It has been a long time since good ol’ Royal Liverpool has played host to a major, will she be up to the test?
Well it happens to be that time again: Open Championship time, that is. Golf’s oldest major championship is back at a course that hasn’t hosted a major since Roberto de Vicenzo won in 1967. I’m very excited for this tournament for a couple reasons: the course is running ridiculously fast and hard, interesting shots we rarely see played will be commonplace, and Tiger will surely be on the prowl.
For these reasons and many more, this week is sure to be exciting.
Once again, Michelle Wie will attempt to qualify to make the cut in a PGA event. This will hopefully provide some excitement throughout the week(end?).
What a birthday present. This week, Sean O’Hair will turn 24, but it may be his 23rd birthday he will be thinking about this week. The young man earned the respect of the field and gallery last year by putting together what he called the best round of his life on Sunday to win the 2005 John Deere Classic.
Robert Damron, who finished in a tie for second place just one shot behind O’Hair, quashed any murmurs about O’Hair’s longevity on tour by saying “this guy is going to be around for a while.” Although O’Hair currently ranks 100th on the money in 2006, the brilliance he displayed last year is likely to surface again soon.
However, much of the spotlight this week will be shining on Michelle Wie, as the youngster will once again try to make the cut in a PGA Tour event.
One of the longest-running PGA Tour events returns to the Dubsdread Course at Cog Hill this year. The question remains: Who will be lower, Tiger or Phil?
Few PGA tournaments have as storied a past as the “Cialis” Western Open. This tournament, in one form or another, has been played since 1899 when Willie Smith beat Laurie Auchterlonie (of St. Andrews descent) in extra holes. The Western Open has been played in many places since its debut, including sites as far from Chicago (the hometown of the tournament) as Texas, Pennsylvania, and California.
With both the Buick Championship and the U.S. Womens Open happening in the same week, its hard to imagine a better week for golf!
Connecticut isn’t exactly regarded as a mainstay of professional athleticism. Their only professional sports team are the New England Seawolves, who compete in the AFL. Perhaps it is for this reason that the crowds go bananas for their very own PGA Tour stop. This year is sure to please the Connecticut crowds once again with more stellar play from the best touring professionals in the world.
The Booz is back! Another quality tournament returns for our enjoyment.
Well, this week we can finally see some birdies! It may be hard to top last week’s final-hole theatrics, but the Booz Allen Classic has been known to provide some drama in its own right. Last year, the Swashbucklin’ Spaniard found a putter that actually worked for him and walked away with this event.
You may not see eight-inch rough, but you can bet on seeing some birdies this week!
We’re live blogging the final round of the 2006 U.S. Open. Will Phil Mickelson rack up the third leg of a Mickelslam, or will someone else walk away with the trophy?
7:27 – Johnny Miller: “I’ve never seen such a finish in championship golf.”
7:11 – Phil plays the last two holes at the U.S. Open +3 to lose to 29-year-old Geoff Ogilvy.
7:07 – Phil runs his ball into the thick greenside rough from the bunker. I think I’ve seen a lot of miracles in my day, but holing out here may just top them all. It would top Tiger’s 16th-hole chip-in at the 2005 Masters. Barring this miracle, Geoff Ogilvy is the 2006 U.S. Open Champion.
7:05 – Johnny Miller: “Man, he [Phil] got a couple bad breaks on the lies, didn’t he?” Uhhmmm, no??? Only the two bunker shots in the last two holes.
7:03 – Phil hits his third shot into the greenside bunker. Par is virtually out of the question now. He has to get up and down to get into a playoff or Geoff Ogilvy will win the 2006 U.S. open. Johnny Miller again: “just crazy shot selection.”
The U.S. Open returns to Winged Foot in what is sure to be one fabulous championship.
It’s finally U.S. Open week. I’ve been waiting for this tourney for a long while now. In my humble opinion, the U.S. Open is the hardest test in golf. Sure, The Masters is very pretty, the British is very windy, and the PGA is very exciting, but none are as brutal and more complete a test of golf as the U.S. Open. I look forward to this week all year and can’t wait for the action to begin. Let’s get started with the breakdown.
The week before the U.S. Open is rarely attended by some golfers and always attended by others. Will this year share the drama we saw last year with Padraig’s final-hole eagle?
The thoughts on many golfer’s minds this week may not be the Barclays Classic, being that the event comes the week before the U.S. Open, an event known for its drama and history. However, the Barclays Classic has provided plenty of drama in its own right, and should not be overlooked. While the term divine intervention maybe be a little strong, the luck of the Irish was on Padraig Harrington’s side last year as he took his second career PGA Tour victory.
This year’s stop in Dublin, Ohio will prove to be an exciting one thanks to newly furrowed bunkers and a star-studded field.
The PGA Tour is making its traditional stop in Dublin, OH two weeks prior to the U.S. Open. This shady suburb of Columbus is home to Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village Golf Club. This year the PGA Tour will find a few changes at Jack’s place. For the first time, Nicklaus himself has opted not to play in his event, Tiger Woods has decided to prolong his mourning hiatus and begin preparation for the U.S. Open, and perhaps most important to the players in the field, Nicklaus and the PGA Tour have decided to furrow the bunkers in order to penalize players for finding them instead of providing a reprieve from the rough.
