Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Brew
Oh for sure the setup was an intentional decision for the team they had but seems like it kind of backfired. I also get that you don’t want a Ryder Cup full of bogeys and incredible slow play but BPB is kind of unrecognizable. And it seems to be playing rather short too, the par threes are a joke for example.
A lot of the drama is gone now unfortunately but still quite the event.
|
Bethpage's difficulty has always been about the punitive nature of the rough, that it was basically a one stroke penalty to be in the rough. So yeah to see it playing arguably easier from the rough, because of the ability to limit the spin, is a bit jarring. US Open has basically dropped it from consideration, PGA won't be back until 2033, so it'll be a while before we see if the modern distance standards have just rendered it obsolete.
But as we've both said when the Europeans are playing like they are you could do a combo of prime Bethpage rough and Shinnecock green stupidity and it wouldn't matter. Outside of the wobble at the end of the Rahm/Straka pairing today they've clutched up pretty much every time they've needed to. It's just an all-time great performance from them.