Wednesday, June 16, 2021. 7:00 AM
The United States Open which kicks off Thursday will mark the end of an era for United States Golf Association officials.
This 121st edition will notably be the swan song for Mike Davis, associated with the USGA since 1990. He was the man of all occasions but also of all the decisions not only for the presentation of this tournament but for a significant number of records. From the implementation and modernization of the rules through the application of the new handicap system, not to mention the turn favoring public courses and the thorny issue of distance control of the starting shots.
He was for years the one who had the heavy responsibility of selecting the championship course and above all shaping it in order to make it and turn it into one of the most difficult golf tests. And he often came close to the limit to the point where several players on many occasions threatened to no longer play a field he had touched up for an American Open.
No one can blame him for allowing certain public courses to come back to life and for giving these clubs the chance to compete with certain private courses.
He has also raised the awareness of many owners and shareholders of golf courses by making them aware of the environment. It was a difficult process, but it is finally yielding interesting results.
His departure coincides with the shelving of renowned architect Rees Jones. At least for the renovation of major tournament courses. Jones modified the South course of Torrey Pines in 2019. The changes made are his. Its concept and layout. With the result that we could clearly identify the players who would benefit from these changes and those who, by their style, would not achieve any success.
Jones has transformed 12 fields that have served at US Omniums or PGA Championships as well as four Ryder Cup venues. He not only led the trend in golf club furnishings, he also dictated the style required to play these creations well.
Mike Whan, the former commissioner of the LPGA is the one who will lead the USGA from now on. He did a colossal revival work with the women’s circuit. Its approach is much more modern and it should certainly have an influence on the marketing and marketing of golf, not only among professionals but also among amateurs.
Is it the effect of chance, the selection of architects who will be called upon to modernize the possible courses of the national championships are almost all of the new generation?
This will most certainly result in new trends.
Speaking of trends, what will they be at Torrey Pines?
The course will be firmer than when used earlier in the season. The same goes for the greens. We know that the degree of difficulty of this course is very high, but the fact of having played there often for several of the registrants will be a clear advantage.
The USGA remains committed to making this tournament the best test of golf of the season. The narrowness of the fairways, the long grass and the approach shots on the correct plateaus will be the keys to success.
However, it will be necessary to allow the players to express themselves as was the case during the PGA Championship won by Phil Mickelson. If we want to present a quality show, we should not go overboard and we know that this is what has characterized USGA tournaments in recent years.
Unless we understood the message before turning to the next generation for the presentation of the national championships in our neighbors.
