Bonus Afternoon Content

A good morning for your humble correspondent, so let me be generous with my time...

Wasn't That A Time - Golf.com presents a comprehensive account of last year's USGA fiasco...  I'm sorry, I need to be more specific, the fiasco involving DJ at Oakmont.

This to me is one of the missed threads of the sorry spectacle:

DAVID FAY (former USGA executive director and rules analyst for Fox Sports): On Sunday morning, I was watching from the booth, and [French golfer] Romain Wattel's

ball moved on the 2nd green. It looked like he caused the ball to move and there was going to be a penalty. It appeared that it was going to be an issue. But the official with that group, Lew Blakey, is one of the best there is. And he was right on the case and he gave a decision right away. He said something to the effect of, "Well, the wind was blowing in such and such a direction and with the slope of the green … there was no way he was going to assess a penalty." I remember saying after that, "Well, fellas, now at least you have template for how this should be handled in the unlikely event that anything like this happens later in the day."

What are the chances of that?  But not only did Blakey handle it the way we'd like (whether it was in accordance with the rewritten rule is a whole 'nother thing), but Mark Newell, the rules official called in by DJ did as well.

After the ball move, this is the conversation as recounted:

"I didn't address it," Johnson says to Austin and Westwood as he backs off. 

Seconds later, Newell approaches. 

"My ball, before my putter was in the air—it was inside the ball and rolled that much," Johnson says, raising his left arm and gesturing toward the hole. Newell listens intently, hands on hips. The shadows of the two men stretch toward the cup. (A microphone at the bottom of the cup picks up the conversation.) 

"O.K., you hadn't, you didn't draw the club or anything?" Newell asks. 

"Nope," Johnson replies. 

"It just moved?" 

"Yep." 

"O.K., you just play it from where it lies then," Newell says. "O.K.?" 

"Thank you."

Of course, the rules official had not seen the video.  My recollection is that Dustin did rest his putter on the ground, but to the side of the ball, which is not considered grounding the putter.

Not only was the USGA completely unprepared for the need to review video, but that rule had recently been rewritten, adding a healthy measure of ambiguity.  As I understood the rule, the player was not necessarily guilty if the ball moved after he grounded his club, but he had to know what caused the movement.  

When Curtis Strange is the voice of reason, perhaps a reassessment is due:

STRANGE: It should have never have been a penalty. Because when you have greens that are 14 on the Stimpmeter, anything can cause that ball to move. You can be 15 feet away and cause that ball to move. That's why they changed the rule, and it's a good thing they did.

Yes, but again they waited far too long...

Rahmbo in Full - Are you tired of me singing the praises of Jaime Diaz?  Cause yer gonna want to read his profile of the next big thing, and by big....  well, here's the lede:

Jon Rahm's 225 or so pounds don't exactly taper along his 6-2 frame. Instead, they settle

with an even thickness, leaving him with the natural ballast that has historically contributed to stick-and-ball genius. Not that there's anything plodding about Rahm. Watching the Spaniard swing a driver is to be reminded that large land mammals often move with startling speed.

Heh, that's a good one, Jaime...  He is a large land mammal, though most of those move quickly because of predators....  This to me is quite amazing:

Intelligence is. He came to ASU in 2012 with almost no English skills, having been recruited sight unseen by Tim Mickelson, relying on an exchange of emails. "I'm kind of

a free spirit, but it was hard," Rahm says of his first few weeks in Tempe. "I couldn't smile that much, just because I didn't know what was going on. There were probably a lot of jokes I missed the first month of school." 

Mickelson admits that one month into that first semester, he didn't think Rahm would make it past Christmas. But with the help of a Spanish-speaking teammate, Alberto Sanchez, and an improvised crash course of memorizing verbally acrobatic rap songs, in particular Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie" and Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools," Rahm recovered to pull a 3.6 grade-point average in his first semester and eventually graduate with a B average in communications. Along the way, he won 11 college events, tying Phil Mickelson's school record, became the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, finished fifth in the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open and became the first to win college golf's Ben Hogan Award in back-to-back years.

Employee No. 2 is not a fan of the man, on account of his temper...  though he notes that it's something he's working on.  His ambitions are as large as he is, including for next week:

"I think my game is pretty suited to the U.S. Open," says Rahm, his Spanish accent discernible but mitigated by his impressive English vocabulary after five years of living in the United States. "It's a really big deal to be precise off the tee, which I am. I've got a good short game and good feel with the putter, too. It's one I could win."

Of course, those skills are useful just about anywhere....Read it all. 

Phil in Phul -Alan Shipnuck files this from the scene of all six crimes:

A U.S. Open title is the only thing missing for a man who has everything

This is the most poignant:

The U.S. Open is the only thing missing for a man who has everything. Until Mickelson wins one, we are left with more haunting memories. After his collapse at Winged Foot,

Phil had retreated to the clubhouse. I found him sitting at his upstairs locker, motionless, staring into space with his head resting wearily in his hands. Amy came by to give him a kiss, but Phil didn't seem to notice. "I've never seen him like this," she whispered. "I think he's in shock." Finally, Phil stirred, packing up his belongings and beginning the trudge home. 

As he snaked through the locker room, he passed numerous mementos of Winged Foot's glorious U.S. Open history. There was a reproduction of a 1929 newspaper trumpeting Bobby Jones's victory. A 1959 clipping celebrated Billy Casper's heroics. A photo from 1984 showed a beaming Fuzzy Zoeller hoisting the winner's trophy. And there was a picture of Hale Irwin enjoying his victory in 1974, signed by the man himself: TO WINGED FOOT G.C. WHERE MY DREAMS WERE FULFILLED.

Mickelson walked past all of this history without even noticing, leaving the locker room deserted but for its ghosts.

 That's the one right there, folks....  On Feherty, Phil said that Bones gets one absolute veto each year, so it's hard to imagine why it wasn't invoked here:

Phil Mickelson's drive on the 72nd hole of the 2006 U.S. Open went right over my head, clanging off a hospitality tent and expiring in Winged Foot's tangled rough about 50 feet from where I was standing. What I remember about Phil's arrival on the scene, along with his caddie Jim (Bones) Mackay, was how fast both were moving. Too fast. I had been interviewing Rick Smith, Phil's then-swing coach, and we stood to the side of all the commotion as his protégé—needing a par to win or a bogey to force a playoff—tried to carve a 3-iron around a tree toward the green. 

Phil pushed it, and the ball hit squarely on the trunk. The report was as loud as gunfire. Smith went ashen and could form no more words. Just then, Mike Lupica, the newspaper columnist, approached Smith and huffed, "He's going to have a hard time making 5 from there!" I was impressed that Smith didn't slug him, but Lupica was right. Phil, of course, carded a double-bogey 6.

I know what Phil was thinking, but Bones should have handed him a wedge and thrown his body over the rest of the bag.

So You're Saying There's A Chance? -  From an unbylined item:

Phil Mickelson still has a tee time at Erin Hills

Not only that, but he has the only tee time that gives him any chance whatsoever.

The USGA just released the tee times and groupings for the 117th U.S. Open at Erin Hills, and Phil Mickelson is still on the docket. 

Mickelson announced late last week that he would miss the 2017 edition for his eldest daughter's graduation from high school. Lefty's daughter is the class president and valedictorian, and will be making a speech during the ceremony on Thursday, during the first round of the championship. 

But Mickelson is still listed to tee off at 2:20 p.m. local time with Stewart Cink and Steve Stricker. His daughter's graduation is at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, which would be noon local time in Erin.

Still, that's a gift from his friends in Far Hills.... He still needs a weather delay of some sort, but with a morning time even that wouldn't have likely helped unless the entire day was rained out.

Here's the prime groups off the first tee on Thursday:

2:36 p.m. – Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia

2:47 p.m. – Henrik Stenson, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen

2:58 p.m. – Jimmy Walker, Justin Thomas, Paul Casey

3:09 p.m. – Jason Day, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy

3:20 p.m. – Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson

And off the 10th:

8:51 a.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm

9:02 a.m. – Lee Westwood, Ross Fisher, Graeme McDowell

9:13 a.m. – Danny Willett, Zach Johnson, Angel Cabrera

9:24 a.m. – Matt Kuchar, Francesco Molinari, Patrick Reed

9:35 a.m. – Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson

I haven't noticed the USGA being cheeky with any of these, but I also haven't done more than scan the names...

This likely has less to do with Phil than folks will assume:

The USGA is relaxing its policy on alternates and will let them practice at Erin Hills

even if they're not officially in the field. 

Jeff Hall, the USGA's managing director of rules and open championships, said recent history at the U.S. Open has shown that with most players practicing in the morning, there would be room to accommodate first alternates in the afternoon. 

The U.S. Open starts June 15, the first one held in Wisconsin. 

''We haven't been overly public with it,'' Hall said. ''But we've been communicating to the alternates that they will be entitled to play.'' 

That would apply only to first alternates from each of 12 sectional qualifying sites, or no more than one alternate from each section if the first alternate is not there.

Kind of crazy that at least the first few weren't allowed practice rounds previously....

Non U.S. Open Stuff -  Answering the important questions:

What Kind Of Golf Tantrum Should You Throw?

No math, but there is a flowchart:

Shouldn't "All of the above" be an option?  If you can't make it out on the blog, click on the link above.

What Was Your First Clue? - He's actually a pretty good analyst, at least about golf:

Paul Azinger: 'Some players' think pain meds are problem for Tiger Woods

 Some?