By Billy Condon
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J.J. and I…Round Two – After what I thought was an exciting morning, this afternoon was a real treat. After lunch I headed to the practice greens and got the chance to catch up one-on-one with J.J. Henry. Again in good spirits, J.J. said that although the course is playing long, it is playing fair. “Everything is right there in front of you to go and get it,” said Henry. Henry reiterated how special it is playing a U.S. Open here in the Met Area so close to where he grew up and knowing he will have the hometown crowd supporting him. With the looming threat of rain tomorrow, he said that today’s conditions were ideal, but if the weather gets bad “it means you have to hang in there so much more, it’s the same course for everybody, so those that can stick it out will have success.”
Player Impressions – Between Phil Mickelson’s press conference this morning, word of mouth around the course and my interaction with other players, the one thing on everyone’s mind is length and strategy, particularly with where the tees will be located. With the predicted forecast, players are finding that a common word this week will be “hybrid” and they are hoping that the USGA will keep this in mind when setting the tees for tomorrow’s opening round.
I was able to catch up with Sean Farren as he was getting ready to call it a day and he said how he is hitting an iron on his second shots about every six holes and that his hybrids are getting a ton of use. However, he feels confident that with solid play he can hold his own and he is enjoying every minute of the experience.
Chat with Paul – I was fortunate enough to have a lengthy conversation with the number-three ranked player in the world, Paul Casey. Many different topics were covered including the course layout, his thoughts on golf in New York, and Twitter. Having not played at Bethpage in the 2002 Open, Casey played a practice round last week and is getting a great feel for the course and is confident with his ball-striking. He also said how he hasn’t really played much golf here in the Met Area apart from Baltusrol and Winged Foot and doesn’t really know many of the other courses the area boasts. Casey did say that although the Black plays long, it is also a friendly course for those shorter hitters that are deadly accurate. Ball placement will be a big factor this week and players won’t necessarily need 300 yard drives to gain an advantage.
Casey talked about how Twitter has become the new rage on the Tour although he was still trying to figure how to use it. While on the topic of Twitter, the Tour’s Twitter King, Stewart Cink, came over and joined the conversation (photo evidence above). It was awesome to be involved in a conversation with some of the game’s best. A great end to a terrific day out at the Black!
