The U.S. Open Championship. Everything Came Up Roses For Justin.

Everything came up roses for Justin Rose as he won the 113th U.S. Open Championship at Merion Golf Club. Winning by two shots from Phil Mickelson and Jason Day, who were tied in second place at +3 over par.

Justin Rose and his 1st Major trophy / Getty Images

Justin is the first Englishman in 43 years to win the U.S. Open, The last English U.S. Open winner was Tony Jacklin in 1970. Nick Faldo was the last Major trophy winner in 1996 at Augusta. An even par total for the championship was the winning score for Justin, a great effort on the difficult and punishing course at Merion.

Justin said that when he walked over the hill down the 18th fairway to check on his tee shot, he knew it was his moment;

“When I came over the hill and saw my ball laying in the fairway, I thought. This is my moment. It was me hitting from the middle of the fairway. It wasn’t lost on me that today was Father’s Day. A lot of us come from great men and we have a responsibility to our children to show what a great man can be. For it to all just work out for me, on such an emotional day, I couldn’t help but look up to the heavens and think that my old dad Ken had something to do with it.”

On an amazing  day at Merion Golf Course, all the home supporters were rooting for birthday boy Phil Mickelson, sadly for him a couple of mistakes left him sitting in second place, again. Today was Phil’s 43rd birthday and it should have been a great day for him, but this is the sixth time Phil has been in second place at this event, the most coveted trophy missing from his display cabinet;

“Heartbreak, this is tough to swallow after coming so close. This was my best chance of all of them. I had a golf course I really liked. I felt this was as good an opportunity as you could ask for. It really hurts.”

Luke Donald was in position to challenge for this Trophy, but after his tee shot hit a female volunteer official on the third hole. It seemed to wreck his concentration, and everything fell apart after that incident.

As I predicted at the beginning of the week, the winner was not under par for the tournament.

U.S. Open. Phil is in Charge

Phil Mickelson is in charge, and the only player at the U.S. Open who is in red figures at Merion Golf Club, after three rounds have been completed.

Phil Mickelson / Getty Images

Phil had an even par round today, which was good enough to elevate him to the top of the leaderboard at the U.S. Open. He has recorded five previous second place finishes in this tournament, but is now in control at Merion, leading by one shot going into the final round. Saturday is usually referred to as moving day, but no one at  the top of the board moved forward today. The good thing for Phil is that this is the first time ever he has enjoyed having the 54 hole lead at a U.S. Open, that must auger well for him;

” It’s a hard challenge, but it’s a lot of fun, every shot requires such great focus because a penalty can bite you quickly. I can’t wait to get back and playing. I feel good ball-striking, I feel good on the greens. I think it’s going to take an under-par round tomorrow.”

One shot back at even par, and tied in second place for the tournament are; Hunter Mahan, Charl Schwartzel and Steve Stricker.

Another shot further back on +1 over par are; Justin Rose, Billy Horschel and Luke Donald.

Luke was cruising through his round, having had the outright lead until two equally poor swings on the last two holes. A 2-iron into the bunker on the par three 17th, that led to a bogey, and followed that with a shot into ankle-deep rough down the right side of the 18th green that led to a double bogey. And just like that, one of the best rounds of the day turned into a 71, and he was suddenly two shots behind. He also managed to miss three short putts as well earlier on, which in the end really hurt his final score.

Best round of the day went to Ricky Fowler, a -3 under par 67, but he is still at +3 over par for the tournament. It was tough going today for the players, but tomorrow will be even tougher, with some pins in the usual most difficult places. As I said a couple of days ago, the winner of this tournament may well not break par at the finish.

Asides;

Sad Sergio Garcia took a beating on the 15th hole, carding a 10 after going out of bounds with his tee shot,three times. He finished the round at +11 over par, when he could have been in contention.

World number one Tiger Woods had another disappointing day, a third round of +6 over par 76 has destroyed any ideas he may of had about making a late charge here on Sunday. He is currently at +9 over par for the tournament. Not fairing much better was his business buddy Rory McIlroy, the World number two finished one shot better at +8 over par, after his third round 75. The way these two are actually playing they may not be numbers one and two for too much longer.

Tiger Commented;

“It certainly is frustrating, I’m playing well enough to do it, and unfortunately just haven’t gotten it done.”

 

U.S. Open. Tight As At The Top, 2nd Day.

It’s Tight as at the top of the leaderboard when play was suspended due to darkness in the second round of the USGA U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club.

Billy Horschel and Phil Mickelson, tied at the top / Getty Images

Billy shot a second round of  -3 under par 67 for his -1 under par total, hitting all eighteen greens in regulation,while Phil had a disappointing +2 over par to slip back to -1 under par.

Billy actually said he was not in the zone today;

“I was not in the zone, trust me, the golf course, even though it’s soft, is still a tough golf course. I know what in the zone is for me, I don’t get nervous, I just see the shot and go. And I saw the shot and went with it, but I was still nervous with a lot of them. Your misses here can be bad if you miss in the wrong spots. I was just focused on what I tried to do. I didn’t know I hit every green until I walked off 18. It’s a cool thing. I’ve done it plenty of times in my career; obviously it’s a U.S. Open, but I think the softness of the greens helped that.”

Phil managed to birdie the last hole to back into a tie for the top spot, at -1 under par, Billy and Phil are the only two players to finish under par on the day.

There are five players tied in third place, just one shot back at even par; Luke Donald, Steve Stricker, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, who was one of those who have not completed the second round, currently played 14. The Chinese amateur Cheng Tsung Pan, he played nine, and John Senden who had finished his round before the gloom took over.

Luke said it is getting harder;

” U.S. Opens get harder as the week goes on, the pins today were a lot more tucked. They were tougher to get to. A few were on little hills or slopes. It’s very difficult to make those putts when the ball is breaking so much.”

Tiger Woods, currently tied in 17th place at +3 over par, agreed with Luke’s statement about it being tough;

“It’s hard with the wind and the pin locations, they’re really tough. We knew they were going to be in tough areas, but we didn’t think they were going to be as severe as they are. Am I surprised? absolutely not. Unless you played practice rounds out here and you’ve seen the golf course, you don’t realize how difficult it is. Because the short holes are short, but if you miss the fairway, you can’t get the ball on the green. And the longer holes are brutal. And this is probably the stiffest set of par three’s we ever face. And then they’ve thrown some of the pin locations in that they have, and it’s really tough. Just keep grinding, you just don’t ever know what the winning score is going to be. You don’t know if the guys are going to come back. We have a long way to go, and these conditions aren’t going to get any easier. They’re going to get more difficult. As the fairways start drying out, the ball is going to pick up mud and you’re going to get bad breaks.”

Rory McIlroy is just happy to be tied with Tiger on +3 over par;

“I’m very happy, right in there for the weekend. I don’t think I’ll be too far away by the end of the day. In a nice position going into the last two days.”

The projected cut is at +7 over par, at the moment, but there are plenty of payers who still have to complete their second rounds, some of them only at the half way stage. It will be another long day tomorrow for them. My prediction of the winner not finishing under par still looks like a good bet.

 

 

 

 

U.S. Open. 1st Round Suspended, Luke Donald at the top.

1st round play was suspended at the 113th U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club with Luke Donald leading the way at -4 under par, after completing 13 holes. It is actually just like I thought it would be, a rain-fest tournament.

Luke Donald / Getty Images

Luke said he thought the greens were a bit slow, because of the rain;

“The greens are a lot slower than we thought they’d be, because of the rain. And you could be an a bit more aggressive with the stroke. I saw the lines pretty well today and made some good putts.” 

Phil Mickelson was tied in second place after he had completed his opening round at -3 under par, 67. Sharing the second spot with him is Adam Scott, who has yet to complete his round, having only played eleven holes.

Phil Mickelson / Getty Images

Phil is determined to win a U.S. Open but has some strange preparation ideas. He traveled to the course from San Diego, about 2,400 miles in the air and then another 7,000 yards on the golf course. He took a short nap on his private jet from San Diego and grabbed another one during a rain delay when he found a secluded corner of the library room in the Merion clubhouse. Phil has five wedges in his bag, but no driver.

“If I’m able, and I believe I will,  if I’m able to ultimately win a U.S. Open, I would say that it’s great, because I will have had a win and five seconds. But if I never get that win, then it would be a bit heart-breaking. Being able to tune in and tune out was kind of nice the last hole or two, it’s been a long day.”

The opening round will not be completed until Friday morning, giving Phil plenty of time to catch up on his sleep as he won’t have to tee it up again for another 24 hours.

Players from the afternoon tee times were the ones left with holes to complete, the farthest anyone had got around the course  was 14 holes and the last group to tee off was through just four. All will now have to return at 7:15 a.m.tomorrow to complete their opening rounds.

There are three players tied in fourth place, at -2 under par, Webb Simpson, eight holes, Matthew Goggin, six holes, and Alistair Presnell, who has also played six holes.

Rory McIlroy is at even par through eleven holes, with business buddy Tiger Woods struggling at +2 over par, and has a four-foot par putt to make on number ten when he returns first thing in the morning.

The leaderboard is tightly bunched, and the way things are going the winner may not even break par over the four rounds, to lift the Trophy.

Another Rain Fest. U.S. Open at Merion.

Heavy rain at the U.S. Open, at Merion,  for  the first day of practice has havoc among the players.The course was eventually shut down for good later in the afternoon. This is a worldwide recurring theme this year, with weather affected events taking center stage. Events all over the World have been badly disrupted by poor weather conditions, especially copious amounts of rain.

This is Merion /Photo / AP

Ernie Els stated;

” After the rain this morning, it’s going to be very sloppy now,you’re not going to see a firm U.S. Open this year, I’m sorry. I don’t care if they get helicopters flying over the fairways, it’s not going to dry up. We’re going to have a soft golf course this week, all week.”

The course at Merion received more than 3 inches of rain on Friday, and Monday’s downpours, all three of them , didn’t help the situation. Mike Davis the USGA executive director said;

“This golf course is not built on sand, so it’s got the heavier soils, but it is maybe the best draining golf course I have ever seen. If you walk this course, you know there’s hardly any flat lies at Merion.”

Adam Scott thinks with the soft fairways, it becomes more of a target.

“Obviously with it being a little soft, it becomes a little more simple than what it was, the ball is just going to stop where it lands.”

2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell has been paired with 54-year-old Jay Don Blake and Brandt Jobe. Kiwi Steven Alker  is in the fifth final group off the tee, playing with Australians Alistair Presnell and Mathew Goggin.

Asides;

Sergio and Tiger have come close to agreeing a ceasefire over they’re little spat, but although there has been a hand-shake on the practice ground, nothing is yet set in concrete, Sergio saying;

Sergio and Tiger / AP

“Obviously we saw each other yesterday on the range, I was hoping to meet him after the round, but he was gone after the round. The weather obviously didn’t help. And this morning I was here early, I didn’t see him around. Obviously he got here later on, but I did leave him a note, a handwritten note, and hopefully he can take a look at it. I understand that it’s difficult to meet up and stuff. So hopefully we’ll be able to do it. If not, at least he has read the note and he’s happy with that. I mean the note is for him, so if he wants to show you, then he can, I don’t have any problems with that. But I am not going to be the one showing you. The people have made me feel very good out there, the last couple of days, so hopefully that will continue throughout the week and the only thing I can do is give my best effort and hopefully that would give me a chance.”

Tiger’s reported comments;

“No, we didn’t discuss anything. Just came up and said Hi, and that was it. It’s already done. We’ve already gone through it all. It’s time for the US Open and we tee it up in two days.”

So I guess the spat is still simmering, lets play Major golf.

Wegmans LPGA Championship. Park Prevails in 36 Hole Shoot-Out

Inbee Park prevailed in the 36 hole shoot-out for the Wegmans LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club in New York.

Inbee Park / Halleran /Getty Images.

Inbee won the Wegmans LPGA Championship with an eighteen foot birdie on the third play-off hole at Locust Hill country Club. This was Inbee’s third Major title, and she said she was not sure she could do it today;

” I didn’t know that I was going to be able to do it today, I was hitting the ball everywhere today on the final round.  It just made my day so much tougher. But just putting my name on the Wegmans LPGA championship trophy just means so much to me.  And this is my third win in a major championship.  So that means a lot.  And getting a lot closer to my goals set for my golf career. I could have made one more putt maybe on 17 or 16, but I’ve made some amazing up‑and‑downs before that. So I mean bogeys were bound to come with the way I’ve been striking the ball today.  I mean if you miss the fairways here, you really can’t avoid bogeys here. And I knew that I had good plans, but I really didn’t expect to win with the way I was playing today.  I mean I was really trying to be calm, and you know, not to get mad even if I don’t win. A year ago everything I think really started to click, my swing was getting a lot better, hitting I think my weakest part of my game was ball striking and my short game and putting has always been very good, and I wasn’t really able to hit the shots that I needed to. Starting last year, two years, I mean I started to hit the ball lots better and giving myself a lot of birdie chances.I mean it was tough to win the second one, Evian, after four years with no win, but after that I felt so comfortable and felt the confidence, and yeah, just really comfortable when I’m in the last group.”

Tied with Inbee on -5 under par at the finish was Scotswoman Catriona Mathew, she had a final round of -4 under par, 68, and was disappointed at missing out on a win, but was happy with her overall result;

“The last I looked at the scoreboard, Inbee had a solid lead, so I was quite surprised when suddenly I looked at the leaderboard on eighteen and two putts would get me in a playoff. When I started today the last round I probably didn’t realize I could win. So to play well and get into the playoffs was obviously pretty good.  Obviously when you get into it, it’s pretty disappointing but overall pretty good week.”

Tied in third place was Suzann Petterson, who had an amazing last round of -7 under par, 65, and Morgan Pressel, who was in position to win at the start of play, both ladies finished on -4 under par for the tournament.

Suzann had made an adjustment to her putting routine, and it paid dividends;

” I just made an adjustment in my address, I think I was starting too far away from the ball, and pretty much made everything I looked at this afternoon. So I don’t why I didn’t do this before when I putted so bad the first, second and the third round.
But I’m proud the way I came back, tried to post a number that felt like I had a good chance at pretty much every hole on the back nine. But just a little bit too late, unfortunately.”

Morgan was disappointed with her performance;

”  How do I sum it up?  I mean I’m definitely disappointed, but it’s the first time in a long time I’ve contended, so I’m happy with the way that I played this week as a whole. I had chances, nothing went in, and that happens.”

 

FedEx St,Jude Classic. English Excels.

Harris English excelled his expectations with a win at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, in Memphis Tennessee.

Harris English / Badz / Getty Images

Harris had a final round of -1 under par 71 to win the FedEx St.Jude Classic, with a tournament total of -12 under par. A handful of old high school buddies had a calming influence from the gallery as Harris attained his first PGA Tour victory, with a two shot win at TPC Southwind in Memphis. He praised the support of friends and the influence of caddy Brian Smith;

“I had probably 10 high school friends out there today, and I know that if I make a birdie or a bogey, they’re probably going to be the same and they’re rooting me on. I was just really relaxed out there today. Bogeyed eight and nine, which was tough. But I knew if I kept it together on the back nine, I could make a run at the thing. I really didn’t think I’d be in this seat right here coming off nine.  I thought I kind of made some really dumb bogeys on eight, nine and kind of shot myself out of the tournament. But Smitty was saying, Hey let’s go beat this back nine. Let’s get back under par for the tournament for the day, and let’s get after it. So it was almost pedal to the metal. It’s quite an unbelievable feeling.”

Tied in second place at -10 under par were Scott Stallings and Phil Mickelson. Phil had a final round of -3 under par, 67 and was encouraged by the way he played going into the Major next week;

“I’m really encouraged with the way I hit my irons. Got to get the 3-wood in play a little bit more, although next week at Merion distance won’t be as critical as TPC Southwind. I’ll be able to hit higher and softer shots.”

Scott was looking good for a win, and was at  -12 under par at the turn, with four birdies on the front side. But he sadly finished with a double bogey, a birdie and a bogey in his final four holes. He hopes to have learned something from the experience;

“You have to learn from the experiences that you have like this today and hopefully I’ll get a little bit better break next time. Harris has played great coming down the stretch.”

Ryan Palmer was alone in fourth spot, he also had a final round of -3 under par for his tournament total of -9 under par, three shots off the pace.

Euro Tour. Diamond Joost Wins Lyoness Open.

Bright Diamond, Dutchman Joost Luiten won the European Tour Lyoness Open title in Austria on Sunday.

Joost Luiten / Getty Images

Joost had a final round of -1 under par, 71 which was good enough to win him the Lyoness Open trophy at the Diamond Country Club, in a weather delayed afternoon in Austria. His final total of -17 under par was two shots ahead of Dane Thomas Björn, who finished alone in second place at -15 under par for the tournament.

Joost was obviously very happy with his win, his previous victory came in the Iskandar Johor Open in 2011;

“It’s been a great week so I am really, really happy. It was a long day, I started off with a bogey but I hit the ball nicely so I just wanted to focus on that, hit the greens, two-putt and make the others chase me. Unfortunately I made a few mistakes on the greens and didn’t make a lot of putts, but in the end I was three clear after my birdie on 16 and that gave me a little bit of air. It’s always nice to finish par, par and hold the trophy.”

Joost spoke about the one hour weather delay, due to the threat of lightning in the area;

“At that time I wanted to play on but it was good to have a break for me because I wasn’t playing really well so I just had some food and tried to focus again and went out there and tried to make pars and sneak in a birdie and that’s what I did.”

Thomas rued the minor golfing mishaps he endured, but was gracious in defeat;

“I played very well at the weekend but I just didn’t do enough today. I bogeyed the sixth and that made it a tough challenge, but I played well down the stretch and tried to put some pressure on.I was unfortunate on the 17th with the bounce. I never really applied enough pressure. But I came here to win or to at least get a top ten and I’ve done that and I’m pretty happy.I hit a lot of good shots. I was a little too aggressive with the putt on the 16th. They didn’t quite drop today, but I putted really well all week and that’s the biggest thing I’ve been struggling with for a long time. It’s been nice to putt well two weeks in a row. Joost has been knocking on the door for a long, long time and he’s a great player so I have to take my hat off to him. He played some wonderful golf this week and deserves it as much as anyone else on Tour. I played with him last week on Sunday and he’s got everything to make him a world-class player. He’s carried himself well when he’s come close to winning but not done it, so hats off to him, he deserves it.”

Third place was shared by Liang Wen-chong from China and Frenchman Romain Wattel, both finished the tournament on -14 under par.

The Little Dog Only Wanted To Play Ball.

Shame on these students and shame on the University of Limerick by allowing them to stay in college. The end of exam times is a very exciting time for many college students but most don’t murder dogs in their relief at being done with examinations.  I guess University of Limerick (Limerick, Ireland) students are the sick exception.

A group of drunken students decided that luring a small dog to his death was fun so that’s exactly what they did. The students were celebrating on the college green right after exams ended. According to local residents, a small dog was drawn to the scene. Why the dog was out and unprotected is another matter but for now there is enough blame to see on the hands of the students who actually killed him. The students started throwing a ball back and forth across a very busy road.  Then they started timing their throws to coincide with oncoming traffic. (I guess their “game” was not moving fast enough to really thrill them. ) Before long the dog ran in front of a van and was run over.

The small dog lay dying in agony in the road as the crowd seemed to have reached their pinnacle of entertainment. Then, also according to witnesses, they laughed and jeered at the neighborhood resident who brought them to task.

You might think that the University of Limerick (UL) officials might think this behavior to be worth some punishment, but you would be wrong.  In effect, UL blew the horrific incident off as of little concern. In a statement to the local newspaper, the university said it encouraged any individual that is affected by anti-social activity in the area to report this to the gardaí, and where student involvement is suspected to the university. “The university seeks to maintain good relations with our neighbouring communities and it is with a sense of pride and achievement when student academic, cultural, or voluntary efforts contributes positively to the wider community. The university position is that anti-social activity damages the relationship with our neighbours and under the university’s code of conduct complaints regarding anti-social behaviour are investigated to establish the identity of the individual(s) involved. “

So instead of doing their jobs and kicking these hoodlums to the proverbial curb, the UL leadership said that they will only punish students who have been charged by the Gardai (Irish police).

The President of UL is Professor Don Barry and, according to the UL web site, “Professor Don Barry is the President of the University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland and as the Chief Executive Officer is ultimately responsible for all of the operations of the University.”  If you would like to remind Professor Barry of his responsibility to EVERYONE in the community here is the UL phone number — +353 (0)61 202700. Professor Barry’s direct email address is — president@ul.ie and his fax number is  +353-61-330027. If you do contact his office remember that the goal is to get the students thrown out of UL, not to scream, yell or otherwise threaten Professor Barry.

 

Wegmans LPGA Championship. Morgan Makes A Move.

Morgan Pressel makes a move in the second round of the Wegmans LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club, in Pittsford, New York. She now has a two shot lead over her nearest rivals.

Morgan Pressel / Halleran/ Getty Images

Morgan shot a -2 under par, 70 in the second round of the Wegmans LPGA Championship, to take a two shot lead into the final 36 holes on Sunday. She said she had a comfortable start, despite a slightly wayward driver;

“I got off to a good start, had a birdie opportunity on 10, but didn’t go in and then made one on 11. I started to hit my driver a little bit to the right, but made great par saves on 12 and 13, and then two great birdies on 14 and 15 to get me off to a really good and comfortable start. I hit a couple more drives to the right, which cost me bogeys, wasn’t able to make quite as miraculous saves on those couple of holes. And then the back nine was pretty uneventful. There wasn’t a whole lot that happened out there.  I had some opportunities, made some.  And then the wind picked up on our back nine a little bit and made it a little more difficult, and that side because of how it sits is quite a bit more wet, and so it was a little bit more sloppy on that side than it was on the front nine today.”

Inbee Park trails by two shots after an impressive -4 under par, 68 which tied Michelle Wie for the low round of the day. Inbee is currently tied for second with first-round leader Chella Choi at -4 under-par. Chella finished her second round with a +1 over  par 73.

Inbee thinks it is going to be mentally and physically tough to play 36 holes tomorrow, and said Morgan probably hit the ball pretty straight;

“It feels like just one more round to go, but we have to play two rounds in one day. I think that’s what’s going to be very tough mentally and physically.  It’s something that I really need to handle.  And I need to get really good rest tonight.  And try to be very relaxed and get a lot of sleep. I’m sure she probably hit it very straight to play that well on this golf course. So I gotta try to do that like her tomorrow. I think she was having tough time, but I’m sure she’s type of player that she could always come back, and I think it was about time that she was coming back.  And I think she’s feeling really comfortable around this golf course.”

Chella had a message written on her hand, which kept her focused during her round, she would not reveal what the Korean written message said;

“It’s a secret.”

Jiyai Shin, tied in fourth place has won before playing a final day 36 holes, the last time was at  the Ricoh Women’s British Open last year, in wet and windy conditions, with the tournament’s largest margin of victory, nine strokes. With her mental toughness and ability to grind out two full rounds in one day, Jiyai will be a player to watch on Sunday.

“I know how to play the 36 holes, because I played last year at the British Open with very bad weather. So I know I’m a couple shots behind the lead at the moment, but now I have 36 holes left.  So morning time I checked my physical conditioning and all my skill and maybe I try to hit more aggressive in the afternoon.”

Michelle Wie made a move today, -3 under par, to bring her back to even for the tournament. Using her 3-wood, 2 hybrid or 4 hybrid most of the time off the tee;

” I just try not to be greedy on this golf course, I hit a couple more drivers yesterday, which cost  all my strokes, really cost me for my drivers yesterday.  And on this golf course, even if you have 5‑iron, 6‑iron in, you just have to be in the fairway.”