There is glee among those of us that believe that gold is not the exclusive domain of the favored big names. We like to see a bit of variety on the winning roster and we welcome the surprise packages that manage to capture the imagination of the tournament. It seems that the US Open is determined to bring surprises of its won. The bookmakers must quake in their boots at what they have seen so far in the mix for the play. For example most of the great names that ought to be shining are struggling under the weight of pressure and the prestige of the event.
There were problems for Tiger Woods that had nothing to do with his rather colorful persona life. Mickelson was also struggling to make the greens and regulation plays were being squandered by a nervous looking team of favorites. At this rate they will need to improve their game considerably or they might find themselves on the plane back home in short times. Some people have said that it is the greatness of the US Open that is causing problems but I personally do not buy into this sort of thing. Tiger Woods has played and won enough US Open titles to know what to do in a situation where the pressure keeps rising. In fact the people that are struggling are the very same characters that should know better.
There is no way that they can blame the weather because it has been simply glorious in the past few days. As the weather got better the play got worse. This is a perverse situation that we find ourselves in at the US Open and something will have to be done fast or else we face the ultimate humiliation of having to admit defeat in the face of a formidable opponent that is the great golf course. If the favorites fail at the early hurdles then it will be a big blow for the event and the organizers because the public has so much emotional attachment to the game and event.
