New National Post Column: Beastly Oakmont Out to Test Players
By Robert Thompson
My regular Thursday National Post column is now online. You can read it here.
Here’s a taste:
Tiger has played it and Phil has studied it. Now the question is what will Oakmont Country Club do to the rest of professional golf when the best in the game tip it up there in two weeks for the U.S. Open?
Mickelson, who showed up on the American holiday weekend, was there with his team — caddy Jim MacKay and short game guru Dave Pelz (absent was new swing doctor Butch Harmon) — to put a magnifying glass to the beastly Pittsburgh-area course in the hope of gaining some sense of what it takes to conquer it. Oakmont can be brought to its knees, as Johnny Miller’s 63 at the 1973 U.S. Open demonstrated. But that’s a rarity, and many consider Miller’s round the greatest ever played in a major championship, tournaments where limiting your mistakes are as important as capitalizing on opportunity.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:34 pm
I think this year’s U.S. Open will be even tougher than last years. I like your blog very much. Am going to add you to my blog roll. Keep up the good work!
June 11th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
The greens at Oakmont are lightening fast and are full of subtle breaks. Lots of short putts, if not center cut, will lip out.
Will be a great test. Par is a very good score at Oakmont.