Unreal Woods Snatches 54 Hole Lead at '08 U.S. Open

A "see it to believe it" back nine gave Tiger Woods a one stroke lead over Lee Westwood at the 2008 U.S. Open. Woods stands at -3 with Westwood one back. Rocco Mediate was the only other player under par at -1. At +1 were D.J. Trahan and Geoff Ogilvy. Five players were tied at +2.

Woods was languishing on the front , but jump started his round with an eagle on 13. A 65 foot bomb brought his round back from the dead even without finding many fairways. On 17 he popped a chip shot from green side rough that one-hopped into the hole for birdie. The smirk on his face told everyone the shot was pure luck. Still, a bird's a bird. 18 was a surreal hole from the get go. With obvious pain from his recently repaired knee he found the fairway with a huge cut shot, ostensibly to be easier on the knee. His second on the par 54 was the same shot with a five wood. He found the green with it and of course drained a lengthy snake that broke about four feet. Four thousand people in the stands roared and set the stage for tomorrow's finale.

Woods and Westwood play last tomorrow. Anybody within five shots probably has a chance, especially with an injured Woods. He admitted in a post round interview that the pain was increasing every day he played with it. I'm sure he was headed straight to an ice machine.

Phil Mickelson shot himself in the foot on 13 when he carded a nine. He kind of tin cupped it from about 65 yards and that effectively ended his tournament. Rocco's a story. From tee to green he been better than anyone, even being a short hitter. Just goes to show that with a U.S. Open course set up, staying out of the deep stuff is paramount. Average Golfer would love to see Rocco do well. He's one of the nicest guys out there. Westwood was very steady and will be tough to beat. Ogilvy's won this before so nerves won't be a problem and he's got a great game. Can't wait for it to start.

Til' next,


Full Scoreboard here.

'08 U.S. Open, Day 1 - Hicks, Streelman Lead. Yes, Hicks, Streelman Lead.

Round 1 of the U.S. Open frequently leaves some relative unknowns in the lead. No different this year. Justin Hicks and Kevin Streelman each had 3 under 68s to share a one stroke lead over Stuart Appleby, Eric Axley, Rocco Mediate, and Geoff Ogilvy. Streelman made some noise earlier this year at the Buick Invitational when he was paired with Tiger Woods. The best info I could get on Hicks is that he finished 80th on the Nationwide Tour money list last year. Congrats to both leaders. It'll be fun to see how they handle the second round.

Dream pairing Woods, Mickelson, Scott was rather mundane. Mickelson was even par, which was pretty good after a 38 on the front. Woods was +1, 72 after a 38 on the back. Scott finished +2, 73. Woods grimaced after his tee shot on 18, leading us to believe the knee is a bother. That was an Average Golfer prediction and I can't imagine it's going to get any better over the next three days. The same three will play together tomorrow afternoon.

Rounds of note from big names include Ernie Els, -1. Could have been -3 or -4 other than some sloppy play in the end of his round. Lee Westwood, -1. Trying to disprove the "Brits stink here" theory. Luke Donald and Vijay, even par.

Notables that most likely played themselves out of the tournament on day1 include, defending champ Angel Cabrera, +8. He was eight over after his first eight holes. Justin Rose and Paul Casey, +8. Both proving the "Brits stink here" theory. Monty, +7. Oh dear! Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter, and previous champion Michael Campbell, all at +7.

If the weather stays dry this golf course will continue to get more difficult. I watched many seemingly perfect approach shots land on greens and bound to the back and tumble off. The greens are hard and fast. The back side of greens is not the place to be at this venue. All in all the course is in remarkable condition. Not many players were complaining. The most commonly heard comment was that it was "tough, but fair". there's a lot of tee box options and I'm anxious to see how the U.S.G.A. deals with them in the coming days.

I've mentioned it before, but now I'm convinced. ESPN should never be allowed to broadcast a golf tournament, any tournament, much less a U.S. Open. Their annoying on- screen graphics reduced the size of my visible screen by 40%. I'd rather watch a test pattern. Listening to Chris Berman as a lead golf announcer at a major is like listening to "Fred Flintstone Sings Pavarotti".

This time tomorrow will reveal the field when the real tournament starts on Saturday. It'll be fun to watch these guys scramble for position. Sometimes the high drama is on Friday.

Til' next,

2008 U.S. Open Preview - What You NEED To Know.

Year in and year out, the most difficult test in golf is upon us. Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA is the host for the 2008 U.S. Open. Make no mistake though, this isn't even close to being the golf course that hosted the Buick Invitational in January. Longer, harder, faster are the keywords. Today we'll highlight the course, tomorrow the combatants.

The Course

7,643 yards, yes, Seven Thousand, Six Hundred, Forty Three yards. Longer than a Fellini flick. You would expect this favors the huge hitters. Perhaps, perhaps not. One thing for sure though, the weak hitters have no chance here. Mike Davis, the U.S.G.A.'s senior director of rules and competitions is responsible for the course set up. It's probably his influence that "softened" the set up for U.S. Open courses lately. Graduated rough will be used again with the 1st cut set at 1 3/4 inches. That's not too tough of a penalty for missing a fairway by a bit. It allows the player to make a solid strike on the ball, but diminishes his ability to produce green holding spin. 1st primary cut, or the "Crap, not there", cut is set at 2 1/2 inches. That's enough rough to make for some serious farming or balloon balls. The "real" rough, or the primary cut will be set at 3 1/2 inches. That's the kind of grass that says, "Get it back in play", no more, no less. Don't be surprised either if the 3 1/2 inches is measured today and by Thursday it's "find it with your foot" long.

All a player has to do to take the rough out of the equation is hit fairways. The 24-33 yard wide fairways. Oh, and be long as well. This baby is 7,643 yards long. Landing in the fairway doesn't mean you hit the fairway. Much drier conditions in June means a hard and fast golf course. Run outs in the rough are just as nasty as airing it there. If they survive all that, the greens are no picnic. Undulating and sloped and dry. It's been reported that they're running in the low 13s on the Stimpmeter for the practice sessions. I would expect that sometime, particularly this weekend, that number will start with a 14. Dry and sunny conditions are in order through the rest of the week. One condition that might favor early round players is that it's fog season in San Diego. Morning fog is a regular occurrence and dampens the course until it's burned off by the sun. Hey, any edge you can get in a U.S. Open.

Holes to Watch

Well, all of them of course, but of note......

#6 Converted par 5. Can play 515 yds. Has the green design to accept 3rd shots, ahving been a par 5. You may see 2nd shot lay ups and up and downs for par.

#9 612 yd. par 5. Only the longest guys, under the right conditions, can reach this monster in two.

#12 505 yd. par four. Tough as a $5.00 steak. ha options though. Their approach shots can be run up. Expect many different strategies here.

#16 225 yd. par 3. Tee boxes can be on either side of this hole giving it distinctive looks. The wind is a large factor on this one.

#18 Great finisher at the discretion of the U.S.G.A. they have the ability to move the tee box up and make it a reachable par five for most of the field. Eagle chances on 18 on Sunday in a U.S. Open? That's must see TV.

So, we've learned that the golfer that wins this has to be long off the tee, but accurate. He has to be strong enough to muscle the ball out of the rough when he misses a fairway. He has to generate spin to hold slick, undulating greens. But most of all, like almost every other golf tournament, he has to have hot putter for four days. Sound like anyone you know? If so, then let me know, because right now I'm clueless on this one.

Tomorrow we'll try to separate the wheat from the chaff and see if we can figure out who has the best chance of winning this dang thing.

Til' next,

2008 U.S. Open - No Clear Favorite.

Hogwash you say? Who's the favorite then? Tiger? Home course advantage I'll give you. Two month layoff won't help. Sure, he's Tiger Woods. Still, two weeks before a major he's still not playing 18 holes on his backyard course that looks nothing like Torrey Pines in mid-summer. Four days of walking in microwave heat, combined with some understandable ring rust, I don't see him as a favorite. Contender and possible winner? Of course. Just like everyone else. Well, almost everyone. His last U.S. Open win was six years ago at Bethpage. The Open isn't his favorite major I'd say.

Phil? #2 in the world Phil? He's never won the U.S. Open. He had won at Winged Foot in '06, but gave it back like a fisherman losing his grip on a trophy bass. You'd have to say that Geoff Ogilvy is as much a favorite as Phil, considering he can legally hold an Open trophy. Same as Angel Cabrera. Why wouldn't he be the favorite? He's the last guy to do it. Or Retief Goosen. He's the latest guy to win two Opens, '01, '04. Wouldn't that make him the favorite? Oops, where's Retief been this year? Ernie Els? Multiple Open winner. I guess the fact that Ernie's game's in disarray doesn't make him the favorite. Did I mention he's won two Opens?

Are you a current stats person? Go with who's hot? That would be Kenny Perry. Hot as a pistol. Just coming off a victory on a tough course in Jack's Memorial. Crap, he's not in the Open. He didn't want to go through 36 hole qualifying, so he'll be mowing the lawn and watching the Open like you and me. Sergio's pretty hot. Is he the Open favorite? Well, could be, but never won a major. Until he does I don't see him as a favorite in any of them. Tell him it's the Ryder Cup and he's my prohibitive favorite. Vijay? Contender, not the clear cut favorite. Stewart Cink has more top ten finishes than anyone, (6), in '08. Open Favorite? Nope. Corey Pavin leads in scrambling. Why? Because he has to. Heath Slocumb leads in proximity to the hole, (31' 3"), not the Open favorite. Driving distance is Bubba Watson, no surprise, (312.3 yds.). Unfortunately Bubba's not the Open favorite. Olin Browne leads in driving accuracy, (78.71). I'm not even sure if he's in the Open. (Sorry Mrs. Browne) If so, I wish him all the luck in the world, but he's not the favorite.

Stumped? That should make for a great tournament. However, Average Golfer indeed does have a favorite. If she'd agree to a fake mustache for a few days I'd pick Lorena Ochoa. Go ahead, bet against me. Thought so.

Til, next,