carlosportsman
Club Champion
Thought I would start a thread for the U.S. Open this week as can't see general one open anywhere, should be a great week and the soft conditions make it intriguing but I still think you need to be on the fairway regardless of the softness.
Here's excerpts from my preview
Henrik Stenson - I have earmarked Stenson for this week for a long time, if you look at the past winners at Merion they have all been ball strikers of the highest order. Stenson currently sits 2nd in Ball Striking (1st of those in the field), 3rd in Total Driving, 1st in Driving Accuracy and 3rd in Greens in Regulation (1st of those in the field). Those statistics show the make up of a player who will find Merion very much to his advantage as it will be put emphasis on those facets of the game rather than being a glorified putting contest as many tournaments tend to become stateside. Of course, he will need to sharpen up around the greens but it is noted that his best performances in that area have been on courses like Sawgrass which require solid ball striking to contend. He has every chance to improve his best U.S. Open finish of 9th this week, patience will be the key.
Justin Hicks - Michael Thompson, Kevin Chappell, Gregory Harvet and Ricky Barnes are surprise names from the top 5 of the last 4 U.S. Opens, there has in fact been a surprise package in the top 5 or 10 at most U.S. Opens and Justin Hicks is my idea of this year’s contender. He is coming to Merion on the back of a season’s best finish of tied 6th at TPC Southwind; he also has decent form on similar par-70 layouts in previous seasons. He finished tied 18th at Hilton Head, tied 27th at Copperhead and tied 15th at Waialae this year and is ranked 12th in Driving Accuracy , 18th in Greens In Regulation and 8th in Proximity To Hole. He also showed a much improved putting game last week so could be one to keep your eye on this week in regard to a serious surprise package.
Full preview can be found here - http://carlothesportsman.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/u-s-open-2013-preview-ten-to-follow/
Thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated
Here's excerpts from my preview
Henrik Stenson - I have earmarked Stenson for this week for a long time, if you look at the past winners at Merion they have all been ball strikers of the highest order. Stenson currently sits 2nd in Ball Striking (1st of those in the field), 3rd in Total Driving, 1st in Driving Accuracy and 3rd in Greens in Regulation (1st of those in the field). Those statistics show the make up of a player who will find Merion very much to his advantage as it will be put emphasis on those facets of the game rather than being a glorified putting contest as many tournaments tend to become stateside. Of course, he will need to sharpen up around the greens but it is noted that his best performances in that area have been on courses like Sawgrass which require solid ball striking to contend. He has every chance to improve his best U.S. Open finish of 9th this week, patience will be the key.
Justin Hicks - Michael Thompson, Kevin Chappell, Gregory Harvet and Ricky Barnes are surprise names from the top 5 of the last 4 U.S. Opens, there has in fact been a surprise package in the top 5 or 10 at most U.S. Opens and Justin Hicks is my idea of this year’s contender. He is coming to Merion on the back of a season’s best finish of tied 6th at TPC Southwind; he also has decent form on similar par-70 layouts in previous seasons. He finished tied 18th at Hilton Head, tied 27th at Copperhead and tied 15th at Waialae this year and is ranked 12th in Driving Accuracy , 18th in Greens In Regulation and 8th in Proximity To Hole. He also showed a much improved putting game last week so could be one to keep your eye on this week in regard to a serious surprise package.
Full preview can be found here - http://carlothesportsman.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/u-s-open-2013-preview-ten-to-follow/
Thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated
