US Open   Day 4    June 19, 2016   Sunday   Father's Day

Worked the system a bit today trying to get assigned as a walking marshal, as I realized I'd arrived too early yesterday and consequently got assigned at teeboxes and grandstands, rather than as a walker.  As it turned out, I had some extra time to take pictures and act as a spectator before my scheduled 11:15am assignment time.

                           Views of Oakmont, the bridge over the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and the main gate area 

Checked in with the 19th hole captain at the 12th hole pavilion, who said she would do all she could  to get me assigned to a walking group, be patient and she would come up with something.  I waited until 12:30, no problem really, having a second breakfast, watching the Fox coverage on the multiple flat screens throughout the spacious volunteer accommodations.  I was eventually told there were no walking marshal assignments, which left me feeling a bit peeved as the 19th hole captain had suggested the possibility in the first place.  To top it off, I got placed in the worst assignment of the week, at the lengthy cartpath crosswalk between the 1st green and 9th teebox, just past the turnpike walkway overpass.  Worse yet, the 9th hole captain in charge of this area was in over his head, making a fairly simple task into a much more complex operation, involving 4 gate ropes, when 2 would have simplified matters.  Every one was on edge as he implied that the USGA was particularly concerned that this crosswalk not fill-up with spectators.   Anyway, I toughed it out for 3 hours, keeping a smile on my face as I went into full marshal/ambassador mode, answering lots of questions from passing spectators, trying to help out in any way I could.  Lots of folks wanted to stop in the crosswalk and have a splendid view of both the 1st green and 9th tee, however, we had to keep traffic moving and clear the 50 yard long winding cart path.  When my assigned shift ended at 4pm, I headed over to the 18th hole to check-in with the captain, Bob Stewart, a long-time Oakmont member, to see if he needed any help as the Championship reached its conclusion.  He was very appreciative of my offer, saying he was in need of marshals along the entire length of the par 5 18th hole, and as a matter of fact, also knew there weren't enough marshals along the 17th hole either.  I told him I'd get lunch and then assist for the final 4 hours of the tournament.  I needed a break by this point and after cashing in my volunteer food voucher at the 18th fairway concession stand, found a chair near the player practice area for a well deserved sit-down.  By 5pm I was ready to go again and headed to the 17th fairway just as Jordan Spieth was playing.  I walked in with him through 18, much as a walking marshal would, marshaling the immense gallery along the way for each shot.  I was amazed how few marshals were stationed along the right side of the 18th fairway to manage a gallery that was reaching 10 people deep.  There were only 3 marshals down on the 18th green, including the hole-captain, Bob, but the two grandstands had a full compliment of marshals, which was encouraging.  

Looking down 18 toward the clubhouse 

The 18th green at Oakmont

I walked back to 17 to accompany Jim Furyk, just in time for him to sink a birdie putt, and hear the thunderous roar for the hometown favorite.  I continued up 18 with him as he finished in a tie for second place, where he received a standing ovation from his Pittsburgh faithful.  At this point, Bob asked me to remain at the 18th green for the rest of the day as half of the field had yet to finish; the huge gallery was becoming overwhelming in the congested area next to the clubhouse. It was a tremendous experience standing greenside in front of the two grandstands, cameras everywhere, the blimp hovering overhead, the excitement building for the conclusion of the Open.  It was just as thrilling as my experiences at the finishing hole at Congressional and again at Merion, only here I was at the 18th green at Oakmont for a much longer period, 2 hours.  I do remember taking note of Dustin Johnson standing quite awhile on the nearby 12th teebox, speaking somewhat intently with a USGA official, but thought nothing of it until the events of the day came to a head at the end of play.  

When there were only 5 pairings left, an unfortunate situation developed as a USGA security official materialized, herding us marshals off to one side of the green, saying we were to form a ''human wall'' so as to prevent the crowd from overwhelming the green at the conclusion of play.  He mentioned that a rope was about to be deployed which we were going to use for crowd control purposes, although this never materialized.  This action was handled poorly by this official, in a way which deeply upset several marshals who had been assigned to 18 all week.  A couple of days after the Open, I felt compelled to write an email to Mike Davis at the USGA expressing my concerns, which I will include in its entirety at the end of this blog.

Dustin Johnson after his victory

Despite this situation, I and the 20 or so marshals who had been gathered to this area just off the green made the best of the situation, witnessing DJ finally win his first major, made all the more significant in light of his near-miss last year at Chamber's Bay, as well as on several other occasions.  We had no details as to the brewing controversy related to Dustin's penalty/non-penalty at the 5th green, although rumors were being circulated in the crowd, coming from those equipped with headsets.   Nonetheless, we had a great view of the trophy award ceremony, being presented by Jack Nicklaus, in whose honor the award was renamed.  Also present were many USGA officials, Oakmont members in their formal blazers, Fox Sports host Joe Buck, and DJ's lovely wife Paulina, who was a distinct favorite of the crowd.  I stayed throughout the entire ceremony, as well as afterward to take pictures, call my wife Mary and our daughter Jill, and soak in the whole atmosphere of this terrific experience.  As Bob Stewart had told me earlier, "Oakmont is a very special place."

The awards ceremony on the 18th green

Oakmont's iconic clubhouse

Moonrise over Oakmont

(Below is the email exchange between myself and Mike Davis at the USGA.  I was extremely pleased to receive such a quick personal response from him, just 2 days after what must have been an avalanche of emails related to the Dustin Johnson ruling.) 

-----Original Message-----

From: Wyn Morton

Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 05:30 PM Eastern Standard Time
To: Comments@USGA.org
Cc: Mike Davis
Subject: 18th hole controversy sparked by arrogant USGA official

Dear Mike Davis,

I would like to bring to your attention an unfortunate situation which occurred at the 18th green yesterday as the final round of the US Open concluded.  I was serving as a 19th hole volunteer, assigned to the 18th green, working closely with the hole captain Robert Stewart.  At approximately 6:30pm, or when the last 5 pairings were finishing their rounds, I and all of the marshals on the green were approached by a USGA official who herded us away from our assigned positions, over to the area adjacent to the 12th tee.  Several other volunteer marshals were also clustered in this area already, off-duty, and eagerly watching the conclusion of the championship.  The USGA official, whose name I do not know, (a middle-aged man with a bristle mustache), commanded that we were all to serve as a 'human wall' to cordon off an alleyway to enable the dignitaries and media an unobstructed access to the green for the trophy ceremony.  This was happening when there was still an hour of golf to be played.  In so doing, this USGA official stripped the 18th green of every marshal except the hole captain and one other marshal. At no time did this official consult with the hole captain Mr. Stewart to explain his actions.  When this fact was pointed out to the official, he arrogantly responded that we have ''plenty of cops and security here to take care of things''. Not only do police and security not serve as marshals, but this moment was when we were needed most, as the excitement and crowd noise built at the conclusion of the tournament.  He also stated that we needed to assist the media, who had paid ''100 million for the right to broadcast the championship''.  We were all astonished and incredulous!  Every marshal attempted to politely advocate for us to return to our positions to resume marshaling, to which the official threatened to have us removed, especially since we were not issued orange 18th hole inside the ropes credentials.  We had all been inside the ropes at the 18th green all day!  The astonishing lack of respect for the dedicated services provided by the volunteers, who'd earned the right to remain at their 18th hole positions needs to be addressed by you. I respectfully request that this official be removed from his position as soon as possible. A response from you regarding this matter is also required.  This was my third US Open as a volunteer marshal; I speak for all of the volunteers in stating that we are integral to the success of the championship.  We do not deserve to be treated in the above manner.

Sincerely,

Wyn Morton 

Dear Wyn,

Thank you for your note. This is the first I've heard of this incident and I will check in with our Championship Director Charlie Howe to see if he has more information. Either I will respond or he will. I am sorry that you had a negative experience.

Most important, please know that we genuinely appreciate your time and effort this past week at the U.S. Open. Simply put, we could not do it without volunteers like you.

Kind regards,
Mike Davis