Golflogic.ca

He’s got all the attributes of a modern professional golfer, long hitting, great short game, good putter, and he has work extremely hard on his mental approach.  So can young Englishman Nick Dougherty follow up his extraordinary first round at Oakmont and run away with the US Open?  This very biased Engliishman hopes he can.

The current leaderboard has a real international flavour to it, with half of the top 20 hailing from outside the US.  I must mention the Canadians, Ames and Weir, who despite fairly average seasons by their standards are in good position after the first round.

The English hope doesn’t totally rest on Dougherty’s shoulders though, with Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald all within striking distance, this has the potential to be a great week for English golf.

And what of the course?  Oakmont showed some of the teeth that we were lead to expect, but it was more of a slight grimace rather that a full blown roar on day one, expect the USGA to hit back tomorrow!  I know a lot is made of the Church Pews, and they are impressive, but what first strikes me about this course are the square greens, I love the idea behind them, and something so simple can make a hugely dramatic impact on how the holes look.

The US Open has always had an elevated position within the Majors hierarchy, but with the USGA returning to ‘classic’ American courses (Oakmont, Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines etc) this great tournament will continue to hold all the prestige it deserves.

Here’s hoping to a weekend full of European (and Canadian I suppose) names packing the leaderboard, and a new name on that famous trophy.