Travelers-Hartford Open (Beware of Spoilers)

[Frank-0-Sport]

Greetings ...

Yessss - I know what the OFFICIAL NAME of the event is, but tell me - what does Travelers Championship tell you that Travelers-Hartford Open doesn't?

Current Hartford Leaderboard

Glad to see Chris Dimarco play well. He's currently 102nd on the 6-17-2007 PGA Tour Money List and needs some high finishes to get back on track. While I hope Chris does well this week, I'd really love to see him win the British Open, after his 2nd place finish last year.

Good luck also to Jason Gore, who turned in a good score of his own. Gore is 135th on the 6-17-2007 Money List, and his two-year victory exemption is over at season's end, so he needs to get golfing!

Ahhh - I also see 2005 Hartford champion Brad Faxon, 220th in money, lighting it up a bit on Day One. Go Faxie!

Finally, congratulations to the first-round leader, Hunter Mahan, who stands 92nd on the 6-17-2007 Money List, and apparently headed for a good year overall.

Thanx-A-Lot and Enjoy, Frank-0-Sport

[CG031]

It's funny how much better the scores are this week compared to last week at the U.S. Open!

[iacas]

Chris DiMarco - though a great guy and a Steelers fan - is the most over-rated golfer in the world.

But hey, what's a week without a drive-by posting from FOS?

[CG031]

Chris DiMarco - though a great guy and a Steelers fan - is the most over-rated golfer in the world.

I agree - DiMarco is a good putter but I was never a huge fan of the rest of his game.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

I'll have to agree that DiMarco is one of the most over-rated players in the game. When was his last win anyways, 2002 or something like that. I do like to watch him when he's in contention though because he is such a competitor. Nice to see New England boy Faxon up there! Been a long time since I have seen his name up near the top. Andrade too. Oh yeah, since I picked Mahan in both my fantasy leagues I'm glad to see him lighting it up.

[$2 Nassau]

I live right outside of Hartford, taking a 1/2 day today and going to the tourney for the afternoon.

Looking at afternoon tee times right now, trying to find a good group to follow (I like to follow a group rather than sit at one hole).

Considering these groups as I will be getting there around 12:00- 12:30pm:

12:31 10th tee: Calcavecchia, Toms, Lehman

12:31 1st tee: Dimarco, Padraig Harrington, Chad Campbell

Which one would you follow? Leaning toward sToms' group, I'd like to see him play in person.

Vijay is playing early this morning. :(

[Jeepthrills]

I live right outside of Hartford, taking a 1/2 day today and going to the tourney for the afternoon.

I'd follow the Toms group in case his wife is there. It's too bad Vijay is playing anywhere, anytime.

[Frank-0-Sport]

Greetings ....

And now the 2nd round is in the books.

Hunter Mahan and Chris DiMarco are still among the Top-5, while David Toms made a nice move to tie for 1st with Jay Williamson at 8-under-132

Credit Mahan for staying close to the leaders. As always, it is tough for one to come back after a great effort the previous day.

Brad Faxon followed up a 65 with 74. Faxie - How could you? All of New England is groaning! Jason Gore is still among the Top 30 - get golfing, boy.

Grand Old Bulldog Corey Pavin, with a 66, moved from 61st to 12th. Fred Funk, an even older dog, did Corey one better, firing a 65 to move from 61st to 7th. Are these two looking to join Jim Furyk on the Alleve commercials?

The 36-hole cut came at 1-over-141. If a 10-shot rule were in place, six players at 2-over-142 would be joining the other 79 for a weekend party in Cromwell.

Overall, first and last are separated by 9 strokes. As Brad Faxon demonstrated with his 65-61 weekend finish in 2005, anyone has a chance to win. I like it that way. How about you?

Thanx-A-Lot, Frank-0-Sport

[Frank-0-Sport]

Greetings ....

Current Hartford Leaderboard

It's moving day alright - but so far, a lot of folks are moving in the wrong direction. What was a 9-stroke difference between first and last at the start of the day is now (11:30 am) a 14-stroke difference.

It will be interesting to see which directions the leaders all go later on this afternoon.

Thanx-A-Lot, Frank-0-Sport

[Q.Q.Quillume]

Greetings ...

What's your point, if you have one?

[bflat450]

I went to this yesterday... was literally a few feet away from Vijay, Zach Johnson, Will Mackenzie, Fred Funk, David Toms, and a ton of other great players. It was quite a fun day.

[tigerwho?]

I went today it was pretty nice course. Loved 17th hole.

[Golf is to hard]

I love the course they play on MUCH better than Oakmont which was unfair this course has easy birdey holes and many many Risk Reward types of shots. This will make a much better finish than Tiger Lagging a putt close to lose the U.S open.

[Frank-0-Sport]

Greetings ...

Oh, my - one more round? Play away please!

To QQ Quillume
Recent corporate sponsorship deals tend to take out traditional event names - including the cities where the events are played. As for the word "championship", I prefer to see that reserved only for events such as the PGA Championship or Players Championship.

Now to the Golf
We have already seen a couple of 65's posted, with possibly more to follow. If either Jay Williamson or Hunter Mahan want to claim their first PGA Tour win, then they have to play great golf, because a number of names are ready to chomp on the leaders' heels.

Thanx-A-Lot and Enjoy the Golf, Frank-0-Sport

[ezmoney5150]

I love the course they play on MUCH better than Oakmont which was unfair this course has easy birdey holes and many many Risk Reward types of shots. This will make a much better finish than Tiger Lagging a putt close to lose the U.S open.

That's why it's the US Open run by the USGA. I don't think Oakmont was unfair at all. If you hit it in the fairway you could spin the ball. There is a penalty for hitting it in the rough. Most courses you just bomb and gouge. who needs the fairway when you can hit driver wedge on every hole. There also was a "Risk reward" par 4 you could drive. I'm sorry I don't agree. Oakmont was a fair test.

[Frank-0-Sport]

Greetings ....

What else can one say?

Great shots by both Jay Williamson and Hunter Mahan - in regulation and sudden-death

Great win, Hunter.

Great Performance, Jay - although I think the birdie try in the playoff had some adrenaline in it.

A Great Golf Match - that's all it had to be.

Thanx-A-Lot, Frank-0-Sport

[Mhinderaker]

All I can say is WOW.

What a FANTASTIC finish, Williamson gave himself some opportunities and just missed the putts, but I really shouldn't take anything away from Mahan because while Williamson came up big with those 2 iron shots, Mahan stepped up to the plate and delivered 2 perfectly struck irons - especially the second one.

[Scratch-Hopeful]

If you didn't watch the ending of this tournament because of the lack of names it was a shame. I almost didn't watch it but it was fantastic. Hunter first building up his lead and then losing it and coming back on the 18th with two incredible shots to tie it up. I gotta admit that I was really pulling for Williamson because of how rare of a chance it might be from now on for him to get a win and how Hunter will win tourneys in the future. Either way, it was quite the tournament.