Late tee times see USGA playing with fire — and lightning

Right smack in the middle of Sunday lunch hour, the insufferable humidity was putting its chokehold around Pinehurst No 2 when a glance at the tee sheet showed that we were still three hours away from the assigned starting time of the US Open leader, Martin Kaymer.

Three hours!

Shameful, the way professional golf tournament officials have manipulated the competitions in this era so that weekend rounds conclude so late and bump up against darkness when there’s no reason to do so.