Every week of the 2009 PGA Tour season, the editorial staff of the SI Golf Group will conduct an e-mail roundtable. Check in on Mondays for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors.
Damon Hack, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: I knew U.S. Open week had arrived when I saw Phil Mickelson on a Rolex billboard on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. New York, it seems, is ready to host the national championship. It was quite a warm-up week: Phil Mickelson and John Daly returned to the PGA Tour, Brian Gay continued his renaissance, and we learned that the men's and women's U.S. Opens will be played, back-to-back, at famed Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014. What a great coup for a golf-crazed region and a neat thing for golf. What's everybody think of the idea? It's going to be brutal for the greenskeepers, I know that much.
Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine: The 2014 men's and women's U.S. Opens on the same course in back-to-back weeks? Seems like only a matter of time before Michelle Wie announces she intends to play in both.
Jim Herre, editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: The Pinehurst Opens make sense for the USGA — it'll save millions — but there will be complaints about course conditions the second week, especially if they have weather.
Hack: I know it's the 21st century and all, but whatever happened to ladies first? I'm sure Lorena, Paula and company won't love hitting out of Sergio Garcia's divots.
Dick Friedman, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: Will this be too much of a good thing? I think it might. Kind of like the Super Bowl being played in Glendale the week after the Fiesta Bowl.
Rick Lipsey, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: Women get short shrift, as usual. Publicly, LPGA players will probably express delight at the Pinehurst double, but inside I bet they're seething. You think it will be anything but a graveyard, all cleared out, that second week? Will the women enjoy hitting out of the men's divots? If you've ever seen a course the week after a Tour event, you'd know why nobody would want to play that second week.
Farrell Evans, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: Unless the USGA can roll the greens with some technology yet to be invented, I don't see how the USGA can maintain the course.
Jim Gorant, senior editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: People at the USGA believe the course will hold up fine. It will get far less play during these two weeks than it normally does. They also realize there will be some empty seats, but they didn't want the place to look like a construction site by taking down grandstands, so they're willing to live with it. And think about this: What if Tiger wins the Open at two-under, then the following week Wie wins at six-under. Sure it will be shorter and softer, but for the women to step out onto the same course and in some measurable way play it better will earn them a lot of credibility. In many ways it's a huge opportunity for them.
David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com: For me, Pinehurst No. 2 is a holy ground of golf, a tiny click below St. Andrews, Pebble Beach and a few other courses. I think the concept will be a hit but agree that the USGA could be rolling the dice. Does the public want to watch pros play those greens for two straight weeks? On the positive side, knowing the women will be playing the course the following week should encourage the USGA to avoid going over the top with the guys.
Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: I'm surprised by all the negativity surrounding the Women's Open at Pinehurst. Yes, the other Open will get more attention, as it always does, but I'm guessing a lot of media folks will stick around for week two who otherwise wouldn't be there. As for divots and bumpy greens, don't forget that Pinehurst is public and therefore used to the abuse. Bottom line is that playing a big-time, brand-name venue is huge for the women and gives their Open a big dose of credibility and should attract more casual golf fans to the telecast.
Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: The USGA can solve any agronomy problem with money and water. I love the idea. I'm writing from the McDonald's LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock, Md. Women's golf needs all the help it can get right now, and if this inspired idea happens, it will help. Better yet would be to use the two courses at Winged Foot. One's better than the other, but you'll get a lot of argument as to which one.
Dusek: The East is better, but the West handles crowds more easily.
Hack: It'll only be successful if the course remains playable and the fans stay in town. If all of a sudden you have empty grandstands and a pockmarked golf course, it could be a huge disappointment. Seems to me you don't play the main event before the undercard, but that's what this is. No way the men would play a course after the women, though. Not a chance.
Lipsey: If Tiger wins the U.S. Open, what's the best guess on when he ties and then breaks Jack's 18-major record?
Hack: Next year: U.S. Open at Pebble (tie) and British Open at St. Andrews (break).
Hack: Speaking of Tiger, both he and Mickelson took divots out of the Black last week. Phil also had an emotional press conference in Memphis before struggling in his return. How much will the New York fans carry him at the Black? I've got to think his mind and body are really tired right now with the concern for his wife's health. What does everybody expect from Phil this week?
Bamberger: I think Memphis gives us no tea leaves to read for his Bethpage chances. I think he'll be there at crunch time. Asking for a win is downright greedy, plus he'd need a lower score than Tiger to do it. I find it hard to see that. He already beat Tiger once this year, head-to-head, on Sunday at Augusta.
Lipsey: If Phil wins at Bethpage, he's my early pick for Sportsman of the Year. The W would be as emotional and impactful a victory as golf (sports too?) has ever seen.
Herre: I'll second that.
Hack: I think Roger Federer might give Phil a run for his money, but I think Phil would have to get consideration if he won.
Friedman: Phil will struggle but make the cut and play indifferently on the weekend.
Morfit: I'm on record as saying he'll win, based on the whole karma/good vibes/he's-due kind of thing. I think it was hard for him to keep his focus for four straight days in Memphis, because it's, um, Memphis, and he hasn't been playing. But I think he'll be able to lock it in at Bethpage.
Hack: At the U.S. Open, you need everything in order, including your mind and your emotions. At an Open — and at Bethpage specifically — things can get away from you quickly.
Lipsey: Remember Phil in '99? His mind was clearly elsewhere, on that baby beeper.
Evans: I think Phil will be Phil. It's always a crapshoot with him. I don't think he would be playing if he couldn't handle the extra burden of Amy's cancer. They have expert medical care, and Phil is doing what all good breadwinners do — going to work through good times and bad.
Lipsey: Crazy as it sounds, would Amy be there on Sunday if he's in contention?
Hack: Phil said in Memphis the plan was for her to stay home. That doesn't mean it's 100 percent, though.
