Questioning Preparations for the US Open
While the ‘Grand Slam’ might be the ultimate goal at the start of the year for a few marquee names dreaming the impossible dream, even they would concede that winning a single Major any given year is likely to be as good as it gets (at least in the post-Tiger Woods era).
With only four handed out each year, and given that any one of the assembled field is capable of winning following a good run of form, the odds are always against you, so it’s easy to see why players focus their attention on ‘peaking’ for these events. For the top players, the weeks before a Major are dedicated to one goal: contending at the weekend.
Recent column inches have therefore been dedicated, quite predictably, to the leading contenders’ choice of preparations for the US Open. Will McIlroy’s decision to play at Memphis be vindicated? Was Tiger right to rest up? Does Westwood risk a weary jet-lagged body having played in Sweden? Well, if these players stand on the first tee come Thursday feeling comfortable and confident, then all preparations, no matter how much they differ, were spot on.
To be frank, you’d be hard pressed to claim that John Daly’s preparations for the 1991 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick where textbook. I seem to recall he didn’t know he was playing until the day before, drove through the night from Memphis to Carmel to get on site, and subsequently went on to win from being ninth alternate. And who knows how Ben Curtis honed his game for the 2003 Open at Royal St. Georges? Equally, I’m sure Colin Montgomerie tried every preparatory routine possible, but he never won one.
In the post-analysis of a tournament, it is an awful lot easier to criticise pre-tournament preparations. If, for example, Lee Westwood falls back from contention after a poor third round, doubtless the vultures will dine out on his supposed jet lag. Likewise, should McIlroy wilt you can expect condemnation of his decision to play at Memphis last week. Ridiculous, but you know it will happen.
A lot of the players get asked how they prepare during pre-tournament interviews. Naturally, there are similarities, but due to schedules, form, and the individual in question there will also be great variety. From the more recent interviews prior to this week’s US Open, the most profound sound bite, in my opinion, came from Adam Scott, who simply stated that he “just wanted to feel as though he knew the Olympic Club as though he were a member”. Something we can all relate to. We all find it easier to play well on our ‘home’ course, and the professionals are no different. If they can learn the vagaries of the greens, the holes where they can play aggressively, and the shots that require a cautionary approach, then they’ll undoubtedly feel more comfortable on what is still a foreign course. The US Open is no different in that regard.
The fact is though, that professionals know how to prepare. If there was a scientifically proven system for success, no doubt all players would be following it. But there isn’t. I suspect players quite simply want to arrive at a Major tournament feeling like their game is in great shape, their bodies are physically and mentally ready to tackle a demanding week, and that they are as familiar with the course as possible. In short, they want to start the tournament armed with the necessary tools to contend. Every player in the field will think they can win, 155 will ultimately fall short.
With this in mind, it seems a soft target to criticise the preparations of the best players in the world. By the critic’s rationale, the only person who actually gets it right is the winner!