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Dozens out of 42,000. What's your point? You'll find more at the Texas Open.

Yeah, the Top 25% do - maybe.

He's done nothing as a professional. Give me a break. I assume you meant the U.S. Amateur - which last I checked, was a tournament for non-professionals.

Too bad the "New York fans" showed no respect to Barnes on 17. Some of you guys are idiots taking shots at the fans this week. Comical, quite frankly. Just need something to complain about, I guess. Obvious bias against New York, as usual.

It's going to feel "real" when you see how the 4th round is being setup - back of the tips, tucking all of the pins. Good luck.

I would say that 75% of solid golf fans have no idea who Barnes is - because he's done nothing as a professional.

I agree. They've gotten great scoring weather and The Black won't break. I'll say we'll have 10 players within 3 or 4 shots of the lead by the time they sign off tonight - everyone between 2 under and 5 or 6 under.

He gave the kid the ball.

That's mighty liberal of you. Respect is earned in New York - it is not given away.

It's not the best - until there is a 6 person playoff on Tuesday.

That was Jacobsen calling the chip tasty.

Spoken like a true Upstate New York resident that would have no shot of succeeding in anything in NYC.

Don't worry about cell phones/BlackBerries - they're not allowed in. Security is relatively tight and if you bring one to The Black, you'll have to check it and pick it up on the way out. As for your vendor - I would take the approach of seeing what their plan is for the day when you get to the course. Of course, I'm sure you will want to spend some time with them as you are their guest. However, I don't think it would be inappropriate to say, "This is my first time here, I'm going to go explore some of the course. Can I meet you back here in an hour or two?" As for tracking Tiger - the name of the game is staying ahead of his group. If you jump ahead three holes from where he is, you should be able to get a great spot close to a green or a tee box. If you want an upclose look at some point - plant yourself on the green where the players walk from that green to the next tee - he'll have to walk right by you. I have my own little plan that I used in 2002 at Bethpage to watch Tiger - I went right to the 2nd green prior to him teeing off on the first hole. Was able to see him make a birdie putt upclose and then his tee shot on the 3rd. I then moved to the 5th green and caught him there - because of the way Bethpage is setup (7, 8 and 9 are a long way out), I went to the 10th green and saw his play there and the 11th tee shot. If you jump about 3 holes ahead of him, you'll be able to get good viewing spots. As for the food - depends on what "club" your vendor is in. The "Trophy Club" is a huge tent, air conditioned, TVs, tables etc - but you pay for the food and drink. There are corporate tents where it is a similar setup and the food and drink is free. There are concession stands all over the course, as well as bathrooms. If you're looking for a spot to camp out - the stands behind the 15th tee are right on top of that tee box and right next to the 16th green - lots of action to be seen from your seat. The second best spot, in my opinion, is the stadium they have setup on 17. Bring an umbrella, a waterproof windbreaker if you have one - and I would go with shorts if you don't have rain pants. Also, wear golf shoes if you have them - the spikes will help with the wet grass and the hills. And bring an umbrella. Have a great time.

Nah. There will be plenty of golf. For the amount of rain the course has taken over the last month, especially the last two weeks, the course was in prime condition today. The course can take a couple of inches of rain each day and I don't think that much rain is expected. If you're going and haven't invested in rain gear - waterproof windbreaker and rain pants - best investment you'll ever make. I have mine all ready for tomorrow - including my golf spikes (no need to be negotiating the wet Bethpage terrain with a pair of sneakers).

I was there today - great weather. I'll be there tomorrow and Friday. From what I saw today, the greens were still relatively quick. The greens were holding well. However, the name of the game is getting it in the fairway. The first cut of rough seemed managable for most everyone - the 2nd cut is brutal and was layup time. I got to see about 30 guys today - the guys that hit it 270 (like a Tim Clark) are going to have some issues, regardless of the greens. Also, Appleby and Zach Johnson both looked like garbage - couldn't find fairways, and when they did, they couldn't find greens. I'll stick with my 6 under to 10 under winning score - but if the wind kicks up, that could neutralize the advantage of the soft greens. I've played The Black a couple of dozen times - it's a big, brutish golf course - but seeing it setup for The Open this year and in 2002 makes it look 10 times bigger. I think the Championship is going to be a ton of fun to watch - wide open, lots of up and downs, big numbers, little numbers, crazy fans etc.

I think the winner is in the 6 under - 10 under range; and that's not a knock on the course. I live 5 minutes from the course and have played it numerous times. It's too bad this will be the second time we're not seeing The Black with typical Long Island weather. Anyway, here are the birdie holes: #1 - Dogleg right par 4. Good tee shot will have these guys with an 8 iron going into the green. #2 - Only par 4 under 400 yards. Put it in the fairway with an iron or 5-wood and they'll have a 6 or 7 iron up the hill. #4 - The signature hole on The Black. Par 5, good drive of 300 will leave about 210 up the hill, over trouble to a green that slopes away. Still a birdie hole. #6 - Par 4. Change on this one - 2002 it had two fairways the second being at the bottom of the hill for layups out of the rough. There is now just one fairway and a 300 yard drive will get a roll down a steep hill leaving 60-80 yards in. #11 - Par 4. Tough green, but a good drive will leave a mid iron in. #13 - Par 5. Added 50 yards to this one since 2002, 605 yards now. Two good shots will leave 100 going in. #14 - Par 3. Shortest par 3 - maybe 150 yards. Huge green that can have some tough pins. #s 15 - 18 are not birdie holes. If someone crosses the road from 14 to 15 on Sunday down 2 shots, they're toast. I think there are up to seven birdie holes for these guys - and even one or two of those are debatable. I think someone can shoot 68 each day to get to 8 under - but even with the conditions, I don't see anyone (other than TW) going 66-68-67-68. I'll go with 5 guys under par; winner at 7 under.

Rick Reilly is a hack writer. He has an article this week about the Georgia high school kids setting up the umpire and drilling him with a pitch during the State High School Baseball Championship game. Deadspin had the story the day after it happened. Reilly is a hack fossil.

Anyone remember the fist pump he gave during last year's PGA Championship where he sort of wheeled on the downslope of the side of the green and came up with a noticeable limp? He was asked about it after the round (can't remember which round) and gave a terse "It's fine". I have this odd feeling that is where he blew his ACL apart and no way can his pride, or ego, allow him to reveal to everyone he blew out his knee celebrating (ala that kicker Gramatica). I'm not buying the "I tore it jogging after the British Open".

The 1990 49ers had the greatest offense ever. That thing was a machine. I think they outscored their 3 playoff opponents 126-26.

Good stuff, guys. My dad passed away when I was 14, and was sick for quite a few years before that. But I have great memories of heading out with him when I was 5 or 6 - he played in a weeknight league. He, and his playing partner, always let me tee off, always let me hit an extra ball after their 2nd shots and always let me putt out a ball before moving along. I have 16 month old twin girls and I look forward to the day we can all get out. It's such a great game and I have such great memories that I really can't wait to spend afternoons knocking it around with my kids.

I'd love to see the Tour have a "throwback" week. Get everyone together, give them all the same clubs set to 1980s/1970s type specs and let them have at it. Only modifications could be length of clubs. I have a feeling they'd all bitch about screwing up their routines - but it would be fun to watch.

Thanks, Lemay. Glad I wasn't hearing things. I think it would be hysterical if there was some 6 year-old half-Mickelson/half-Puerto Rican stripper running around in Atlanta. Maybe she can run out on the green the next time he wins in Hartford with all of his Cleaver-esque daughters. Phil comes off as a douche a couple of times each year - so if he has some illegitimate kid with some southern, minority stripper - I would love to see how that plays out.

I caught a bit of a news report on the Stern Show today on Sirius - I only caught the back end of it twice, but they were mentioning a possible Sports Illustrated story about Mickelson having a kid with an Atlanta-area stripper - I only caught the tail end (no pun intended) of the story - anyone have any idea?

I think the point is more that the announcement of the condition of the greens didn't come until less than a few days before practice rounds were to begin. I'm not a greenskeeper or a degreed horticulturist (or whatever those guys are) so I can't really comment on what needs to be done. However, the contraptions they had setup in Tulsa for the PGA seemed to keep those greens in good shape. If you can keep greens alive in Tulsa, shouldn't you be able to keep them alive in Atlanta? Are there any pictures of East Lake online yet? I bet the greens are going to look like the chipping green from "Tin Cup"'s driving range.

Played at Inlet (about 60 minutes north of Utica on Rt 28) a couple of times over Labor Day weekend - beautiful course winding through the Adirondacks. I think we teed off about 8am on Saturday and Sunday and there were no more than 10 or 12 cars in the parking lot. A true hidden gem if you make the trip up there. I've also played Thendara a bunch of times - again, about 50 minutes north of Utica on Rt 28. Thendara is also a real pretty course winding through the Adirondacks. My family has a lake house in Old Forge, so we play those courses often. However, it would make for a nice overnight trip to play those two courses.