Is Day the Obvious Favourite at Oakmont?

It appears that watching the proceedings at Oakmont just might end up being akin to watching a train wreck.  With it's lightning-quick greens, deep rough, and punitive bunkering, Oakmont is going to very quickly separate the men from the boys.

I'm not really a fan of going out of your way to ensure the boys have a bad day.  I like the Open approach that allows the weather to decide how hard the course plays, rather than growing the rough to ridiculous length and speeding the greens up to the very edge.  But it might be compelling viewing, even if it might not exactly be golf as it was meant to be played.

What Oakmont should do is establish who is the best golfer.  It will obviously favour a guy who can hit it straight, hit it long, and hit it high--and a guy who can chip and putt.  That has to be good news for Jason Day fans.  He's the obvious favourite.  If he's on, he's the best in the business--the complete package.

But then there is this kid, Jordan Spieth, who for no obvious reason--other than perhaps his putting--somehow manages to contend at every Major.  He's been in the thick of it every time he's teed it up for the last five, and there's no reason, with his recent win, not to expect more of the same.  Don't be surprised if Spieth pulls it off.  There's just something about this young man.  It's early days, but I believe he will become one of the greatest players we have ever seen.  The way he strikes the ball makes you wonder how he could be as good as he is.  But then golf is about much more than hitting it great.  Golf is about finding a way to make the best score, even if you aren't hitting it great.  Golf is played in that five inches or so between your ears.  And Spieth, for my money, has the highest golfing IQ we've seen in a long, long time.