Beyond the unforgettable story of Tom Watson and his ailing caddy, Bruce Edwards, coverage of the 103rd U.S. Open left one lasting impression on the world of golf - the media have gone too far.
The buzz surrounding this year's version of golf's most exacting test was, how will the "slumping" Tiger Woods fare? Will par be a good score? And how will a golf course that had not played host to a major championship since 1962 stand up against the best players in the world?
In grand, trashy-tabloid style fashion, the collective pundits dropped the ball on each and every issue du jour.
Tiger, winner of three events in seven starts this year leading into the Open, began answering questions about his "less-than-impressive form" upon arrival at Olympia Fields Country Club.
A younger version of the most dominant player in the universe might have given those assembled in the press room the old one-finger salute when asked about his "slump." But a more mature, not to mention recently redheaded Tiger held his tongue. He answered the ever-present question in the negative and precisely explained to the hacks that he was "close."
Saturday, however, it all went to hell following Tiger's 5-over-par 75 in the third round. The slump issue reared its ugly little head and the previously jovial and forthcoming Woods left the room in a huff. Nice work, guys.
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Undeterred, the geniuses at NBC showed nearly every shot Tiger hit on Sunday, even though he started the day 11 shots off the pace, exactly where he would finish. It is easy to figure out that more Woods airtime equals higher ratings, but somebody forgot to tell NBC that a golf tournament was going on.
Even though images of a non-competitive Tiger dominated the visual portion of the telecast, it was the incessant, never-ending jabber of Johnny Miller, former Open champion and current NBC analyst that made this year's tournament downright unpalatable.
Miller made no fewer than six references (yes, I counted them) to his final-round 63 that won him the 1973 Open. Ah, the good old days Johnny. Let the record show that Miller's last competitive round was an 82 in a made-for-television match with Jack Nicklaus. The Golden Bear shot 70.
When he wasn't reminiscing, Miller was busy trashing the golf course, which, after weeks of rain, was soft and ready to give up birdies to a group of new-age golfers with new-age equipment.
"It's too easy," Miller said of the venerable south-side Chicago track, even going so far as to bring a sample of the course's "weak" rough into the broadcast booth for all the world to see.
Miller was not alone.
Rick Reilly, of Sports Illustrated infamy, asked, "Olympia Fields - is that some sort of yoga instructor? Or is it a strip mall? All I want to know is, who won the pro-am?"
One headline in the Saturday issue of the Chicago Tribune read "Olympia Yields."
No one seemed to notice that at the conclusion of play on a Sunday that featured sunshine and a bit of the old Chicago wind, only four men remained under par.
One of those men was Jim Furyk - winner of seven TOUR events and the 10th-ranked player in the world when the Open began.
Furyk, known as one of the hardest-working players in the game, nabbed a share of the lead in the second round and never let go.
So, with a great player whose peers have long said would win major championships poised to break through on golf's grandest stage, what did the media want to talk about?
Furyk's unorthodox swing, that's what. There's an original angle.
Long after Furyk had hoisted the trophy, an experience he shared on the 18th green with his family on Father's Day, Reilly was blabbering away on ESPN about how golfers everywhere would be clamoring for a pro who could teach them to "swing like a one-armed guy trapped in a phone booth with a bee."
Good one, Rick. Too bad CBS's David Feherty already said that same thing after Furyk won the 1995 Las Vegas Invitational.
In their never-ending search for a "story," the media completely missed the point of this year's U.S. Open. It wasn't about Tiger Woods - slump or no slump. It wasn't about a golf course "unfit for an Open." And it wasn't about the manner in which a man plies his craft.
This year's Open was about Tom Watson, an aging hero coming to the aid of his longtime caddy and friend who was recently diagnosed with a debilitating disease. And in fairness, the media picked that up.
But it was also about a guy, who has answered every question ever asked about his swing by winning on all levels, capturing our national championship on a great old golf course that, when Mother Nature cooperated, served as a more-than-adequate test for the world's best.
Sandy Tatum, former president of the U.S. Golf Association, once said, "We're not out to embarrass the world's best players in the U.S. Open. We're out to identify them."
That is exactly what happened this time around at Olympia Fields.
Hopefully next year, those responsible for bringing this great tournament into our living rooms will catch the boat.
