George Ferguson Column: The emotions and the oddities of the U.S. Open on Friday

UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA - If Saturday is typically known as moving day, then Friday at the U.S. Open needs to be called emotion day.

Yes, the second round of the U.S. Open here Friday provided fans with plenty of differing emotions, especially while pulling for two of the giants of the sport.

My morning was spent watching Tiger Woods take one last lap around Chambers Bay, while one group ahead, I watched Jordan Spieth quickly, and not surprisingly, jump into contention for his second straight major championship win.

And while both marquee groups provided emotion to the huge gallery following them under a warm, sunny morning, it was Tiger's group that provided the most sentiment. After an 80 on opening day, there was no way he was going to make the cut. But fans stayed strong for him, long after Spieth's group, which also included Jason Day (more on him later), and Justin Rose, two more titans of golf.

Friday's knew they wouldn't be seeing Tiger in the Pacific Northwest for long time to come, if ever, and I think that's why there was such an outpouring of emotion. Well, that and the fact, that love him or hate him, Tiger is still the most captivating and popular figure in golf, and next to Lebron James, probably the most popular name in all of the world when it comes to sports right now. The ovation he received on Friday afternoon on his final hole, a hole he would bogey to finish at 16-over par, was deafening and by far the loudest of the day, and it just goes to show that no matter how low his game has sunk, he still matters to people, and the people of Seattle certainly were proud and excited to have Tiger in their back yard.

The same held true for Phil Mickelson later in the day. Mickelson is always a crowd favorite at the U.S. Open, mainly because his six near misses have created a near obsession for fans to pull so hard for him at this tournament every summer. And Friday was no different. Mickelson played his way out of contention, but still made the cut. And if Friday was any indication, the huge galleries that will follow him the rest of the weekend, won't give up trying to help will Mickelson to the only major trophy missing from his mantle.

And emotions weren't the only thing that made my second day at the U.S. Open so fascinating. Instead, it was also very bizarre.

I saw things I swear I didn't think I'd see at my first professional golf tournament, and especially not at a U.S. Open. I saw Tiger Woods slip and fall on the first hole, which was not quite as strange as his topped five-wood on 18 on Thursday. In the same group, and for the second straight day, I saw Rickie Fowler unable to get out of a bunker, and I sadly watched him double-bogey the same hole for the second straight day. I'm pretty sure Tiger and Rickie probably shared a private jet home, a jet that couldn't get outta of SeaTac Airport fast enough.

And then there were the tees. Never in my life did I think I would see a player using a tee as a ball marker at the U.S. Open. I mean, that's something we do at Prairie Farms, it's something we do when we lose our marker or don't have any spare change. But in a U.S. Open? These guys are prose, and millionaires. Surely they have a quarter to mark their ball. Yet, I saw three different players mark their ball with a tee on the green on Friday.

And finally, I saw the Jason Day incident up close. I was a mere 10 feet away when day collapsed on the ninth green of Chambers Bay. Myself and the other journalists really didn't think we were seeing what we were seeing because, this is golf after all. Yet, there Day was, laying on his side, which was really scary by the way, with paramedics rushing to his aid, and Spieth the first one to come to help him.

It was a truly strange sight, and while Day later admitted he was suffering from the effects of vertigo, at the time, I couldn't help but think back to my own 7-8-9 finish at Chambers Bay and I couldn't help but the think of the stories of men who have collapsed and died while walking the cruel and punishing Chambers Bay layout. I wondered, did the brutal walk, in hot sunny weather cause Day, a healthy 20-something in the best shape of his life, get the best of him? As it turned out, kind of, but not really. But at the time, I had to wonder. And given that this is golf, and guys just don't go down like that, it was a strange and surreal sight to see.

But that's the way every day I've been at Chambers Bay has been so far, they have all been surreal. I can't really believe everything I've seen this far, and it's only Saturday now. While Friday was exciting, emotional and a grind on my feet yet again, now it's moving day. Now, things will really get interesting.