What will US Senior Open ratings be?

It will be interesting to see the television ratings this week following the U.S. Senior Open.
As you certainly recall, the U.S. Open ratings were not particularly good at Erin Hills. Why? Well, the top three players in the world missed the cut. The viewing public generally was not thrilled with the golf course in Wisconsin, saying it wasn’t of U.S. Open quality. And Brooks Koepka, tearing up Erin Hills to the tune of 16-under par, winning his first major on Father’s Day proved to be not a great draw either.
And, of course, the Open was televised by Fox, and there’s still a great deal of dissatisfaction with the job the folks do there.
The Senior Open is being played at Salem Country Club, one of the great old courses, a Donald Ross beauty. It has plenty of thrills and spills and is hardly the wide-open playground Erin Hills is. But after two rounds there were Kirk Triplett and Kenny Perry at the top, having posted a record total of 129.
It’s a given the Champions Tour events don’t draw the viewership numbers its younger counterparts do, even in its major championships. I began wondering after the first two rounds if golfers around the world will become unhappy with this venue and say it’s too easy as they did about Erin Hills.
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The next week or so will be the biggest time at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in some time.
The Hardys, Joe and daughter Maggie, hit ceremonial tee shots on the new golf course on the mountain Saturday morning. When they did so, Shepherd’s Rock was officially opened and members and resort guests were able to experience the second Pete Dye design in Farmington.
Nemacolin Woodlands’ director of golf and recreation, Mike Jones, said those who play Shepherd’s Rock will find a different kind of course than its sister, Mystic Rock.
“Shepherd’s Rock is more of a shotmaker’s course than Mystic,” Jones said Saturday morning on my radio show, The Golf Show on 93.7 The Fan. “And the front nine and back nine are different than each other.”
Golfers will play through different types of terrain as they make their way through the course: wetlands, woodlands and pasture. Jones promised some outstanding vistas across the mountains.
Expect the very best from Shepherd’s Rock. You rarely get anything but when you talk about Nemacolin Woodlands.
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Did you see the story this week that Natalie Gulbis was in Washington, D.C., recently to discuss the possibility of a run by the blonde golfer for a congressional seat?
I’m really not sure what to make of that story. There are built-in jokes all over the place on that subject, but I’m going to take the high road.
All I’ll say is, considering what’s going on in the nation’s capital right now, could Gulbis be much of a dropoff?
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It really doesn’t seem possible, but there are only eight “regular season” tournaments left on the PGA Tour schedule before the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs?
Weren’t the boys just in Hawaii to kick off the 2017 part of the 2016-17 season? Wasn’t the Masters just a couple weeks ago?
It’s been a quick season and one that really hasn’t settled much of anything. There still isn’t a clear-cut best player in the world and the top four are somewhat interchangeable.
Should be an interesting final eight weeks.
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Do you have an interesting story about your club or course or an individual who has done something special, let me know? Send your story ideas to mike.dudurich@gmail.com.