Capelle On Golf

2008 US Open Coverage

I’ve been looking forward to watching Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson play at the US Open since I ordered my tickets four months ago. But getting a glimpse of these golfing gods now is going to be next to impossible thanks to the USGA’s brain trust, which has paired them together for the first two rounds.

Mike Davis, the man responsible for the nightmarish blunder asks, “What’s wrong with putting 1 and 2 together, given their background at Torrey Pines?” What’s wrong is that the USGA says there will be 42,000 people attending each day, about 90-99% of whom will be there to see Tiger and native son Phil Mickelson.

The problem is that golf courses, and this one in particular, are not made to accommodate huge moving throngs of people. Now getting a decent view of our heroes on more than a handful of shots is going to require expert planning, a super human effort sustained over four hours, and the aggressiveness of a prizefighter.

In defense of his pairing, Davis the maverick added, “The heck with what TV wants. Let’s do what we want for the championship.” Maybe it’s what the USGA wants, but it’s certainly not what the fans want who plunked down a $100 a day for tickets.

Then the ever quotable Davis came forth with this jewell: “We’re not stupid. We knew it would create buzz.” So that’s another part of his job, to create buzz for the Open? Now he’s in charge of PR as well? It’s as if Tiger, Phil, and the US Open at Torrey were not enough to hype the event.

As for the players, it’s incredible to think that Davis would risk either one’s chances of winning for the sake of the bold move. Woods has already won two Opens so he’s got far less pressure on him. Mickelson, on the other hand, must surely be looking at this as the most important championship of his career. One moment he’s mentally prepared to be cheered on by a hometown gallery. Now he’s got to duke it out with Woods, who has a way of bringing out the worst in his playing partners. If he implodes over the first two rounds, Davis will need a disguise to make it safely out of town.

Maybe Davis’ real intention is to make bold decisions so he can carve out his legacy – maybe the real story is one of an official who has been granted too much power and doesn’t rightly now what to do with it. Maybe in the end Davis wants to be a superstar in his own right, this he’s put his career ahead of the good of the game.