US Open 2015: What we learned on day two at Chambers Bay
Jordan can make history
The last man to win the first two Majors of the season was Tiger Woods in 2002, whereupon his Grand Slam attempt was only derailed by the Muirfield storm at that year’s Open. Before that, you have to go back to Ben Hogan in 1953, who took the first three that year, including the Open on his only appearance.
Jordan Spieth has some chance to make history here. He couldn’t be in better shape heading into the weekend. The key to it was his 68 on Thursday afternoon when the course was at its toughest. Highly impressive stuff and it set up yesterday morning’s effort.
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Tiger’s no quitter…
…But he really had nothing resembling a game good enough to bring to a Major championship. There is talk of him taking a break but it’s hard to imagine him doing that when there is an Open at St Andrews around the corner. Expect him to take his place in the field for the final two Majors of the season – and if things haven’t improved by then it might be a different story.
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JB has some game
He’s as long as anyone out there, and clearly length is his greatest asset. But he’s also rugged and gritty. He knows how to win. His return to the summit of the game from brain surgery is a heartening one. This is a good course for him, so expect him to make a real fist of the weekend.
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The course can be manipulated
Without wishing to say we told you so, we did tell you so. USGA executive director Mike Davis has chosen a venue here that can be his personal plaything. Such are the options at hs disposal he can make Chambers Bay as easy or tough as he likes. Which means that anything is possible over the weekend.
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"Chambers Bay is not a links" +10 won’t win this US Open
You have to think that as intelligent a man as Graeme McDowell was kidding the media along when he predicted that +10 could be a winning score this week. Many things are possible over the weekend, but one of them is not that being the score to match on Sunday afternoon.
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The course didn’t have to be presented like this
You only need to see pictures of Chambers Bay when it was a little younger to see that it is naturally quite green – or at least it can be. Only the USGA know why they felt the need to take the course to the edge. You have to think it would have played better if they’d thrown a little water on. And the greens would certainly have been more like Major standard.
Chambers Bay is not a links
There are certainly some similarities but the changes of elevation give it away.
Chambers Bay is an entertaining venue
This is not one of those US Open venues that can recede into the distance after a year or two (Olympic, anyone?). We’ll all remember Chambers Bay for a good while, and that’s got to be a good thing. It’s dramatic, on a grand scale and full of exciting holes.
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The leaderboard doesn’t lie
Ultimately, all you really ask for from a Major is a leaderboard packed with big names. This US Open is providing that nicely. It’s anyone’s championship at the halfway point – bring on the weekend.
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Dan Murphy
Dan loves links golf, which doesn't mean he is very good at it. He is a four-handicapper at Alwoodley. A qualified journalist and senior editor with 25 years’ experience, he was the long-time editor of NCG. His passion is golf courses and he is the founding editor of NCG Top 100s course rankings. He loves nothing more than discovering and highlighting courses that are worthy of greater recognition.