US Open Week at Oakmont: Vista Number One

What better way to begin the week of the US Women’s Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh than with a bit of covert sexism? Thanks to the wonder of XM Radio, I was cruising down the avenue, listening to PGATour Radio’s “Opinionated with Chris DiMarco.” He and the co-host began to discuss Oakmont and DiMarco’s performance there in 2007. The PGA Tour professional finished +20 in that event, good for a tie for 45th (he mentions this in the installment.) Well done…establishes credibility, having played the course under major championship conditions.

What DiMarco says later, though, is unfortunate. He begins to talk about how Oakmont is set up for a US Open and suggests that the women are in for long days. Whoops, my mistake…"these girls."  Not these ladies, not these women. Really? Might he ever say the same thing about the men at Carnoustie with its length, wind and long grasses, or Whistling Straits with its 900+ bunkers? Here, however, is the defining quote.

“If they get those fairways and those greens as firm and as hard as we had ‘em, and it’s fast, I don’t know, they might not finish.”

Here’s a link to that radio broadcast, by the way.

DiMarco comes across as a good old American guy. He positions himself as a big Florida Gators fan, a friend of the people and his professional colleagues. He finds a way to couch people as “Americans” and a “U.S. stalwart,” showing his Red, White and Blue blood. He isn’t always one for factual precision, though, claiming an Oakmont US Open tie for 35th in 2006 (see above t-45 and 2007) and mentioning Christie Kerr winning at the LPGA Championship presented by Wegmans by 8 or 9 strokes  (actually, 12.)

Some verbalist once proclaimed that “bad press is better than no press.” It is nice that DiMarco and friend find the time to discuss the LPGA. As the segment commenced, the host muttered, “We don’t get a chance to talk about it much,” in reference to the LPGA.  Maybe they should seek that chance.