Five storylines to keep an eye on at the U.S. Open
This year's U.S. Open is full of intriguing storylines, but five stand out from the crowd. With the start of golf's most grueling test a day away, here's a look at five storylines you should keep an eye on.
Which Tiger Woods will show up at Olympic Club? — We know everyone's chomping at the bit for Tiger to finally produce in a major championship. And after winning two weeks ago at the Memorial, it would appear as if he's rounding into form at the right time. The only problem? We said those exact same words earlier this year, right after he won the week before the Masters at Bay Hill. Not only that, Woods went T-40, missed cut, T-40 in his three starts prior to his win at the Memorial ... and his swing was as an absolute mess.
It makes you wonder which Tiger is going to show up at Olympic. Is it the guy who led the field in greens in regulation at Jack's place, or the guy who floundered and looked completely lost in the weeks leading up to his second win of the year? Woods said he has a lot more confidence in his swing this time around, as opposed to when he stepped on the grounds at Augusta National, but we still need to see it for ourselves in a major.
The pressure to win a major is once again on Lee Westwood and Luke Donald — It feels like this is always a storyline at every major championship, but with Donald's win at the BMW PGA and Westwood's at the Nordea Masters, it begs the question if either of these guys is truly ready to win a major championship.
[Related: Tiger Woods' play at the U.S. Open is hard to predict, and that makes him more interesting]
Donald and Westwood have the accuracy off the tee and consistency to be contenders, yet it always seems like we're talking about how much they disappointed as the week comes to a close. It's time to put up or shut up for the English duo.
Will camera phones be a problem at the U.S. Open? — Two weeks after Phil Mickelson sent an on-course text message to PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem about the rash of camera phones being used during a round with Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler, at the Memorial, we're left to wonder how these mobile devices could affect, say, the Tiger-Phil-Bubba pairing at the U.S. Open.
The USGA has made it clear they're going to crack down on phones and ban them from the course, but if you've ever seen the lengths people go to stay connected with the outside world, you know this isn't a full-proof plan. The big question is, how many times are we going to hear a caddie or marshall yell at a member of the gallery to put their phone away?
