Kevin Na, who was born in Seoul in September 1983 but now lives in Las Vegas, is 3-under through seven holes, and that's the best score by two strokes so far.
Tiger Woods is 1-over. He just bogeyed the 14th--the sixth hole he has played today. Phil Mickelson is playing with Woods and Bubba Watson, and he has gone bogey-bogey-bogey-par-birdie-bogey to start the tournament with a wild ride. I'm following all this action in totally space-age fashion.
Bohn, Grace and Na all now tied at 2-under. Woods making the turn to the front nine, still at even. And in honor of the 1983-84 Heath golf team, I'm listening to a "Class Reunion 1983" station at Yahoo! Music.
One of my pet peeves about the U.S. Open is that we don't get the usual excellent coverage from PGA Tour Radio. Instead, the radio coverage all comes from ESPN, and it's about like listening to Colin Cowherd describe golf.
One really odd thing about this tournament is that while golfers normally tee off on the first hole or the 10th hole, for this tournament they are teeing off on the first hole and the ninth hole.
ESPN Radio just told us that it's a very bunched leaderboard -- which is not surprising, given that the tournament has only been underway for a few hours.
Actually, I should make clear that ESPN's radio coverage of most sports is really good. Their MLB coverage is great, and their NBA coverage is excellent. But they can't do golf.
Tiger just had a terrible break on 1, which is his 11th hole. He hit a great approach shot on the long par 4, but it rolled right past the hole and into the fringe.
The guy on ESPN Radio keeps referring to the green as the "dance floor"; as in, "He really needs to land this one on the dance floor." This is even more annoying than you would expect.
Tiger just missed a really easy putt for birdie on 2. In my opinion, this is a major problem for him -- he has that Tom Watson problem where you miss about four or five easy putts in every tournament. He used to make all of those, and it's not easy to make up so many dropped strokes.
By the way, here are the top 10 golfers in the world, according to the Official World Golf Ranking. We now have six Americans in the top 10:
1. L. Donald (ENG) 2. R. McIlroy (NIR) 3. L. Westwood (ENG) 4. T. Woods 5. B. Watson 6. M. Kuchar 7. J. Rose (ENG) 8. H. Mahan 9. J. Dufner 10. D. Johnson
Now I'm back to country music from Pandora. I don't care what anyone says, Kenny Chesney is not very good. He is to country music what Tennessee is to college football.
Man, that's a rough break. I'm listening to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland, one of many, many country songs about the relationship between a man and his daughter.
Man, I hate these Prudential commercials showing people on the first day of their retirement. Why should I be happy that these folks have enough money to retire? What I want is an explanation of how Prudential can grow my money, even though the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at about the same level now as it was in 2000. That's a commercial that would get my attention.
On the other hand, I like the Infiniti commercial where these parents and their five kids are going to the youngest daughter's dance recital. It's very rare to see commercials about families with more than three kids, and the kids and the parents all seem really happy.
Meanwhile, folks in Washington are looking longingly at both Tiger Woods and the lush rough surrounding the Olympic Country Club. Neither Tiger nor the rough were in evidence when the DC Area hosted the National Open last year. (But we had a good time anyway, and we hope the USGA comes back soon.)
Tiger rolls in a long birdie putt on the 5th hole -- his second birdie in a row, and he is now two under for the day through 15 holes. The first six holes are supposed to be the hardest part of this course, and he is going through them as if they were easy. If he hadn't missed a very short birdie putt on two, he would have three birdies in his last four holes. He looks great so far.
1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.), -3 through 15 holes 2. Jason Bohn (Lewisport, Pa.), -2 through 16 2. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.), -2 through 15 2. David Toms (Monroe, La.), -2 through 14
Now Tiger's in trouble on the par-4 sixth. He ended up in a greenside bunker with his second shot, blasted onto the green, and now faces about a 15-20 foot putt to save par.
I blame NBC. The TV coverage just switched from ESPN to NBC, and suddenly Tiger is in trouble.
So Michael Thompson of Tuscon comes in with a birdie on his 18th hole, and he's the leader in the clubhouse at 4-under--three ahead of both Tiger Woods and David Toms at 1-under. Thompson was born in April 1985, so I might need to switch my Yahoo! Music station.
1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.) -4 through 18 holes 2. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.) -1 through 18 2. David Toms (Monroe, La.) -1 through 16 2. Morgan Hoffmann (Wyckoff, N.J.) -1 through 1
1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.) -4 through 18 holes 2. Peter Lawrie (Ireland) -2 through four 3. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.) -1 through 18 3. David Toms (Monroe, La.) -1 through 18 3. John Peterson (Fort Worth, Texas) -1 through six 3. Matt Kuchar (Winter Park, Fla.) -1 through one
Kevin Na, incidentally, ended up finishing his first round in 4-over. That means he played his last six holes in 6-over, which would've been an outstanding run for me in September 1983 (or now, for that matter).
Andy Zhang, the 14-year-old from China, came in at 9-over. That would've been a legendary round for any member of the 1983-84 Heath High School golf team.
I'm very disappointed with the online coverage. We got stuck this morning with the Woods, Mickelson, Watson threesome and now we are stuck with the McIlroy, Westwood, Donald threesome. I don't care about these threesomes, I would rather watch one or two holes and see everyone passing through, like I was able to do with the Masters. People can think want they want about the Masters but they know how to put on an event.
This now has me nervous about the upcoming Olympic coverage.
Because in the two opening rounds I want an overall view of who is playing, who is playing well. I don't want to watch Bubba Watson go around and shoot 8 over.
1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.) -4 through 18 holes 2. David Toms (Monroe, La.) -1 through 18 2. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.) -1 through 18 2. Justin Rose (South Africa), -1 through 10 2. Matt Kuchar (Winter Park, Fla.) -1 through nine 2. Jim Furyk (West Chester, Pa.), -1 through eight 2. Ryo Ishikawa (Japan), -1 through eight 2. James Hahn (South Korea), -1 through six 2. Brian Gaffney (Rumson, N.J.), -1 through three
1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.) -4 through 18 holes 2. James Hahn (South Korea), -2 through 12 3. David Toms (Monroe, La.) -1 through 18 3. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.) -1 through 18 3. Ricky Fowler (Anaheim, Calif.) -1 through 14 3. Ryo Ishikawa (Japan), -1 through 14
It's so funny to see the commercials aired on ESPN during the U.S. Open (John Hancock, IBM and Doubletree by Mariott in the last few minutes) vs. those aired by ABC during the NBA Finals (Madea Witness Protection and some new sandwich at Pizza Hut).
Kevin Na, who was born in Seoul in September 1983 but now lives in Las Vegas, is 3-under through seven holes, and that's the best score by two strokes so far.
ReplyDeleteTiger Woods is 1-over. He just bogeyed the 14th--the sixth hole he has played today. Phil Mickelson is playing with Woods and Bubba Watson, and he has gone bogey-bogey-bogey-par-birdie-bogey to start the tournament with a wild ride. I'm following all this action in totally space-age fashion.
September 1983 ... I'm pretty sure that's when I joined the golf team at Heath.
DeleteSpeaking of teen-agers, pain and golf ...
Delete@PGATOUR
Rough start for 14-year-old Andy Zhang, who made a triple bogey at No. 1 and a double at No. 2.
11:06 AM - 14 Jun 12
Kevin Na has slipped back to 2-under, so now he's tied with Jason Bohn for the tournament lead.
DeleteSpeaking of teen-agers (Bohn was 19 at the time), impetuousness and golf ...
In 1992, while a sophomore on the Alabama golf team, Bohn was playing in a charity fund-raiser in Tuscaloosa when he made a hole-in-one worth $1 million. Bohn dropped his amateur status and golf scholarship on the spot and turned professional.
I would advise any son of mine to do the same.
Delete1. Kevin Na (born in Seoul), -3, through nine holes played
ReplyDelete2. Jason Bohn (Lewisport, Pa.), -2 through eight
Now Branden Grace--a South African product of the Ernie Els machine--has joined Na at 3-under.
DeleteGrace alone at 3-under.
DeleteWoods back to even.
Bohn, Grace and Na all now tied at 2-under. Woods making the turn to the front nine, still at even. And in honor of the 1983-84 Heath golf team, I'm listening to a "Class Reunion 1983" station at Yahoo! Music.
DeleteOne of my pet peeves about the U.S. Open is that we don't get the usual excellent coverage from PGA Tour Radio. Instead, the radio coverage all comes from ESPN, and it's about like listening to Colin Cowherd describe golf.
ReplyDeleteOne really odd thing about this tournament is that while golfers normally tee off on the first hole or the 10th hole, for this tournament they are teeing off on the first hole and the ninth hole.
ReplyDeleteESPN Radio just told us that it's a very bunched leaderboard -- which is not surprising, given that the tournament has only been underway for a few hours.
ReplyDeleteESPN Radio, everyone!
Actually, I should make clear that ESPN's radio coverage of most sports is really good. Their MLB coverage is great, and their NBA coverage is excellent. But they can't do golf.
DeleteTiger just had a terrible break on 1, which is his 11th hole. He hit a great approach shot on the long par 4, but it rolled right past the hole and into the fringe.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Bubba Watson -- who clearly interpreted his victory at the Masters as an excuse to stop practicing -- is five over through 10.
ReplyDeletePhil Mickelson is four over through 10.
Their playing partner, Tiger Woods, must feel like he's been transported back to 2006.
Speaking of teen-agers and dealing with success ...
DeleteThe guy on ESPN Radio keeps referring to the green as the "dance floor"; as in, "He really needs to land this one on the dance floor." This is even more annoying than you would expect.
ReplyDeleteChris Berman?
DeleteNo. Berman is hosting the TV coverage. I don't know who this guy is.
DeleteI had completely forgotten the name of the act that did "Der Kommissar." It's "After The Fire."
ReplyDeleteLittle River Band is from Australia?!?
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah. They're totally from Australia. I was a huge LRB fan back in the day. There was a time when "Cool Change" was my favorite song of all time.
DeleteNow I'm listening to "Cool Change." What a great song.
DeleteYeah, that's a good song.
Delete1. Jason Bohn (born in Lewisport, Pa.), -3 through 12 holes
ReplyDelete2. Kevin Na (South Korea), -2 through 12
Tiger Woods is even through 12.
"Up Where We Belong," Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker ...
Tiger just missed a really easy putt for birdie on 2. In my opinion, this is a major problem for him -- he has that Tom Watson problem where you miss about four or five easy putts in every tournament. He used to make all of those, and it's not easy to make up so many dropped strokes.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, here are the top 10 golfers in the world, according to the Official World Golf Ranking. We now have six Americans in the top 10:
ReplyDelete1. L. Donald (ENG)
2. R. McIlroy (NIR)
3. L. Westwood (ENG)
4. T. Woods
5. B. Watson
6. M. Kuchar
7. J. Rose (ENG)
8. H. Mahan
9. J. Dufner
10. D. Johnson
Now I'm back to country music from Pandora. I don't care what anyone says, Kenny Chesney is not very good. He is to country music what Tennessee is to college football.
ReplyDeleteI've got "You Got Lucky" by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
DeleteMan, that's a rough break. I'm listening to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland, one of many, many country songs about the relationship between a man and his daughter.
DeleteTiger follows up his missed birdie putt on 2 with weak drive on the par-3 3d hole. He will struggle to make par from there.
ReplyDeleteMan, I hate these Prudential commercials showing people on the first day of their retirement. Why should I be happy that these folks have enough money to retire? What I want is an explanation of how Prudential can grow my money, even though the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at about the same level now as it was in 2000. That's a commercial that would get my attention.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I like the Infiniti commercial where these parents and their five kids are going to the youngest daughter's dance recital. It's very rare to see commercials about families with more than three kids, and the kids and the parents all seem really happy.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to root for Kevin Na, but I really hate his habit of dropping his club whenever he makes a bad shot.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Mickelson is still four over, but he's now made five pars in a row, so he may be settling down.
Tiger saved par on the 3d hole with a great chip shot and a very nervy six-foot putt. He's at even par through 13 holes.
ReplyDeleteTiger rolls in a birdie putt on four to go to one under par -- only one stroke off the lead.
ReplyDeleteBirdie, birdie on Woods' 14th and 15th holes, so he's to 2-under. One off the lead.
DeleteAll along.
Bubba Watson is seven over through 14 holes. Honestly, he should just go ahead and take the rest of the year off.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, folks in Washington are looking longingly at both Tiger Woods and the lush rough surrounding the Olympic Country Club. Neither Tiger nor the rough were in evidence when the DC Area hosted the National Open last year. (But we had a good time anyway, and we hope the USGA comes back soon.)
ReplyDeleteTiger rolls in a long birdie putt on the 5th hole -- his second birdie in a row, and he is now two under for the day through 15 holes. The first six holes are supposed to be the hardest part of this course, and he is going through them as if they were easy. If he hadn't missed a very short birdie putt on two, he would have three birdies in his last four holes. He looks great so far.
ReplyDeleteAll along.
Delete1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.), -3 through 15 holes
ReplyDelete2. Jason Bohn (Lewisport, Pa.), -2 through 16
2. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.), -2 through 15
2. David Toms (Monroe, La.), -2 through 14
I did not know that Tulane disbanded its golf team after Hurricane Katrina.
I'm so glad I didn't go to Tulane.
DeleteThrough 15 holes, here's how the highest-profile morning group is doing:
ReplyDeleteT. Woods: -2
P. Mickelson: +6
B. Watson: +7
Now Tiger's in trouble on the par-4 sixth. He ended up in a greenside bunker with his second shot, blasted onto the green, and now faces about a 15-20 foot putt to save par.
ReplyDeleteI blame NBC. The TV coverage just switched from ESPN to NBC, and suddenly Tiger is in trouble.
Tiger's bid to save par skitters just off to the right, and his bogey drops him back to one under through 16.
ReplyDeleteSo Michael Thompson of Tuscon comes in with a birdie on his 18th hole, and he's the leader in the clubhouse at 4-under--three ahead of both Tiger Woods and David Toms at 1-under. Thompson was born in April 1985, so I might need to switch my Yahoo! Music station.
ReplyDeleteThompson was 2-over through six holes, but then he birdied half and parred half of his last 12.
Delete1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.) -4 through 18 holes
ReplyDelete2. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.) -1 through 18
2. David Toms (Monroe, La.) -1 through 16
2. Morgan Hoffmann (Wyckoff, N.J.) -1 through 1
I will be out of pocket for the next few hours, but will do a wrap-up when this round is finished. Keep up the good work, Eric.
ReplyDeleteGoHeath out.
1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.) -4 through 18 holes
ReplyDelete2. Peter Lawrie (Ireland) -2 through four
3. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.) -1 through 18
3. David Toms (Monroe, La.) -1 through 18
3. John Peterson (Fort Worth, Texas) -1 through six
3. Matt Kuchar (Winter Park, Fla.) -1 through one
Kevin Na, incidentally, ended up finishing his first round in 4-over. That means he played his last six holes in 6-over, which would've been an outstanding run for me in September 1983 (or now, for that matter).
Andy Zhang, the 14-year-old from China, came in at 9-over. That would've been a legendary round for any member of the 1983-84 Heath High School golf team.
Jason Bohn finished even; Branden Grace, 1-over.
I'm very disappointed with the online coverage. We got stuck this morning with the Woods, Mickelson, Watson threesome and now we are stuck with the McIlroy, Westwood, Donald threesome. I don't care about these threesomes, I would rather watch one or two holes and see everyone passing through, like I was able to do with the Masters. People can think want they want about the Masters but they know how to put on an event.
ReplyDeleteThis now has me nervous about the upcoming Olympic coverage.
How can you not care about those two threesomes?
DeleteBecause in the two opening rounds I want an overall view of who is playing, who is playing well. I don't want to watch Bubba Watson go around and shoot 8 over.
DeleteYeah, good point. Well, at least the HP was here for you.
DeleteSee? I just dished some Jimmy Hahn love.
Delete1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.) -4 through 18 holes
ReplyDelete2. David Toms (Monroe, La.) -1 through 18
2. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.) -1 through 18
2. Justin Rose (South Africa), -1 through 10
2. Matt Kuchar (Winter Park, Fla.) -1 through nine
2. Jim Furyk (West Chester, Pa.), -1 through eight
2. Ryo Ishikawa (Japan), -1 through eight
2. James Hahn (South Korea), -1 through six
2. Brian Gaffney (Rumson, N.J.), -1 through three
Hahn goes to 2-under and alone in second through seven holes.
DeleteHahn back to 1-under, and now Ricky Fowler has joined that party.
Delete1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.) -4 through 18 holes
ReplyDelete2. James Hahn (South Korea), -2 through 12
3. David Toms (Monroe, La.) -1 through 18
3. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.) -1 through 18
3. Ricky Fowler (Anaheim, Calif.) -1 through 14
3. Ryo Ishikawa (Japan), -1 through 14
All of these players are done for the day.
ReplyDelete1. Michael Thompson (born in Tuscon, Ariz.) -1
2. Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) -1
2. Justin Rose (South Africa), -1
2. David Toms (Monroe, La.) -1
2. Nick Watney (Calif.) -1
2. Tiger Woods (Cypress, Calif.) -1
It's so funny to see the commercials aired on ESPN during the U.S. Open (John Hancock, IBM and Doubletree by Mariott in the last few minutes) vs. those aired by ABC during the NBA Finals (Madea Witness Protection and some new sandwich at Pizza Hut).
ReplyDelete