Furyk to sponsor 17 Hole Energy Product
Well, I’m not sure what there is to add. I’m still a little bewildered that Jim Furyk lost the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but obviously not as much as he is. The ending was painfully similar to what happened at the U.S. Open in June when he blew the lead on the 70th hole instead of the 72nd.
Olympic: a good U.S. Open venue?
I had a few post-U.S. Open discussion points I wanted to throw out there, but it’s obviously a little after the fact now. I should have a put something up earlier this week, but when I tell you I’ve been sick and barely been able to make it from my bed to the bathroom, I’m not kidding. I caught some sort of bug in San Francisco — thanks to the awesome weather — and naturally it got worse flying cross-country, not to mention the general exhaustion.
I still don’t have much of a voice, so don’t make fun of me if you see me at the Travelers this weekend (I’m trying to get my butt up there!). Good news is I’m pretty sure I’m no longer contagious. I mean, it’s been over a week.
The rare reaction on the 16th tee to the shot that cost him the title
When the last putt dropped at Olympic — or rather didn’t — there was a sense of emptiness. That was it? The tournament was over? I was left with a pit in my stomach, like the plain salad and soup wasn’t enough to ease my hunger, or I had just watched a really compelling movie that ended with an anti-climactic cliffhanger.
Now this was nothing personal against Webb Simpson, a deserving champion, who shot impressive rounds of 68-68 over the weekend to rally from four shots back heading into the final round of the U.S. Open. And it had nothing to do with the venue. I loved Olympic Club with the large Cypress trees lining the fairways, built on a pretty steep cliff. It was severe and challenging, but a pure and fair test.
Cantlay eyes PGA Tour card
There’s been chatter over the last month at least that Patrick Cantlay, the top-ranked amateur who just finished his sophomore year at UCLA, is expected to turn professional and sign with Tiger Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports. After Cantlay finished T41 at the U.S. Open on Sunday, he said he hasn’t “really made a decision yet” *coughBScough* and planned to sit down with his family to discuss it, according to GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard:
Keegan Bradley with his dad Mark Bradley looping for him on the 18th
At the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, Kevin Streelman came up with an idea to share a special moment with his dad Dennis on Father’s Day. A player can change caddies at any time and Kevin confirmed it with the walking official.
Four years ago, heading into the 72nd hole on Sunday, Kevin teed off well ahead of the leaders, allowing him the opportunity to surprise his dad when he told him to switch places with his caddie Mike Christensen.
Really? Really.
Oh, the scene on the 18th green during the trophy presentation couldn’t have been more fitting to the punch-drunk ending that left me feeling kind of empty. Of course, it has nothing to do with Webb Simpson, a deserving champion. It was just weird, but I shouldn’t be surprised since the atmosphere was eerie from the start on Sunday.
The Squawking British Bird, wearing a UK-patterned-peacock-ski cap, charged the 18th green and camera-bombed the ceremony crowning Simpson as the 2012 U.S. Open champion. Best part? USGA Executive Director Mike Davis not missing a beat and yanking the guy out of the way. Simply classic. Also, lesson learned: Don’t mess with Mike!
It isn't always the prettiest or the most conventional, but Furyk gets the job done
The strangeness in the air on Saturday carried over into the wee hours of Sunday morning when the fire alarm woke up a bunch of cranky scribes at the media hotel around 1am. Myself included. Naturally, it turned out to be a false alarm. Somehow, the disconcerting announcement didn’t sound in my room (thank God for Twitter,huh?), but I did get the “false alarm” one.
Good news is I could understand all three languages used: Spanish, Mandarin and English (played in that order). You know, just in case I missed the first or second message the fourth time it was repeated. Better news: I didn’t listen to the evacuation order and leave my room for the Media Pajama Party in front of the hotel. Now that would have been a spooky nightmare!
The game plan was to rest up and then wake up early to write this post — which I’ve been thinking through since Friday evening — but alas, here I am, up and at ’em. Let’s hope some of this makes sense…it goes back to a quote Jim Furyk gave me after the final round of the Masters in April.
To add insult to injury after moving the wrong way in the third round of the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods stomped off the 18th green, looking like he had just shot five-over 75. As you can see, it’s always quite chaotic with everyone trying to get out of the way or in the way.
What a strange, strange day.
I was standing next to the stairs. If you’re looking at the video, I’m the one closest to the bottom of the steps on the right (wearing all-black and my hair is black, so it’s hard to make me out). It was a pretty dramatic moment and I swear you could almost hear the impact of Tiger’s hand hitting the lens (*update: or his elbow arm smacking the guy’s head). Maybe not. It was probably more of the tension in the air. I think Tiger’s melodramatic reaction was partly to the pain and partly to feeling pissed off about his ugly round.
View of the 18th green
So, all the work I did in the last two hours was just lost. FML. Somehow it didn’t auto-save and when I hit “publish,” I discovered I had been signed out and my draft hadn’t been saved. Awesome. I don’t think I’ve felt that pit in my stomach since college. I mean, c’mon, technology!
Well, I guess I’ll redo it later, but bed for now. Here are the tee times for Saturday:
Ed. note re: the headline: To be clear, I’m being facetious. It’s obviously pure speculation since the cut line has yet to be determined and we do not have knowledge of Rory’s weekend plans, if he does indeed have the weekend off.
The Open cut is the deepest
So much for defending his U.S. Open title at Olympic Club. Rory McIlroy, who blew the field away by eight shots last year at Congressional, followed his first-round seven-over 77 with a three-over 73 in the second round for a two-day total of 10-over.
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