Oakmont, Pa. – After shooting an opening-round, 10-over- par 80 on Thursday at the U.S. Open, a well-wisher suggested to Jason Allen that he still had today’s second round to play.
“Yeah, but I don’t know if that’s such a good thing,” the former Pueblo resident said. “I’ve been tested, and I’ve been found wanting.”
Allen, who now works in mortgage banking, won last week’s 36-hole sectional qualifier at Columbine Country Club despite losing his swing during the final nine holes. But while he managed to survive that experience, when a similar uncertainty returned at the penal Oakmont Country Club, it proved a bit more difficult to overcome.
“It’s just hard to get it back when you don’t play regularly; I’d feel it a little bit, but it’s not really there, and it’s not fun to be out here when you’re not hitting it good,” Allen said of his round, which featured seven bogeys and two double bogeys versus a single birdie.
Preparing for the Open is tough enough for any qualifier. Allen’s issues were exacerbated early in the week when he cracked the face on his driver.
“That happened and it threw me off. I started searching, and it threw me out of my rhythm, and then once you lose a little confidence, it’s tough to get it back,” he said. “It’s a tough thing. You come out here and you’re all ‘Wow!’ You want to be organized, you want to hit balls and practice and get your work done, but it’s tough to do.”
Think green
Mike Davis, the USGA’s senior director of rules and competition, said this week that if a contemporary golf course architect tried to design greens like the ones here at Oakmont, “he’d be run out of the business.” The incredibly speedy, wildly undulating putting surfaces are the course’s main defense against low scoring, and they took their toll on a number of players Thursday.
“If you hit the ball below the hole, you’re going to have easy putts most of the day,” Tiger Woods said. “But here, all the greens fall in different directions, so to try to get it below the hole, generally you’re going to end up running it off the green or you’re going to have cross- green putts or downhill triple- breakers.
“It is what it is, and you’ve got to hang in there and hopefully putt well.”
Woods had 30 putts during his round Thursday, averaging 1.67 per hole. The average for the field was 1.77. Brandt Snedeker (26) had the fewest, while Steve Elkington finished with 37.
No grand slam?
Masters champion Zach Johnson entered the Open as the only player with a chance to win a Grand Slam in 2007, but those hopes took a hit Thursday. Johnson finished the opening round a 6-over 76.
At least he was in good company. Players who also finished with a 76 included Chris DiMarco, Colin Montgomerie, Retief Goosen, Charles Howell III and former Colorado State star Martin Laird.
