Sunday at the U.S. Open: Rahm’s win, Bryson “off the rails,” and Torrey postmortem

The Shotgun Start

After a brief wait for the flyover to clear through, Andy and Brendan begin with the last episode on the 2021 U.S. Open. It’s been a week, but they’re giddy following an afternoon of bunched (constipated) leaderboard maneuvering and some unexpected extracurriculars, like Bryson coming undone, a streaker, a box of beer somehow being on the premises, and a ball in a tree. They start first with Rahm, his “firing at flags” approach and of course the final two putts. There’s chatter about what’s to come, but mostly it’s an appreciation of what just happened. They express sympathy for the Mattress King, though Brendan doesn’t fully absolve him because of the drive at 17. The Bryson circus is re-lived, from a tie for the lead to t-26, with amusing quotes about how it was really just one unlucky break or two between that and getting to 7 or 8-under. Rory, all of it, is addressed. They close with a postmortem on Torrey Pines, why people can’t seem to understand why a good or bad leaderboard does not equal a good or bad golf course, and a few other things they liked and didn’t like from muni setup.