Webb Simpson won the U.S. Open at San Francisco's Olympic Club on Sunday, shooting 68 for a one-over total to secure his first major title.

"Amazed, I've got no words," Simpson said after the victory. "Just thankful to God. I couldn't have done it without him."

Simpson, who had two previous PGA Tour wins, held off a cast of veteran players on Sunday that included former U.S. Open winners Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk and Ernie Els.

McDowell and Michael Thompson tied for second at two over par, and five players were three over -- Furyk, David Toms, Padraig Harrington, John Peterson and Jason Dufner.

Tiger Woods, who started the day at four over par, five shots off the lead, had a disastrous start and never recovered. He bogeyed the first, second, fifth and sixth holes and doubled the third to shoot five-over 39 on the front. He settled down on the back nine, making birdie at Nos. 14 and 17, but his three-over 73 left him seven over for the tournament. His last major victory was four years ago in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Golf Magazine's Cameron Morfit: Simpson holds on at foggy Olympic Club

More U.S. Open Coverage
- U.S. Open Leaderboard
- Photos: Sports Illustrated's best U.S. Open images
- Videos: Highlights, expert roundtables, interviews and more
- Photos: Check out the pros' custom golf clubs
- Photos: Pro golfers with their dads
- Photos: Tiger Woods, a life in pictures

 (Photo: Fred Vuich/SI)

Looks like ESPN will be pleased with having Tiger Woods in prime time for this U.S. Open. The network's press release on Friday's ratings is below:

ESPN’s prime time coverage of the second round of the 112th U.S. Open on Friday, June 15, earned the network’s highest rating and largest audience ever for a regular round of play in the event.

The telecast from 5-10 p.m. ET averaged 3.6 million viewers and a 2.9 household coverage rating, according to the Nielsen Company. The audience was the fifth-largest ever for a golf telecast on cable.

ESPN’s live telecast of earlier U.S. Open play on Friday from noon – 3 p.m. ET earned a 1.5 household coverage rating, averaging 1.6 million viewers.

Thursday’s U.S. Open first round telecast from noon – 3 p.m. on ESPN earned a 1.6 household coverage rating, averaging 1.6 million viewers, while the 5-10 p.m. telecast had a 1.5 rating with 1.7 million viewers. Both telecasts were up in viewership and ratings from the 2011 U.S. Open, which was held in Bethesda, Md., and aired earlier in the day.

ESPN’s largest audience ever for any U.S. Open telecast was a Monday playoff in 2008 with 4.2 rating and 4.8 million viewers.

SportsCenter and ESPN.com will continue to report from the U.S. Open all weekend ESPN Radio will have live coverage of the final round on Sunday from 4-10 p.m. ET.

Bubba Watson leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with a monstrous 314.5 yard average, which makes Tiger Woods's 295.7 yard average (T30th) look pretty average.

However, Tiger can still pop one out there from time to time. With the tees pushed forward on the par-5 16th hole to an appetizing 610 yards on Friday, Tiger and Bubba were both thinking about reaching in two and they each hit massive drives down the fairway. The surprise? When those tee shots stopped, Tiger's ball was about 20 yards past Bubba.

During a post-round press conference in which Tiger took obvious pleasure in recounting his best shots, a reporter asked him about outdriving Bubba on 16. Tiger's response was illuminating.

Was it enjoyable to be about 20 yards past Bubba on 16 today?

TIGER WOODS: The tee shot on 16, it's obviously it's easier for me to hit the ball further because I'm turning it and I'm working it with some kind of top spin, a little draw.

And I hammered it out there, but Bubba's playing a big cut. He teed off in the middle of the tee box. He didn't go to the right and hit a straight ball slice or straight ball/cut. He went to the middle part of the tee box and shaped it more. So he burned a little bit of distance off of that, and just tried to get the ball in play.

He did the same shot on the second shot, which is kind of cool to see, to hit a driver that high off the deck. It's not easy to do.

(Photo: John Biever / SI)

At least there wasn't a reporter attached to it.

Sergio Garcia took out his frustrations on a course microphone at the Olympic Club on Friday after mis-hitting his tee shot on the third hole.

Garcia had been playing a solid round on the punishing course and was one under when he got to the third hole, his 13th. (Related: Interactive map.) After his tee shot landed several yards short of the green, Garcia slashed his club at a microphone on the tee box, cutting it in half. The Golf Channel has footage of Garcia's microphone duel here.

Despite the outburst, Garcia was able to hold it together for the rest of his round to post  a respectable one-over 71 on Friday. He is four over for the tournament.

The hot-blooded Garcia has been known to show his frustrations on the course, most recently with a textbook-perfect club throw at the Thailand Golf Championship in December.

Golf.com live-blogged the second round of the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods shot an even-par 70 to get into a three-way tie for the lead.

Mobile users, cut and paste this link into your browser: http://bit.ly/Lsfl2X

LEADERBOARD | PHOTOS | VIDEO | LIVE VIDEO AT USOPEN.COM

"Parity" is often used with disdain by commentators and pundits who surround team sports. It's regarded as the worst of the worst when it comes to creating interest from fans, while so called dynasties, like the Bulls with Michael Jordan, the Yankees with Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, and the 49ers with Joe Montana, appear to be the highest peak on the mountain. It's no surprise then, that the Tiger era was considered by many to be the greatest period in the history of golf, and the viewership and participation numbers seem to back them up. 

But have we now reached an era of parity in golf's major championships? Don't Tiger, Phil, and Rory dominate? No, actually they don't. As Carl Steward of The Oakland Tribune points out, in the last 14 majors there have been 14 different winners, and Tiger isn't one of them. That's only one major short of the longest streak of non-repeat winners in the history of the game since the Masters was started in 1934 (when Lee Janzen won his second U.S. Open at Olympic in '98 it had been 15 majors without a repeat winner).  

If you're looking for further evidence of parity, consider this: seven of the last 14 winners were first timers, and most of them weren't even the top players in the world. In fact, Luke Donald, Hunter Mahan, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Bill Haas, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar, and Adam Scott have combined to win exactly zero majors. And all of them reside in the top 25 in the world. 

So what's the deal? How come nobody has stepped up in Tiger's absence to grab a bunch of majors? According to U.S. Open and British Open champion Johnny Miller, a lot of the top players, like Lee Westwood, just aren't up to the task. 

"Some guys just can’t handle major championship pressure, Westwood can handle it well enough to have a chance to be in contention but not enough to hit that heroic shot on the last hole and do whatever he needs to do. He’s had many chances. And so that opens the door for a lot of other people that were maybe surprised that they won."

Miller also thinks the attitude of many of today's players is holding them back. 

"What you don’t see is that fire to sort of determine who he is and his self-worth by championships," he said. "You know, I was never that way. To me, it was like, yeah, I’d like to win an Open. But I was also enjoying my family and life, where some of these guys, self-worth was about how many championships they won." "Even with Jack Nicklaus, going out fishing with him, he told me, ’You know, I could have won more majors if I really focused a little more,’ " Miller continued. "I was like, ’Dang, Jack, you won 18, how many do you want?’ I didn’t ever think that way. And I think Rory is a lot like I am. He’s just happy being as good as he is."

In the end however, Miller does think a dominant player could emerge on the scene, but warns that it won't be just anybody. 

"There’s always room for a dominant player, it’s that just dominant players don’t fall off trees."

What do you think: Has parity been reached in golf's majors, or will another Jack or Tiger come along to dominate? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Olympic Club makes adjustments for U.S. Open
Like a lot of storied old championship tracks that were built at a time when players used decrepit old golf balls, weak-lofted muscleback irons and woods made of wood, the Olympic Club's Lakeside course was significantly altered to stand up to today's stronger players and juiced up equipment. According to The Monterey County Herald, the various changes include: 

1. Nearly 400 more yards of length.

2. An entirely new 8th hole. 

3. The removal of thousands of pine, cedar, cypress, and eucaplyptus trees from sides of fairways.

4. The first hole made into a long par 4 instead of a par 5.

5. Bentgrass greens instead of poa annua, making the greens more consistent but much faster and even more treacherous. 

What will be the result of these changes? Nobody can know for sure until the tournament is contested, but it's safe to say the USGA has gone to great lengths (no pun intended) to do what they can to protect par. Of all the changes, the most significant will likely be the switch from poa annua to bentgrass greens. The former is common on west coast golf courses and tend to be bumpy and inconsistent throughout the day due to a fast growth rate. But bentgrass, while smoother and more consistent, can be very fast, and with Olympic's small and difficult greens, and the USGA's penchant for creating incredibly tough conditions, this year's Open could have more than the normal share of crazy putts. 

For an idea of what to expect, check out some of the action from the '98 U.S. Open at Olympic, and keep in mind the greens were poa annua back then. 

TWEET OF THE DAY: 

It’s only Monday, and we’re just getting our first taste of Mike Davis’s setup at Olympic, but it’s already fair to say it's a little spicy.  A video of the 17^th hole posted on Twitter by caddie Todd Montoya shows what a foot either way could mean in this championship.  Apparently, it could be the difference between an easy up-and-down and pitching back from the 18^th tee. 

Wowzers, indeed, Todd.  Looks like we may be seeing shades of Shinnecock if the track continues to dry out as the week wears on. But after the way Rory torched Congressional last year, did anyone think this thing would play easy?

Keeping Pace
So Olympic appears to be a fickle beast. That, combined  with the recent rash of high-profile incidents of slow play, has Doug Roberson of the Atlanta Journal Constitution concerned that we’ll be in for a glacial grind this week. 

“The more money they are playing for, the slower some players are going to be,” Golf Channel on-course reporter Billy Andrade said.

“There’s so much more on the line right now, it just brings on a more deliberate way of playing.”[Casey] Wittenberg, currently playing on the Nationwide Tour but who has also played on the PGA Tour, said that as long as the PGA Tour continues to make courses hard, fast and firm – like The Olympic Club will be this week – there will be more shots out of the rough so slow play will remain an issue.

“It’s just kind of part of the game,” Wittenberg said. “If people are maxing out their time but not going over, I really don’t know what the tour can do to change that." 

Nantz Ties the Knot 
Hello friends, and welcome to beautiful Pebble Beach Golf Links. We are gathered here today for the wedding of Jim Nantz, a tradition unlike any other…

At least that's how I imagine it happened when Nantz was married over the weekend on Pebble's picturesque seventh green. As CultureMap Houston reports, some of those friends are very good golfers, indeed:

Golf greats Arnold Palmer and Nick Faldo (Nantz's CBS golf partner) have been spotted at the hotel (according to Twitter accounts) and are expected to be at the wedding. Paul Marchand, head pro at Shadow Hawk Golf Club and Nantz's former college roommate, is also a guest.

Much of the golf world is already in California with the U.S. Open set to be played at San Francisco's Olympic Club next week.

Nantz, 53, proposed to Richards, 33, in 2010 while on vacation with his close friend, former President George H.W. Bush at the Bush family compound in Walker's Point, Maine. Nantz and Richards met while she worked in sports marketing for IMG, which also represents Nantz.

No word on whether Nantz interrupted the ceremony to plug "Two Broke Girls." He's a company man.

Tweet of the Day:

About to go see Alcatraz for the first time! #awesome

— Hunter Mahan (@HunterMahan) June 11, 2012

Talk about a featured group.

The USGA released its pairing sheet Thursday for next week's U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, and Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson will be playing in the same group in the first and second rounds of the tournament.

Woods and Mickelson were paired together along with Australian Adam Scott at the 2008 U.S. Open; Woods of course won that tournament, his last major championship win, and Mickelson finished T18.

The Woods/Mickelson/Watson group will start their opening round Thursday at 10:33 a.m. Eastern time; on Friday the group tees off at 4:18 p.m. Eastern time.

The USGA is known to favor quirky pairings for its U.S. Open championship and the 2012 edition is no exception. In addition to the high-powered star-wattage of Woods, Mickelson and Watson, you will also see the all-Korean, all-initialed pairing of K. J. Choi, Y. E. Yang, and K. T. Kim (11:28 a.m. Eastern on Thursday); the all-UK former and current No. 1 players Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald (4:29 p.m. Eastern on Thursday); the long-putter pairing of Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson (11:32 a.m. Eastern on Thursday); the former U.S. Open winners from around the world pairing of South Africa's Ernie Els, Australia's Geoff Ogilvy and Argentina's Angel Cabrera (5:02 p.m. Eastern on Thursday); and the dark-horse major winners pairing of Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman and Lucas Glover (4:51 p.m. Eastern on Thursday).

If you find any other connections, please post them below. The more obscure, the better. Here are the complete U.S. Open pairings, with local Pacific times. (For logistical reasons, groups playing the back nine first will start on the ninth hole.):

Thursday, hole #1; Friday, hole #9
7:15 a.m./12:30 p.m. - Scott Langley, Manchester, Mo.; Steve Lebrun, West Palm Beach, Fla.; A-Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif.

7:26 a.m./12:41 p.m. - Jason Bohn, Acworth, Ga.; Raphael Jacquelin, France; J. B. Park, Korea

7:37 a.m./12:52 p.m. - Michael Thompson, Birmingham, Ala.; TBD; Steve Marino, St. Simons Island, Ga.

7:48 a.m./1:03 p.m. - Brendan Jones, Australia; George Coetzee, South Africa; Gregory Bourdy, France

7:59 a.m./1:14 p.m. - A-Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif.; Jonathan Byrd, Sea Island, Ga.; Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash.

8:10 a.m./1:25 p.m. - Retief Goosen, South Africa; Vijay Singh, Fiji; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

8:21 a.m./1:36 p.m. - Paul Casey, England; Hiroyuki Fujita, Japan; Mark Wilson, Elmhurst, Ill.

8:32 a.m./1:47 p.m. - Adam Scott, Australia; Keegan Bradley, Jupiter, Fla.; Webb Simpson, Charlotte, N.C.

8:43 a.m./1:58 p.m. - Tim Clark, South Africa; Toru Taniguchi, Japan; Rod Pampling, Australia

8:54 a.m./2:09 p.m. - Francesco Molinari, Italy; Bo Van Pelt, Jenks, Okla.; Peter Hanson, Sweden

9:05 a.m./2:20 p.m. - D. A. Points, Windermere, Fla.; Dong-Hwan Lee, Korea; Kevin Streelman, Scottsdale, Ariz.

9:16 a.m./2:31 p.m. - Edward Loar, Dallas, Texas; Paul Claxton, Claxton, Ga.; Alistair Presnell, Australia

9:27 a.m./2:42 p.m. - Mark McCormick, Middletown, N.J.; A-Nick Sherwood, Albany, Ore.; Cole Howard, Fort Worth, Texas

Thursday, hole #9; Friday, hole #1
7:00 a.m./12:45 p.m. - Shane Bertsch, Parker, Colo.; Martin Flores, Dallas, Texas; Tommy Biershenk, Inman, S.C.

7:11 a.m./12:56 p.m. - Scott Piercy, Las Vegas, Nev.; Matthew Baldwin, England; Matt Bettencourt, Greenville, S.C.

7:22 a.m./1:07 p.m. - Thomas Bjorn, Denmark; Kevin Na, Las Vegas, Nev.; Branden Grace, South Africa

7:33 a.m./1:18 p.m. - Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Tiger Woods, Hobe Sound, Fla.; Bubba Watson, Scottsdale, Ariz.

7:44 a.m./1:29 p.m. - Joe Ogilvie, Austin, Texas; Stephen Ames, Canada; Tim Herron, Deephaven, Minn.

7:55 a.m./1:40 p.m. - Davis Love III, Sea Island, Ga.; Padraig Harrington, Ireland; David Toms, Shreveport, La.

8:06 a.m./1:51 p.m. - Carl Pettersson, Sweden; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Charles Howell III, Windermere, Fla.

8:17 a.m./2:02 p.m. - Robert Karlsson, Sweden; Bob Estes, Austin, Texas; Robert Rock, England

8:28 a.m./2:13 p.m. - K. J. Choi, Korea; Y. E. Yang, Korea; K. T. Kim, Korea

8:39 a.m./2:24 p.m. - Fredrik Jacobson, Sweden; Robert Garrigus, Phoenix, Ariz.; Alexander Noren, Sweden

8:50 a.m./2:35 p.m. - Gonzalo Fernandez-Castan'o, Spain; SangMoon Bae, Korea; Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Spain

9:01 a.m./2:46 p.m. - Marc Warren, Scotland; Anthony Summers, Australia; Michael Allen, Scottsdale, Ariz.

9:12 a.m./2:57 p.m. - Hunter Hamrick, Montgomery, Ala.; Tim Weinhart, Alpharetta, Ga.; Scott Smith, Fallon, Nev.

Thursday, hole #9; Friday, hole #1
12:45 p.m./7 a.m. - Casey Martin, Eugene, Ore.; A-Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn.; Dennis Miller, Youngstown, Ohio

12:56 p.m./7:11 a.m. - Jim Herman, Palm City, Fla.; William Lunde, Las Vegas, Nev.; David Mathis, Wake Forest, N.C.

1:07 p.m./7:22 a.m. - Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium; Charlie Wi, Korea; Simon Dyson, England

1:18 p.m./7:33 a.m. - Alvaro Quiros, Spain; Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan.; John Senden, Australia

1:29 p.m./7:44 a.m. - Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Luke Donald, England; Lee Westwood, England

1:40 p.m./7:55 a.m. - Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Bch, Fla.; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland

1:51 p.m./8:06 a.m. - Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.; Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Lucas Glover, Sea Island, Ga.

2:02 p.m./8:17 a.m. - Ernie Els, South Africa; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia; Angel Cabrera, Argentina

2:13 p.m./8:28 a.m. - Martin Laird, Scotland; Ben Crane, Beaverton, Ore.; Anders Hansen, Denmark

2:24 p.m./8:39 a.m. - Matteo Manassero, Italy; Aaron Baddeley, Australia; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain

2:35 p.m./8:50 a.m. - Brian Harman, St. Simons Island, Ga.; TBD; Mikko Ilonen, Finland

2:46 p.m./9:01 a.m. - Brice Garnett, Gallatin, Mo.; TBD; Jesse Mueller, Mesa, Ariz.

2:57 p.m./9:12 a.m. - Brian Rowell, Lafayette, La.; A-Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz.; Brian Gaffney, Monmouth Beach, N.J.

Thursday, hole #9; Friday, hole #1
12:30 p.m./7:15 a.m. - John Peterson, Baton Rouge, La.; Morgan Hoffmann, Jupiter, Fla.; Aaron Watkins, Mesa, Ariz.

12:41 p.m./7:26 a.m. - Jeff Curl, Birmingham, Ala.; Nicholas Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.; Casey Wittenberg, Memphis, Tenn.

12:52 p.m./7:37 a.m. - Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark; Chez Reavie, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Peter Lawrie, Ireland

1:03 p.m./7:48 a.m. - Michael Campbell, New Zealand; Olin Browne, Tequesta, Fla.; Joe Durant, Pensacola, Fla.

1:14 p.m./7:59 a.m. - Bill Haas, Greenville, S.C.; Nick Watney, Las Vegas, Nev.; Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.

1:25 p.m./8:10 a.m. - Martin Kaymer, Germany; Hunter Mahan, Colleyville, Texas; Justin Rose, England

1:36 p.m./8:21 a.m. - Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.; Ian Poulter, England; Matt Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.

1:47 p.m./8:32 a.m. - Jason Day, Australia; Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Jason Dufner, Auburn, Ala.

1:58 p.m./8:43 a.m. - Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Ryo Ishikawa, Japan; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.

2:09 p.m./8:54 a.m. - Hunter Haas, Fort Worth, Texas; Tadahiro Takayama, Japan; Lee Slattery, England

2:20 p.m./9:05 a.m. - Alex Cejka, Germany; Kevin Chappell, Fresno, Calif.; Blake Adams, Eatonton, Ga.

2:31 p.m./9:16 a.m. - James Hahn, San Bruno, Calif.; Darron Stiles, Pinehurst, N.C.; Roberto Castro, Alpharetta, Ga.

2:42 p.m./9:27 a.m. - A-Brooks Koepka, Tallahassee, Fla.; TBD; Samuel Osborne, England

More coverage at usopen.com

The last time the U.S. Open visited the Olympic Club in San Francisco it was 1998 and Casey Martin rode in his golf cart all the way to a T23 finish. Now, in between coaching at the University of Oregon, he is on the cusp of making his grand return fourteen years later, reports Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Martin, who suffers from a birth defect known as Klippel Trenaunay Weber syndrome in his right leg, created buzz as he filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour in 1997 that would allow him to use a cart in competition. 

As the appeals process began its three-year odyssey - the tour argued that walking is a fundamental part of the game and that no player should be permitted to use a cart - media attention engulfed Martin. It crested at the Olympic Club, from his Monday practice round with Woods to his first two rounds alongside 1994 Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal.

In 2001, Martin successfully won his Supreme Court decision against the PGA Tour and is now only 36 holes away from bringing his golf cart back to Olympic.

It remains a wild longshot, but he could create one of the coolest stories of this 112th U.S. Open. Martin hadn't even entered Open qualifying in five years, because his coaching duties leave him little time to practice or play, but he couldn't resist the nostalgic lure of Olympic.

He went out and shot 2-under-par 70 in local qualifying May 7 in Vancouver, Wash., good enough to advance to the next stage. Martin will take his crack at sectional qualifying - a grueling, 36-hole test - June 4 in Creswell, Ore.

"It's going to have to be an act of God," he said before advancing through locals. "I'm doing this to see if you can catch lightning in a bottle."

Just imagine the circus Martin will generate if he really does qualify for next month's Open. His story would come full circle - from one U.S. Open at the Olympic Club to the next, from aspiring tour pro and legal crusader to content college coach and improbable Open qualifier.

While the pressure is now fully on Martin, he did get a bit of a reprieve from the USGA while filling out his entry form for the U.S. Open and the elaborate application requesting a cart for competition.

Given his history - more than a bit well-documented - Martin asked some folks at the USGA if he really needed to complete all the paperwork. They told him to skip it.

OSU misses the cut

For the first time in school history, Oklahoma State University's men's golf team has failed to advance to the NCAA Championship, reports Golf Channel.

The Cowboys failed to qualify for the finals at Riviera C.C. when they finished eighth out of 13 teams in the Ann Arbor (Mich.) regional tournament on Saturday. The five-man team finished at 11 over par in the 54-hole event. The team was 14 shots shy of the fifth-place cutoff to advance to the finals, to be played May 29-June 3.

Oklahoma State had advanced to the NCAA championship in each year of the program's existence, dating back to 1947.

During the last 60 seasons, OSU's golf program has notched 10 national championships, 8 individual national championships and 49 conference championships while claiming alumni such as Hunter Mahan, Rickie Fowler, Charles Howell III, Bob Tway and Trip Kuehne.

Two-time defending champs Augusta State also missed out on the opportunity to claim a third consecutive title, finishing four shots out of qualifying through the Athens, Ga. regional.

Deron Williams hits Chelsea Piers

Because the New Jersey Nets are absolutely terrible, Deron Williams has a lot of time on his hands these days before he is inevitably traded to either the Mavericks or the Heat. So, like any golf aficionado in New York City with some time to kill, Williams made his way to Chelsea Piers. 

Color me impressed. Hank Haney, on the other hand? 

Not bad, hit it like u mean it, too slowRT @DeronWilliams: Working on my swing last night at Chelsea Pier's twitvid.com/XUF9M

— Hank Haney (@HankDHaney) May 21, 2012

Looks like D.A. Points is reaching for a dinner date, though.

Nice action. Be in Soho on Thurs. RT @DeronWilliams: Working on my swing last night at Chelsea Pier's. twitvid.com/XUF9M

— D.A. Points (@DAPoints) May 21, 2012

On-course rivals

Though the exact details are uncertain, a reader sent in this photo to Deadspin of two newlyweds posing in their Miami Dolphins garb with New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan while he enjoyed a round of golf.

It's unclear whether or not the couple were married while wearing their Miami Dolphin jerseys or just had them on hand because that's the sort of thing Miami fans do. Either way, good on Ryan to take the time to pose with his fierce rivals. What was not documented, however, was Sal Alosi tripping the bride as she made her way down the aisle. 

Tweet of the Day

Bubba Watson is set to make his return at the Memorial Tournament, but that's only if he doesn't get a better offer in the meantime.

I want to work with Nick Cannon on the "America's Got Talent" show. I could wear my overalls & sweep off the bad talents!! #AGT

— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) May 21, 2012

There's snow on the ground at Augusta National and no sign of Tiger Woods playing in the immediate future, so naturally your thoughts turn to... the 2012 U.S. Open at San Francisco's stately Olympic Club?

It's the fault of Ron Kroichick of the San Franisco Chronicle, who's got the inside scoop on how Mike Davis of the USGA is going to set up the course. Davis continues to prove that he's the best thing to happen to the USGA since starched shirts.

Kroichick writes that Davis plans several significant and intriguing changes, including turning the opening hole from an easy par 5 into a long par 4, the 17th into a short risk-reward par 5 (it was played as a bad par 4 in the '98 U.S. Open, where balls rolled out of the fairway) and the 16th hole as a monster par 5 of 650 yards.

"He (Davis) sees things a lot of people don't see," said Pat Murphy, Olympic's green committee chairman.

The Lake Course already had undergone a significant transformation. Club officials replaced all the greens (out with poa annua, in with bentgrass), restored slope to the putting surface at No. 18 (site of much debate in '98) and rebuilt No. 8, the par-3 climbing toward the clubhouse. That work was completed in May 2009.

So how to arrange the course on the scorecard fell to Davis... who is not instinctively lengthening No. 17. The club will build a new tee at only 505 yards, left of the current championship tee, forcing players to hit their drives at an awkward angle and making it harder to hold the fairway. Plus, the green will be severe and the right side will be shaved so wayward approach shots tumble down the slope. Or, put another way: Go for it in two at your own peril.

"The idea is to build a tee short enough that even the average-length player can get there in two shots," Davis said. "But that hole plays into the wind and uphill, so 505 yards is effectively more like 545 to 550. ... We want to make it an interesting, treacherous par 5."

So the Lake Course at Olympic will be par 70 --34 on the front and 36 on the back, and at 7,170 yards, it will play almost 400 yards longer than when Lee Janzen won the Open there in '98. It's interesting that the 18th green's slope was restored--that's where Payne Stewart hit a putt to the edge of the cup and watched it roll back to his feet, a controversial pin placement that Davis's predecessor, Tom Meeks, later admitted was a mistake.