Comments on: How Tiger Woods Won his Third US Open

By: Flora Higgins

Flora Higgins — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:20:26 +0000

I am not a golfer and really know very little about the game, but I find reading this blog fascinating!

By: BD

BD — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:34:00 +0000

Phil: It doesn’t render the choice of playoff holes “unfair” merely because a particular hole tends to favor one set of skills over another. By that logic, the whole championship was unfair because longer hitters had an advantage over shorter hitters. In a playoff involving two golfers with decidely dissimilar skill-sets like Tiger and Rocco, practically any given hole will tend to favor one of them over the other because they each of distinct strengths and weaknesses. (What single hole on the course would be perfectly neutral as between these two players?)

The reason they selected 7, 8 and 18 as the sudden death loop is obvious from the layout of the course: http://www.torreypinesgolfcourse.com/southcourse.htm

As you can see, these three holes form a short triangular circuit along which the players and officials could conveniently travel, over and over if necessary, until the issue was decided. They also happen to consist of a par 4, a par 3, and a par 5.

Moreover, while I admire Rocco’s game and all, it strikes me as a weakness in his game that he is both (a) a short hitter, and (b) heavily reliant on a right-to-left ball flight. Obviously, that combination can catch up with you eventually, although, to his credit, he managed to stave off elimination until the 91st hole.

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:50:57 +0000

In response to BDs comment, this makes the USGA’s decision all the worse because they had plenty of time to choose the fairest hole and they failed in choosing number seven. Regardless of who might have been in the playoff - the hole sets up better for any player who plays left to right than those who play right to left. Torrey Pines has mostly straight or near straight holes (including number one) and they chose one of the two holes with one the biggest turns to the right. Eight is mostly a neutral hole, though those who hit the ball high have an edge since it’s uphill. As for #18, long hitters like Woods have a distinct advantage.

By: BD

BD — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:44:10 +0000

You guys do realize the sudden death holes were picked before the tournament started, right?

By: Bud

Bud — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:10:59 +0000

On The USGA’s Biased Hole Selection:
I was thinikng the same the same thing.