2022 U.S. Open: Sights, sounds and best moments from the second round

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Each day at THE PLAYERS Championship, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Spoiler alert — we don’t always agree. We’ll start with the evolving rivalry of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, who are in the same group at TPC Sawgrass for the first two rounds. It’s the first time in four years – and in 17 years at TPC Sawgrass – that they’ve played a stroke-play event on the PGA TOUR. Tiger vs. Phil. Who you got this week? Mike McAllister (Managing Editor) – Would normally lean toward the guy in the better form, but I can’t get past this statement from Phil on Tuesday: “I just can’t believe I’ve actually won here.â€� His win in 2007 is his only top-15 result in his last 11 trips. Tiger’s just more consistent. By the way, Rickie will outplay both of them. Sean Martin (Senior Editor) - Tiger. The Stadium Course rewards strong iron players, and Woods is still one of the best in that area. Also, the course allows him to avoid hitting driver. He can navigate the course with his stinger. When he won in 2013, he relied heavily on a 5-wood. Mickelson’s struggles off the tee concern me on this course. Ben Everill (Staff Writer) – Tiger. Mickelson poked the beast a few times in the lead-up and while Tiger has been all smiles, you just know he wants to maintain his lead in their head-to-head match-ups. Cameron Morfit (Staff Writer) – When these two guys go at it, we all win. And based on their back-and-forth at the pressers, the winner will also be some made-for-TV, mano-a-mano tilt between the two at some undetermined future time/date/place. This week, I’ll pick Phil. He’s had the better of their rivalry lately and looked sharper at the Wells Fargo last week.    Rob Bolton (Fantasy Insider) – Mickelson. Better form. Recent winner. Helen Ross (Contributor) – This heavyweight battle goes to Phil. He’s coming off a tie for fifth at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he shot 9 under on the weekend. Woods, meanwhile, struggled with his putter last week and didn’t make a birdie in his final 18 holes. Jonathan Wall (Equipment Insider) – Tiger. While Phil’s comments were made in jest (I think), Tiger wants to make a statement.  Which one will be next to win a PGA TOUR event? McAllister – I don’t expect either to win this week at TPC Sawgrass. But I’m a sucker for the Hollywood finish (and no, I don’t mean Riviera next year). Phil at Shinnecock to complete the career Slam. Martin – Mickelson. Woods still seems like he’s trying to put all the pieces together. Mickelson has been very consistent this year. Everill – I am going to pretend Tiger listens to my advice to play in a variety of new TOUR events – which if he does, he will he capture a win for the ages. Morfit – I’d have to pick Phil. He has six top-10 finishes already this season, which is one more than his total from last year. When he said before this season that he had figured something out, he wasn’t kidding. He’s second on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting, and not missing as terribly with his driver.  Bolton – Mickelson. Implying that Woods will win again isn’t a reach, but it’s still presumptuous. Ross – I’ve got to go with Phil. I have no doubt Tiger will get it together but right now he seems to be beating himself. Wall - The win in Mexico was no fluke. Phil gets his elusive U.S. Open win next month. Who has benefited most out of their rivalry/friendship? McAllister – Mickelson would have won more tournaments but probably made less money if Tiger had never been around. Tiger never reaches his incredible heights had Phil not pushed him. Not sure if I would put it exactly 50/50 as mutually beneficial, but I don’t see it simply as one or the other. Martin – Woods. I don’t think Phil could say he benefited in any way from their rivalry. All Woods did was take wins from Mickelson. When I asked Phil on Sunday for memories from the third round of the 2001 PLAYERS – when Mickelson had a front-row seat for the “Better Than Mostâ€� putt – all Mickelson could say was, “I just remember that was a tough stretch of years for me playing against him.â€� Everill – Tiger. Early on, it gave him a natural “enemy,â€� someone to stoke his fire. And now, it is someone who relates to him as they head towards legend and veteran status. Morfit – Tiger has benefited the most recently. He said that when his back was a mess and he had shooting pain down his legs, Phil kept texting him encouraging words. When he couldn’t chip, Phil offered to give him a lesson. There was a good reason for that freighted hug at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National. Phil threw Tiger a lifeline, and Tiger hasn’t forgotten it. Bolton – Mickelson. He’s said it himself. Throughout his career, no one has benefited more. Ross - The motivation Phil gained as Tiger dominated the scene certainly made him a better golfer. But off the course, as Tiger has dealt with a myriad of back problems, Phil has been there to offer support and encouragement. So I would say both have benefitted in very different ways. Wall – Probably Tiger. He needed a rival and Phil gave him someone to chase on the course. As for the friendship, I think both are benefitting from it.  What will be the highlight moment of their pairing? McAllister – Would love to see Phil show up in his button-down dress shirt on the first tee Thursday. Would totally throw Tiger off his game. C’mon Phil, make it happen! Martin – I look forward to their interactions. I anticipate some fist bumps and laughs, at least early in the first round. They know they’re in the latter stages of their careers, so they are intent on enjoying themselves. As Woods said earlier this year, “Our friendship has gotten stronger over the years. We’re at the tail end of our careers, we both know that.â€� Everill – Mickelson will hit a shot on 17 that stops 3 feet from the hole. Then Tiger will hit it inside him. Morfit – Watching them try to one-up each other, which will direct my attention to the par 3s, where they’ll share the same starting point. I’ll also be interested to see whether Phil tries to show off by driving the par-4 12th hole, and, if he goes for it, whether Tiger then decides to do the same. (Or vice-versa.)  Bolton – The introductions on the first tee on Thursday afternoon. It means that we don’t have to wait any longer. Ross – The cheers at the first tee will be deafening. But it will be fun to see who one-ups the other — or if Pete Dye’s diabolical creation gets the best of them both. Either way, it’s must-see TV. Wall – Probably the laughs they share during a competition round. I’m still getting used to them being friendly on the course. 

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – There is crazy and then there is mental. Dustin Johnson shot 7-over 77 and still leads the tournament. Tony Finau and Daniel Berger started the third round 11 shots off the pace in a tie for 45th but after early rounds of 66 they will play in the final group Sunday. Rickie Fowler said it was the toughest round of his life. Marc Leishman said a regular scratch marker probably couldn’t have broken 100. Phil Mickelson putted a moving golf ball to save himself the trouble of another pitch shot. Welcome to U.S. Open Saturday at Shinnecock Hills where just about everything happened. It was the kind of déjà vu the United States Golf Association was desperate to avoid. Back in 2004, when the U.S. Open was last at the venue, the greens were famously lost in the final round. Balls wouldn’t hold. Players were putting balls off greens and into bunkers. Carnage ensued and forced watering of putting surfaces between groups. It left a black eye on the championship and a hiatus from Shinnecock for some time. Returning this year they promised it wouldn’t happen again. And while it certainly wasn’t as bad, it was close. “There were some aspects of this setup that went too far in the sense that well-executed shots were not just not rewarded but penalized,â€� USGA Executive Director Mike Davis admitted afterwards. “We missed it with the wind. It blew harder than we thought it was going to blow… The speed, it was too much for the wind we had.â€� With a little bit of moisture still in the greens and the wind not yet at its freshest the early groups took their chances. Berger started at 10:13 a.m. just under five hours before the leader would go off at 3:10 p.m. Finau began at 10:57 a.m. They were finishing up as the sun finished baking out the course and the wind gusts started pushing over 20 miles per hour. As two-time major winner Zach Johnson came off after his credible round of 72 he warned of the imminent dangers. “We are not on the edge … we’ve surpassed it. It’s pretty much gone. It’s pretty much shot. Which is unfortunate,â€� he told Sky Sports. “Unfortunately they’ve lost the golf course. When you have a championship which comes down to sheer luck, that’s not right.â€� In the last five groups the best score was defending champion Brooks Koepka’s 72. The worst was Fowler’s 84. The 10 players average 76.7 and combined to be 67 over par. “It would just be nice if I’m not sitting here wishing I made cut at five or six over. So that’s all I would kind of say on it,â€� Fowler said referencing how those with earlier tee times had a significant advantage. “When it’s that big an advantage to playing in the morning versus the afternoon, I think it takes away from the work that the guys have done the first two days.â€� Analyst and former TOUR player Brandel Chamblee agreed. “This tournament got turned inside out today. The bottom became the top. The top, in many cases, almost became the bottom,â€� Chamblee said. “The integrity of the championship was certainly called into question. We won’t forget this day for a while.â€� Spanish star Rafa Cabrera Bello bluntly said it wasn’t a fair test of golf and the players were made to look like fools. Henrik Stenson said things were silly. The biggest conjecture came with tough pin positions on the 13th, 15th and 18th holes. The 13th was were Mickelson made a mockery of the rules of golf by hitting a second putt before his first had finished and could roll off the green. It forced a penalty. The 15th saw balls seemingly unable to stop as they trickled endlessly. “Some of these greens, there is no grass around the holes, and the ball just keeps running away,â€� Koepka said. “I don’t have anything nice to say about the green at the 15th, so I won’t say anything.â€� The 18th was near impossible from above the hole. Cabrera Bello barely breathed on a long par putt and it somehow trickled on and on but yet still stayed 2-feet above the hole. His next putt was hit even softer but rolled out 10-feet by. Dustin Johnson would also three-putt the last. After playing sensationally through 36 holes to set up a four-shot lead he barely survived Saturday. Yet still will start Sunday with a share of first. “I didn’t play badly at all,â€� Johnson said. “But with the greens this afternoon, it just became tough. There were four or five holes where I could have putted the ball off the green.â€� And so the anticipation for Sunday’s final round is now rising. Given the comeback of Finau and Berger – there are 57 players within 11 of the lead! But surely history won’t repeat. What type of Shinnecock will we see? “This golf course will be slowed down,â€� Davis said. “There will be water put on the greens.â€� Those in the final five groups are certainly hoping so.

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