U.S. Open week is finally here! Because the PGA Tour is already covered at length on other websites I try not to write about it much here. That said, I can’t help myself when it comes to the majors . . . and besides, it’s pretty hard to not get excited about the U.S. Open. If you arrived at this post via my homepage you may have noticed that all the homepage content has been changed to U.S. Open oriented posts. I love this major championship and am going to keep all my posts this week relevant to the U.S. Open.
The excitement kicked off with the 36 hole sectional qualifiers on Monday last week. I love to see guys that play on the Tour every week doing battle for one of the coveted qualifier spots with everything from 16 year old kids and Nationwide Tour stars to past major champions. In order to accommodate the Tour pros who play at Jack’s Memorial Tournament there is always a sectional qualifier in Columbus, Ohio and it usually provides some interesting story lines. This year it was Rory Sabbatini and Spencer Levin failing to qualify after both of them were in the hunt to win at the Memorial Tournament the day before. I’m sorry they didn’t make it, but it makes me feel better about my game to know that even the pros have big ups and downs in their on course performances.
One a more positive note a great story line is that Casey Martin qualified and will be back at The Olympic Club. You may remember Casey from about 15 years ago as the golfer who suffers from a rare circulatory disorder in his right leg that makes it virtually impossible for him to walk 18 holes. In 2001 the U.S. Supreme Court granted Casey an exception to the rules and he is allowed to use a golf cart during PGA Tour events. Martin qualified his way into the 1998 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club, but hasn’t played in a pro tour event in 9 years. Since 2006 he has been the head golf coach at The University of Oregon. This week, Casey (and his cart) will be back at the U.S. Open and I’ll be rooting for him.
I hope everyone enjoys watching the coverage of the U.S. Open from The Olympic Club this week. I played the course back in 2010 and I know its going to be a tough one. My pick for the week is Jason Dufner. I think he’s got the game and the mindset to come out on top this week. Feel free to leave your picks in the comments section below.
Please continue to watch the site this week. There will be some more U.S. Open and U.S. Open golf course relevant posts coming all week. Thanks!
