"All of a sudden, the cushion for the Spaniard is three."
We have underway a tremendous final round in the men's golf tournament on Golf Network, and it's so great to hear Tony Kornheiser Show-regular Steve Sands on the mike.
Previous reports:
"All of a sudden, the cushion for the Spaniard is three."
We have underway a tremendous final round in the men's golf tournament on Golf Network, and it's so great to hear Tony Kornheiser Show-regular Steve Sands on the mike.
Previous reports:
The big dogs are making the turn:
ReplyDelete1. Jon Rahm (Spain): -18 (through 8 holes today)
T2. Xander Schauffele (San Diego, California): -15 (8)
T2. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan): -15 (9)
T2. Tommy Fleetwood (Great Britain): -15 (8)
T5. Tom Kim (South Korea): -14 (8)
T5. Scottie Scheffler (Ridgewood, New Jersey): -14 (10)
7. Nicolai Hojgaard (Denmark): -13 (8)
T8. Rory McIlroy (Ireland): -12 (8)
T8. Joaquin Niemann (Chile): -12 (9)
T10. Jason Day (Australia): -11 (9)
T10. Wyndham Clark (Denver, Colorado): -11 (13)
Unfortunately, my Golf Channel stream, which I get through my Peacock, just hosed out, so I'm switching at least temporarily to my and my father-in-law's Swedish table-tennis dude going for gold on USA Network, which I get through good, old-fashioned coax.
ReplyDeleteIt's Sweden vs. China for gold in men's table tennis, and the Chinese guy is leading 3 games to 1 and 3-0 in the fifth game. First to four won games wins.
ReplyDeleteSweden calls a timeout, and it's effective--he wins the next point and breaks the skunk. But the Chinese guy reels off the next four points, and he and his coach are now bellowing and pumping fists at every pause after success. It's now 7-2 ...
ReplyDeleteThe USA Network play-by-play guy is starting to do the Jim Nantz thing where he tells seemingly foretelling points of the China guy's backstory in the leadup to an assumed victory. It's 10-3, first match point for China ...
ReplyDeleteNow 10-6, fourth match point for China ...
ReplyDeleteNeither side has any remaining timeouts.
ReplyDelete10-7, fifth ...
ReplyDelete10-8, sixth ... and now the Sweden guy has survived to get to five serves in a row (potentially) ...
ReplyDeleteHe got only one of them. 11-8 and 4 games to 1, China.
ReplyDelete"FAN-tastic!" immediately calls the Jim Nantz fan in the USA Network bold. He said that that way because the Chinese champion's name is Fan Zhendong. He's a 27-year-old from Guangzhou, and he was silver medalist at Tokyo 2020. Per Wikipedia:
ReplyDeleteFan's attacking style of play involves explosive footwork and powerful forehand loops. His thick-set build has led fans and commentators to affectionately refer to him as "Little Fatty" (Chinese: 小胖; pinyin: Xiǎo Pàng). His continuous rise to becoming one of the top table tennis players in the world has garnered him a large fanbase worldwide, with over half a million followers on Chinese social media site Weibo. ...
Fan was selected alongside Ma Long to represent China in the men's singles event at the Tokyo Olympics. Fan won the second leg of the Chinese Olympic Scrimmage, coming back from down 8–4 and 3–1 in games to defeat Xu Xin in the finals. Fan noted that his selection onto the Olympic team helped him focus better on his training and play better in the second leg compared to the first leg. Zhou again upset Fan in a closed-door scrimmage in June.
Although Ma Long called Fan the favorite before their Olympic finals match-up, Ma ended up upsetting Fan 4-2 in the Olympic finals, giving Ma the gold medal and Fan the silver. Despite the loss, Fan Zhendong still showed class, acknowledging Ma Long's control of the match and recognizing his own missed opportunities. When asked about Ma Long's place in history, Fan acknowledged that he is the greatest in their generation.
Indeed, Ma "The Hexagon Warrior"/"The Dictator"/"The King"/"The Dragon" Long, a 35-year-old from Anshan, won men's singles gold at both Tokyo 2020 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, but he didn't qualify for either of China's two slots in the Paris 2024 men's singles tournament. Hexagon Warrior/Dictator/King/Dragon is on hand, however, to participate in the team tournament--alongside Little Fatty and Wang "Lion Heart" Chuqin, a 24-year-old from Jilin City.
Of these three Chinese guys, Little Fatty is actually the lowest ranked in the most recent International Table Tennis Federation rankings: fourth. Hexagon Warrior/Dictator/King/Dragon is third, and Lion Heart is No. 1! This brings us back to our Friday-night Swedish friend, Truls Möregårdh ...
ReplyDeleteThe 19th-seeded 22-year-old from Hovmantorp, "the Swedish sensation, put up a valiant fight but was ultimately overpowered by the second seed" in the gold-medal final, hastily reports the ITTF, which apparently also has been paying its cable-TV bill. "Despite the defeat, Moregard’s journey to the final will be remembered as one of the tournament’s greatest stories, having beaten World number 1, Wang Chuqin and Fourth seed, Hugo Calderano to end Sweden’s 24 year medal drought."
ReplyDeleteCalderano, you might remember from Friday night, is the Brazilian with the crazy high-toss serve. He's a 28-year-old from Rio de Janeiro, and he actually got to play in the 2016 Games in his home city (as well as Tokyo 2020). Olympic medals, however, continue to elude Calderano, however.
ReplyDeleteThe bronze instead went to Félix Lebrun of Montpellier, France, and this home boy is only 17 freaking years old!
So, to summarize, the Paris 2024 gold went to a 27-year-old from China; the silver to a 22-year-old from Sweden, and the bronze to a 17-year-old from France. Top American competitor was a 24-year-old Kanak Jha of Milpitas, California, who made the round of 16 in the 67-player tournament. That sounds pretty good to me, but, given the ages of everyone here, one can't exactly imagine that the first-ever Team USA table-tennis medal is going to come out of this competition any time soon.
ReplyDeleteAll-time leaders in Olympics table-tennis medals:
1. China 32 gold, 20 silver, 8 bronze (60 total)
2. South Korea 3, 3, 12 (18)
3. Japan 1, 3, 4 (8)
Wow! Tommy Fleetwood has chased down Jon Rahm in the men's golf, but now it's time for Sunday school. We're talking Proverbs 31:8-9, Isaiah 1:17, Micah 6:8, Mark 1:16–20, Mark 16:15, 1 Corinthians 7:17–24 and 1 Peter 4:10-11 today, so--yup, you guessed it--our class at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Madisonville is hosting the summer intern in creation care as a special guest this morning.
ReplyDeleteOlympics! Church! Life, more life!
OK, cool. Just got home, and I don't know who won the golf tournament, and USA Network has promised coverage after the commercial ...
ReplyDeleteGosh, the live shots from Paris are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOh, new No. 1 in my favorite Olympics songs so far: "And the Green Grass Grows All Around," by Rhiannon Giddens, in a JPMorganChase commercial.
ReplyDeleteOK, here we go. Scottie Scheffler is the first clip we get, as he puts an approach on No. 16 near the cup for a sure birdie to move to 17-under. I think that would've put him within two strokes of the Jon Rahm/Tommy Fleetwood lead at that moment ...
ReplyDeleteNow they're showing a French dude with a 42-foot putt for birdie ... I guess he makes this ... ooooh, just misses ...
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, with three holes for him to play, Scheffler moved into a tie for bronze-medal position, two off the Fleetwood/Rahm lead. Here's Fleetwood ...
ReplyDeleteInto a fairway bunker ... oh, wow, now here's Rahm scuffing a fairway iron ... now we've advanced to both Fleetwood and Rahm regressing to 18-under, and Scheffler, now only one back, flying his drive to within just a couple of feet on the par-3 No. 16 ...
ReplyDeleteThe others in the tie with Scheffler at 17-under are Hideki Mtsuyama and Rory McIlroy ... WOW! This is a freaking golf tournament right here, boys ...
ReplyDeleteRahm laboring ... in deep rough behind a green ... McIlroy into the water! ...
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy's drop shot flies way, way long of the hole, and he'd have to hit an amazing putt to make bogey ...
ReplyDeleteFleetwood's shot did not end up in the sand; he's in the thick rough beside the green on No. 14. He hacks out and onto the green, but he has work to do to save par ...
ReplyDeleteRahm on 14 ... from the heavy rough, as well ... his pitch fails to make the green and rolls back to the fringe in front of him ...
ReplyDelete"These last groups are butchering it," says one of the Golf Channel commentators.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy double bogey ... Rahm on 14 bogey ... Matsuyama on 15 par ... Fleetwood on 14 par ... so, I think it's ...
ReplyDelete1. Fleetwood -18 (14)
T2. Rahm -17 (14)
T2. Matsuyama -17 (15)
T2. Scheffler -17 (15)
5. Victor Perez (France) -16 (17)
6. McIlroy (and maybe others) -16
And Scheffler birdies 16! Confirmed that he's tied (at this point) for the lead with Fleetwood ...
ReplyDeleteExcuse me ... Rahm is still tied for the lead at 18-under ... I guess he hadn't yet putted out on 14 ...
ReplyDeleteNo, he hadn't ... and now Rahm has actually missed his short bogey try! ...
ReplyDeleteMy word ...
ReplyDeleteT1. Fleetwood -18 (14)
ReplyDeleteT1. Scheffler -18 (16)
2. Matsuyama -17 (15)
T3. Perez -16 (17)
T3. Rahm -16 (14)
I think.
Scheffler's drive on No. 17 sails into the rough left of the fairway ... Matsuyama safely over the water and onto the 16th green with his drive ... Perez, in front of a home-crowd gallery, has 30 feet or so for birdie on 18 ... just misses again! ... just misses again! ... par ... Perez is in at 16-under. He and South Korea's Tom Kim are co-leaders in the clubhouse.
ReplyDeleteCorrection ... Perez is leader alone in the clubhouse ... Kim is still on the course ...
ReplyDeleteWas and was, of course.
DeleteScheffler machetes out of the rough on No. 17 and gets to within about 25 feet of the cup.
ReplyDelete"He'll have a putt at birdie. It would be four birdies in a row for the world No. 1. The cream is rising to the top," says a Golf Network guy.
Oooooh ... John Legend and Outkast's "Green Light" for some car ... that's going to make the list; love that song ...
ReplyDeleteScheffler's birdie putt on No. 17 appears to be about 20 feet ... AND, OH, MY WORD, HE GOT IT! SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER BIRDIES 17 TO TAKE FIRST PLACE ALONE!!! OH, MY WORD!!!
ReplyDeleteU! S! A! ... U! S! A! ... U! S! A! ...
ReplyDelete1. Scheffler -19 (17)
ReplyDelete2. Fleetwood -18 (15)
3. Matsuyama -17 (16)
Scheffler tees on 18 ... lots of water in play on this hole ... into thick rough right of the fairway ...
ReplyDelete"If he hits a flyer onto the green, it could go over the green into the water," warns a Golf Network guy.
This is amazing. The Golf Network booth discuss how it took a while for the best men's players to embrace the Olympic tournament. But, now, "why would you not want to be part of this?"
ReplyDeleteMatsuyama reaches the green with his second shot on No. 18, and I think that's going to leave about 15 feet for a birdie.
ReplyDeleteFleetwood, on the par-3 16th, stabs his drive about six or eight feet behind the cup.
Scheffler, meanwhile, is considering different irons for his second shot on No. 18. "He has a difficult decision to make," Sands says, before a commercial break.
Don't count out Jon Rahm. He comes back with a 20-footer for birdie on 16 after two bogeys and a double, and now he's tied for bronze at 17-under.
ReplyDeleteSands: "And Fleetwood bores in a birdie!" He's back to T1 through 16 holes.
Matsuyama slams a drive way, way, way down the 18th fairway.
ReplyDeleteI missed Scheffler's second shot, but he's on the 18th green with a birdie try of about 30 feet ... misses just right ...
Well, our daughter leaves for school next week, and so we had some friends stop by with a gift. Which is really sweet. Of course, I kept trying to discreetly cut my eyes to the TV screen, but I couldn't keep up with what had transpired on the USA Network tape delay.
ReplyDeleteBut now we have Fleetwood and Rahm approaching the 18th green with melancholy faces and Scottie Scheffler with his caddie, both losing focus on the practice shots he is taking on the practice squad. Scheffler apparently parred No. 18, and, at some point, Fleetwood and Rahm bogeyed out of their ties.
Driving range, not "practice squad." I don't know why I typed that. I was excited.
DeleteFleetwood would need to pitch in from behind the 18th green to force a playoff, and he doesn't. It's quite close, and it appears he'll have a pretty easy putt to ensure silver medal. But gold goes to Scottie Scheffler! Amazing!
ReplyDeleteRahm misses his long putt for birdie, and that means Matsuyama at least will win bronze.
ReplyDeleteMen's golf final:
ReplyDelete-- Scottie Scheffler of Ridgewood, New Jersey, gold
-- Tommy Fleetwood of Southport, England, Great Britain, silver
-- Hideki Matsuyama of Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan, bronze
Amazing, amazing tournament. Amazing!
The defending gold medalist in Olympic men's golf, Xander Schauffle, was actually part of the final, leaders-after-three-rounds threesome, but he closed with a 2-over round of 73 and finished 12-under and tied for ninth.
ReplyDeleteScheffler scored a 62 today. Sixty-two!
The beach volleyball also is superexciting.
ReplyDelete