KEY POINTS:
We always feel uneasy when Michael Campbell fails to engage his brain before talking to the press. The infamous "aliens have invaded my body" comment after he shot 89 at the Players' Championship comes to mind, as does his severe criticism in 2005 of Gulf Harbour as a
New Zealand Open venue.
But this week he was in absolute unison with fans worldwide, and players, when he said the excitement is being taken out of major championships because courses are deliberately toughened so even pars and bogeys are difficult to make.
Don't dismiss these as the thoughts of a man who couldn't cope after shooting 24 over par and finishing in a tie for 58th. Campbell's call is logical and important for the future of major championships.
Golf, like all sports, is in the entertainment business. Its money comes through being an exciting spectacle on television.
The best TV sport is always when the best players perform at their optimum in conditions fair to everyone. I don't think those conditions prevailed at Augusta in April and certainly not at Oakmont last week. In two major championships this year, nobody has finished under par. That's entertainment? Give me a break. It's survival and not much fun to watch or play.
The story goes that after Johnny Miller shot 63 to win the 1973 US Open at Oakmont, the USGA and Oakmont membership vowed that never again would they be embarrassed by somebody ripping a championship course apart.
Embarrassed? That was brilliant play; engaging, exciting and still talked about 35 years later. Will they be talking about the 2007 US Open in 2042? About the greatest player of all time not able to make a birdie in his last 32 holes because of greens so fast you couldn't hit a putt firmly enough to hold the line?
There's an old USGA mantra about Open courses being set up not to embarrass the best players but to identify them. At Oakmont the USGA were close to crossing that line. We expect the best players to make birdies, great shots under pressure and be in a position to mount thrilling come-from-behind challenges.
This is to not deny Angel Cabrera. He hit some brilliant shots. His irons into the 11th, 13th and particularly the 15th were the kind major champions have to make on the back nine on Sunday afternoon. But what else? Tiger unable to keep a bunker shot on the green at the 17th or Jim Furyk hacking from the spinach patch?
Birdies and eagles are like fours and sixes, and home runs, and tries. They're the entertaining part which you can have while maintaining a game's integrity.
I think the set-ups at the majors this year have taken the fun out of watching the game. They couldn't have been much fun to play, either. They weren't for Cambo.
It's not encouraging to remember, either, that the next major is at Carnoustie, where Paul Lawrie won the British Open eight years ago shooting six over.
