US Open Golf - Is That the U. S. Open - Where are the Americans?

I'm going to be on the air with Jimmy Barrett on WRVA Richmond in a few moments and I wanted to give an insight into the U.S. Open you might not hear anywhere else.  With the magic of the Internet I pulled up old scores from past U. S. Opens and compared them to today.  Yes the results of past leaders I am comparing today to is just the opening round, but still there is trend line here. I'm not happy with the results as an American!

In today's first round results, of the top 15 golfers only 27% of them are Americans.  Only 27%!  In the year 2000, of the top 15 only 45% were Americans.  In 1990 some 87% were Americans.  In 1980 93% of the top 15 were American golfers!

I do not begrudge the foreign players for leading  in our National Open.  We have the same opportunity in the British Open.  The visitors have the right to lead if they play better.  After all , the golf ball and the golf course have no idea who is hitting the ball.

However, what has happened to our dominance? I can give you one possible contributor.  Title 9.  Men's sports in Universities all over the country are being attacked by this philosophy that both Men and Women should be equal in sports scholarships  Men and women are not unequal, just different..thank God!  Great institutions like VMI do NOT have a Mens golf team because of Title 9.  Instead VMI had to field and pay for a girls rowing team!  I could coach that team.  A short trip of 90 miles over shark infested waters to Key West would do it.  Andale muchacha!!!

Of course there are probably a long list of other contributors, one being we're getting lazy as a whole in this society.  Kids playing video games instead playing touch football in the street like we all did years ago.

Maybe the rest of the world is hungry for dominance in golf.  I know from experience that in Spain, a golf pro was the best playing caddy.  Just like boxers coming from bad neighborhoods and willing to suffer the training and punishment of boxing as a way out of the hood, Spanish players were willing to work hard on their golf game and move out of the caddy world to the playing opportunities open to them.

Whatever the reason, I personally don't like it.  Wake up America!  We need a pep talk!