USGA feels pressure heading into US Open at Pebble Beach
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) - From rules gaffes to dead grass to lack of rain or wind, the story surrounding the last four U.S. Opens has been as much about the management of the tournament as it has been the shots by the players in the field.
Because of that recent history, the USGA might be under as much pressure as any of the competitors this week.
"It is not lost on us this is an important week, not only for golf, this is an important week for the USGA," executive director Mike Davis said at a news conference Wednesday, the day before this year's national championship starts at Pebble Beach.
The USGA has come under heavy criticism leading into this U.S. Open because of the way the last few have played out, with Phil Mickelson saying officials have messed up the course "100% of the time" when it doesn't rain to Golf Digest quoting anonymous players as saying a boycott was considered in the past.
So the USGA has spent extra time leading up to this year's tournament talking to dozens of players about how best to lay out the course so it can still achieve the goal of being the "toughest test" in golf, while not crossing the line and being unfair to the players.
To help in that process, the USGA hired former PGA Tour player Jason Gore as the group's first senior director of player relations.
"I think we've listened intently," said John Bodenhamer, the senior managing director of championships for the USGA. "I know I've had individual conversations with a number of our past champions. There are a lot of different opinions out there. In fact, one of our past champions told me he didn't envy me in this position, because there were a number of different opinions. But we are better from listening to those perspectives. And we've engaged them. ... You know, everybody has an opinion about how the course should play. We've...
