US Open - 2024 Day 1 I'd say Pinehurst #2 was the winner today. Nevertheless, Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy showed that a low score was possible, both shooting 5 under 65's. As for our pool, day one honors had a tie, with the Red Foxes and Used Callaways with team scores of 1 under 349. Close behind were Sobo's Pinseekers and Jack's Smoothies at 2 over 352. Bringing up the rear was Gabes' Foreskins at 11 over 361. I can't point fingers.... the Ace Holes were a pathetic 9 over 359. As good as Cantlay and McIlroy were, I was somewhat shocked at the players who posted big numbers: Hovland 78 Theegala 77 Thomas 77 Al and I have DeChambeau in our one and done pool. Bryson shot 3 under. Way to go Bryson. (BTW, we had Cantlay last week. He missed the cut!) I did see a little of the tournament early. If you miss the greens by just a little, you pay the price with the ball kicking off by 10 - 15 yards down the slope. Ouch! If you saw more of the Open and care to comment on the action, please do. This weekend is my annual family golf tournament with my cousins. I'll be in Des Moines for the next three days. The Friday report will likely not be sent until Saturday morning, so don't stress over not seeing where your team stands until then. Hans Day 2 Pinehurst #2 again excelled, but there were plenty of dramatic moments on Friday that made this great theatre. First, status of our pool. Sobo's Pinseekers and Gabes' Foreskins tied for the top spot at 350, even par. Both have 4 players still alive. Gabes has Ludwig Aberg leading. This rookie can play. Sobo's Cantlay dropped only one shot from his Thursday lead and is still a factor. At the other end of the pool, Ikey's Hero's shot a miserable 366 and have only 3 playing the weekend. Jack's Smoothies have 3 going this weekend, so both are unlikely to compete for daily results, let alone the overall total. Thru 2 rounds, Sobo leads at 702, Fox and Gabes 703, Andy 705. Fox alone has 5 playing the weekend. BUT, it should be noted that had Al played in the pool, he would have 5 alive in the weekend. Al's Dimpled Balls were 355 and 357 days 1 and 2. Too bad Al. Look out for DeChambeau. 4 under in second place. And the low score on Friday, 66, was shot by Matsuyama. He could step up for his second major. Before leaving home Friday morning, I saw Sepp Straka hit the pin with his second shot on his third hole, with the ball careening into the trap. His next shot was in the back trap, leading to a triple bogie! But Sepp did not collapse. He proceeded to Ace the 9th hole and finished the round at +2. This, though, was not the talk of the day. That honor goes to Francisco Molinari. Maybe the most clutch shot in years. He stood on his 18th hole, the 9th, at +7. He needed an Ace to make the cut. He made the ACE!!!! Unbelievable. Good for him! Enjoy round 3 later today. And one last note. Chuck pointed out to me that his team did not tie Fox on Thursday. He was right. I was wrong. Good catch Chuck and thanks. Hans Day Three Let's go Bryson! DeChambeau leads by 3 over Rory going into the final round. Bryson is on Fox's team in this pool, and is the pick by Al and me for our side pool. I saw very little of the action yesterday. And today I'm back on the tee at 7am. Mag's Mulligans lead day 3 with a 278 followed closely by Fox's Red Foxes at 279. Through 3 days of competition, four teams are fighting for the three money spots: Foxes 982 Pinseekers Sobo 988 Used Calloways Chuck 989 Happy Hookers Andy 992 --Let me be one of the first to wish each of you a Happy Father's Day! I'll provide a better writeup after the final round. Hans Day 4 An exciting finish to the 2024 US Open. I didn't watch any of it, but listened for 5 hours on PGATour radio while driving back from Des Moines. Bryson DeChambeau was clutch. I can't wait to see the sand shot on 18 to set up his par putt to win. On the other side of his victory was Rory McIlroy. He bogies 3 of the last 4 including 18 to hand the trophy to Bryson. I hear he left Pinehurst #2 without talking to any media. This one had to hurt. The real drama came within our pool. Overall winner - Red Foxes 1271 Happy Hookers (Andy) 1274 Pinseekers (Sobo) 1278 Sunday Daily results: Ace Holes !! 279 Mulligans (Mags) 282 Congrats to the teams winning the cash. As for commentary, the broadcasters were in some shock with Rory's collapse. Couple that with Bryson's poor driving, you have a fair amount of excitement coming down the stretch. I thought it was great that an SMU grad (Bryson) followed Payne Stewart (winner of the 1999 US Open at Pinehurst and also an SMU alum) to victory at Pinehurst #2. I'm guessing most if not all of you watched a good amount of the TV coverage. I'd welcome your comments. We now have one pool remaining.... the British Open. See everyone in a few weeks for that one. Hans PS by Albert: Congratulations on your victory with Bryson today. You should send a nice gift to Andy in appreciation of 2 incredibly short putts that Rory missed on #16 and #18. Together, they did not add up to 7 feet! I had feared that Bryson lost the tournament when he missed a 4 footer on #15. Bryson did not make it easy on himself with his wayward driving, especially on #18. But that 60 yard sand shot (the toughest shot in golf, most pros agree) was superb. And while that last putt was likely 5 feet or less… This was the 72nd hole of the US open. That has to shrink the size of the hole to a major degree as it concurrently tightens up your sphincter muscle, especially after him missing a shorter putt just 3 holes before that. Good for Bryson. His brilliant par save on 18 will be what is remembered about this tournament. But Rory will be haunted over his finish as his 10 year streak without a major championship rolls on. Winners Fox Sobo Gabes Mags Hans Andy Day 1 22.05 9.45 Day 2 15.75 15.75 Day 3 9.45 22.05 Day 4 4.72 22.05 4.73 Final 113.40 28.35 47.25 Total 144.90 53.55 15.75 26.77 22.05 51.98