CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted July 4, 2008 July 3-6: AT&T National, Congressional CC, Bethesda, MD. KJ Choi July 10-13: John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, IL. Jonathan Byrd July 17-20: The Open Championship, Royal Birkdale, Lancashire, UK. Padraig Harringon July 17-20: US Bank Championship in Milwaukee, Brown Deer Park GC, Milwaukee. Joe Ogilvie July 24-27: RBC Canadian Open, Glen Abbey G&CC, Oakville, Ontario. Jim Furyk The voiceover guy for PGA Tour Today on their website used to do voiceovers for the WWF. Check that shit out. Also, with the piece on Golf Central about Monty yesterday, discuss something I was thinking: More ridiculous bogey from the 18th fairway on Sunday? Monty at the 06 US, or Norman at the 87 Masters. Anyone else unimpressed with Hunter Mahan's comment about any major wins needing an asterisk "just like the Houston Rockets in 94 and 95"? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted July 4, 2008 Considering I thought Mahan might win the PGA Championship this year, what a tool. Either Luke Donald or Geoff Ogilvy are going to win the Open (my favourite major) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted July 4, 2008 Donald's your boy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 4, 2008 I thought Mahan was pretty funny. More ridiculous bogey has to be Monty. He just butchered that hole. 18 at Augusta isn't exactly a walk in the park, especially on Sunday. I actually thought Norman's bogey at 18 the year before to miss out on the playoff with Jack was worse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 17, 2008 Oh my lord, it is just dreadful out there. 10 over par could win this thing. Tiger is tied for the lead and he hasn't even gotten off the sofa. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 So the 36-hole leader is almost certainly going to be...GREG NORMAN?!? That's just unfathomable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 It was weird enough to see him up there after 18. But outright after 36? Unbelievable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 It's ridiculous that, with Tiger out and all the big names getting their best shot at a major in at least two years, the guy that steps up and grabs it is a 53-year-old who, by his own admission, doesn't even practice anymore. That said, watch out for Furyk on the weekend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MFer 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 David Duval of all people is right there as well (not that I expect him to win or anything). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 David Duval of all people is right there as well (not that I expect him to win or anything). Well, if Norman can wind the clock back 20 years, it's only fitting that Duval wind it back 10 himself. Even if they both blow up, a Norman-Duval final pairing tomorrow would be the feel-good story of the year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MFer 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 Hey, even Mr. Jean Van de Velde himself isn't too far back Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 And Rocco Mediate is at +2. Another potentially fantastic story. And I just noticed that, incredibly, the defending champ is also T-5 at +2 after a 68. Harrington didn't know on Wednesday if he'd even be able to play at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 KJ Choi ends up with the 36-hole lead at -1, barring a birdie binge by Duval over the last four holes. Choi winning wouldn't surprise me in the least. There's a severe wind warning for tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 19, 2008 Greg Norman is YOUR 54-hole leader. He's the oldest man ever to lead a major after 3 rounds. This could be the best sports story to come along in years. Those were some of the most difficult conditions I've ever seen. How can you even putt knowing the wind could move your ball at any second? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted July 19, 2008 I'm really tempted to call in sick for work tomorrow so I can watch this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danville_Wrestling 0 Report post Posted July 19, 2008 Go Greg! As a longtime Norman fan I can't believe he's on top of the leaderboard but its great seeing him back in contention at a major championship. Fighting off Harrington tomorrow is going to be incredibly difficult, but at least this time Norman goes into the final round with significantly lowered expectations than the 1990s. I'll be glued to my TV for the final round coverage tomorrow hoping to watch the unthinkable happen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cabbageboy 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2008 I really do hope Norman pulls this off tomorrow. The poor guy needs something to cap his career that goes beyond the notorious 1996 Masters fiasco. Maybe if he wins this tomorrow he can take the trophy, Chris Evert, and ride off into the sunset. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2008 I'm really tempted to call in sick for work tomorrow so I can watch this. What time do you start? It'll wrap up by around 1030 here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2008 Nevermind then. I'd just be very tired then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2008 I'm up for it. Norman's opened with three straight bogeys. He's one back of Paddy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2008 An eagle at 17, and Paddy repeats. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danville_Wrestling 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2008 Well Norman winning would have been a great feel good story, but we all knew the blowup round was coming sooner or later. It's just the heartbreak I have become familiar with as a fan of the Shark. So congrats to Padraig on the repeat (which sort of dilutes the arguments that Tiger wasn't in the field). The silver lining in all of this: with his T-3 finish, Norman will receive an invite back to Augusta for the first time since 2002. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2008 Well Norman winning would have been a great feel good story, but we all knew the blowup round was coming sooner or later. It's just the heartbreak I have become familiar with as a fan of the Shark. So congrats to Padraig on the repeat (which sort of dilutes the arguments that Tiger wasn't in the field). The silver lining in all of this: with his T-3 finish, Norman will receive an invite back to Augusta for the first time since 2002. I was just thinking that. It's a vastly different course from 2002 (or more accurately, vastly longer), and certainly different from when he last earned a trip there in 2000. It'll be cool to see, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danville_Wrestling 0 Report post Posted July 23, 2008 In other Norman news, the PGA has given him an invitation to the PGA Championship next month. Norman said he'll decide within the next 24 hours or so whether to accept. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 23, 2008 I wouldn't be surprised to see him decline. The PGA doesn't set up nearly as well for a senior golfer as the Open typically does. It'd be hard to imagine him making the cut at Oakland Hills. It'll be nice to see him leave Augusta National on his terms next year, though. In other news, Michelle Wie is playing the Reno-Tahoe Open. To which I say, ENOUGH ALREADY. Try concentrating on signing your scorecard correctly and making sure you have an LPGA tour card for next year (she doesn't, and has only one more exemption left to earn the required $80K, otherwise she goes to Q-School). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danville_Wrestling 0 Report post Posted July 24, 2008 I wouldn't be surprised to see him decline. The PGA doesn't set up nearly as well for a senior golfer as the Open typically does. It'd be hard to imagine him making the cut at Oakland Hills. It'll be nice to see him leave Augusta National on his terms next year, though. In other news, Michelle Wie is playing the Reno-Tahoe Open. To which I say, ENOUGH ALREADY. Try concentrating on signing your scorecard correctly and making sure you have an LPGA tour card for next year (she doesn't, and has only one more exemption left to earn the required $80K, otherwise she goes to Q-School). Yea I agree with the analysis of Norman most likely missing the cut @ Oakland Hills. I know if I lived in the area I'd try to get a hold of a ticket to see him for the first two rounds but with the limited amount of practice he does (which he admits to on ESPN.com) I think the PGA should have just withheld the invite and given it to a younger golfer who might be able to compete at a higher level. I think he'll struggle at the Masters next year as well (unless conditions get nasty) simply because of the distance that has been added to that course. However, if Norman is in contention next year @ Augusta he'll get louder reactions than @ the Open simply because the same fans show up to that tournament year in and year out and would love to see him make another run at a green jacket. I think Norman should play a few more PGA events, though, before the FedEx Cup because he currently sits 140th (top 144 make it) and could make the field. Nevertheless, coming from that far back to win the thing is a statistical improbability....sorta why I don't like the system. I also 100% echo the comments on Wie. When I was reading my local paper and saw the AP story on this I was like "excuse me"? To play Devil's advocate, I can understand why the Reno-Tahoe Open did it because it will be one of the weaker fields on tour due to a WGC event that is going on that same week so they needed something to draw in the ticket sales. So the move has a strictly financial aspect as far as I'm concerned. Wie would be better off playing in the LPGA's feeder school for a year just to hone her game and get back on track. Maybe she could finally win a few tournaments there and regroup. It's quite sad to see what she's become as I think its more of her parents fault. And on another note, I am sick of hearing radio hosts blast the British Open as being boring because Tiger wasn't there and complaining about the scorecard problem with Wie and how its a stupid rule. This analysis from casual golf fans just pisses me off. I am also still contemplating purchasing tickets for the Ryder Cup through an online broker since I lost a lottery last fall to get a hold of two tickets for Saturday at Valhalla. It would cost me upwards of $400 but I feel its a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Ryder Cup in Kentucky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 24, 2008 I'm still kicking myself for not going to see the Presidents Cup in Montreal last year. Following the Weir-Tiger match would've been the thrill of a lifetime. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted July 24, 2008 In hindsight, I'd have given just about anything to see Weir-Tiger. In practise, I talked to a customer a few years ago who had been to the 2004 Ryder Cup. Apparently it's, discounting the golf, an awful tournament to attend. He explained that "when you factor in that there's at most, 24 guys on the course at one time, it means a lot of people crammed together. It's tough to move around or see anything unless you get there early." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted July 24, 2008 That's what I was basing my decision on. Overall, I suppose I did the right thing, but man, that match was something else. Of course, thinking about it, I probably would've been able to see approximately none of it from in the crowd. Yeah, watch it on TV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianGuitarist 0 Report post Posted July 25, 2008 I saw Weirsy at one of the practise rounds of the 06 Canadian Open. That was ideal; it's tough to imagine doing that on Sunday, or at a busier event. Would have been nice to get an autograph or handshake, but the forty-five seconds in which he was walking off the 18th green to the clubhouse, when two or three thousand people crammed up like sardines? Nah, I couldn't do that for long. And I don't wanna get to ahead of myself; but he's got a share of the lead with Eric Axley after 18. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
