PGA pairs Woods, Mickelson and Watson in first two rounds U.S. Open

[Auggie]

San Francisco Chronicle / June 8, 2012

In the USGA's long history of creative pairings, this counts as the No-Surname-Needed Group: Tiger, Phil and Bubba exploring the Olympic Club, shadowed by a pack of thousands.

The pairings for the first two rounds of next week's U.S. Open were announced Thursday, and it required little effort to find the marquee threesome. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson will play the Lake Course together next Thursday and Friday.

That's the biggest name in golf, the most popular player and the goofiest Masters champion. It's a turbo-charged, buzz-stirring group sure to clog rope lines with spectators yearning for a better view.

"I know what I would do Thursday and Friday," ESPN analyst Curtis Strange said. "I would TiVo that group and watch somebody else (in person), because you're not going to see a damn thing trying to watch these three guys.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/06/08/SPCE1OUG8K.DTL

Why not? it's what fans want to see.

[ProfessorGAC]

1. The Gallery Would Have It's Own Gravitational Field

Of course, on the golf forums, Phil is taking BIG heat over his stomp off on Memorial and his cellphone tantrum. Even guys that are usually big fans of his are not pleased with him on that issue.

But, yeah, his fans will still follow him especially if they get to watch the other two. Well, that goes for fans of all three.

That seems like some pretty shrewd marketing.