Peter Williams: US Open worthy but dull

The World Cup is getting rave reviews because there's an abundance of goals. It's fun to watch and, most probably, fun to play. This year's US Open was a struggle to watch and, I suspect, to play because the tournament became an endurance test, a battle of attrition and a contest to see who made the fewest mistakes, not who hit the best shots.

When Vijay Singh was asked why he didn't play more practice rounds, he said he was going to get beaten up by the course so much during the tournament proper, he didn't see the point of getting angry before the event even started.

Davis Love reckoned beforehand it's boring to watch players constantly hacking out of thick rough. It's hard to disagree.

The US Open is becoming the test cricket of major championship golf - worthy but dull. Occasionally it bursts forth with periods of memorable brilliance but mostly it asks the players to conserve their flair and extravagance. The tournament's outrageously penal rough is always there to consume any upstart who, shock horror, might start a run of birdies and get, gosh, four or five under par.

Why the USGA has this aversion to low scoring is beyond me. Johnny Miller maintains it's not his fault but after he shot 63 in the final round to win the 1973 US Open - still the lowest closing round in major championship history - the USGA tournament committee decided that never again would they be humiliated by such a low score in their national championship.

Humiliated? Just what's wrong with a final round 63? That day, Miller hit 18 greens in regulation, never missed a fairway, made nine birdies and had a three putt. In other words, he played as near as possible the perfect round of golf from tee to green. The USGA response to that thrilling finale 33 years ago, when Miller came from six shots back after 54 holes to win the tournament, has been to grow grass and speed up greens to stop it happening again.

This year at Winged Foot, no player could have come from six shots back to win. Nobody could have shot 63 because the course set up was simply too tough.

The winner didn't have an under par round. That's not surprising. Only 12 of the 155 starters did. So of the 436 rounds played during the tournament, just 2.75 per cent were under par. That's like watching the day's three World Cup matches all finish 0-0. That's no fun to watch. This year's US Open wasn't either.

But until there's either a player or a TV viewers' revolt against the severity of US Open environments, the USGA won't be changing its attitude. The tournament's tradition and status means neither is likely.