Random Thoughts from Torrey Pines

It’s time to pay respect to some of the underrated stories from this year’s U.S. Open.

Thrash TalkTiger Woods’ performance at the 2008 U.S. Open this past weekend was incredible and showed once again why he is the best golfer on the planet. Rocco Mediate played great and had his chances, but it was pretty obvious Woods wasn’t going to let the tournament slip away. If he would have needed an eagle at the 72nd hole or in the playoff, he would have gotten it. He is that damn good, even when he isn’t at his best.

Other than Woods and Mediate, the other guy that has been mentioned most is Phil Mickelson. Lefty made a couple questionable decisions this past week, and he paid the price. In the end, it wasn’t his week.

Now that the popular stories have been discussed, it’s time to talk about some of the underrated stories from this year’s U.S. Open. I had a chance to watch nearly every minute of television coverage this year, and I jotted down a few notes along the way. Enjoy!

Golf Talk [Episode 092]

The downside to recording shows on Monday or Tuesday is that news that comes out on Wednesday – like Tiger’s knee news – doesn’t make it into the show.

Golf Talk PodcastTiger Woods wins the 108th U.S. Open in 91 holes over Rocco Mediate, and does it on a fractured, torn up knee. We break down the performances of Tiger, Rocco, Phil Mickelson, and a cast of others as well as a whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 092 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

Adams Golf Releases Idea Pro Gold Hybrid and Hybrid Irons

Adams Golf offers a new blended irons set and hybrids for the better player and incorporates some of the coolest headcovers going.

Bag DropAdams Golf has come out with some very nice equipment for this golf season and that continues with the release of their new Idea Pro Gold Hybrids and Hybrid/Irons blended set.

While Adams Golf might not be the first company that comes to mind for irons for the better golfer, you may want to rethink that idea as their equipment continues to get more and more play on the various tours, and with each year, their offerings for the better golfer continue to impress.

So let’s take a quick peek at the latest entry into the blended set category.

2008 U.S. Open Playoff Live Blog

The 33rd playoff at the 108th U.S. Open asks one question. Who will win: Tiger Woods, or the guy who looks like the guy who cleans Tiger’s pool?

2008 U.S. Open at Torrey PinesLast year at Oakmont, after arriving at 5:00am and still being only the sixth to make my way to the 18th hole grandstands, I watched Tiger Woods miss a birdie putt to force a playoff. This year, from about 50% closer, he lipped the putt in.

How fitting it would have been for Rocco to play off last year. He too is a Pittsburgh area guy. We could have even let Jim Furyk join the fray, and re-enacted (in reverse) the 1962 U.S. Open, when Jack Nicklaus (of Ohio) took down Arnold Palmer (of “near-Pittsburgh” Latrobe) in a playoff.

Instead, we saw Tiger Woods grimace his way through a +3 start on the first two holes before he “took some things” to ease the pain. We’re sure nothing will ease the pain like winning, but as many have pointed out, Rocco has nothing to lose, and like Lee Trevino over Jack Nicklaus, his care-free attitude may just get him through (not that Rocco is the quality player Lee Trevino was).

Like yesterday, we have a chat room going. Join “usopen2k8” once again on AOL Instant Messenger to chat with us.

Here is our live blog of the playoff for the 108th U.S. Open from Torrey Pines.

Volume One Hundred Forty Eight

How about some overtime!

Hittin' the LinksHello out there and welcome to another volume of Hittin’ the Links. I would like to send a shout out to all the dads out there; I hope you all had a fantastic Father’s Day. Hopefully everyone got in a little golf before settling down to watch the final round of the U.S. Open. And what a final round it was.

In this edition, we check in on the playoff for the U.S. Open, ask why somebody would go to the Open just to act stupid, take a look at some past U.S. Open battles, and see who had some anger issues in the middle of their second round. Also, we look into why golf carts are dangerous, investigate what happened to the AT&T Classic, take a peek at Rory’s PR campaign, and see how Michelle Wie made it into the U.S. Women’s Open.

2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Live Blog

A live blog of the final round of the 2008 U.S. Open from Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA.

2008 U.S. Open at Torrey PinesWe’re live blogging the final round of the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

This Sunday, we’ll find out the answers to several questions:

  • Can Tiger overcome what is clearly a lot of pain, elevating himself to even greater heights in completing his third career grand slam?
  • Can Tiger top his back nines on Friday or Saturday? Will he even need to?
  • Can Lee Westwood become the first European to win the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin?
  • Will Rocco regain his form and put on a show? How about D.J. Trahan, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Karlsson, or any of the others within five shots of Tiger?
  • Could someone possibly fire a Johnny Miller-like 63 to come from well back?

Click through to read the live blog.

Reasons to Love an Open at Torrey Pines

It’s US Open time, and another public course gets its day.

Trap Five LogoAs I write this, it’s the evening before the first round of the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, and I’m pretty darn excited about this one. It should be a pretty good championship on a pretty good course… one that you and I can actually play by simply coughing up the daily rack rate or purchasing a package through one of the course-side hotels.

Torrey Pines is always a cool stop on the PGA Tour, bumpy January greens notwithstanding. Where else do you see people in hang gliders soaring along the cliffs lining a golf course? (But not during U.S. Open week; they’ve been temporarily banished to other aeries along the coast.) As a choice for a U.S. Open, Torrey Pines has its detractors, but my hunch is it’s going to play well on TV and provide an interesting Open.

Here’s five reasons I’ll be watching all the coverage I can.

2008 U.S. Open Predictions

The staff weighs in on the season’s second major championship.

Thrash TalkThe 2008 U.S. Open starts today, and the world’s best will attempt to tame Torrey Pines en route to major championship glory. The two best golfers in the world, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, both have a great history at this golf course. They have received the most headlines going into the event, and they will be paired together the first two rounds at least.

Tiger and Lefty will be the favorites, but who else has a good shot at winning the second major of the year? Also, who might be a dark-horse pick, and who might disappoint? Sand Trap staff members predict these things and more in this week’s article. If you have anything to add, please comment below or discuss it in the forum.

Golf Talk [Episode 091]

It’s U.S. Open week, and if there’s one thing I know to be true, it’s that Tiger at 80% is better than more than 80% of the contestants.

Golf Talk PodcastIt’s a week of majors: the men are playing the U.S. Open and the women have an LPGA Championship winner. We take a look at the Tiger-Phil-Adam pairing, body parts (Tiger’s knee and Adam’s pinkie), and we check in on Michelle Wie, too. All that and a whole lot more in this (unedited) episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 091 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.