Is the US Open Weak with 15 Amateurs in the Field?

by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 15, 2009 2:50 PM EDT

Fourteen amateurs qualified for the US Open this week in New York City. Shingo Katayama withdrew from the tournament today due to injury. The first alternate takes his place and that is amateur teen David Erdy. He is now the 15th amateur in the US Open field making this '09 field - according to Wei Under Par - the most amateur-laden since 1981.

I received a Tweet on Twitter (redundant?) this morning asking me how I felt about the drag that the amateurs have on field strength.

andygraham66 @waggleroomgolf -any thoughts Stateside, to the fact that this is the weakest major field of the yr, something that used to apply to the PGA

I responded that I think this is a gamble with either of the Opens. If amateurs play well enough to get through the qualifying events, then they earned a spot in the field. That does not imply that these 15 amateurs are better than the host of professionals that didn't make it. Not at all.

The allure of an Open Championship is that anyone has an outside chance to qualify. Orville Moody is the last player to have gone through both local and sectional qualifying to win the US Open. That was in 1969. It's not like these guys are a real drag on the field. Most miss the cut and, if they make it, are a great story that add to the major plotlines of a tournament.

Let's put it this way. Amateur players are no more of a drag on the field than the old stalwarts at Augusta each year that have no shot to win. We're just more sentimental about their past champion status than we are about the 0.1% chance that a player has of going from local qualifying to the US Open.

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Comments

Apparently, there really ARE stupid questions.

You don’t measure the strength of a field from the bottom up. If, as this dufus apparently thinks, the top 140 players in the world decided to not play – THEN you might be able to say that the field is weak with 15 amateurs.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jun 15, 2009 3:17 PM EDT reply actions

should we also point out that this is only the second major of the year and we haven’t gotten to the British Open, if field strength measured from the bottom is an actual topic of conversation.

it’s not easy QUALIFYING for the US or British Open – anybody who plays well enough to get in from the…something like 8500 entries deserves better questions.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jun 15, 2009 3:29 PM EDT reply actions

Sean Martin from Golfweek made the same case that I did about the Masters when he saw the question on Twitter. And I also realized that there’s a ton of dead weight PGA pros at the PGA Championship. Every major has dead weight. It’s all relative, though.

Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.

by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 15, 2009 3:52 PM EDT reply actions

aww geez

“Dead weight PGA Pros” ???

You DO realize that you’re talking about the championship of the PGA of America, right ? Don’t let your local pro hear you talk like that – you’ll end up playing with pink graphite shafts…lady’s flex.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jun 15, 2009 4:08 PM EDT reply actions

Seriously, what PGA pro ever actually had a chance to win the PGAC? That’s why they have their own tournament. Those guys are great teachers and businessmen, but they aren’t as good as pro golfers.

Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.

by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 15, 2009 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions

it’s not always about winning. These guys spend their days (and a lot of nights) keeping our courses in good running condition, plus teaching lessons, plus running the shop…

There are what…120 or so regular touring pros in the field…having these guys who are so central to OUR enjoyment of the game in one tournament is worth it – and calling them “dead weight” is insulting.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jun 15, 2009 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions