Final Open Reads, Vol. 2

Peter McCleery reviews the telecast for Golfobserver. He noted the cozy NBC-USGA relationship:

Miller patted USGA president Fred Ridley on the back Sunday (symbolic of the NBC-USGA relationship) and gushed: "Hats off to you!'" The first day, he greeted championship chairman Walter Driver by saying: "Pat yourself on the back.'' Miller repeatedly referred to the setup as "perfect'' throughout the week. When the leaders began to struggle and scores rise on Saturday, Miller insisted it wasn't the course biting back. "They're hitting bad shots.'' If he isn't careful, ole Johnny may become known as a USGA shill.

David Barrett says the course was the big winner , and has some interesting quotes from players. Michael Grange in the Globe and Mail writes your basic "you still have to get the ball in the hole" take on the technology argument. Nothing too fresh here except for an interesting quote from Peter Oosterhuis and some complete nonsense from Frank Thomas, who has gone from trying to stop optimization at the USGA to saying it's A-okay as a Golf Digest consultant.