Brooks Koepka pulled off a rare feat by winning his second consecutive U.S. Open title Sunday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York. He joins a fairly elite group of six other players to manage this impressive double, including one of the all-time greats of the game, Ben Hogan and Curtis Strange, the last man to achieve back to back U.S.Open victories. Strange completed his double in 1989 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Fox made a good move in assigning Strange as their on course reporter to cover the Koepka/Johnson pairing. It was a nice intersection of past and present when Strange gave Koepka his heartfelt congratulations at the end of his round.
Fox gets an A for the Strange assignment but they deserve an F for hiring David Fay as their resident 
rules expert. As the former Executive Director of the USGA, Fay presided over the 2004 disaster that masqueraded as the U.S. Open at Shinnecock when his set-up man, Tom Meeks, lost control of the golf course. Conditions were so dire back then that Meeks was forced to water the green at #7 between pairings on the final day of the championship.
It’s a bit of an understatement to say that this year’s Open at Shinnecock also suffered from course set-up troubles. But the unplayability of the 2004 Sunday set-up was a quantum factor higher than the conditions for the 2018 Saturday round. That said, Mike Davis and the USGA brass deserve criticism for their mistakes in preparing and setting the course for play. Everyone on God’s green earth has the right to critique Davis and the men in blue blazers- everyone except David Fay (and Tom Meeks, although he’s not working for Fox).
David Fay has taken no responsibility for the 2004 debacle at Shinnecock. He blames the rock hard green surface at #7 hole on a rogue member of the grounds crew who snuck out in the middle of the night and super rolled the green. That is the golf equivalent of saying you were abducted by aliens. This was detailed in an eye-opening piece put together by Geoff Shackelford that aired on Golf Channel early in the week. Perhaps if the suits and talking heads at Fox Sports had an any pedigree in the game or true knowledge of how the game should be presented they might have kept the self serving Fay off the air.
Continuing with the course set-up controversy, the USGA made a quadruple bogey with the Mulligan it was offered with its return to Shinnecock this year. Mike Davis succeeded Tom Meeks as the chief course guru for the men in blue blazers in 2005 and he’s been at the forefront of a number of positive initiatives since then, including bringing more truly public courses into the rota, simplification of the rules of golf and collaboration with leading architects on restorations to some of the grand old courses of American golf. 
Davis is intelligent, diligent, steeped in golf tradition, adept with technology and a good communicator. How could he and his fellows let a runaway golf course mar this championship again?
Tradition. Stubborn adherence to an outmoded model is the answer I come up with. The Gray Men of these historic rota clubs and the suits at USGA will go to any length to “protect par”. They refuse to recognize that these venerable tracks that hail from the heyday of classic course design have been overtaken by developments in the golf world. Advancements in physical training and prowess, golf club and ball technology, and agronomy and greens-keeping technology and practices have transformed the game of golf. By refusing to adapt their expectations for a suitable winning score the USGA is unintentionally rendering their classic venues either obsolete or absurd.
Give up that ghost and recognize that these players, with the advantages of today’s game, can go low on these grand old tracks without diminishing them. Take a queue from the R&A and face reality.
I’m piling on the USGA still, as they screwed up royally for the second time on Saturday by assessing a two shot penalty on Phil Mickelson for his escapade on thirteen green.
Phil deserved to be disqualified. He intentionally interfered with a ball in play. His action was his way of flipping off the USGA for the brutal course set up.
His explanation that “he just wanted to get to the next hole” is such a b******t excuse it’s laughable.
Phil has often been called his generation’s Arnold Palmer, with his gambler’s approach to the game, his on course interaction with fans and his hours spent signing autographs, much like Arnold did in his day. Well, poor Arnie is spinning in his grave after Mickelson’s disgraceful conduct Saturday.
The USGA blew that call. Perhaps they were just so gobsmacked with the course controversy they reflexively shrank from throwing more gas on the inferno caused by the course set-up. I can understand that while still disagreeing with their decision.
Phil Mickelson mooned the whole golfing world on Saturday. His petulant show of frustration is an insult to the integrity of the game. He put himself above the game and his fellow competitors.
I’ve been a Phil fan for more than twenty years but this self serving display really rips it for me.
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