There is a lesson to be learned here kids. Never quit when you’re down because some of the best things are yet to come. The best example of this lesson comes from two guys whom have a couple of things in common. These two men are Olin Browne and Rocco Mediate. First and most importantly, they share the lead at the 105th U.S. Open Tournament. Also, they are over 40 years of age (Browne 46, Mediate 42), both have aches and pains, and both have kept going even when they faced failure.
Olin Browne, ranked 300th on the world golf rankings, qualified the old fashioned way for the U.S. Open by going through sectional qualifying. During the first round of the qualifying tournament, Olin finished with a score of 73 which left him disappointed. The next day, he searched for a tournament official hoping to withdraw from the tournament but was unsuccessful. He decided to tee off and what a decision that was. Browne finished his second round with a 59 which was enough for him to find his way to the main event.
Browne and Mediate finished the first round today with a 67, three under par, which enough to hold a one-stroke lead over the rest of the field.
There has been much debate over the difficulty of the Donald Ross designed Pinehurst No. 2. While at first you may view the layout as a ridiculous USGA ploy to challenge technology or some other conspiracy, but then you come to appreciate the course and the players. If you weren’t able to catch any parts of the first round telecast, you missed an amusing day of professional golf. When it comes to hitting approach shots, the greens seem to be as slick as a frozen pond. Balls were landing close to the pin but would spin back off of the many false fronted greens or simply keep rolling, and rolling, and rolling, sometimes 25 yards or more away from their landing spot.
Only nine players were able to score under par. Among the nine are defending champion Retief Goosen (-2), Brandt Jobe (-2), and Phil Mickelson (-1). Seven players are at even-par after 18 holes including Tiger Woods, David Toms, Adam Scott, and Vigay Singh. The scoring average for Thursday was 74.699, on a par 70 course. The most disturbing statistic is that there are just as many players who finished with scores in the 80’s as there are players under par.
In other news, Pinehurst No. 2 will just get more and more difficult as the week progresses. If you thought today’s pin placements were tough just wait until Sunday! If you are a recreational golfer planning to play Pinehurst No. 2 in the weeks following the U.S. Open Tournament, I suggest playing from the ladies or junior tees to save yourself from humiliation caused by this unforgiving course.
If you happen to be a professional playing in this year’s U.S. Open and possibly can not sleep because you are still in awe of your score, there are many factors that led to your disaster other than the difficulty of the course. First, it was HOT today! Not Arizona dry-heat hot, but fry an egg on the cart path Florida hot. Second, the cups may have been inserted incorrectly into some of the greens around the course. Take Ian Poulter’s situation today. He had a fairly easy putt of which he hit perfectly into the middle of the hole only to have it pop back out due to a possible alignment problem caused when the cup was inserted. I suggest that tomorrow you leave your putts slightly to the outside of the cup and not hit the part of the cup that was aligned improperly.
“This golf course probably tests you more than any other,” Tiger Woods stated. Tiger must have been distracted by the bright redish color shirt he was wearing today because he was having trouble driving the ball. His first drive hit the cart path, his second drive found the rough, and his third drive landed in one of those awkward patches of dirt which are placed strategically around the course. During the first round he only hit 14 fairways. I wonder what Frank, his talking tiger headcover, had to say about that.
Today’s pairings seemed to work well for most of the field. The classic pairing of the defending U.S. Open champion, the U.S. Amateur champion, and the British Open champion is always fun to watch. Luckly, Rory Sabbatini doesn’t have to worry about being held up by the slow playing Ben Crane this week. You may recall last week when the two were paired together, Sabbatini marched onto the next hole before Crane finished putting out. While that was poor etiquette, it was sure as heck better than yelling what was most likely on his mind at the time, “While we’re young!”.
The weather for the second round of the U.S. Open should be excellent. By excellent, I mean I’m glad that I’m watching it on television in air conditioned comfort because it is going to be hot. Although Friday looks clear, there is a chance of rain for the weekend.
Pos Player Total R1 T1 Olin Browne -3 67 T1 Rocco Mediate -3 67 T3 Retief Goosen -2 68 T3 Lee Westwood -2 68 T3 Brandt Jobe -2 68 T6 K.J. Choi -1 69 T6 Steve Jones -1 69 T6 Luke Donald -1 69 T6 Phil Mickelson -1 69 T10 Toru Taniguchi E 70 T10 Adam Scott E 70 T10 Tiger Woods E 70 T10 David Toms E 70 T10 Tommy Armour III E 70 T10 Vijay Singh E 70 T10 Bob Estes E 70 T17 Angel Cabrera +1 71 T17 Peter Lonard +1 71 T17 Ernie Els +1 71 T17 Shigeki Maruyama +1 71 T17 John Cook +1 71 T17 Bob Tway +1 71 T17 Chris DiMarco +1 71 T17 Mark Hensby +1 71 T17 Jason Gore +1 71 T17 Michael Campbell +1 71 T17 Stephen Ames +1 71 T17 Thomas Bjorn +1 71 T17 Jim Furyk +1 71 T17 Sergio Garcia +1 71 T17 Fred Couples +1 71
Photo Credits: © AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt
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