Barnes before his back-nine meltdown
Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on Ricky Barnes’ performance in majors. Barnes, who officially found out he was in the field two hours before his tee time, averages better finishes on the grand stage:
Ricky Barnes and Tiger Woods share a bro handshake after some round
While Tiger Woods was hitting the bed (metaphorically, of course), the kids were having their day. And with the end of the pre-scandal dominant Tiger era, everyone can’t stop waxing greatness about golf’s youth movement. No Tiger? No problem! There’s always Rickie, Ryo, Dustin and Rory! No pressure, guys. But at the same time, many are still optimistic and prognosticate a huge year for Tiger in 2011 (including yours truly). Why? Because Tiger’s beyond ticked off, says Ricky Barnes via the Toronto Sun.
These soft conditions must be reminding Ricky Barnes of last year’s U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Buoyed by an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole, Barnes is 5-under through 10 holes and 9-under for the championship, two strokes behind our new leader Louis Oostheizen.
Annnnd, Barnes just stiffed his tee shot on No. 11. He looks good. Oops, he just yipped it. Still a strong start.
Davis Love III and Ricky Barnes have something to smile about on this roasting hot (at least in NYC it’s 100 degrees!) Tuesday. Thanks to withdrawals by David Toms and Anthony Kim due to injuries, the R&A has added Barnes and Love, the first and second alternates, respectively, to the British Open (excuse me, I mean, the Open Championship) field.
Welcome to Balls in the Air, where I size up my Fantasy Golf picks of the week, featuring guys to watch (or not) and interesting story lines. Disclaimer: Don’t yell at me if my picks suck. There’s no mathematical formula to my attempt at predicting something as random as golf scores.
I was on the phone last night with a dear friend as I was making my picks. Being that he claims he reads every word I write, I was surprised he wasn’t aware of the fantasy golf format. I called him out, “You don’t read ‘Balls in the Air,’ do you?”
/holding back tears
“No, I don’t,” he admitted sheepishly. “I don’t read it because there’s no Stephanie in it.”
Apologies for the tardiness on this post, but I’ve been recovering from two fantastic weeks on the road (and still jetlagged). Thanks to the Travelers Championship for having me last week — the communications team running the tournament was very helpful and hospitable. It’s no wonder why the event is so beloved by the locals and the pros who come every year. And Padraig Harrington, who was only making his second appearance in Hartford, told me (and two others) on Sunday he’d “go out of his way to return.” Ditto.
Anyway, this space is for the random tidbits and quotes I picked up that went previously unused. Sometimes it happens to be some of the most interesting content, too. At least in my humble opinion. Keep reading, if you will.
In the beginning of the week, a wise man told me that the decision to walk Pebble Beach, especially the holes out toward the 10th, was a “commitment.” I found out what he meant on Friday — when I didn’t return to the media center until six and a half hours later.
You know those “quaint” roadside motels you see in horror films, where a young woman is staying by herself in a pseudo-secluded area and when she’s in the shower, a serial killer, who happens to run the place…? Yeah, like that movie Psycho. I’m just trying to set the scene for you as I burn the midnight oil in an eerie Bates Motel-esque room. Well, now that’s out of the way, I’m going to summarize my day as quick as possible because I’m waking up at 6AM. Theoretically.
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