“Walking around the US Open – and believe me, I walked a lot – it quickly became apparent that these idiots are very much few and far between,” writes Alex Perry while reviewing the behaviour of the weirdly dressed and vociferous patrons; Oops! that’s a ‘Major’ event where they most certainly would not be permitted to attend

Cut ‘em some slack?
Alex headlines his post, “Shall we all just cut American golf fans some slack?,” however he did tweet, “Winner of weirdest shout from the crowd: "Hey DJ! Why isn't Paulina on your bag?"
Nevertheless he does make a good point when he writes, “Every time I see a British golf fan complaining about Americans – and I very much include myself in this – I just want to say to them that they’ve almost certainly done worse at a football match. I know I have. (Since you ask: I once threw a sausage roll on a pitch in frustration at another terrible refereeing decision.)”

“Mashed potato” and “Tuna Melt”
“And sure, the whooping and hollering is irritating, and I’ll never understand why any of them think their cries of “Mashed potato!” are funny, but hey, they’re enjoying themselves at a sporting event – which is what we all should be at a sporting event.”
Whilst back in Britain, “I’m not saying I want to hear fans screaming “Tuna melt!” at players in Carnoustie, but we enjoy ourselves in a completely different way at The Open, don’t we?”

A two pint lemonade please
As it so happened this was Alex’s first appearance at a US Open and his observations on the food and drink available from the concession stands make interesting reading.
“Everything you eat here puts you one clogged vein closer to a cardiac arrest so why would liquids be any different?
You can buy a lemonade so large you could actually drown in it. It’s 32 ounces, or two pints. We can already feel our belts straining.”
As for food snacking, "Augusta is famous for its incredibly fair priced food, while here at Shinnecock you can grab a peanut butter and jelly – that’s jam to you and us – sandwich for $3.
And in terms of quality? No contest.”

Link to Alex Perry

Quote of the Day
“The marshalls do a great job at The (US) Open, but there’s always someone who looks very recently removed from a war zone.” - Alex Perry

“For a period during the 1950s it seemed that Peter Thomson, who has died aged 88, virtually owned golf’s oldest major competition, the Open Championship. Between 1952 and 1958 the Australian won the Open four times and was three times a runner-up.”

A self-made swing
The Guardian in its obituary also informs us, “Thomson was born in the working class district of Brunswick, Melbourne, where he began playing golf in his early teens on the nine-hole Royal Park course, across the street from where he lived. The second world war was raging, so Royal Park was largely empty and Thomson was left to make up his own mind about how the game should be played, hardly seeing any good golfers. The course was hard and bouncy in the hot months and it was there that he developed the trademark abilities that served him so well on the links.”
Amen to that.

The Bobby Locke controversy
I have heard differing reports on how the two men responded to the following incident which as someone new to the game I observed on television but did not observe Locke’s error.
We are told that Thomson, “Went on a run of four wins in five years, only missing out narrowly on a victory in 1957 at St Andrews when he came second to Locke, who should theoretically have been disqualified for failing to replace his ball properly after marking it on the final green. The authorities felt Locke had gained no advantage from his oversight and, as he was three shots ahead of Thomson anyway, awarded him the title. Thomson fully supported the ruling, but Locke wrongly got it into his head that his closest rival was behind a subsequent whispering campaign against him, and their friendship died.”

Boring Peter Thomson
For those of us who’ve been around for a long time we usually share our favourite story about Peter Thomson.
Come 1960 I was three years into playing this great game and the Open Championship had returned to St Andrews for the Centennial Open. 

Time to see how this game is really played and watch the new talk of the town guy called Arnold Palmer.
As it happened our car parking spot was adjacent to what I recall was the 14th hole and ‘Hell bunker’ and the first golfer who came into view was a man I recognised as Peter Thomson. “Now here’s where I learn how great golfers handle this kind of situation.” I thought or something like that.
To my astonishment Peter didn’t think twice and immediately chipped sideways out of the bunker.

“Boring! Lets go see more exciting golfers,” I said to my friend and off we went.
Perhaps because it was my first real-life (Not on TV) viewing great golfers this story has become stuck in my mind. And as a reminder that had I been more like Peter Thomson in my attitudes about playing golf I would have been a more accomplished player.
 
Link to The Guardian

Quote of the Day
“The difference between winning and losing is always a mental one.” - Peter Thomson

“It came as no surprise to learn that Shinnecock Hills, venue for this year’s US Open, will be 446 yards longer and significantly tighter than when it last staged the championship back in 2004.” So reads the article at the National Club Golfer who headline their article, “Why Shinnecock is a course that will stand the test of time.”

Can Augusta National survive?
Of course it can just like Shinnecock but in what sort of shape come 20-years down the road?
Preceding their coverage of Shinnecock the NCG article discuss the distance problem.
“The club and ball manufacturers look set to challenge any attempt the R&A and the USGA might make to rein in the modern ball but they will do so in the knowledge that Augusta will be supporting the game’s authorities rather than themselves.” 
Following this with, “The new Augusta National secretary, Fred Ridley, made the club’s position on distance control crystal clear."

“We are intent on making sure we maintain the design philosophy that Mr Jones and Alistair MacKenzie devised,” he said.”

And I ask, “Can Augusta National survive?,” when as I have elsewhere written that, “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt it’s all over the golfing world like the R&A and AGNC and when Fred Ridley is reminded of a very significant quote by founder member Bobby Jones he may like to think again about how much his famous course has changed and alas not for the better. 

Specifically speaking
The NGC writes, “There’s a great quote from Bobby Jones dealing specifically with the 13th hole, which has been lengthened over time, and he said that the decision to go for the green in two should be a momentous one.” But now we have modern day athletes who also play golf, hitting prodigious distances where in most instances their “momentous decision” is to whether to hit a soft-seven or hard-eight iron to the green.

Link to the National Club Golfer

Quote of the Day
“Surely the USGA are wiser now – but then again, after Koepka finished at a staggering 16-under a year ago, anything is possible should the governing body be in a vengeful frame of mind.” - Dan Murphy at the National Club Golfer

“I didn’t believe in destiny until Ken Venturi won the 1964 U.S. Open. I was paired with him for the final 36 holes, and how he finished, I'll never know.” says Raymond Floyd on Guy Yocom’s ‘My Shot’.

Bryson DeChambeau
Having recently watched DeChambeau’s final round performance at Jack’s place and how he played rubbish from the tee and had huge luck with his ball coming to rest on a severe downslope adjacent to water I was thinking he was destined to win the tournament. And so when reading Ray Floyd’s comment it immediately resonated with me.
Yes I agree with Ray and Frank Harris' paraphrasing of Shakespeare's "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will," where Frank writes, “There is a destiny that shapes our ends rough, hew them as we will.”
Given DeChambeau’s determination and mental strength to not despair I’d say he’s destined to go far in this great game and perhaps become one of the game’s greats
 
Ken’s near collapse
Continuing with how Ray tells it, “It was the hottest day I've ever seen. Even people sitting down in the gallery were passing out. By the end of the morning round, Ken was in bad shape. In the afternoon, toward the end, he didn't know where he was. Part of the miracle was how he kept hitting the ball flush and pretty long, too. When he holed the final putt and I picked the ball out of the hole for him—he was too dazed and exhausted to do it—I had tears in my eyes. Some things are just meant to be.”

“Some things are just meant to be,” sometimes sounds fatalistic and then there are the times when they turn out for the best and we can smile.

Raymond gets it wrong
Raymond says, “When Lee came on tour, I honestly didn't think he'd make it. He couldn't hit the ball high enough to clear a one-story clubhouse. He could move the ball incredibly well, but I saw problems in store with elevated greens and deep bunkers. Needless to say, he adapted. I was wrong.”
Guy writes, ”HERE'S THE LEE TREVINO GAMBLING story again, with a little more detail,” and as expected is an interesting story well worth reading,

Link to Guy Yocom 

Quote of the Day
“Played with Bryson Dechambeau today. Quite possibly the most impressive player I have ever seen...I like the cut of his jib too” - Chris Paisley