Unlike Jordan Spieth, who won the 115th U.S. Open on Sunday, English golfer Ian Poulter suffered through a rough day at Chambers Bay shooting seven over par for a finishing round of 77 and eleven over for the tournament.
In an Instagram message, Poulter remarked that he was looking forward to “congratulating the 2015 US Open Champion very soon.” But, he did not stop there.
The 26th-ranked golfer in the world went on a tirade lambasting the putting surfaces that competitors traversed at America’s national championship.
Defending himself that “this is not sour grapes,” Poulter excoriated the USGA calling it “disgraceful” that they haven’t apologized about the greens. They instead declared “that they are thrilled with the course condition this week,” Poulter noted.
The Englishman wrote:
If this was a regular PGA tour event lots of players would have withdrawn and gone home on Wednesday, but players won’t do that for a major. They were simply the worst most disgraceful surface I have ever seen on any tour in all the years I have played. The US Open deserves better than that. And the extra money that they have earn’t this year from @FoxSports, they could easily have relayed the greens so we could have had perfect surfaces. Simply not good enough and deeply disappointing for a tournament of this magnitude.
Poulter apologized to the fans at the event who had difficulty watching the players because of the severe slopes that impeded spectator viewing. “I’m sorry you wasted your money traveling to be disappointed. I hope we all learn something moving forward to not have these problems in the future. Happy Fathers Day,” he added.
Poulter wasn’t alone in criticizing Chambers Bay. Henrik Stenson said that the greens at Chambers Bay are “like putting on broccoli.” Rory McIlroy disagreed. “I think they’re more like cauliflower.”
Gene Wojciechowski for ESPN aptly pointed out:
Whatever they are, U.S. Open greens aren’t supposed to be compared to food groups. Or to the lunar surface (more Stenson). Or to a dust surface (Charl Schwartzel). Or to the deceased (Ernie Els, who says four of the greens are dead).
The 2014 Fed Ex Cup champion Billy Horschel observed, “I’ve hit a lot of really good putts that have bounced all over the world. So it’s just frustrating.”
Breitbart News reported that Gary Player called it one of the worst golf courses he’s seen in his sixty three years as a pro. One player commented as he arrived at the course and saw smoke bellowing from a nearby marina warehouse fire,”With any luck, it’s the course.”