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>> Q&A
From a player and course designer perspective, how would you rate the East Course at Merion?
Golf has been going for bigger and longer courses. Merion is a throw- back by professional standards. It has some very short holes, with
Are there “Faldo favorites” to win the 2013 U.S. Open?
If you look at the top 40 play- ers, there are the obvious names. T en, it could happen for someone further down the list if all went right for him. From the top of the list, the fascinating thing about Tiger Woods is how ten years ago “tiger- proofi ng” courses by making them longer played completely into his hands. He is now a seasoned cam- paigner — all about strategy, as he showed at T e Players. It shows how adaptable he is. He may be one of the favorites now. He is at a diff erent point in his career, comfortable with the way he is playing. He has had a phenomenal start this season. Rory McIlroy and Adam
Scott have a shot if they elevate themselves. T ey key thing could be who the best player is from 125 yards. Rory really struggled with his distance control on short irons. He will want to get that sorted for the best chance. Brandt Snedeker is a little
bruised after a bad Sunday in Augusta. He needs to tread gently and rebuild or reboot his confi - dence. Similar to Lee Westwood. His short game is improving, but still some 20- to 30-yard pitch shots give him pause and hold him back. I call Matt Kuchar the demor-
seven under 400 yards. It will be interesting to see how it frustrates the best players in the world. T ere may be instances where the players hit a very short lay up off the tee in order to get the perfect yardage. Even with a wedge in their hand, it will really test their accuracy and control of some awkward bounces. T e way the course is set up is key. I’m sure there will be very little margin of error on getting the right angle for the approach shot.
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alizer because he is always there. He could have the patience to do his own thing and be a danger. Phil Michelson is erratic at times and loves to get things at 100 percent. But this is all about strategy and, in theory, that doesn’t always suit him. It’s about laying up in the right places to position your next shot for the best outcome. Keegan Bradley just showed
last week that he’s a feisty, deter- mined, twitchy sort of guy. He’s about length and power. I’m not
sure if the U.S. Open is his style, he’s more of an outside shot. T is is not a Bubba Watson-
style golf course. If you’re ag- gressive, you must be extremely accurate. If you can’t hit the green, you have to miss the green in the right places. You cannot short-side yourself at the U.S. Open. Webb Simpson is the defend- ing champion, which is a lot to deal with. He is more of a strategy player, a thinker, and he could be motivated to win it. I like Charl Schwartzel, who is bubbling under again, playing beautifully. If he can work out read- ing these greens, he may not have to make a lot of birdies. Graeme McDowell, who has
won, is playing well and is a great scrambler, as he showed at Pebble Beach. Jason Day gets fi red up, and hits it a mile. He may have to throttle back, but he is young and learning fast from feeling the heat of a Sunday afternoon. Freddie Jacobson is also a
great scrambler. Justin Rose, fourth in the
world, might have the quiet, calm strategy necessary to win. Brandon Grace is a fi ne player.
T en there’s Billy Horschel, who played great for a month before his fi rst win. Somebody who is not such an obvious name might just scare everybody. T e U.S. Open always throws up somebody unexpected. T at’s the crazy thing about it. T at’s why we watch!
Will the Faldo Series devel- opment program have an American home soon?
We are opening a full-time resi- dential Academy, T e Faldo Series Academy, in Arizona in 2013, and we are making an announcement in July on bringing a major Faldo Series event to an historic golf site in the U.S. I’m quite proud of it all. Stay tuned.
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