In the gentleman’s sport of golf, getting players to speak candidly isn’t easy. Thank goodness for Masters champion Bubba Watson, who raised questions about the setup of this week’s U.S. Open.
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While most of the pretournament discussion has centered on the difficulty of the first six holes at Olympic Club in San Francisco, the ones Watson is dreading the most are Nos. 13 and 14.
“You could actually hit the ball on the green and end up in the hazard. I don’t understand why they did that,” Watson said of No. 13, a par 3. “Next hole, 14, they moved the fairway over. I hit it in the middle of the fairway but had to slice a 9-iron about 40 yards just to hit the green. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Watson called Oakmont, site of the 2007 Open, the toughest course he’s played but added that the setup at Olympic “may be a little bit tougher.”
So much for the power of positive thinking. Watson sounds resigned to struggle.
“I don’t want to come out here and shoot an 80,” Watson said. “There’s an 80 lurking.”
– Kevin Dunleavy
