Kuch
As Matt Kuchar was walking up to 17 green, a fan hollered to him, saying Stricker had just bogeyed the par-5 15th hole at Muirfield Village. Now Kuchar doesn’t usually pay attention to scoreboards during competition. He doesn’t feel like watching them can help him play any better.
Good Jobe!
You know whom turned me into a fan of his at the Memorial? Brandt Jobe.
First of all, major props to Golfweek‘s Alex Miceli for picking Jobe as his dark horse before the tournament started. I’ll be completely honest — before this week, I would have had trouble picking Brandt Jobe out of a line-up. And if think you could have, then you are A) a family member or friend, B) have too much time on your hands or C) you are familiar with his inspiring comeback story after losing two fingers in a freak accident in 2006.
Phil couldn't close...
Hours before the last players walked off the course, Phil Mickelson and Kevin Streelman staged an unofficial, friendly match of their own. Paired together in the final round of the Memorial Tournament, they had a little competition within the bigger competition, fueling the clinic both players put on at Muirfield Village (well, aside from the disaster on 18 for Phil).
It's hot in Dublin...Ohio, that is.
Steve Stricker is off to another hot start on another sticky day at Muirfield Village, posting two consecutive birdies on Nos 1 and 2. Going into the final round of the Memorial, Stricker held a three-shot lead over Jonathan Byrd. The two played in the last group together on Sunday at the first tournament of the year, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. Stricker didn’t have his best day and Byrd ended up carrying the day after winning a playoff against Robert Garrigus.
Who’s your pick to win? Oh, and a few other things to note:
The lie in question
While playing the eleventh hole during today’s second round at the Memorial Tournament, Charl Schwartzel’s tee shot came to rest in the semi-rough behind two embedded sprinkler heads. The South African, apparently anxious that his follow-through would graze the plastic rim of one these sprinklers, requested a drop from Tour rules official Jon Brendle (he of the Padraig Harrington divot fiasco and Joost Luiten’s disqualification yesterday evening).
Joey and Freddie, together again
When the tee times were released and I saw Fred Couples and Dustin Johnson playing in the same group, the first word that came to mind was “awkward.” And it was definitely done intentionally. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s a great group — Nick Watney (who withdrew on Thursday before his round), Freddie and DJ — but given the circumstances, I could understand how it may have been uncomfortable. You see, Joey looped for Freddie for 21 years.
Rory's been far afield before, but not like this
Rory McIlroy’s recent work on his putting stroke may have paid off in spectacular fashion Thursday at the Memorial Tournament, with the young Northerner carding a 66 for a share of the first-round lead, but should he succeed in notching up a second PGA Tour victory on Sunday evening, he won’t be sticking around to celebrate. Quite the opposite, in fact: he’s due to fly to Haiti in his capacity as a UNICEF ambassador.
And what, exactly, does a golfer do when he takes a UNICEF field trip? Well, he seems about as informed as the rest of us:
Day is tired
Earlier this week Jason Day pulled out of the Memorial Tournament because after playing the last three in a row, he was tired and needed a break before the US Open. Day and his wife Ellie, a native of Lucas, Ohio, built a house in the Columbus area and are in the process of moving in. During Jack Nicklaus’ presser on Tuesday, a reporter informed him that Day was given playing privileges at Muirfield Village yet had withdrawn from the event.
No, it's not just a dream
The closing holes of the Byron Nelson Championship may have looked like a long, drawn-out grind, but to a PGA Tour rookie waiting nervously in a cabin behind the eighteenth green, events were reaching fever pitch. Keegan Bradley, who was possibly on the verge of his first PGA Tour victory, had just carded a final-round 68. Now, he had to play the waiting game.
Spot the difference: gone is the Northerner's trademark grip
Few journalists do obsessive attention to detail quite like Irish Golf Desk’s Brian Keogh, and this week he’s managed to uncover an interesting story hidden in the most inconspicuous of places: Rory McIlroy’s putting routine. Though McIlroy and his new short-game coach, Dave Stockton, have been anxious to avoid talking about the technical aspects of their collaboration, it appears that the pair’s overhaul of the youngster’s brittle putting stroke has begun with an ambitious attempt to reset years of muscle memory.
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