|Bengal Migration| Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Anyone else watching the Open? Tiger made a crazy ass run on the back nine Friday. He's one shot back with 2 rounds to play. Lots of local pub here, with Aussie Appleby atop the leaderboard. Though I'd generally take Tiger over the field every time, I'm not so sure this weekend. Though he sure caught fire late today. I'm looking forward to the 18th hole on Sunday. Par 5 with water in front of the green. It'll be the real life version of Tin Cup I suspect. A couple of guys tried to reach in 2 today and got wet. Rocco Mediate cleared the water by about 10 feet... thought for sure he'd fucked up. But he sits in second after making a birdie... Anyone else give half a shit? Or am I the only one who actually watches golf? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote]Sunday script at U.S. Open might finally produce some drama By Pat Forde ESPN.com SAN DIEGO -- The U.S. Open is a wonderful sporting event with one chronic flaw. It rarely ends well. Or at least nobly. It's more often lost than won, more often survived than conquered, more often closed with a whimper than with a bang. "There's no excitement," Robert Allenby said of the general Open anticlimax. Well, there certainly was some excitement engendered by the Phil Mickelson-Colin Montgomerie tandem gag in 2006 at Winged Foot. I love a good golf train wreck as much as anyone, but how about altering the same old Open script? How about enhancing the endgame beyond last-hole carnage to include the possibility of last-hole heroics? Maybe this year. Maybe here. For that reason, I love the 18th hole at Torrey Pines. Love the fact that a U.S. Open will finish with a reachable par-5 instead of the stereotypical no-frills, severe par-4. Love the wide array of possibilities this hole offers for a dramatic finish. An Open could be won by a single stroke with a birdie on the final hole for the first time since -- are you ready for this? -- 1926. That's when Bobby Jones did it at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Once every 82 years isn't too much to ask, is it? Or it could be blown with a spectacular dunking of a second or third shot in the pond that guards the left front of the hole. Robert Karlsson found the bunker, not the pond, on the 18th hole Friday. Come Sunday, many players might wish they were playing from the sand. Or we could have the true Hollywood finish: an eagle on the 72nd. "We want players to get out and have a choice," said Mike Davis, the USGA senior director of rules and competitions. "Sit back there saying, 'Am I going to try to fly the pond, can I keep it on the green, give myself a realistic chance for birdie, maybe even eagle, but at the same time knock it in the water and maybe make bogey or double-bogey?' Those things are very appealing to us." They're appealing to the fans, as well. The cheers and groans were nearly constant at 18 Friday in response to the varying fortunes of the players. "It's great drama for the tournament," John Rollins said. In a span of an hour Friday morning, the fans at 18 got to see just about every conceivable outcome. They got to see Michael Letzig hit his tee shot into a bunker, fan his second shot into the rough, slap his third into the drink, card a 7 and walk into the tunnel behind the hole to drop an F-bomb in private. They got to see Brandt Jobe lay up, then throw an overjuiced wedge 40 feet onto the green and have it backspin all the way into the pond. They got to see Jay Choi put his second in the water, then four-putt his way to a snowman. And they got to see Jon Turcott flush a second-shot 3-wood about 250 yards, landing it like a parachute on the back left of the green. After a brief roll, the ball came to rest four feet from the cup. Probably the shot of the day at 18. Turcott missed the eagle putt that wound up being the difference between his making the cut or going home, but the point was made: if an anonymous, 5-foot-8 fireplug from the Nationwide Tour can give himself a makeable eagle putt, so can the guys at the top of the leaderboard on Saturday and Sunday. "It's great," Turcott said of the 18th. "I love these kind of holes. It's a risk-reward hole." The risks were both obvious (the water) and subtle (Joe Ogilvie hit an approach one foot off the green and the ball flat disappeared into a hole, forcing him to try to gouge it out with the toe of his putter -- a rotten-luck disaster that resulted in a 7). Even some big names have doubled No. 18, Retief Goosen and Justin Rose included. The rewards have been plentiful, as well. Rocco Mediate is in the final group Saturday in large part because of going birdie-birdie on 18. Ernie Els, Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Lee Westwood are in the hunt for the same reason. Sergio Garcia remains in the tournament in no small thanks to two birdies at 18. Through two rounds, No. 18 has played easier than any hole on the par-71 course, with a stroke average of 4.8. "It's nice to play a reachable par-5," Els said. "It's definitely a hole where you can pick one up." That's great news to players hankering for red-number opportunities in a championship that traditionally affords very few. And at Torrey Pines, those opportunities can be manipulated easily. "You can change this course so much by where you put the tees and pins," 2006 champion Geoff Ogilvy said. "The setup man has complete say over what we shoot." The setup man loved 18 just the way it was Friday. Executive committee vice president Jim Hyler guaranteed the tee would be in the same place through the weekend. That's two spots up, making the hole play nearly 40 yards shorter than its 573-yard max length. "We loved it where it was today, 535," Hyler said. "We want more players going for the green." What the USGA has done with this move is to bring a little slice of Augusta to the Open. One of the great aspects of the Masters is the two back-nine par-5s, Nos. 13 and 15, that so dramatically shape the outcome of that tournament. Green jackets have been won and lost with decisions on whether to lay up or go for the gusto on those holes, and on the execution of those plans. Now the stodgy U.S. Open has a chance for some of that drama. This is the first time an Open course has ended on a par-5 in eight years, the last time being at Pebble Beach. Thing is, Tiger Woods sucked the drama out of that closing hole, winning by a preposterous 15 strokes. Tiger could be the winner here, too -- if he finds the range on No. 18. The greatest par-5 player ever somehow has failed to birdie the easiest hole at Torrey Pines. For now.[/quote] [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3442854&sportCat=golf"]http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/sto...p;sportCat=golf[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 love golf. love phil, hate tiger. yesterday was a bad day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote name='ThurmanMunster' post='673113' date='Jun 15 2008, 02:50 AM']love golf. love phil, hate tiger. yesterday was a bad day.[/quote] Just another example of you being wrong. Yesterday was great Hate Phil. Love Tiger. And anyone with the stones to make him play at his peak to win. Unfortunately, there aren't too many of those guys around. Phil surely isn't one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 [quote name='KangarWhoDey' post='673114' date='Jun 14 2008, 11:52 AM']Just another example of you being wrong. Yesterday was great Hate Phil. Love Tiger. And anyone with the stones to make him play at his peak to win. Unfortunately, there aren't too many of those guys around. Phil surely isn't one of them. [/quote] fuck off. phil is just inconsistent. how anyone can hate phil makes no sense. he is a NORMAL guy and is AMAZING with the fans. he is constantly talking with them and signing. he is a great family guy he jokes around on the course. he gambles on the course. he is exciting to watch becuase he will try the shot htat no one else will in order to get a leg up. when it works he looks amazing and when it doesnt he looks bad but he NEVER shies away from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 He might be a nice guy, but his course management is crap, and his decision making is poor. If not for his short game, he'd be watching the last 2 rounds from his couch... I'm hoping Jimenez has a nice round today. He might have what it takes to push Tiger. Or Els. You've gotta love Ern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBandJoeyV Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Tiger just made like a 100 foot eagle putt and a great skip and fist pump to follow...thats why I love tiger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 [quote name='CJandRudiJ' post='673217' date='Jun 15 2008, 11:00 AM']Tiger just made like a 100 foot eagle putt and a great skip and fist pump to follow...thats why I love tiger.[/quote] I'm watching off the DVR.. at least I'm not sure what hole you're talking about Just as Tiger was getting ready to tee up @ 1, Phil was putting on a chipping show... missing the green 3x in a row, and taking a 9 on a par 5. He must have taken out the magic wedge today when he decided to put the driver back in the bag not much of a start by Tiger so far... 1 is ugly so far. Hopefully this will be a good day of golf to watch (commercial free since I'm watching off the DVR ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBandJoeyV Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 wow tiger with another amazing shot and just starts laughing afterwards...how can you not like the guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 I like Tiger AND Phil...and they like each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBandJoeyV Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 [quote]I bring all this up because Woods and Mickelson will play side-by-side Thursday and Friday at the U.S. Open. You must choose. You cannot root for both. It's un-American.[/quote] Bunghole= terrorist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 [quote name='CJandRudiJ' post='673223' date='Jun 15 2008, 11:56 AM']wow tiger with another amazing shot and just starts laughing afterwards...how can you not like the guy?[/quote] That look on his face was priceless! What a hop @ 17 And then another eagle on 18.. unreal. The guy looks like he can barely follow through at this point on that bad knee, and yet somehow he keeps making terrific shots. Just effing crazy. I never thought I would consider burning a golf tourney to DVD, but if he manages to finish this off tomorrow, this tourney might just be worth the trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 I would have bet $300 Tiger was going to miss that putt on 18 18 more holes tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Glad I got up at 2am to watch this playoff... amazing stuff. Rocco's got balls big as church bells. He's up by 1 with 3 to play, after being down 3 strokes at the turn. Best golf tournament I have ever seen from start to finish. No idea how this one will end... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1181 Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Tiger is choking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 [quote name='Bengals1181' post='673528' date='Jun 17 2008, 05:29 AM']Tiger is choking. [/quote] Not at all... Rocco is stepping up, making clutch puts, and responding to every great shot Tiger pulls off with one of his own. Tiger has been far from perfect, but it's not like he's playing terribly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Rocco @ E. Tiger @ +1. On 18. Rocco's drive is in the rough. Tiger's in the fairway. Good grief, this could take more than 18 holes to decide :anticipate: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Tiger's birdied 18... it's up to Rocco... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 And now we go to sudden death... Both players @ even par after 18 playoff holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 And Tiger wins it on the first playoff hole.. and I'm nothing short of disappointed to see it end. They played #7 for the sudden death hole, and it was a bad break for Rocco, b/c the hole sets up terribly for him. He went in the bunker off the tee and made bogey, missing a 20 footer that would have kept him alive. Gutsy performance by them both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1181 Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 why didn't Tiger have to putt in on the sudden death hole, or did I just miss it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBandJoeyV Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Tiger tapped in for par right after he missed his birdie putt...then Rocco missed his putt and it was over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 , love rocco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 [quote name='ThurmanMunster' post='673561' date='Jun 17 2008, 07:06 AM'], love rocco[/quote] It was a shitty way to see such a great tourney end. I wanted desperately to see it won with a birdie, not lost with a bogey. I was really hoping Tiger would just sink the birdie, and then the thing would end on a great note. Seeing Rocco just miss one left me feeling more upset for him, than happy for Tiger. I would have preferred Rocco to roll in that birdie on 18. Not that I wanted to see Tiger lose, either. It just feels anti-climactic after 5 days of great golf, to not see the thing end with a crowd roar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted June 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 [quote]Take that, NASCAR and your two good ol' boy employees who allegedly like to wave more than a checkered flag for fun. Take that, Tim Donaghy, you radioactive weasel. And you too, NBA, for giving us the tiniest of reasons to listen to him. [center][img]http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0616/nfl_g_cjohnson1_600.jpg[/img] [b]Chad Johnson's saga with the Bengals is only one example of the sordid side of big-time sports.[/b][/center] Take that, Chad Johnson and your insufferable bitching; Chris Henry and your one-for-the-thumb arrest record; Jeremy Shockey and your grudges. You've been replaced. That's because the solar system's best golfer, Tiger Woods, and a 45-year-old walking smile named Rocco Mediate flipped the switch on the sports garbage disposal Monday. Feel the churn. Gone was the backwash of a $225 million racial and sexual harassment lawsuit brought against NASCAR, as well as the lingering and toxic accusations of refs fixing NBA games. And for at least one afternoon, nobody seemed to care about the usual contract-related and police-blotter player updates. Just when you want to take a grout brush to the caked-on sludge of the daily sports headlines, along comes the improbable hazmat team of the No. 1- and No. 158-ranked golfers in the world. And it all happens at a major. In an 18-hole playoff. On a course so gorgeous that Angelina Jolie asks it for beauty tips. Tiger and Rocco. Sounds like two guys who break thumbs for a living. But thank goodness they were around these past few days. Without them, we'd be stuck on the Willie Randolph Pink Slip Watch. Woods won the 108th U.S. Open on Monday and once again was caught cheating on his wife Elin. Cameras captured him kissing the USGA's silver trophy. At least it played hard to get: 72 holes of regulation, 18 playoff holes and one sudden-death hole before falling hard for Woods. In the process, we learned a little bit more about Woods, and a lot more about Mediate. Together they managed to remind us why sports is still worth the effort. I watched 5½ holes of the playoff while waiting near a food kiosk at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. My flight to Tampa, Fla., was delayed, so I sat on the edge of a huge potted plant as Woods' 3-stroke lead morphed into a 1-stroke deficit. But here's the thing: It wasn't just me sitting there. I turned around and there was a guy crouched below the palm fronds. A woman sat on the floor to my right. A father and son stood to my left. Before long, there were about 20 of us in a semicircle -- business people, tourists, flight crews, ticket agents -- all watching an ancient TV whose spotty reception featured a series of Zorro-like slashes on the picture. A handful of us had to board before it was finished. When I left the TV, Woods was in the fairway on No. 18 and Mediate was in the rough. That's all we knew as they shut the cabin door. [b]"I want Tiger to win," said one of the businessmen who had stood nearby, "but I don't want Rocco to lose."[/b] That's how pure the U.S. Open was. You rooted for the underdog and the big dog. You rooted for the guy wearing red, which just happened to be both Woods and Mediate. You rooted for the prodigy going after his 14th career major (and 12th since 2000), and for a middle-aged Open qualifier thisclose to his first-ever biggie. Everybody knows the statistic that counts: Nobody has ever overtaken Woods in a major when he owns the 54-hole lead. The factoid has been beaten into us more times than those dumb Lexus TV ads (and Raymond Floyd is sitting in the backseat why, exactly?). But Mediate, a fidgety everyman who leads the Tour in self-deprecating humor, honesty and words per minute, almost made the impossible possible. He would have become the oldest winner of a major, ended his 0-for-44 majors streak and earned his first victory in six years. Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate made the sports world forget its ugly side ... for a while anyway. And yet, when all golf hell was breaking around him, Mediate turned to an NBC on-course announcer and said, "Isn't this fun?" Fun? It ought to get an Emmy for Best Drama. It almost became the third-biggest upset in U.S. Open history. And if it would have been anybody but Woods, Mediate might have been the one smooching the trophy at day's end. The 1950s had Hogan, the '60s Palmer, the '70s and '80s Nicklaus and then Watson, the '90s Faldo and then Woods, the 2000s almost all Woods. Seriously, Nike screwed up on its slogans. "We Are All Witnesses" should belong to Tiger, not LeBron James. If there is a more compelling athlete than Woods, I'd like to see him. Even if you don't know the difference between a lob wedge and a wedge of lettuce, you watch Woods. He is the leading cause of goose bumps. Kobe Bryant? Close, very close, but not there yet. A-Rod? He has his moments, but not enough of them. Roger Federer? Dominant, but not even a Roger Slam to his credit. So, nope, no one delivers the goods like Tiger. He is the surest thing in sports since $8 concession stand beers. ([i]only $5.60 here in Oz[/i] ) And Monday he limped closer to Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major victories. Woods, with the help of some painkilling meds, overcame a car trunk's worth of obstacles to win this thing. This one ought to count as 1½ majors. First, there was that surgically repaired left knee of his. No problem. All he had to do was pretend someone wasn't sticking knitting needles in the joint after he reached triple-digit swing speeds. And nothing helps the pain-management process like walking about 37,000 yards or so of Torrey Pines real estate. Anyway, Woods basically won an Open on one leg. Some wuss, eh, Mike Milbury? You name it, Woods survived it. The pretournament buzz surrounding hometown fave Phil Mickelson. The pressure. The playoff. The knee. And most of all, Mediate. The moment the plane wheels skidded against the runway in Tampa, you could hear the cell phones powering up. We all wanted to know the same thing: Tiger or Rocco? One of the flight attendants got on the intercom system. "Tiger won?" he said, as someone yelled the result. "OK, everybody, Tiger won." No peanuts or drinks on the flight, but at least we got that.[/quote] [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3447810&sportCat=golf"]http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/sto...p;sportCat=golf[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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