Our team on the ground at the Olympic Club take you behind the scenes of the US Open Championship…

Paris, we have a problem  

Thomas Levet may have missed out on qualifying for the US Open Champion, but he is still in San Francisco this week on commentating duties for French TV. Levet and the rest of the Canal+ commentary team were about to go live on air to cover the opening day’s play on Thursday morning, when a technical glitch cut their connection to Paris. The connection was restored ten minutes later, only for disaster to strike again when the TV Levet and Co. were watching to follow the action at the Olympic Club developed a fault. Cue some increasingly frantic attempts to rectify the problem, which were scuppered by the fact that the remote control they had been given was for another TV. Once the right remote had eventually been located, Levet was able to share his thoughts with the French golfing public. Given Levet’s levity, I’m sure his musings were well worth waiting for…

A cut above

For the first time this year, the ten shot rule will not be applied after two rounds to determine the number of players making the halfway cut. In previous years, any player trailing the leader by ten strokes would automatically make the cut, but the US Open Championship has now fallen in line with the three other Majors after the USGA decided to scrap the rule. Instead, only the top 60 players and ties will remain for the weekend. Early indications are that five or six over par is likely to be the cut mark, unless the wind picks up significantly on Friday afternoon.

Gold medal for the Golden Bear

Golfing great Jack Nicklaus graced us with his presence in the media centre earlier in the week, when the USGA announced that the coveted gold medal presented each year to the winner of the US Open Championship will be renamed in his honour and redesigned with his iconic image. Starting with this year, the winner will receive the newly-named Jack Nicklaus Medal, which incorporates a silhouette of the four-time US Open Champion in its design. A clearly moved Nicklaus said he was humbled by the accolade. What price Tiger Woods receiving the medal on Sunday night to move one step closer to matching Nicklaus’ haul of 18 Major titles?