Padraig Harrington was impressive down the stretch yet again this year, successfully defending his Open crown at Royal Birkdale. Harrington joins an elite group of back-to-back Open winners of the last 50 years--Palmer, Trevino, Watson, and Woods.
With winds gusting as high as 48 mph on Saturday, I think Anthony Kim was the only player out on the course with this train of thought:
This is awesome. I actually like playing in this stuff. I grew up playing where the conditions weren't the best, and your lies weren't the greatest. I'm having a blast out here.
Justin Rose summed up the day pretty well when he told the press, smiling:
If I can't stand, what chance does my golf ball have?
It's been a while since there has been something this controversial surrounding the LPGA. And it seems to be revolving around the same person...Michelle Wie.
Last time, it was the '88-rule' and a withdrawal. This time around, it has to do with a much delayed disqualification...
After finishing Friday and Saturday in second place at the State Farm Classic, Michelle Wie was one good round away from finally living up to her deep potential.
Then, minutes after tapping in her last putt of the third round, Wie sat red-eyed at a folding table in front of a couple dozen baffled reporters and photographers, explaining why she'd been disqualified from the tournament.
The 18-year-old, playing her best golf of the year, broke one of the game's most basic rules: She failed to sign her scorecard before leaving the scoring area.
Too bad the problem wasn't addressed until the day after the incident happened...
Wie told reporters that after she finished her round Friday, she left the tent just above the ninth green where players sign their scorecards. She was chased down by volunteers working in the tent, who pointed out she hadn't signed.
Wie returned to the tent and signed the card, and "I thought it would be OK," she said.
But Wie, according to Witters, had already walked outside the roped-off area around the tent. At that point, the mistake was final, Witters said.
Witters said she and other tour officials didn't learn about the mistake from volunteers until well after Wie teed off Saturday morning, so they let her finish the round.
This was Wie's responsibility, but aren't there enough people in and around the scorers tent--or in the Wie camp--who could have spotted this earlier? There has to be a better system so that matters like this can be avoided in the future.
Greg Norman has the opportunity to become the oldest player, at age 53, to win a major championship. His performance this week at Birkdale has come out of nowhere.
There's nothing more I can write here that hasn't been mentioned already. Sit back, and relax, as tomorrow's final round is shaping up to be a memorable one.
With all of the grief John Daly gets from the media, he should finally get a pat on the back. I know, I know...he finished at 29-over-par. But the JD we're used to would have withdrawn after nine holes on Thursday. Daly's desire to stick this one out shows something.
Last year, JD withdrew, by my count, from six tournaments. In the face of his struggles, terrible weather, and all of his discomfort, Daly's perseverance at Birkdale should be recognized.
K.J. Choi dropped 17 pounds in the past two months due to some back problems, and he looks fitter than ever. We've seen Choi contend at major championships before. This could be his year...
Who would have thought before the week began that Greg Norman and David Duval would be within three strokes of the lead after day two of the British Open?
And how about Jean Van de Velde? Last year, he wondered if he would get to play in another Open Championship.
Then there's Padraig Harrington at three strokes back. He said he had a '50-50' chance of completing all four rounds this week with an ailing wrist.
Finally, Camilo Villegas, who at 1-over-par put on a putting spectacle on Friday, an incredible feat for his first Open Championship.
It's probably wishful thinking, but Brandel Chamblee predicted on the post game show that if Greg Norman is still in the hunt on Sunday, we could see "Tiger-esque ratings."
Publications like Golf Digest and Golfweek aren't going away anytime soon. But as more and more newspapers are laying off newsroom employees, there is less golf coverage in general.
Ryan Herrington notes in the July 11 edition of Golf World (sorry, couldn't find a link to the story online):
Two decades ago, there were about 30 full-time golf writers at U.S. dailies, now the number is less than 10 and dropping.
Sadly, as the actual newspaper size begins to shrink, Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune says the golf section is the first to go in the sports section...
I've already felt the squeeze and I know it is going to get much, much worse. In our paper, what are they going to cut: Cubs' coverage or golf?
I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk this week about David Toms' absence from Birkdale...or in general. Toms is sitting this week out, opting to stay at home in Shreveport with his family.
Scott Rabalais of The Advocate reports that due to Toms' back, he now requires round-the-clock supervision (I hope this is an exaggeration). Toms indicates that time is finally starting to catch up with him, especially after this last strech of playing nine of 11 weeks from the Masters to the Travelers:
I feel like I’m 41 years old...I was exhausted and wanted to take some time off. I figured if I did that I wouldn’t be prepared for the British Open, and I didn’t want to go there if I wasn’t prepared to play my best.
Can you believe that Toms is 45th in the Ryder Cup standings? He was always the one player during singles play you could count on for a point.
With all of the cameras and spectators, it's extremely rare to lose a ball in a professional tournament, let alone a major.
But earlier today on the 6th hole at Birkdale, a wayward second shot from Phil Mickelson ended up in the fescue. After the designated five minutes to look for the ball was up, no one could find it, resulting in a triple bogey for Mickelson.
During TGC's post game show, Brandel Chamblee went out to number six after the first round was completed, and threw three balls into the same rough where Phil's second shot seemed to have landed. The balls were no where in sight when Chamblee walked over to the general location.
What else can tournament officials do to address this? Increase the already large amount of marshalls?
