Twitter silence at the US Open golf

The US PGA Tour likes to control social media during events, including this weekends US Open.   Ben Everill, (@AussieUSPGAMole) a US based Australian AP golf writer is at Congressional this week to cover the Open and follow the progress of the Australians in the field.   As an accredited media, Ben can tweet within the confines of the media centre but is unable to take images/video or make social media comment whilst out on the course.    With the limited coverage of the Australians on the TV, Ben will be making regular sprints between the course and the media centre to tweet the latest action.  Be sure to follow Ben’s tweets.
Like most golf events around the world, mobile phones, and hence social media is essentially banned from the general public in the gallery.  The PGA Tours want to control the message, but they are missing out on a key element of social media, the live social conversation.  TV coverage is average, but the logistics of covering 18 holes of action at once is immense, however a twitter community made up of members of the gallery and media can cover the action and provide live updates.  The PGA Tour could leverage this conversation rather than ban it.  Tweeting during an Australian Rules football game is encouraged with specific #tags for every game, the conversation and comment range from strategy, encouragement, anger, humour and supporter rants, all adding to the atmosphere whether at the game or from afar.
Twitter has allowed the golfing public to find out more about the PGA players with many of the top players tweeting on a regular basis before and after rounds, and what they get up to in-between tournaments.  Whilst its unlikely we will see the players tweeting during a round, allowing social media from behind the ropes would only add to the social media conversation and experience.
Regardless, hope to see a tweet late on Sunday that reads something like “And with that putt on 18, another Aussie wins the US Open”