My Problem With The U.S. Open

When it comes to golf there are only a few tournaments I really pay any attention to: The Masters, the US Open and the British Open. That's it. Every other tournament may get a look from me on a weekend when I have nothing else to do, or if Tiger or somebody is doing something spectacular, but that's it.

And of the three major tournaments I actually watch, the US Open is by far my least favorite. They just make the tournament too damn difficult to get through.

Every year the course that is hosting the tournament does everything in its power to make the course damn near impossible to play. Which seems entirely against the point of watching sports in the first place.

Have you ever tuned into a basketball, baseball or football game wanting to see the same level of play you could see at the park amongst friends? If you watch the NBA Finals tonight, are you hoping to see both teams jacking up bricks and walking up and down the court after a few possessions because they're exhausted?

Of course not. You want to see world-class players doing the world-class things they do. Whether you're rooting for them or not, as a basketball fan, you want to see LeBron James or Tony Parker do something ridiculously awesome tonight.

But that's not how things work at the US Open.

I'm told the US Open is difficult because it's supposed to be difficult.

Well, no shit. Golf is difficult.

All sports are difficult, but what separates those who do it professionally from the rest of us is that they conquer the difficulty. And when it comes to the US Open I don't enjoy watching the world's best golfers make the same terrible shots that my friends and I could take at the local course.

I want a major tournament to be decided by who makes the big shot, not who makes less mistakes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying make the course incredibly easy to play, but there's no need to make it as impossible as it is.

Nobody would say Augusta is easy to play, yet since 2000 the average final score of the tournament champion has been 10 under par. So why the hell can't the US Open do that? Don't tell me it needs to be harder to differentiate it from The Masters, because it's already different from The Masters in how players qualify for the tournament and because it's played at different courses.

The Masters is always at Augusta. Amen Corner is always there.

And until the US Open stops trying to kill everyone who plays it, it'll always be the least interesting tournament to me.

Follow The Champaign Room on Twitter at @Champaign_Room and Like us on Facebook. You can follow Tom Fornelli on Twitter at @TomFornelli.