Opinion & Analysis
What’s better: The U.S. Open or the Masters?
What is the better golf tournament, the Masters or the U.S. Open? It is an argument that needs careful consideration, as well as attention to various factors and characteristics.
First, I’d like to remind everyone that I did not forget about golf’s other two majors, the British Open and the PGA Championship. But let’s be fair — neither the British Open or the PGA Championship are as satisfying from a viewer’s perspective as the season’s first two majors. The British Open simply takes place too early in the morning for American golf fans to become truly engaged, and there’s little argument that the PGA Championship is golf’s most minor major.
I’m sure from a player’s perspective, scoring a Claret Jug or a Wanamaker Trophy could be just as great as a brass-buttoned green jacket, but I’m a fan. And when this fan is cracking Bud Lights, dispensing high-fives with dad from neighboring couches and investing pathetic amounts of vicarious interest toward athletes who will never reciprocate such affection in return, I want the most engrossing television event possible.
Both the Masters and the U.S .Open are spectacular events. But is one better than the other? Let’s use the following criteria — theme music, commentators and broadcast, venue, course set up, crowds and trophy/victory ornament to declare a winner.
Loading ...Theme Music
Both tournaments have memorable theme music. The Masters theme song played on CBS is pleasant, relaxing and a soothing counterpart to Nance’s silky narratives. NBC’s U.S. Open theme (Yanni’s Celebration of Man) by contrast, makes me want to climb a mountain, mount a horse, punch myself in the face and run for president — all at the same time.
Advantage: U.S. Open
Commentators/Broadcast
This is closer than you’d think. I personally think Dan Hicks on NBC does a fantastic job but, but I’m tired of Johnny Miller. Aside from still being a bit bitter about his pool-cleaning comment toward fellow Italian Rocco Mediate in 2008, I just don’t enjoy his input. Don’t you have anything pleasant to say, Bro?
Say what you will about Nance, and his smarmy “Hello friends” shtick — he’s still one of the best. Plus, the minimal commercial interruption that the Masters has is a breath of fresh air, particularly in an age when sponsorship dominate sports like never before.
Advantage: Masters
Venue
This, I think, is a somewhat decisive advantage for the Masters. The U.S. Open is played at some fantastic tracks (Pebble, Shinnecock, Oakmont and Merion this year), and kudos to the USGA for recently incorporating municipal gems like Bethpage and Torrey into the mix, but Augusta is, well, Augusta.
It’s almost inconsiderate to argue this point much further. Present any red-blooded male with the choice to play Augusta vs. an all-expenses-paid trip to the Playboy Mansion and they’d actually think about it for a moment. Cue the Jeopardy Music.
Advantage: Masters
Course Set Up
As a fan, which track delivers the supreme form of entertainment? Augusta, has its running fairways, generous rough and familiar confines which allow heady pros to sometimes ride some impressive waves of momentum toward occasional birdie binges. This can indeed be captivating.
The U.S. Open, as we know, employs fairways about as wide as a driver shaft, penalizing knee-high rough and, sometimes, trees that literally swallow golf balls. It’s truly golf’s greatest test.
Since 2006, the U.S. Open champion has had a winning score over par three different times (Ogilvy in ’06, Cabrera in ’07 and Webb Simpson last year). The Masters, by contrast, features traditionally lower/better scores. Aside from Zach Johnson in 2007, you have to go all the way back to 1956 to recall an over-par Master’s champ.
It’s somewhat of an apples to oranges comparison, but I find the non-stop treachery of the U.S. Open more captivating. Does this make me sick and twisted? Perhaps, but whatever. One time a season, I’m allowed to enjoy professional golfers squirming through a USGA primed minefield disguised as a golf course.
Advantage: U.S. Open
The Crowds
Wait, I can’t refer to the fans at Augusta as crowds right? My bad. “Patrons” is what I am supposed to call them.
Regardless of this formality, the patrons at the Masters are respectful, knowledgeable and can also no doubt bring it in terms of enthusiasm. But U.S. Open crowds get flat-out nuts; in a great and powerful way. On occasion, this level of enthusiasm is OK. I’m definitely not a guy that needs all tournaments to reflect No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale, but there’s nothing like a U.S. Open roar; particularly when it’s held at a Northeast venue where birdies are coupled with Meadowlands-like touchdown roars.
Consider this: The average Master’s crowd size is rumored (they’re private about this stuff) to be about 35,000. U.S. Open crowds can near 50,000 toward the weekend, depending on the venue. Plus, these crowds are about as familiar with a golf clap as Phil Mickelson is to laying up.
Advantage: U.S. Open
Trophy/Victory Ornament
I admit to having to do research on this one, as the name of the U.S. Open trophy had escaped me. As it turns out, however, the U.S. Open trophy has no fancy name like Wanamaker or Claret. It’s just a very awesome piece of silver hardware. But there is nothing like the green jacket. Every golfer, whether hacker or scratch, playfully imagines slipping into one of those bad boys.
Advantage: Masters
So we have — a tie! Perhaps that’s the way it should be. The two tournaments are both so awesome in their own way, that declaring a winner may be unfair toward the other.
But, if I had to choose one, I’d say the U.S. Open is the one I’d rather watch. Maybe it’s because it’s my national championship, or because of the fact that anyone can qualify the U.S. Open adds an extra factor of fairy-tale like possibilities.
It’s kind of like another debate I frequently have concerning the better gangster film between the “Godfather” vs. “Goodfellas,” or the differences between an Opera and a Springsteen concert. Both are fantastic forms of entertainment. The former is praised for its beauty, production and finish, whereas the latter is more raw, energetic and just downright fun.
Indeed, watching the Masters is an annual offer I cannot refuse, but ever since I can remember, I always wanted to be a U.S. Open champion.
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again
After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.
Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.
Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”
Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.
“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.
Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.
“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”
“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”
As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.
In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.
“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”
Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.
Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:
Fairways Hit
1.) Louis Oosthuizen
2.) Anirban Lahiri
3.) Jon Rahm
4.) Brendan Steele
5.) Cameron Tringale
Greens in Regulation
1.) Brooks Koepka
2.) Brendan Steele
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Cameron Tringale
5.) Anirban Lahiri
Birdies Made
1.) Brendan Steele
2.) Dean Burmester
3.) Thomas Pieters
4.) Patrick Reed
5.) Carlos Ortiz
LIV Golf Individual Standings:
1.) Joaquin Niemann
2.) Jon Rahm
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Louis Oosthuizen
5.) Abraham Ancer
LIV Golf Team Standings:
1.) Crushers
2.) Legion XIII
3.) Torque
4.) Stinger GC
5.) Ripper GC
LIV Golf Singapore Picks
Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)
Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.
This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.
Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)
Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.
This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.
It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.
Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)
Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.
Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.
Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.
Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)
Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.
Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.
If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.
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In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.
While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.
Here are some of my key takeaways.
Method Teacher
It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.
Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.
The Cult of Stack and Jilt
The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”
Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.
These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.
Fooled by Randomness
In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.
Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.
Practice
One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”
Sunk Cost
The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.
Cliches
Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.
The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.
This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…
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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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chris franklin
Jul 5, 2013 at 4:09 pm
What a waste of time.Making comparisons between the tournaments is like deciding if red wine is better than white,blondes more attractive than brunettes or if Cheddar is better than Camambert,not only are comparisons odious but in this case impossible as succinctly pointed out by Will o’the glen.
‘Qualify for the Masters’?Tim,it’s by invitation,so players like Ishikawa who has a crap record gets to play because of Japanese TV appeal.
The so-called ‘Masters’ (correctly The Augusta Invitational)is now overblown hogwash and nowhere in the world is there a more tricked up and artificial course than Augusta.
Marlene
Jun 13, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Great article! I’d go with the US Open. Tough call though…
Arthur J
Jun 13, 2013 at 6:06 am
Interesting views especially regarding TV scheduling. For myself (English) and many others on this side of the pond, the Masters is the favourite (even trumping ‘our’ Open).
Why?
Simply because it traditionally represented the start of the golfing season for us – after a long, cold, wet, windy winter, to see the lush green and golfers wearing shirt sleeves on gorgeous Georgia days – all at 9pm through to midnight.
Strangely, I would think the viewing figures over here for The Masters are arguably higher because of this, whereas most Brits rarely watch much of the Open on TV because during our short summer we are all busting a gut to get out on the links and play ourselves.
That said, it is always fun watching the Tour Pros playing links golf – a bit like grass court tennis, where the conditions are so alien to them compared to the rest of the season.
It would be interesting to hear the players’ view on this subject.
James Schaubel
Jun 12, 2013 at 7:18 pm
If there was a true debate between which major is the best test of golf it would be between the US OPEN and the (British) Open. The Masters is an invitational putting tournament played on a course with little to no rough. It has short par 5’s that everybody in the field can reach. It is an enigma unto itself. The US OPEN gets my vote as the most difficult challenge. Brutally long courses with narrow 25 yard wide fairways, 4 inch rough, and 14 ft. stimpmeter greens. Every part of a golfer’s game is tested here. These courses will expose EVERY weakness a golfer has.
Brock
Jun 12, 2013 at 12:23 pm
The British Open is a distant 3rd behind the US Open which is a distant 2nd to The Masters. The only reason the British Open is ahead of the PGA is because of its history. The British is played on crappy old golf courses that make some local munis look like fine country club courses. That might have been how golf was played 100 years ago but the game has long since improved and passed those goat ranches over. It’s barely even golf over there. Anybody that thinks the British is even close to The Masters or the US Open is either a Euro or somebody’s great-great grandparent.
pc
Jun 12, 2013 at 1:05 pm
Brock, what a delightful insight into golf course architecture, please regale us with more of your pearls of wisdom
Steven
Jun 12, 2013 at 8:25 am
The Masters is the best, just look at the past winners. With the other 3 majors you have too many one and done winners. Michael Campbell, shawn Mcheel, Rich Beem, Ben Curtis, YE Yang, do I nned to go on, this never happens at The Masters, all winners that stick around
Lee
Jun 12, 2013 at 6:13 am
1) Masters
2) The Open
3) US open
4) The players
5) any WGC event
10) US PGA
I sometimes watch the US PGA and forget its actually a major.
Rudy
Jun 12, 2013 at 12:30 am
The US open is the true test of golf. You have to drive the ball very accurately and your putting has to be A+++. You won’t see someone making a shot like Bubba Watson did to win the Masters. You hit the ball that far into the trees at the US Open and you might not even find it much less hit it onto the green. I like the Masters but I don’t like the control freaks who run it. They even tell the announcers what they can and can’t say. And it is invitation only. It’s nowhere near as tough as the US Open and the open is of course open to anyone who can qualify. Including if you are not in the top 60 OWGR when you then have to try and qualify like everyone else. The British Open, and I do mean British Open, is only 35 years older than the US Open. Not that much difference. And the British Open is played on some really easy courses that have to rely on the weather to make it challenging.
G
Jun 11, 2013 at 10:10 pm
Both equally for what they are, both are special Majors with individual personalities. That’s what makes it so cool!
Dave S.
Jun 11, 2013 at 4:55 pm
If I had to choose, I’d say The Masters. Why? Well partially bc it holds such prestige that I felt obligated to go back and capitalize “The”, and partially bc there really isn’t anything like it. The US Open is awesome, but an argument could be made that the Open Championship is more prestigious worldwide bc of its age and where it’s (typically) located – in the birthplace of golf. The Claret Jug is a much cooler, and well known trophy too, as the author notes.
The fact that the Masters is played first every year at the same amazing course makes it stand out. For all those golf nuts who’ve been waiting all the long winter for some golf… It is the Mecca.
scot inde
Jun 11, 2013 at 4:46 pm
the open is by far the best…the masters is second, than the us open, then the us pga and may i emphasise it’s not the british open, it is the open and there is a reason why it’s called that because it’s golf oldest major
Puddin
Jun 11, 2013 at 3:16 pm
Oh, I forgot. Being a Georgia boy, The Masters all the way.
Puddin
Jun 11, 2013 at 3:15 pm
How ’bout this fantasy, Let the USGA trick up Augusta for the Open. Hmm Hmm Hmm (insert Judge Smails)THAT would be the ultimate challenge. I would work harder on my game and try to qualify if it were at Augusta. “How ’bout a Fresca?”
pc
Jun 11, 2013 at 1:48 pm
Re you comments below
But let’s be fair — neither the British Open or the PGA Championship are as satisfying from a viewer’s perspective as the season’s first two majors. The British Open simply takes place too early in the morning for American golf fans to become truly engaged, and there’s little argument that the PGA Championship is golf’s most minor major.
Yes maybe the British open is televised early in the am in the US, would you like the R&A to reschedule and play under flood lights????
The British Open is by far the best major of the season, testing and unique courses plus conditions, I feel that this tournament more truly reflects the tests and experiences most golfers in the northern hemisphere regularly face. Its a tournament where ball striking, total control and imagination is the key. Think Tiger at Hoylake , Seve at Lytham
While the Masters is a truly great tournament , its field size and the fact that it is played on the same course year in year out edge it into second place.
The US Open while played in some great courses, doesn’t in my mind force the players to use all their shortgame and shot making, ( how many lob wedges out to thick greenside rough do we need to see) it also favours to much of a conservative approach. The USGA are more concerned with protecting par than allowing the competitors to show the full extent of their skills
USPGA, least said the better…
klo
Jun 12, 2013 at 4:05 am
Well said PC. Just because the British Open is played early in the morning for Americans doesn’t mean it’s an “inferior” Major.
Golf was brought up on links courses afterall.
8thehardway
Jun 12, 2013 at 9:50 am
At the British Open I’ve seen putts from 50 feet off greens that reject high wedge shots faster than Augusta rejects membership applications and 4-shots-to-escape bunkers that made David Duval’s sunglasses turn clear and had Jack throwing two clubs.
Yeah, TV viewing times are annoying and the commute is demanding but it’s the most entertaining major.
MR
Jun 12, 2013 at 6:36 pm
The Open just isn’t great for TV at times. You’re alienating a huge portion of the golf community when it is on at weird hours in the US. I know it can’t be helped, but still.
Further, seeing/understanding the courses is more difficult for television purposes. This isn’t a slight, the Open courses are awesome obviously, but for the average fan obsessing over individual holes at Augusta is easier to comprehend than the Old Course. Links golf is just harder to digest on TV.
Also, on the crowd subject, I don’t know how you can possible give it to the US Open. Augusta patrons are always polite and concerned with not doing anything to degrade the tournament. Moreover, they’d easily outsell if the other tournaments COMBINED if ANGC decided they were going to allow that to happen.
JK
Jun 11, 2013 at 1:26 pm
this isn’t even an argument, as the votes are playing out. augusta is the best anywhere, in pretty much any sport. ask about british vs. US next time–that’s a much better discussion: who’s second place.
n1co
Jun 11, 2013 at 11:27 am
My ranking:
1. The Masters
2. The Open
3. US Open
4. PGA Champ.
Tim
Jun 12, 2013 at 8:34 am
I second your order. Every pro wants to qualify for the Masters. The only one I can remember that didn’t think this tournament was special was Lee Trevino and he hit a fade exclusively. Thought he had to practice putting on the hood of a VW bug to get ready for it! His comments were in the minority. More drama at the Masters than any other tournament played. Has always had more special moments than almost any other tournament in history.
However, world wide The Open (British Open to us American cousins) hold much more prestige, with certain venues like St. Andrews being high on every pro’s wins bucket list.
Being an American the US Open holds alot of appeal, but being a southerner (actually a Texan, there is a difference!) they don’t play many Opens in the south. I know they claim climate as an issue but I think it has more to do with the USGA ruling class than anything. We have some great courses in the south but to have one host an Open only happens maybe once a decade if that.
The PGA just doesn’t have the drama that the others have. I just can’t get real excited about it. Last year was good but mainly due to the course (what a southern course?).
Will o'the Glen
Jun 11, 2013 at 11:03 am
The beauty and awe-inspiring near-perfection of Augusta National are undeniable, but the elitism and snobbery of the club turn me off. Too many people are blinded to the shortcomings and flaws of the place by the golden memory of Bob Jones, while the glaring racism and financial elitism of Clifford Roberts is almost wholly glossed over.
Yes, the club is involved in a myriad of “Grow The Game” initiatives, chief among which is the push to increase the popularity of the game in Asia — a transparently obvious move to open up that market to financial opportunities which will further line the pockets of the business oligarchs who make up the Augusta membership.
The Masters isn’t the championship of anything; it’s just an invitational tournament which was initially started up in order to promote the Augusta National Golf Club. That’s fine — but the U.S. Open is a true championship, opening its doors to any golfer with the minimum required skill level (1.4 GHIN). Step up, play through the qualifying process if that is required, and take “Golf’s Toughest Test”. That’s why I give the nod to the U.S. Open over The Masters.
Ben
Jun 11, 2013 at 12:26 pm
very well said.
JK
Jun 11, 2013 at 1:28 pm
people who make this argument are ridiculous. there’s a reason why every tour pro wants to play augusta, and it aint because it’s “just an old invitational tournament”
Hoan
Jun 11, 2013 at 6:06 pm
love this comment.. I may not be the majority but this is exactly the reason why I like the US Open better.
Tom Davis
Jun 12, 2013 at 1:45 pm
I agree with everything you said about Augusta, and yet with no small amount of shame I vote for the Masters as “better” – that is, as more compelling golf to watch. It’s the same course, year after year. We – even those of us who have never set foot on the grounds of Augusta, “know” the course like an, favorite old uncle who shows up every Christmas. We know which are the birdie holes, which are the traps waiting to send a leader tumbling down the leaderboard, and which (like 15) are both at the same time. It is the beauty, the risk/reward design, and, most of all, the familiarity of Masters/Augusta that makes it the most compelling theater of all. It doesn’t hurt, either, that it unfolds just when we snowbirds are getting our clubs out of storage in excited anticipation of a new season.
Patrick
Jun 11, 2013 at 10:52 am
The opens held in the north east have the most rude and dumb fans in sports. Yelling ridiculous things after each shot and taking it too far when heckling players. A few too many beverages for these “fans” ruins the experience for everyone. I’ll take the masters all day every day.
Ben
Jun 11, 2013 at 11:25 am
As a NC boy, the possibility of winning a US Open at Pinehurst would be very special. Even more so than winning at Augusta. Southern crowds are the best 😉
Dave S.
Jun 11, 2013 at 4:48 pm
I knew the moment I read that passage that it wouldn’t take long for some southern golfer to chime in with some nasty comment about northerners. Get over it already. The war ended in 1865.
Ben
Jun 11, 2013 at 10:38 am
Which one is “better”? Probably an ever-so-slight advantage to The Masters.
Which one would I rather win? US Open. I’ll never be a tour pro, and I’ll never get to play Augusta. I can live with that. That said, there is something mystical about the fact that I could, with a good enough game, qualify for the US Open and compete in the tournament. I think that’s why it gets the edge from me.