Here we go...
Random thoughts on the 2008 US OPEN... and a few others.
When is a Double-Bogey Good?
Well, never really, but if you were to ask me, it was good for Tiger. He is so competitive that the double might have caused him to relax and get more into the round rather than everything around him. One thing is sure... this round is taking everything Tiger has. Quite frankly he has struggled most of the day in all aspects of the game. All aspects but putting. The putter has kept him near the top of the leaderboard.
Why is Tiger the best?
Heading into the week, there was not much about Tiger’s game; rather, there was a lot of talk about Tiger’s knee. Watching his round, you realize the best part of Tiger’s game: his strength. Not physical - we all know how strong he is. It is his inner strength; his total commitment to the use of his mind in the game.
I love reading golf books. Not about the swing (although I could surely use them), but about the history of the game and about using the mind to improve my game. How often do we hear people say, “Gosh, I wish I had Tiger’s swing?” I wish I had Tiger’s inner strength.
There might be a half-dozen people that know the truth about Tiger’s knee. He will never let us know. What we will know is that Tiger sees this as a week for history. Should he be playing? We will never know. But I can promise you two things:
-
That every media member will tell us his opinion of what is going on. The problem... they don’t really know.
-
That once Tiger chose to play, he would do everything in his power to win the 2008 US Open. That is what we should be talking about. Why is this so important to him? My media guess... Tiger is always trying to prove things to himself. How good can I be? How much can I win by? How can I demolish on competitors? And this week... how far to the edge can I take my body?
Good to hear other voices
Let me say, I like Nick Faldo; I like Johnny Miller, I am just getting a little tired of them both. Especially Faldo. There is no question he does his homework about the course, I see him driving around at every tournament I attend. I think he does a great job of getting inside a players head going through a round. What I miss are guys like Curtis Strange and Ken Venturi giving us some of the history of the game or of an event. I don’t think Faldo has much feeling for the games history nor do I think he does much studying of that part of the game.
That is why I am enjoying listening to Curtis Strange on the US Open coverage on line. Just a thought, but perhaps it is time for either the Golf Channel or CBS to add another lead analyst in the tower. What do you think?
Rickie who?
At 19 years, 5 months, Rickie Fowler is the youngest player in the 2008 Open. At 5’9’, Fowler plays much bigger and much older for his age. While some talk about Jason Day and a number of others as the “next” Tiger, my vote goes to Fowler. A two-time AJGA All-American, Fowler was voted a first-team All-American and winner of the Phil Michelson Award as outstanding freshman while helping Oklahoma State work its way back into NCAA golf contention.
My son Doug actually picked Rickie as his dark-horse. While I am quite sure Fowler will be top amateur and make the cut, I do think Fowler will use this more as a learning experience rather than his first win.
Who is winning?
Curtis Strange said it best. Torrey Pines on Thursday, June 12th, shows why our National Championship is so difficult. Look at the course and the conditions today and I would have said that half the players would be around Par. Boy was I wrong. As Tiger and Phil are finishing their opening round, only 10 players are in Red numbers.
So the answer to my question... once again, it is the course. Looks can be deceiving and that is what today is. Call it nerves... call it whatever you want but players are having an incredibly difficult time hitting fairways and greens.
One thing is sure, today is as easy as it will get. So while I am still convinced that the winning number will be under-par, I might have to change my feeling about 5 guys ending in red.
An amazing stat
I have been around the game for a very long time. In all my years, I have never seen what 35 year old Justin Hicks managed on his opening 9 holes. (Before you all start emailing me that you have done this by bogeying every hole, don't!) I have never seen a player make zero pars in 9 holes and end up under par. Six birdies and 3 bogeys... simply amazing.
Perhaps, what is more amazing is that Hicks settled into his round and finished at 68. 68 from a guy whose bio says his favorite time was playing in the final stage of Q-School. Anyone have a guess where he finishes.
Question of the Week?
Do you like the parings? Ok, did it matter? I could not tell whether the players really liked it. What I know they like was playing in the same flights. No matter what the weather brings, Tiger and Phil are in the same draw... and that is good.
Phil on Phil
No driver... Everyone gets on Tiger for not being open about things. Will we hear one word from the media about as Phil stated after the round, “Oh, maybe I forgot to tell people I was going to play the round without a driver in my bag. Good choice... we will have to wait and see. One thing is for certain, he better hit it more consistently.
