Daytona Debacle Compares Well to Shinnecock Slaughter

NASCAR fans have been outraged today by the one hour and forty minute delay at the Superbowl of racing, the Daytona 500, so that officials could perform track repairs mid-race on a pothole.  Yahoo!'s NASCAR blogger Jay Busbee compared it to mowing the field at said Superbowl in the middle of the game.  Golf may well have a better example, though: the 2004 US Open at Shinnecock Hills.

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The national championship had returned to Shinnecock for the first time since 1995, when current Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin took the title.  Though the goal was never stated, US Open tracks were setup to encourage a winner at par or worse.  Given that, rough was long, greens were very firm and fast, and pins were tucked in almost unfair places.

The weather forecast for the week was going to prove to add to the typical USGA treatment that they had been applying to courses in the Tom Meeks era.  Over the course of the week, the combination of heat and wind made the greens almost unplayable.  Players openly complained - more that usual for even the US Open.  Media seemed to understand that a debacle was unfolding.  Then the final round happened.

About half of a handful of groups through the final round on Sunday, play was delayed for twenty minutes so that the maintenance crew could water the green at the seventh hole.  The par three green had become so dry and fast that it was almost impossible to putt.  Even the craziest putt-putt hole - like the one in Happy Gilmore - would have been easier than that green, that day.

The seventh was not an isolated sore spot on the course, either.  As the Guardian wrote on the day after, "[T]he 2nd, 10th and 11th, [were] matters of luck and not judgment."

28 of the 66 players that competed on Sunday scored 80 or worse.  Tiger Woods shot 76 and actually went up the leaderboard that day.  Robert Allenby shot even par 70 and finished tied 7th. Astoundingly, Retief Goosen only took 11 putts for the final nine holes to take his second US Open.  Phil Mickelson was in the midst of one of his five opportunities to win the US Open, but double-bogeyed the 17th after three-putting from inside of five feet. 

Phil Mickelson was incredulous about his final round 71.

"I played some of the best golf of my life, I hit some of my best shots, I putted better than I probably have ever putted and I still couldn't shoot par [on Sunday]. That, surely, cannot be acceptable."

Jerry Kelly, who fired 81 in the final round, was outspoken about the failure of the USGA to step in on Saturday evening to prevent what unfolded on Sunday.  He claimed to the media that Shinnecock superintendent Mark Michaud was instructed to roll the greens on Saturday night.

''I talked to the superintendent and he said: 'I'm not getting into the middle of it. They told me to roll it.' They're trying to put the blame, because of their stupidity, onto someone doing their job.''

Though the Wisconsin veteran was not alone in his scathing remarks, Kelly's comment set off a firestorm of finger pointing between the players, media, USGA, and Shinnecock staff to assign the proper blame for such an embarrassment.

Perhaps it was Tom Meeks who sealed his fate with the USGA when he said, ''Sunday was a tough day, but I thought everything went fine.''

Tom Meeks was in charge of one more US Open before Mike Davis was installed into the role he has today.

As a stock car racing novice, perhaps the example is not apropo.  Still, the parallels seem striking.  Both situations could have been prevented.  Each happened at what is arguably the biggest stage in the sport.  It is likely both will be remembered with scorn and shame for some time to come.

In the end, though, the USGA was at its lowest point on that Sunday in '04.  Each and every Open since then has been an improvement over Shinnecock.  Though the conditions have been extremely tough, the players have responded with acclaim for Mike Davis and his setup approach. 

For NASCAR, it's not as though the track will be setup differently in the future, but Brian France and his crew will set a precedent and hope to set better standards for their best race.  Unfortunately, though, this incident comes at a time when NASCAR fan interest is waning because of poor performance by its most popular driver, dominance by Jimmie Johnson, and technical changes that have been received poorly by the fan base.

As is said, though, sometimes rock bottom has to be reached before a comeback can be made.