U.S. Open Blog

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Long Wait

Angel Cabrera had about an hour wait after he finished. He just sat idly by in the clubhouse watching the action on a television. Am I surprised that Tiger Woods didn't pull it out? Yes and no. Yes, because he's got enough moxie to control his own fate in situations like these. No because it was Oakmont, and because he had to do it with major-championship pressure on him at the end. I did feel for Furyk. To come so close and then have what happened to him on 17 is the kind of circumstance that will stick in his head for a little bit. Guess what this all means is that we won't be seeing Woods in a razzle-colored shirt any time soon on a Sunday in a major. And we avoid the dreaded 'P' word.

Posted By Ken Klavon At 7:47 PM • Comments (13) Trackbacks (0)

The Dreaded 'P' Word

The dreaded 'P' word has been floating about. That, of course, stands for playoff. Much like a no-hitter in baseball, shutout in hockey, the mere utterance of playoff in golf serves as a sure-fire jinx. I've tried doing my anti-P word dance, hoping that will ward off the P-word gods. Not that I'm rooting or anything. That'd be unethical on my part. Ken
Posted By Ken Klavon At 5:26 PM • Comments (6) Trackbacks (0)

Baddeley

Aaron Baddeley walked to the first tee - and looked rather nervous. Just my personal observation. Was real noticeable how the cheers differed for him and Tiger Woods. Perhaps Baddeley's anxiety caused the triple bogey on the first hole? But I admire how he pulled it together on the second hole. How about Steve Stricker? He's the consummate U.S. Open player. Straight as an arrow, manages his game well and keeps his emotions under check.

Posted By Ken Klavon At 4:08 PM • Comments (1) Trackbacks (0)

Sunday Course Set Up

Just received the course set-up information for Sunday's final round. The USGA did water all 18 greens Saturday night and applied water approximately two hours prior to the first starting time on Sunday morning. Certain greens received a bit more water than others based on firmness readings from a special device that was developed by engineers at the USGA Test Center. The greens should be just as firm as they were on Saturday. The tee markers are in the same position on the second hole, making it play 307 yards. Hole 6 (par 3) is playing 188 yards. The tee has been moved back on No. 8 and with the back hole location, it is playing 300 yards. The back tee is being used at 12, making the hole play 667 yards. The tee at 14 has been moved up 29 paces from the sign. It is playing 313 yards, making the green driveable. The hole at 16 is in the same spot as in 1983 when Larry Nelson holed a cross-country birdie putt that eventually won him the Open. And the USGA is using the very front teeing ground at 17, making the hole play 306 yards and driveable for the longer hitters.

Posted By David Shefter At 1:32 PM • Comments (10) Trackbacks (0)

Random Thoughts

Funny, funny scene today with Johnny Miller. To celebrate his 63 in the final round of the 1973 Open here, he's wearing what he did then - plaid pants and red golf shirt. Call it 'Tiger Lite' in reference to Tiger Woods' power red he always wears on championship Sunday when he's contention. In fact, Tiger will be sporting a 'Razzle' colored shirt today. Back to Miller. Keep in mind these aren't the exact threads he wore in '73. After all, he's been affected by the, ahem, girth monster. Ah, he knows it's all in good sport. A number of NBC staffers are also wearing the same outfits. To me, that's a nice touch. Why not have fun with it. Sometimes there's too much seriousness in the sport. Never hurts to laugh from time to time. Now for one of Ken's biggest pet peeves. While watching post-round coverage of the event in the wee hours, one on-air talking head made a reference to Aaron Baddeley, comparing his blossoming game to the "Tigers, Mickelsons, Furyks of the golf world." Why I have problems with this as I get on my pulpit: first of all, I get annoyed at cliches, especially by the media. The media, a motley bunch, is supposed to be the creme de la creme of creativity. Why revert to the same old thing? Secondly, last time I checked, there was only ONE Tiger Woods, ONE Phil Mickelson and ONE Jim Furyk. Since when have these players morphed or multiplied into the same person? I'll stop my rant before I start espousing my 995 reasons why rock, paper and scissors should be implemented to create world peace. Carry on. Ken

Posted By Ken Klavon At 12:08 PM • Comments (7) Trackbacks (0)

Final Round Starts

The final round of the 2007 U.S. Open is off and running with Kevin Sutherland playing by himself. He went off at 9:50 a.m. and decided against using a non-competitive marker. Matthew Goggin employed that same strategy on Saturday. Sutherland's marker is Rules official Peter James, a former member of the USGA Executive Committee and the former president of the Southern California Golf Association. It's much more overcast today. There's a chance of a late-afternoon thundershower. Hopefully the rain will stay away. More later...

Posted By David Shefter At 9:07 AM • Comments (6) Trackbacks (0)

Comeback Kid?

John Elway. Roger Staubach. Joe Montana. Hall of Fame quarterbacks one and all. And they were masters of the comeback. Elway had The Drive. Staubach had the Hail Mary. Montana had The Pass. Now we wonder if Tiger Woods can have The Comeback. He's never rallied for a major when trailing after 54 holes. He's been the ultimate front-runner. He's a perfect 12-for-12 when leading or sharing the lead going into a final round of a major. We saw what he did at Royal Liverpool last July. We saw his mastery at the PGA Championship at Medinah last August. We saw him lap the field at Pebble Beach in the 2000 U.S. Open. As an amateur, Woods wore the rally cap quite well. He faced big deficits at the 1994 and '96 U.S. Amateur. He won both, the latter in 38 holes. He trailed Ryan Armour by two holes in the 1993 U.S. Junior final. All he did was birdie the last two holes and then win the 19th to capture a third consecutive title. Will he do the same on Sunday at Oakmont? You ask anyone in the Media Center and virtually everyone believes Tiger will end this major stigma. If he puts together another ball-striking round like he did on Saturday, the engraver can etch Woods' name on the U.S. Open trophy for a third time. His 69 on Saturday could have been a 63 or 64. Aaron Baddeley is a fine player, a guy who has won twice on the PGA Tour. He's a guy who won the 1999 Australian Open as an 18-year-old amateur. He probably should have won the 1998 U.S. Junior, but a diminutive 16-year-old by the name of James Oh holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 1-up victory. Baddeley was the stroke-play medalist and had a chance to force extra holes, only to miss a 7-foot birdie putt after Oh's make. Baddeley hasn't missed much on the greens at Oakmont this week. He's leading the field in putting. He was 3-for-3 in sand saves until his miscue at 15 on Saturday. He's deeply religious and grounded from his marriage. He's made swing adjustments through his work with instructors Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett. He seems poised for victory. To do so, he'll have to fend off the Elway and Montana of golf -- Woods.

Posted By David Shefter At 9:07 AM • Comments (7) Trackbacks (0)

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Best Viewing Spot

For those coming out to Oakmont on Sunday, the best spot to watch the action could be the grandstand behind the fourth green. If you can get to the top row, you can see action at No. 4 green, No. 2 green, No. 5 tee and No. 8 green. There was plenty of good stuff happening in that corridor on Saturday. Late in the day, you saw Niclas Fasth hole an eagle putt at four, Tiger Woods just miss a 15-foot eagle on four and Tom Pernice nearly made an ace at the 288-yard eighth. His ball stopped 2 feet from the flagstick.

Posted By David Shefter At 9:48 PM • Comments (0) Trackbacks (0)

Saturday Thoughts

It's pretty quiet in the Media Center as the writers are wrapping up their stories for tomorrow's papers. But what a day out on the golf course. The USGA kept Oakmont under control by watering the greens Friday night and Saturday morning. And it was reflective in the way Oakmont played. It was fair, but tough. What a round by Tiger Woods. Hitting 17 of 18 greens is phenomenal. I'm not the biggest Woods fan, but you have to marvel at what he can do when he puts ball to club. I was impressed how Bubba Watson stayed in the game after his triple-bogey 7 at nine. He lost his patience momentarily after flubbing his first pitch from the deep stuff and then flew his next shot clear across the green. But he regathered himself over his final nine holes and shot a respectable 74. He's only three strokes off the lead. It will be interesting to see how Aaron Baddeley handles playing with Woods. It seems like everyone wilts when they play with him. Remember Mike Weir at the 1999 PGA Championship? He shot an 80. Last year Luke Donald was tied with Woods going into the final round of the 2006 PGA and shot 74. It's never easy playing with Woods, and it's doubly tough in a final round of a major. Woods, however, has never won a major when trailing going into a final round. He's 12-0 with the lead or sharing the lead. But I do like Baddeley's demeanor. He's a very religious guy and he seems very at peace with himself. He just might have the heart and soul to deal with all the outside stuff that Woods brings to a final pairing. You know the gallery will be huge. There will be lots of reporters and photographers following every move. The pressure will be immense. And don't count out someone like Jim Furyk. With all the focus on the final pairing, someone could sneak up from behind like Johnny Miller did in 1973. If nothing else, Sunday's final round figures to be very exciting.

Posted By David Shefter At 9:48 PM • Comments (5) Trackbacks (0)

And Here We Are

All those who thought Aaron Baddeley would be leading after three rounds raise your hand. About the only one who did was Dave Shedloski, a longtime grizzled writing veteran of golf. He tried selling me on his coaches doing wonders with his swing. And look at that. Here we are. Tell you what, like him or hate him, having Tiger Woods in the final round of a major will always raise eyebrows. His page view numbers on this site just blow by everyone else. The only players who compare to him in terms of eyeballs are Phil Mickelson and Michelle Wie. Hence the reason why we do a 'Tiger Watch' story. Hence the reason why we streamed his first round shot by shot. He's also partly responsible for us crushing our page view numbers (107 million) from last year through  just the first two rounds this year. Ken

Posted By Ken Klavon At 8:56 PM • Comments (1) Trackbacks (0)