Rory McIlroy, Chris (Remember Me?) Riley Share Early Lead at Memorial

Last we heard of Chris Riley, in a familiar sense, was when he was too fatigued to appear for his afternoon matches in the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills. 7 years later, a sparkling 66 at Jack's place left him locked with budding superstar Rory McIlroy after the 1st round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, OH. Negotiating a tough course with a major-like feel in only 25 putts will do that for you. McIlroy followed the same prescription, needing 25 putts on the way to his 66. Chris DiMarco, another blast from the past, held up 2nd with Josh Teater, both recording 67s, -5. 9 players followed with 68s in a group including Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, and Rocco Mediate. Fowler's "Sybil-like" round featured 5 bogeys, 7 birdies, and an eagle. Just 4 pars on his card. Notables included Phil Mickelson with a rather pedestrian 72, Fred Couples' 79 that may be injury related, and Kenny Perry's 80, a sign that his tremendous streak in his late 40s has vanished. 1st Round Full Field Scores

Players love The Memorial Tournament. The constant buzz is that it's the best treatment they receive on tour and the golf course condition is second to none. I know they can't play them all, but Kaymer, Westwood, and McDowell would have been well served by being here. After all, it's Jack.







Swing hard, look up,

Rose Finally Blossoms at Memorial

It's tough to feel too badly for a guy who has won 10.6 million dollars, albeit without a PGA Tour win. Still, it was nice to see a nice guy, Justin Rose, punch his first stateside winner's ticket in the 2010 Memorial. His 66 today was the round of the day by two strokes and blew him past 3rd round leader Rickie Fowler who's 73 left him at -15, three off Rose's pace. The battle of the Rickys(ies) was a dead heat with Ricky Barnes carding the same 73 as Fowler. That gave him a tie for 3rd at -12 with Bo Van Pelt, who shot 69. Trailing at -11 was the trio of Phil Mickelson, Tim Petrovic, 74, and Ryan Moore with a nice final round 68. Final Full Field Scores.

Rose began his charge by birdieing  4 of 5 holes on the front nine to catch Fowler. Fowler contributed to Rose's rise by bogeying 10 and doubling 12. Barnes paid his homage as well with a double on 12 and a bogey on 13. After that it was basically fairways and greens for Rose who answered the pressure and came home with a comfortable cushion. Rose seems on the brink of a stretch of winning golf with a revamped swing and posture. His swing appears effortless with few moving parts. He's obviously improved his conditioning and has the elements to compete on the biggest stages. For a guy that's just 29 it seems he's been around for much longer, having caught our attention in the Open Championship as a precocious 17 year old. He's certainly paid his dues since, having risen from the depths of despair, at one point missing 21 consecutive cuts at the start of his pro career. You have to learn how to win at this level and pay your dues in failed attempts. Rose got his just reward today and Fowler contributed to his experience bank. That's generally how it works.

Most of the top players used The Memorial as their US Open at Pebble Beach tune-up. Expect next week's St. Jude Classic to be a glorified Nationwide Tour event.  A number a today's participants will turn around and have to play tomorrow in a 36 hole US Open qualifier. Hard to feel too bad for them however as I spend my 11 hour day running a big box retail store. Hey, where I went to school there was no golf team.







Til' next,

Memorial Needs to Jump Start Boring PGA Tour

This past week's Colonial Golf Tournament did little to awaken the masses and click their remotes. Zach Johnson seems to be a super guy, but lacks the cachet of a Phil or Tiger, especially when left to his own devices. Johnson beating Mickelson or Woods or winning the Masters, as he did, are all big stories. Woods and other top ranked players, including nearly all Europeans, skipping Hogan's event, combined with Phil missing the cut, meant this tourney was losing to burgers and beer on Memorial Day weekend. Still, Johnson won the honor of the plaid jacket to go with his green one. Which reminds me of one of my favorite golf tales. I'll paraphrase. When Peter Jacobsen won the 1984 Colonial in a playoff over Payne Stewart it was said that he was dutifully donning the plaid coat while gathered in a small group and said, "How long do I have to wear this %&*#@$& jacket?" No other than Ben Hogan, standing close behind him, but not noticed, replied to Jacobsen, "Until I say you can take it off son."

 This weeks Memorial Tournament will be a Nicklaus lovefest with the likes of Woods, Mickelson, Els, Scott, and McIlroy teeing it up. Woods defends. Is Woods game still a mess? Does Phil miss consecutive cuts? Can McIlroy validate his "arrival"? Good questions all. A pretty good US Open tune-up as well. This launches the meat of the pro golf season running through the Open Championship and culminating with the PGA Championship.Time to separate the pretenders from the contenders in the 2010 season. If at that point you still haven't made a decision you can have the FedUp Cup for dessert. Memorial field.

For this Average Golfer this week represents the first meaningful pro golf since THE PLAYERS Championship. Be there or risk falling behind.






Til' next,

Woods' Final Round 65 Takes Memorial - US Open Tune-Up

If anyone questions whether Tiger Woods has recovered from his knee surgery, they need look no further than today's final round of Jack's Memorial Tournament. Woods' closing 65 overtook all pretenders and led to his 4th Memorial trophy. Rebounding from a 16th hole bogey that left him in a four way tie for the lead, Woods simply birdied his last two holes finishing at -12, a solitary stroke over tenacious Jim Furyk. As Average Golfer predicted, third round leaders Brian Davis and Matt Bettencourt wilted under the major-like pressure to finish 3rd and 5th respectively. Jonathan Byrd inserted himself into the tie for 3rd and Matt Kuchar and Davis Love III joined the knot for 5th.

At the start of today's final round you'd have gotten better odds that Woods would rally from his four shot deficit to win the thing than you would that he'd hit every fairway. Well, he did both. Despite Muirfield's generous landing areas that's still an impressive feat leading up to this year's US Open at Bethpage Black. Any questions about his iron play were answered on the 18th hole today with a moonshot 7 iron from 186 yards to 14 inches. My go- to club from 186 isn't an iron. Doubts about his putting were put to rest by Muirfield's icy greens that registered well above 12 on anyone's Stimpmeter. That sort of performance from all areas of his game only means that Woods is the prohibitive favorite in two weeks to win his 15th major. Woods vs. the field is the only bet worth looking at.

Whether you like Woods or routinely root against him, your eyes will be on him in two weeks. That makes the PGA Tour and the networks happy and prosperous.



Til' next,

Photo Finish In Store at '09 Memorial Tournament

Mine That Bird, as the betting favorite, spit the bit at the 2009 Belmont Stakes, but no such favorite exists after three rounds of Jack's Memorial Tournament. Thirteen golfers are within five strokes of the leaders, leaders who don't strike fear into the five major champions hoping overcome their deficits tomorrow.

Matt Bettencourt shared the 54 hole lead with two-time Tour winner Mark Wilson. Bettencourt was last year's Nationwide Tour money winner. Wilson's a journeyman pro whose play this year has given him hope of achieving greater status on tour. They finished at -9, one stroke ahead of US Open winner Jim Furyk, two in front of major champions Davis Love III and Geoff Ogilvy. The other lurking major winners were Ernie Els and Tiger Woods at -5. Woods' 68 tied for 2nd best round of the day, with Ogilvy taking the honors with a sizzling 63. Inserting themselves into the mix among the glitterati were Jonathan Byrd at -8 and Matt Kuchar tied at -5 with Michael Letzig.

The fairways and greens at Muirfield are getting slicker than a used car salesman on the last day of the month. Look for experience to prevail. Mr. Bettencourt and Mr. Wilson have certainly played under pressure before or they wouldn't be here. Still, being chased on a golf course with a major-like set up by five major champions is a different deal all together. If one of them holds up they'll elevate themselves to a new level in the Tour pantheon. If not, they'll still take home a bundle of loot. Should be fun to watch.



Til' next,

"Breaking The Slump", by Jimmy Roberts - Average Golfer Book Review

If you haven't suffered a slump in your golf game, it only means you started playing yesterday. Slumps are a guarantee. I know it, you know it, and the American people know it. Slumps are frequently taboo topics. Suddenly you can't keep it on the property, but your regular playing partners hesitate to comment for fear that the obvious "slumpitis" will transfer to them. Shunned like lepers, the slumping golfer had no one to relate to, until now. NBC golf announcer Jimmy Roberts has parlayed his backstage pass with golf professionals into a compelling and rare insight to what we thought never existed, slumps by the greatest golfers in the world.

From well known slumpers like Scott Verplank, David Duval, and Johnny Miller, Roberts reveals icons we figured as slump-proof. A collective sigh of relief will be heard when read what Nicklaus and Palmer have to relate about their respective downturns in their golf games. I found the chapter with George H.W. Bush particularly poignant, since he's a routine duffer with more than 70 years of playing the game on his stat sheet. His love for the game after all that time is reason enough for me plow forward, despite my obvious shortcomings.

The crux of bootstrapping out of a golf slump that I gained from the book is that the fix is almost always within ourselves. Some swing thought, drill, or previous lesson is the key to discovery. When our golf is going great it seems effortless and without thought. When it dives into the abyss even the easiest of motions seems impossible. The fact is we've deviated from whatever we did well that kept us hooked on this Rubik's Cube of a pastime. Rediscovering it is the tough part. Roberts by chapter interviews with stars of the sport give us a lifeline to realize that if we've done something once, we can do it again.

A sample of the books innards would have to include Dotttie Pepper, whose thoughts on slumps include, "Forget the stuff that's bad. Go do a little something of what you're good at." And, "Play by feel, not by theory." Great advice, but it's up to us to incorporate Dottie's wisdom into our individual games.

Roberts manages to place us in the third chair at his interviews. His comfortable style weaves us into the web early on. The book reads itself and you'll find yourself turning pages without realizing it. Roberts' book best presents us with knowledge that slumps aren't our sole provision. The world's greatest have suffered them, worked through them, and emerged on the other side with their games intact. Why should we be any different? Truth is we shouldn't.

Breaking The Slump, by Jimmy Roberts. Published byHarper Collins. Available on Amazon.com.




Til' next,

Kenny Perry Wins 2008 Memorial - Goggin Gags.

Only two men have won three Memorial tournaments. Tiger Woods, and now Kenny Perry. Perry's big mistake free round of 69, (280), granted him a two stroke victory over the quad of Jerry Kelly, Justin Rose, Mike Weir, and Matthew Goggin.

Bowling alley greens, dastardly winds, and rough longer than 9th grade math made the final round an arduous test of accuracy and focus. One small slip was all it took to slide down the board. Matt Goggin gained valuable experience in playing near the top of a prestigious golf tournament. He went out in 38 though and effectively heaved his lead. Give him credit though for hanging in and taking some 2nd place money. Weir, Rose, and Kelly all shot 71 today to end up where they started, tied together. None gave Perry a serious challenge, but were close enough for Average Golfer to watch some coverage, (with the sound off). I live near some woods and Ian Baker Finch's voice annoys the wildlife.

Hats off to Perry. His goal this year is to make the Ryder Cup team. This win put him in the 8th spot for selection, which is the last automatic berth now. Curiously, Perry's not playing in the US Open at Torrey Pines. He said his '08 focus was on the vents he plays well in order to make the Cup squad. Perry said that Torrey Pines wasn't one of those venues.

Next week's scheduled event, the Stanford St. Jude Championship, may look like a Nationwide Tour tournament. I can't imagine too many of the big names will play, choosing to practice and rest for the following week's US Open. Darned if I still don't the idea of golfers having to rest. Do Major League Baseball players play for four consecutive days? Yes. Do they then need a week off? Nope.

Get ready in the coming days for Average Golfer's intense 2008 US Open coverage. Something in the air says they'll be lots of story lines.

Til, next,

Goggin, Perry Tied for Memorial Lead. - Big Names Tumble.

Australian Matthew Goggin woke up with the lead at the 2008 Memorial this morning and he'll go to bed tied for it. His even par 72 left him level with Kenny Perry, who carded a one under 71 today. Both players enter the third round at -7. Hot on their tails are Jerry Kelly, -6, Luke Donald, -5, Matt Kuchar, Geoff Ogilvy, Steve Lowery and Nick O'Hern, all at -4. Jack wanted an major-like feel to his tournament and he got one. Despite some of the widest fairways on tour, Muirfield Village yielded a first round scoring average of 73.73, with today's second round expected to come in just over 75. 5-6 inch seed- bearing rough and a reported green speed of 14 on the Stimpmeter has this course looking like a major. Keep it in play, take what's there, stay below the hole, make the putts, and that's the recipe for victory. Sounds easy, but it's not for 72 holes. Throw in some wind like today and par's a great score.

Big names that faltered or just tread water, Ernie Els, +7, missed cut. K.J. Choi, +6, probable missed cut as of this writing. Hunter Mahan, +8, missed cut. Sergio Garcia, +5, lots of wood to cut. Phil Mickelson, 75 today, +3 overall. Average Golfer's pick, Jim Furyk, +1. Jim's still there, but better get going. Fred Couples, -1. Fred's playing well, always seems to on tough courses. All you need to know regarding how tough this course is that today's conditions produced 21 rounds in the 80s! Nick Watney's two rounds......68-80. Dang, that's how I play, only 15 strokes higher on both ends.

All you need to know about playing winning golf on any level is that putting is where it's at. After two rounds Goggin is T55 in driving distance, T67 in greens in regulation, and 1st in putts/greens in regulation. He's averaged an astonishing 22.5 putts per round so far.

More wind will have Jack smiling and pros struggling. Between the rough, the fast greens, the furrowed bunkers, and Mother Nature, the 2nd half of this baby could be a blast to watch.

Til' next,

2008 Memorial - Winner Predicted - Best of the Rest

Jack's tournament, the 2008 Memorial at Muirfield Village may be more conspicuous this year for who's not playing. Widely considered one of the best tourneys outside the majors, the withdrawals are stacking up at an unheard of rate. Tiger Woods, knee. Vijay Singh, rib injury. Steve Stricker, elbow. Elbow or ego? Strick's having some trouble making cuts of late. Adam Scott, fatigue. Fatigue? Carrying his own clubs? Hair too heavy? Lie and say food poisoning, not fatigue for cryin' out loud! I'm 51 years old and work in a construction related business. Today I handled 80 pieces of sheet rock and 50 bags of cement, not to mention how many hundreds of pieces of lumber. I'M FATIGUED! How are you going to topple Tiger with that namby- pamby outlook? Enough. The word is that this golf course is the best conditioned course these guys will play all year, including the majors. I'm sure that's how Jack wanted it to be.

As is Average Golfer's custom, we'll dissect the favorites as considered such by Ladbrokes, the British odds house. Here we go.........

Phil Mickelson, 7/1 --- Can't bet against him after last week. By far the best player here.

Geoff Ogilvy, 14/1 --- On the strength of his Florida swing. Legit chance.

Stewart Cink, 14/1 --- Rap on Stew, great tournaments, lots of 2nds, can't win.

Jim Furyk, 16/1 --- Uncharacteristic balky putter. Tee to green, one of the best.

Sergio Garcia, 16/1 --- Expected better odds after The Players. Guess they're waiting to see if his putter implodes.

Kenny Perry, 20/1 --- Bit of a hot head on Sundays. See Stewart Cink.

Ernie Els, 25/1 --- Missed the cut last week at Wentworth, his home course. Was in this tournament, withdrew, got back in. Ernie's a mess. Avoid him like the plague.

K.J. Choi, 33/1 --- M.I.A. since Hawaii, California swing. Was steady, now a bit shaky. Defending champ though.

Luke Donald, 33/1 --- Brits and Scots have a tough time in the states. Ask Monty and Justin Rose.

Rod Pampling, 33/1 --- Gritty and competitive. Wouldn't count him out.


Sleeper picks from down the odds board. Aaron Baddeley, 40/1. Consistent enough to win anywhere. Hunter Mahan, 100/1. Great player. At these odds, worth a look. Daniel Chopra, 150/1. Already won this year, why not? David Duval and Larry Mize at 300/1. Feel bad for David. Larry got in due to the high number of dropouts. Any action on David vs Larry head to head?

As an aside, at about halfway through the professional golf season, the 100th money ranked player is Alex Cejka with $475,848.00. The 1st millionaire to appear on the list is Pat Perez, ranked 43rd on the money list with $1,018,735.00. So, is there any surprise that tournaments are having trouble attracting great fields on a regular basis? All you have to do now is play to keep your card. That's money in the bank.

Almost forgot, Average Golfer's winner prediction for the 2008 Memorial is..................Jim Furyk. Jimbo sheds the "Furyk Funk" and makes the putts he has to make.

Til' next,