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Post by longtimebooster on Jun 17, 2021 5:51:02 GMT -8
Xander tees off at 9:21 this morning on Torrey South. Paired with Phil Mickelson for the first two days. Very cool. A couple of local boys, though Phil spends a lot of time pretending he's not from San Diego. www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/golf/story/2021-06-16/golf-us-open-torrey-pines-south-xander-schauffele-san-diego-state-aztecs-scripps-ranch-high-stefanHis eight top 10s in his first 15 major championships are the most by anyone since all four tournaments became stroke-play events in 1958. In four U.S. Opens, he’s never finished worse than sixth. The only other guy with top 10s in each of his first four: Bobby Jones, in the 1920s. Xander Schauffele is the first male golfer since Bobby Jones in the 1920s to have top-10 finishes in each of his first four U.S. Open appearances. He is particularly good in the first round (average score of 68) and final round (69.5).
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Post by azson on Jun 17, 2021 10:01:16 GMT -8
Xander tied for the lead at -2 thru 5.
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Post by laaztec on Jun 17, 2021 10:23:25 GMT -8
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Post by sleepy on Jun 17, 2021 10:39:52 GMT -8
I've been waiting for this week in hopes of him putting it all together. It's a beast of a thing, winning a major. This one will be about managing expectations on a home course and meeting them. If he does that, X will mark the spot on Sunday afternoon.
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Post by azson on Jun 17, 2021 11:26:08 GMT -8
-3, alone in 2nd place/one off the pace behind Koepka/Rodgers after 10.
EDIT: finishes day 1 with a 69/-2, tied for 4th/two behind the leader (Henley).
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Post by aztech on Jun 17, 2021 14:33:47 GMT -8
-3, alone in 2nd place/one off the pace behind Koepka/Rodgers after 10. EDIT: finishes day 1 with a 69/-2, tied for 4th/two behind the leader (Henley). Maybe I missed the reason, but when they played the Farmers earlier this year wasn't that a par 72 course?
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Post by longtimebooster on Jun 17, 2021 17:54:10 GMT -8
Maybe I missed the reason, but when they played the Farmers earlier this year wasn't that a par 72 course? The 560-yd, par 5, 6th hole has been converted to a 515-yd, par 4 for the Open.
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Post by beachalum on Jun 17, 2021 17:55:48 GMT -8
Maybe I missed the reason, but when they played the Farmers earlier this year wasn't that a par 72 course? The 560-yd, par 5, 6th hole has been converted to a 515-yd, par 4 for the Open. They shortened the par 5 sixth hole to a par 4 for the US Open. Go Xander, Go Aztecs!
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Post by Den60 on Jun 17, 2021 18:06:06 GMT -8
-2 is a good day in the Open. Dampness in the morning might have made things a bit easier for him. Koepka was scrambling all day and he has some knee issues. Xander is in a good position right now through Rahm is having a good day as well as Oosthuizen and Matsuama who are still on the course. They may not finish today.
Really tight field after the first day. Great golf.
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Post by Den60 on Jun 17, 2021 18:09:49 GMT -8
The 560-yd, par 5, 6th hole has been converted to a 515-yd, par 4 for the Open. They shortened the par 5 sixth hole to a par 4 for the US Open. Go Xander, Go Aztecs! That doesn't make it easier. These guys love Par fives and think anything less than a birdie is a fail. They are considered scoring holes. A long par four, however, is harder to score on. Especially true in the Open where the rough is so long. Looked at other posts: Rather than have an easily reachable par 5 at 560 they changed it to a 515 par 4 where you have a 200 yard approach shot.
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Post by mySTRAS on Jun 18, 2021 11:33:23 GMT -8
Didn't realize Xander was playing with Phil (yesterday and today).
Would have been fun to follow that group!
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Post by longtimebooster on Jun 18, 2021 12:27:49 GMT -8
Didn't realize Xander was playing with Phil (yesterday and today). Would have been fun to follow that group! Seemed like a rowdy gallery, with most rooting for Phil, who finished a disappointing +4. At one point, Phill had to back off from a swing three times because of cell phones in the gallery going off. Xander is in great position today. He just needs to find a way to fire another round of between -1 and -4. That’ll put him in the top five at least heading into the weekend.
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Post by sdcoug on Jun 18, 2021 12:43:18 GMT -8
They shortened the par 5 sixth hole to a par 4 for the US Open. Go Xander, Go Aztecs! That doesn't make it easier. These guys love Par fives and think anything less than a birdie is a fail. They are considered scoring holes. A long par four, however, is harder to score on. Especially true in the Open where the rough is so long. Looked at other posts: Rather than have an easily reachable par 5 at 560 they changed it to a 515 par 4 where you have a 200 yard approach shot. They did that last time as well, and they typically do convert a Par 5 (or two) into a Par 4 at most opens. You'll often see a course that plays to a 72 usually play to a 70 during an open. #6 is a very easy Par 5, but as a Par 4 it was the 2nd hardest scoring hold on the course in 2008 (4.5 average score). Holes 11-12 is the true gauntlet though - brutal all the time given their distances & the typical winds. At least 6 typically comes with a tailwind. Some low scores today thus far, so hopefully X can shoot another -2 (or better) & be right in the thick of it heading into the weekend. Phil's going to need to go under par for sure to make the cut, and may even need a 69.
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Post by tonatiuh on Jun 18, 2021 14:23:04 GMT -8
U.S. Open, not the regular Torrey Pines tournament. I got confused at first. Go Xander!
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Post by sdcoug on Jun 18, 2021 14:57:41 GMT -8
X is doing well through 6 at -1 for the day, -3 for the tournament. Good enough for T4th.
Tough stretch coming up with 7, 8, 11, 12. If he's top 5 after 12, the weekend is looking really good.
As much I see X being among the final 4 or 5, if I was forced to bet the mortgage on only one guy right now it'd be Rahm. Guy loves Torrey, and has been really killing it of late. Would have won that last tourney if he didn't test positive after the 3rd round.
But what I'm REALLY hoping for is a Koepka & DeChambeau pairing! Right now only separated by 2 strokes with Koepka still on the course. It could happen!
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Post by longtimebooster on Jun 18, 2021 15:34:43 GMT -8
X is doing well through 6 at -1 for the day, -3 for the tournament. Good enough for T4th. Tough stretch coming up with 7, 8, 11, 12. If he's top 5 after 12, the weekend is looking really good. As much I see X being among the final 4 or 5, if I was forced to bet the mortgage on only one guy right now it'd be Rahm. Guy loves Torrey, and has been really killing it of late. Would have won that last tourney if he didn't test positive after the 3rd round. But what I'm REALLY hoping for is a Koepka & DeChambeau pairing! Right now only separated by 2 strokes with Koepka still on the course. It could happen! Xander's at -3 after 10. He's two back. Unfortunately, he switched to a new putter and putting stroke a few weeks back, which many have questioned. He had two or three short puts lip out yesterday and has had at least three lip out today. By all rights, he should be cruising along at -6 or -7. Having said that, he's in very good position right now. Just needs to bag another couple birdies down the stretch today.
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Post by sleepy on Jun 18, 2021 20:24:14 GMT -8
X is doing well through 6 at -1 for the day, -3 for the tournament. Good enough for T4th. Tough stretch coming up with 7, 8, 11, 12. If he's top 5 after 12, the weekend is looking really good. As much I see X being among the final 4 or 5, if I was forced to bet the mortgage on only one guy right now it'd be Rahm. Guy loves Torrey, and has been really killing it of late. Would have won that last tourney if he didn't test positive after the 3rd round. But what I'm REALLY hoping for is a Koepka & DeChambeau pairing! Right now only separated by 2 strokes with Koepka still on the course. It could happen! Xander's at -3 after 10. He's two back. Unfortunately, he switched to a new putter and putting stroke a few weeks back, which many have questioned. He had two or three short puts lip out yesterday and has had at least three lip out today. By all rights, he should be cruising along at -6 or -7. Having said that, he's in very good position right now. Just needs to bag another couple birdies down the stretch today. I worried about the putting thing as soon as I heard it. I would think you'd at least want to wait until after Torrey Pines. But... It's one of those decisions that, if it works, he's a genius. So... We'll see.
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Post by aztech on Jun 18, 2021 22:57:16 GMT -8
I'm pretty sure Xander is loyal to Austin Kaiser, but from what I've seen in his recent tournaments he'll need a seasoned veteran on his bag if he wants to get to the next level. He needs someone to give him firm guidance instead of him making his own decisions. He has a world of talent, but lately he's been faltering at the end of his rounds.
Regardless I hope he does well this weekend.
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Post by longtimebooster on Jun 19, 2021 7:12:41 GMT -8
I'm pretty sure Xander is loyal to Austin Kaiser, but from what I've seen in his recent tournaments he'll need a seasoned veteran on his bag if he wants to get to the next level. He needs someone to give him firm guidance instead of him making his own decisions. He has a world of talent, but lately he's been faltering at the end of his rounds. Regardless I hope he does well this weekend. He switched to a new putter and putting stroke about a month ago, which IMO and that of many in the golf world, was totally insane. Do that in the offseason, not in the runup to a major. Xander was already the 35th-best putter in the world prior to the switch. The results have been dismal. He had at least four putts lip out in the first round and had another three or four in the second round. By all rights, he should be at -5 or better. Additionally, on the 14th hole yesterday, he made a fantastic shot out of a green side sand trap. The ball landed about 8 feet from the pin and was rolling straight for the hole. About two feet from the hole, the ball hit a ball marker on the green, popped up into the air slightly, continued its roll and then stopped an inch from the hole. Ugh. There is zero doubt it would've gone in were it not for the ball marker. Painful. Xander needs to get it together this weekend. And you're right, he's not a flashy player by any means. Just ridiculously consistent. Right now his achilles heel is that he makes one or two or three bad shots seemingly every round on the final two or three holes. It's like clockwork. Having said all that, he's in a great spot right now to make a run. He's gonna need to shoot a 66, 67 or 68 today to put himself in one of the final groups so he can have a legitimate shot at winning this thing. We'll see.
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Post by Den60 on Jun 19, 2021 8:35:20 GMT -8
Rahm is one stroke ahead of him as is Bubba. Oostie is two ahead. You got Koepka, Morikawa and JT just two back. Of this group only Xander and Rahm have yet to win a major. I think the winner comes out of this group. Weather calls for partly cloudy today so the greens may not firm up as much in the afternoon. It is going to be a great afternoon of golf.
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