~
What a performance. Mediate in his mid-forties would figure to do poorly in the bad weather. Instead, the added benefit of playing 18 holes with The Human Tiger seemed to equip him mentally for golf-as-chess---always selecting an extra club, always hitting to the most hittable spot, always concentrating, Rocco Mediate, somehow, does what no man has ever done before: lead a major on the first day after leading a major on the last day, despite never having won a major.
Blowing past the biggest names in golf---again. How can you not be awestruck?
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Shouldn't it be all about the back nine?
Well, with everyone on the back nine, it has come to this?
As of this posting, there's actually a three way tie after ten.
Tiger: has dominated the back nine. Has been plagued by a worsening knee.
Westwood: only player who has beaten Tiger in a tournament when Tiger leads after fifty-four.
Mediate: not well suited for the back nine.
Torrey Pines. This is the way you want it.
| T2 | R. Mediate | EVEN | 10 | -1 | ||||||||||||||||
| T2 | T. Woods | +2 | 9 | -1 | ||||||||||||||||
| T4 | E. Els | -1 | 14 | +2 | ||||||||||||||||
| T4 | D. Trahan | +1 | 11 | +2 | ||||||||||||||||
| T4 | G. Ogilvy | +1 | 11 | +2 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | C. Pettersson | -3 | F | +3 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | B. Snedeker | -1 | 14 | +3 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | J. Merrick | EVEN | 14 | +3 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | R. Karlsson | +1 | 12 | +3 |
As of this posting, there's actually a three way tie after ten.
Tiger: has dominated the back nine. Has been plagued by a worsening knee.
Westwood: only player who has beaten Tiger in a tournament when Tiger leads after fifty-four.
Mediate: not well suited for the back nine.
Torrey Pines. This is the way you want it.
Mickelson's nine, and other mysteries
~
After two jaw-dropping circuits of the back nine Friday and Saturday, and a one-stroke lead, Tiger Woods would appear to be poised to win the U.S. Open. But if there's one pairing that worked out well for the field, it's pairing him with the icy Englishman, Lee Westwood. Foreigners have won the past four U.S. Opens, and there's good reason for that: the European game lends itself more to the kind of precision and accuracy that the U.S. Open always aspires to feature, and also the kind of steely-nerved players that Europe produces.
Westwood has had no double bogeys through three rounds. Tiger has at least two.
Tiger is obviously in a lot of knee pain, which affects driving most of all, but he's also extremely athletic. I remember two Masters ago when he was going to break his club on a swing from behind a tree. He followed through perfectly anyway, knowing full well that once he hit the tree the club would snap and rip his hands and wrists up. That told me he's fairly fearless about the consequence of pain from a swing. Though he did obviously cut quite a bit on his drive at 18 yesterday.
The irony is that he'll go for less distance and perhaps find more driving accuracy the more he favors the knee; his driving has been awful all three days until late in the day when he really starts to favor it.
Rocco Mediate playing a pairing ahead of Tiger will also work to settle Mediate down a bit. He's likely having flashbacks from Augusta 2006 this morning. He wanted to be in the final pairing but I think it's to his advantage that he isn't, although he'll have enormous galleries anyway, as many spectators late in the day will do the every-other-hole thing to post up for the final two pairings.
Course marshals down south have done a great job of making the course play right at par, haven't they? I've heard they've moistened it just enough each night to get it to play the same way each day.
And did you see Mickelson's nine on 13? It looked like the practice range out there, with him hitting the same shot three straight times...
Well, Justin Hicks didn't last. That phone number we mentioned below won't have to be changed for now.
After two jaw-dropping circuits of the back nine Friday and Saturday, and a one-stroke lead, Tiger Woods would appear to be poised to win the U.S. Open. But if there's one pairing that worked out well for the field, it's pairing him with the icy Englishman, Lee Westwood. Foreigners have won the past four U.S. Opens, and there's good reason for that: the European game lends itself more to the kind of precision and accuracy that the U.S. Open always aspires to feature, and also the kind of steely-nerved players that Europe produces.
Westwood has had no double bogeys through three rounds. Tiger has at least two.
Tiger is obviously in a lot of knee pain, which affects driving most of all, but he's also extremely athletic. I remember two Masters ago when he was going to break his club on a swing from behind a tree. He followed through perfectly anyway, knowing full well that once he hit the tree the club would snap and rip his hands and wrists up. That told me he's fairly fearless about the consequence of pain from a swing. Though he did obviously cut quite a bit on his drive at 18 yesterday.
The irony is that he'll go for less distance and perhaps find more driving accuracy the more he favors the knee; his driving has been awful all three days until late in the day when he really starts to favor it.
Rocco Mediate playing a pairing ahead of Tiger will also work to settle Mediate down a bit. He's likely having flashbacks from Augusta 2006 this morning. He wanted to be in the final pairing but I think it's to his advantage that he isn't, although he'll have enormous galleries anyway, as many spectators late in the day will do the every-other-hole thing to post up for the final two pairings.
Course marshals down south have done a great job of making the course play right at par, haven't they? I've heard they've moistened it just enough each night to get it to play the same way each day.
And did you see Mickelson's nine on 13? It looked like the practice range out there, with him hitting the same shot three straight times...
Well, Justin Hicks didn't last. That phone number we mentioned below won't have to be changed for now.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Big names staring at elimination
~
Sergio Garcia and Masters champion Trevor Immelman are not likely to make the cut. Nor Vijay Singh. And last year's surprise champion Angel Cabrera definitely won't.
Sergio Garcia and Masters champion Trevor Immelman are not likely to make the cut. Nor Vijay Singh. And last year's surprise champion Angel Cabrera definitely won't.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The OTHER San Diegan
~
Justin Hicks is the clubhouse leader, and with the winds kicking up will lead the whole damn U.S. Open after the first day.
He obviously didn't expect to. Here's a page at his website with both his "work" and mobile number.
Also: Tiger tweaked his knee and is walking with a little limp.
Justin Hicks is the clubhouse leader, and with the winds kicking up will lead the whole damn U.S. Open after the first day.
He obviously didn't expect to. Here's a page at his website with both his "work" and mobile number.
Also: Tiger tweaked his knee and is walking with a little limp.
Thursday at Noon
Leader board through nine, lots of players. Tiger started with a double bogey (!) and yet is one under (!!) through ten holes. Mickelson having a drab day, and while he's a local, he hasn't done well on the course since the redesign in 2001.
Click this link for latest leaderboard.
Click this link for latest leaderboard.
| T1 | J. Hicks | -4 | 13 * | -4 | ||||||||||||||||
| T1 | R. Karlsson | -4 | 11 * | -4 | ||||||||||||||||
| T3 | P. Sheehan | -3 | 13 | -3 | ||||||||||||||||
| T3 | S. Appleby | -3 | 10 * | -3 | ||||||||||||||||
| T5 | O. Wilson | -2 | 11 | -2 | ||||||||||||||||
| T5 | R. Mediate | -2 | 12 * | -2 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | T. Woods | -1 | 10 | -1 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | J. Cox | -1 | 6 | -1 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | L. Westwood | -1 | 10 * | -1 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | W. Austin | -1 | 9 * | -1 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | C. Pettersson | -1 | 7 * | -1 | ||||||||||||||||
| T7 | B. Crane | -1 | 7 * | -1 | ||||||||||||||||
| T13 | R. Fowler | EVEN | 11 | EVEN | ||||||||||||||||
| T13 | D. Johnson | EVEN | 11 | EVEN | ||||||||||||||||
| T13 | S. English | EVEN | 5 | EVEN | ||||||||||||||||
| T13 | D. Fathauer | EVEN | 13 * | EVEN | ||||||||||||||||
| T13 | J. Furyk | EVEN | 12 * | EVEN | ||||||||||||||||
| T13 | S. Stricker | EVEN | 12 * | EVEN | ||||||||||||||||
| T13 | J. Kelly | EVEN | 10 * | EVEN | ||||||||||||||||
| T13 | E. Axley | EVEN | 7 * | EVEN |
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Green Jacket Pairings!
~
Outstanding: Mickelson and Woods are paired for the first two days of the Open. That's six green jackets. Aussie Adam Scott is also in the group.
Check out other pairings at the San Diego Union-Tribune's blog. Another notable pairing, of three green jackets, one apiece: Trevor Immelman and Zach Johnson---the past two Masters winners, will go off with Mike Weir, who won the Masters in 2003. Garcia/Cink/Singh is pretty good too.
Also: if you want to get wayyyyy inside the tournament, read this ESPN Q&A post by Jason Sobel top to bottom.
~
Outstanding: Mickelson and Woods are paired for the first two days of the Open. That's six green jackets. Aussie Adam Scott is also in the group.
Check out other pairings at the San Diego Union-Tribune's blog. Another notable pairing, of three green jackets, one apiece: Trevor Immelman and Zach Johnson---the past two Masters winners, will go off with Mike Weir, who won the Masters in 2003. Garcia/Cink/Singh is pretty good too.
Also: if you want to get wayyyyy inside the tournament, read this ESPN Q&A post by Jason Sobel top to bottom.
~
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