U.S. Open

Golf Tournament

South African golfer Retief Goosen won the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills yesterday. Tied for the lead with former champion Phil Mickelson, things turned around at the 17th hole for the when Mickelsen three-putted from four feet.

Post staff writer Gene Wang was at the U.S. Open and will be online Monday, June 21 at 3 p.m. ET to answer your questions about the tournament.

Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Gene Wang: Greetings all; It's my pleasure to take a break from the Redskins to field some of your questions on another nail-biter at the US Open. Swing away!

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Silver Spring, Md.: For those of us who missed this: what's the beef between El Tigre and Butch Harmon? Is Harmon upset because he was dismissed by Tiger? Or did Tiger fire Butch because Butch made extra hay for being "the man behind the man?" The results are pretty staggering. Without reliable drives, Tiger is spraying all over the course which puts a lot of pressure on his iron play. Sounds to me like Tiger needs to find a new hitting coach because Mark O'Meara is batting .000 on majors "coaching" Tiger. It seems a small price to pay to save a legacy. Tiger needs to either get better off the tee or get even better with his in-between game.

Gene Wang: The split between Tiger and Butch got ugly, as is the norm for many divorces in the Hamptons! As for how it began, it depends who you ask. A circulating story is that Butch was getting to much attention for Tiger's success, and the Wonder Boy, as my colleague Sally Jenkins called him in her column today, wanted to prove he could do it solo. Hasn't realy worked, yet has it?

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Woodbridge, VA: Do you think Mickelson just plain "choked" or was the course condition and green conditions at fault for his collapse on 17th?

Gene Wang: I hate to use the word choked in golf, especially considering the conditions of the greens yesterday. I can't imagine what it must be like standing over a two-footer to win a major tournament. It's hard enough for me to make those playing a 1 buck nassau at my local muni! In any case, Phil will tell you he should have made it. But if you remember, he got a bad break out of the trap on No. 17. Apparently a gust of wind blew just as he was blasting out and took the ball for a ride. Normally Phil can put a shot like that with a foot of the piin, if not just plain hole out.

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Suitland, Md.: Do you think that Tiger really believes that the course was that bad "out of control" or is he looking for a excuse for his lousy performance?

Gene Wang: You, my friend, are living in reality, where these days I'm not sure we could find Mr. Woods. He keeps saying he is close to getting his game in top shape, yet where are the results to prove it? I don't remember him complaining how unfair courses were when he was winning, do you?

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Forestville, Md.: Oh my goo'ness, that was a hard Open! Fun to watch, though! Goosen took full advantage of Lefty's choking once again, and did it brilliantly!

Question: What will it take to get Eldrick to morph back into Tiger? Will he ever admit that he is human, and needs help? It's kind of like watching a slow moving train wreck...

Gene Wang: Like any great athlete, Tiger needs a great coach. Just look at what happened to Mike Tyson when Cus D'Amato died. He was never the same fighter. Butch Harmon and Tiger Woods was a virtually unbeatable combination. It just proves that even in an individual sport like golf, teamwork can be invaluable.

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Washington, DC: I have swung a golf club maybe four times in my life, but I still enjoy watching the majors. I am puzzled about how the pairings are chosen, and why they are not the same everyday. Can you elaborate? Thanks.

Gene Wang: Sure. The pairings are chosen based on scoring. For instance, the players with the two highest scores after the first round are paired together as the first group in the next round, the next two highest together as the second group and so on and so on until you get the players with the two lowest scores as the final pairing.

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Springfield, Va.: Hi Gene,

What is your take on all of the hostility between fans and golfers? I'm afraid that something ugly is going to happen soon. What is the PGA doing to rectify this? Also, I can't stand the rudeness that American fans show towards foreign players. Do American golfers get the same treatment overseas?

Gene Wang: I too was disappointed at the rudeness some fans showed Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, two humble, regular guys who happen to be fabulous golfers. It was sad listening to some of the fans get on Goosen. The PGA can do only so much; sometimes officials have removed such hecklers from the grounds. But as they say, it's a free country; there's no law against booing. American golfers sometimes are treated the same way when they play overseas, but my guess is that has a lot to do with the image other countries have of the "Ugly American."

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Alexandria, Va.: I find that televised golf often "flattens" out the terrain and often wonder just how sloped various courses really are.

Does Shinnicock Hills look as dramatic as the play suggests, because it didn't look all that imposing on TV? From the results, it appears that the Redan green is impossible to hold.

Gene Wang: Trust me, the Redan green is all but impossible to hold. You could almost throw flypaper on that sucker, and it wouldn't stick! But you are right in that TV does soften the impact. You really have to be close to the hole to see just how tough No. 7 was playing.

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Woodbridge, Va.: Every great athlete have had a coach behind them...Ali, Agassi. Navratilova, and team sports also...Why is so hard for Tiger to admit that maybe, maybe, that is what he needs, A COACH!

Gene Wang: My thoughts exactly, as I have mentioned

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Burke, Va.: Retief Goosen played awesome, but I was really pulling for Phil Mickelson and I was heartbroken after the 17th hole.

I was just wondering if you think that what happened at the 17th classified as a mental error on Phil's part or if the green was just too fast--causing the par putt to slide too far by the hole, or both?

Thanks!

Gene Wang: A little of both. Phil should have made that putt, but as I said, he did get sort of a bad break blasting out of the trap.

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Concord, NH: Have you ever seen a tougher performance than Goosen's yesterday? I've been following professional golf pretty closely for 20+ years, and I've never seen anything like it.

Gene Wang: That's exactly what we were talking about in the press room. It certainly was one of the best putting performances in golf history. He had 11 ONE-PUTT GREENS!. That alone is amazing, but at Shinnecock, well, let's just say it will be a long time before someone shows that kind of touch with his putter. I love Goosen because his mental edge is better than any part of his physical game. Mental toughnes so often wins majors. Some other gritty US Open performances: Ben Hogan winning in 1951 at Merion after nearly dying in an auto accident; and Ken Venturi winning at Congressional in 1964 overcomeing heat exhaustion.

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Silver Spring, Md.: "bad break out of the trap", are you kidding me. He three putted from 5 feet. Even a 2 putt would have kept the pressure on Goosen. If he hadn't won the Master's you would be saying he choked on 17, wouldn't you?

Gene Wang: I am saying Mickelson should have made that putt, yes. No doubt. But I also am saying Mickelson sticks that sand shot within almost tap-in distance most of the time, which didn't happen yesterday. You ask any player on tour whether they expected Phil to put it closer, and to a man they will tell you yes, they were very surprised he didn't get it closer than five feet.

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Boca Raton, Florida: Mr. Wang,
I am from Long Island and was at the Open in '95. What were the player reactions to the course conditions not only yesterday but the entire championship. Also, has the USGA made any responses to the negative criticism that they are receiving. I remember a couple of years ago when John Daly was so frustrated with the beveled greens at Pinehurst and left the course vowing never to return to the open. Any cases like that again?

Gene Wang: Players were mostly displeased with the course conditions on Sunday. That the USGA had to water No. 7 after two groups had already played it was ridiculous. Talk about a competitive advantage for the players who came through after the green was moist! The USGA so far has been mum on criticism directed toward it, but you can be pretty sure the greens won't be rolling the same next year at Pinehurst.

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More on Pairings: To add to your response. When multiple players have the same aggregate score after the second or third roud, they are "ranked" based on their scores in the immediately prior round and paired accordingly. This is why Jay and Bill Haas did not play together yesterday even though they were both +6 going into the round (and the USGA would not waive the rule for them).

Gene Wang: Thanks out there for the additional explanation!

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Comma Police: In this world of heightened awareness of commas (books, George Will columns, etc.), I wanted to thank you for a prime example of the importance of the over-looked comma. In your first response, commenting on Woods's decision to go it alone (without Harmon), you typed "hasn't really worked, yet has it?" My first thought was you simply mis-placed the comma while typing fast (perfectly understandable and actually appreciated so that you answer as many questions as possible in your limited time here -- I mean the chat, not earth generally). But then I thought -- maybe he's making a provocative comment that somehow Woods IS making it work without Harmon. So, which is it?

Gene Wang: Have you ever thought about going into copy editing? You're a natural! I wish I could say I was trying to provocative, but alas, my fingers betrayed me. I am saying it has not been working for Tiger without Harmon. Thanks for the catch.

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Crystal City: There's an easy solution to bring down the comments from the crowd - stop selling beer!;
Too many loudmouths behind the ropes have way too many $7 beers in them. Of course this would cut into the money made by the USGA, so it will never happen.

Gene Wang: You are right on with that; it's all about the Benjamins. The USGA wouldn't let spectators who paid $85 and up for a single-day pass even bring their own water to the course!

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Annandale, VA: I thought it to be unfair for them to begin to water down the green after every group to slow things down, especially after two groups had already played that hole. I know it would not have made any difference in the end for those groups, but has something like this ever been done before? What is next, changing the pin location during play?

Gene Wang: I wish I had thought of that; I could have used it for my story! Yes, it was absurd, and if you think about it, watering down the hole might have made a differece for those players. Consider the money lost by dropping two, three or four places in the final leader board. A couple strokes could mean thousands of dollars.

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Arlington, VA: The USGA's excuses (we told them not to roll it) are predictable and not up to par. You'd think for the Open they'd have a few supervisors watching the crew. What we got to watch was putt-putt, it just needed a wind-mill and a clowns mouth.

Gene Wang: Don't forget the pirate's ship!

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Arlington, Va.: Why don't those guys stop their crying?!? I'm happy when I shoot 20 over for one round! Do they really expect to shoot 10 to 20 under for every tournament. What's the big deal?

Gene Wang: Agreed; I mean, it's one event a year. Suck it up and play. Retief Goosen did, and look what happened.

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Gene Wang: Thanks all for the questions. Until next time, hit 'em long and straight!

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