phil getting into the mix this week... and to be honest, I'm not so sure he will. But this is exactly the kind of drama that seems to get Phil going and we all know what he can do when that happens, so he makes my list.
- Jordan Spieth: This isn't about Jordan being a wonderkid or anything. Rather, Jordan makes my list because NOBODY knows exactly what to expect since the course has been changed so much. I think that gives Jordan a level playing field... and he's been playing very consistently this season, with 5 Top5s and a runner-up at the Masters. Jordan's good on unfamiliar layouts.
- Bubba Watson: Another player who I normally wouldn't pick as a US Open favorite. But Bubba is long, has a good short game, and putts well. And, with "rough" that could give him something resembling a decent lie, his ability to recover from bad shots could give him an edge.
- Webb Simpson: Webb is a bit of a flier for me. Still, he's from the area and he's been playing better lately, with a T3 in Memphis last week. He'll put a lot of pressure on himself (everybody wants to win a US Open in their home state) but I still think he can do it.
- Miguel Angel Jimenez: Believe it or not, the Mechanic is my favorite to win this week. It's not just that he's playing well; it's that he's playing well around the world. I think the classic Pinehurst setup is just the kind of course that he's used to. And while he's far from the longest player in this bunch, Bill Coore said something Monday night that struck me: He said that this restored Pinehurst is very friendly to shorter hitters. Sounds like the perfect recipe for a surprise winner!
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