2008 US Open Thread (TP South)

[g-funk13]

Longest Open in history. Granted he is hitting an 11* 3wood but man, if Phil could make good decisions, he might have a few more trophies on the wall. Don't get me wrong, he is a great golfer but seems to make some bone headed decisions at times.

Far be it from me to act like I know anything about tournament golf. . BUT. "bone headed" may be the key. And by that I mean his conversations with caddy Bones before EVERY shot. The conversations they show on TV are long and wordy, and it seems like maybe there's a lot of room to talk himself into trouble. Anyone out there watched Phil and Bones live? Is it as loquacious as it looks?

[JackieTreehorn]

If the driver is not in his bag maybe he won't be second guessing himself if he decides to lay up. Second guessing=disaster. I think it was a good play to start the tourney, you know break it in, meet the neighbors. Wouldn't be surprised to see his driver back in the bag in a future round.

[g-funk13]

You may be right, Treehorn (nice! -ever been to Lebowski fest?) He defended his 3w/no driver choice in the post round interview, but we shall see manana!

[golf_junkie27]

Does anyone know if ESPN will replay the 1st round, tonight?

Also, how did Tiger look? Any noticeable limp or acknowledgement of knee pain?

[g-funk13]

Does anyone know if ESPN will replay the 1st round, tonight?

He gave a BIG wince after his drive on 18th (big fade with driver). They played it back a few times, and then asked him about it in post-round interview. He said that the knee is pretty sore, and he would play through it.

[Ruari]

Does anyone know if ESPN will replay the 1st round, tonight?

i thought he was favouring his left knee. Anyone agree?

[JackieTreehorn]

You may be right, Treehorn (nice! -ever been to Lebowski fest?) He defended his 3w/no driver choice in the post round interview, but we shall see manana!

Went to the one in Austin in 2006!

Did anyone hear Phil say he's grown an inch in the last couple years so he had to get a longer putter? Just heard the announcers talking about that. That seems crazy to me since he's almost 40. I saw him at LA Open this year and he is no way his listed 6-3 height...I would say barely 6-2.

[x-forged]

Man, if anyone said they thought that Hicks would be leading through the first round, I would have thought they were crazy. Gotta love that hybrid shot out of the rough by Mickelson, classic golf shot...IM still rootin for him though. I like his choice of no driver for the first day. I could be wrong, but I think he saved himself a couple strokes by doing that. Course looks like its playing pretty tough, but their makin birdies out there.

[Alex B]

Man, if anyone said they thought that Hicks would be leading through the first round, I would have thought they were crazy. Gotta love that hybrid shot out of the rough by Mickelson, classic golf shot...IM still rootin for him though. I like his choice of no driver for the first day. I could be wrong, but I think he saved himself a couple strokes by doing that. Course looks like its playing pretty tough, but their makin birdies out there.

The commentators were discussing how Mickelson's "3-Wood" has only 11 degrees of loft; that's basically a high-lofted driver (a 1.5-Wood) with a smaller head.

In other news, the Serge isn't exactly surging. More like dwindling, waning, plummeting, sucking.

[g-funk13]

Sergio seems to have peaked at 22

[x-forged]

I think the simple fact that it is the head size of a three-wood must have some forgiveness effect that the driver doesn't have even if it is a low 11 degrees. I guess that would have to be the case if he isnt even carrying the big kahuna.

[iacas]

Did anyone hear Phil say he's grown an inch in the last couple years so he had to get a longer putter? Just heard the announcers talking about that. That seems crazy to me since he's almost 40. I saw him at LA Open this year and he is no way his listed 6-3 height...I would say barely 6-2.

He's about 6'0", maybe 6'1".

He's done stretching and other things lately, so his posture is better and that's what he meant by "he grew." He didn't actually grow - he's just got better posture. People who work out a little bit (stretching, toning muscles) do tend to get better posture.

[SubPar]

He's about 6'0", maybe 6'1".

I think he was working on an edorsement deal for

Extenze . SubPar

[rudygu]

I think the simple fact that it is the head size of a three-wood must have some forgiveness effect that the driver doesn't have even if it is a low 11 degrees. I guess that would have to be the case if he isnt even carrying the big kahuna.

I figure he's carrying the bent 3 wood instead of a high lofted driver for versatility. An 11 degree 460 cc driver would be more forgiving, but not as useful off the deck.

Pelz probably freaked out when he heard Phil say he wasn't going to go with 5wedges...I'm sure he talked him into it. Honestly, I think it's Phil's greatest fault. He seems to really start overthinking everything too much when he gets really intent on winning.

[x-forged]

I agree I think he tends to overthink and overanalyze too. Good point about the versatility of the 11* wood, but even so, any player without a driver, especially in a major, is quite an interesting strategy..

[Magnus]

From Golf.com

Your driver, Phil, not a driver, we talked all about it this morning. What is it? The 11 and a half degree?
"No, no, that's my 3-wood I've been using all year. You noticed that I didn't have a driver today, huh? My game plan was that I only want to hit it a certain distance, I don't really want to hit it past 300 yards on most of the par-4s because it starts running into the rough. And I felt like with the fairways being firm like they were today all I needed was 3-wood on the holes.

Now if it rains or gets softer, I'll certainly pull driver out. But my game plan for months was, if it's firm fairways like I expected, 3-wood was all I needed. And I was able to take advantage of the two par-5s and get home no problem and that's all that, that's the most important thing."

Phil, how strong is that 3-wood?
"It's just a normal 3-wood. You guys just have not hit our new Callaway FT fairway woods yet, have you? They go a long ways."

15°?
"Yeah."

[iacas]

From Golf.com

Good find. Got tired of hearing about Phil's "11 degree 3-wood" during coverage today. Funny to know that every time they said it they got it wrong.

Then again, I wouldn't put it past Phil to play an 11 degree club and claim it's 15 just so people will say "wow, he hit that 3-wood 300 yards!"

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

"It's just a normal 3-wood. You guys just have not hit our new Callaway FT fairway woods yet, have you? They go a long ways."

Phil sure does like to plug his Callaway equipment. And the Callaway test center.. Most guys seem kind of reserved when it comes to the equipment.

I agree I think he tends to overthink and overanalyze too

Yeah, I agree as well. Which is why I think Phil may actually think he

is an inch taller now Wouldn't surprise me if he goes with 6 wedges one of these days once the 5 wedge thing loses it's wow factor. I do like Phil though.... he's different from most of the rest and it's a bit refreshing even though he can be a bit over the top.