They say Torrey Pines isn't that hard in its current condition...Yeah, looks very easyOne of the biggest advantages of being self-employed is being able to watch afternoon sporting events from your desk. My favorite event of this type, is of course the NCAA tourney, but I really like watching the PGA majors as well. I'm stoked as I get ready to watch the US Open in about 15 minutes. So, who's my pick?
Well, I think Tiger's knee recovery is going to bother him quite a bit as the tourney wears on. So, I'm not picking him. I'm not a fan of FIGJAM (Lefty Manboobieson), so I'm not picking him. I'm going with Jim Furyk and his whomp-jacked swing or Adam Scott. Sure, I'll be wrong, sure, none of you care about golf...but as a guy that holds 33% of this fantastic site, this is what I've chosen to write about.
18 comments:
My pick: Tiger
Sleeper: Luke Donald
meh, i don't really care who wins as long as it's not tiger. i can't even watch golf anymore because of him.
though it would be nice to see donald (a big ten guy) win a major.
You can't watch golf anymore because of Tiger? Dude, Tiger is the reason golf IS popular, whether you're a fan of him or not. People either root for him or root against him.... but I've never heard someone say they can't watch b/c of him. Again, whether you like him or not, he's amazing.
And b-dowd, I care about golf so that's 66.6% of the site's owners. And my pick is Lefty. I think he'll either win it or do something really stupid (like two years ago) to lose in flaming-crash fashion.
As for Tiger, he hasn't played in 8 weeks (for real) and his confidence on this course is his only chance... he's so good at Torrey Pines but if his knee is indeed still achy and he hasn't been playing... well, if he's in contention it will be amazing.
Also: For those of you who do golf, you know that a challenging course for us weekend hackers is 6500+ yards. Torrey is 7600+ for the Open. And here are some to compare to your weekend game:
6th hole: Par 4, 515 yards
9th hole: Par 5, 612 yards
12th hole: Par 4, 504 yards
13th hole: Par 5, 614 yards
600+ par 5s? 500+ par FOURS?? Truly insane I was reading my SI preview on the can last night and players anonymously were saying the course just isn't enjoyable at this ridiculous length and how the PGA should step in at some point. What's next? An 8,000 yard track?
here's the course info:
http://usga.usopen.com/course/index.html
As a golf nut, I LOVE the majors, but for some reason the US Open almost always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I hate the obsession with par that the USGA has, it's just an arbitrary number boys, that's all.
Don't get me wrong, I'll be watching it in its entirety... but my problem is this; rather than letting the venues have their own character, the US Open artificially makes courses tough by growing ridiculous rough, lightning greens, narrow fairways, and ridiculous length to the course... you can do that ANYWHERE.
I much prefer to see some shot-making rather than this gouge-it-out, hack it out and hope type of target golf. Is it entertaining for some to see the pros have to struggle so mightily? I guess, but I much prefer to see solid golf and competition rather than a huge war of attrition.
My pick: Phil
Dark horse: Jim Furyk
I like golf MORE because of Tiger. He is the consumate professional. He works harder than anyone else and carries himself with class.
Forgot to add... that's why the open at Pinehurst in '99 was so great to watch... shot making, a different type of "US Open" set-up, and what do you know we had a tourney for the ages...
side note: Tiger doubles the first... yeegads.
I agree with Champ Summers. I want to see shot making and birdies rather than grinding.
Zzzzzzz...snort, huh? Golf?...Zzzzzzzzz
I can't watch golf (can't really play it either, but I'll try now and again). To me, it is like watching something in slow motion. That, and it has to be perfectly quiet. What the hell??? The announcers talk in that quiet voice,they hold up signs to be quiet. Sucks! The ball isn't even moving. Try having that ball move at 100 mph and 40,000 people screaming at you.
That said, Tiger is berry, berry good.
my problem with tiger begins with his complete lack of personality. he's like a freaking robot when dealing with the media. then there's the cockiness on the course. yeah, he's good, but when he misreads a 30-foot putt and misses by a foot, he'll sit there and pout as if to say, "how DARE this putt not roll as i read it!" instead of shrugging it off that he may actually not be perfect. then there's the slamming of clubs, whining at photographers, etc. etc. the artificial-looking fist pumps aside, he just doesn't look like he enjoys earning millions of dollars playing what amounts to a recreational game for most people. contrast that with mickelson, who has the same stupid goofy smile just about every time you see him on the course.
"The announcers talk in that quiet voice,they hold up signs to be quiet. Sucks! The ball isn't even moving. Try having that ball move at 100 mph and 40,000 people screaming at you."
Plang, you are hopeless. Golf involves much more mechanical precision with the swing (much, much more) and much more accuracy with ball placement. In baseball you can hit a bloop single anywhere in the outfield. If you did the same in golf, you would be hitting your second shot from the thick stuff.
Mo Boiler,
It's called being focused on the task at hand. Nothing more than that. And just like anyone else, he gets frustrated when the putts don't drop. That doesn't make him a bad guy. If Phil Mickelson was a little more focused he wouldn't have imploded at Winged Foot.
matt,
i'm sure tiger really isn't a bad guy. yeah, he's intense and focused, that's fine - i just feel like he's almost painfully overdramatic about it for both the successes and the failures when on the course. that coupled with the fact that when dealing with the media, he puts on such a ridiculous front... i find it all annoying.
i'm sure if i had a beer with him - or even played a round with him on a saturday afternoon at the local publinx, sans gallery/tv cameras - and he could kick back, relax, and just be a regular dude, i'd probably like the guy. but the way he appears to have this obsession with his public persona just rubs me the wrong way for whatever reason.
If you were worth over $100 mill worth of coin a year, you'd be pretty careful with your public imagine, too. Just a thought.
As for his theatrics, I kind of agree that it's sometimes awkward to watch... like waiting for alcoholic daddy to snap and backhand one of us. But I also agree that it's a product of his intensity and focus. Can you imagine how hard it is to work endlessly to get better when you're already clearly the best golfer in the world? I slack off all the time and I'm not the best at anything (besides, obviously, love-making).
I like Tiger Woods...and I'm not a big fan of the awwww schucks look on Mickleson's face all of the time. I find Tiger's super-human abilities make an unwatchable TV sport extremely entertaining.
My brother, who played high school golf and hung out with a lot of very good golfers explained it this way- Most guys who are on tour grew up on the course...more specifically, they grew up in a country club environment and have been told their whole lives that they're great...So, most of them are extremely tough to deal with. I'm sure Mickleson & Woods are no different...but one has manboobs.
Purdue Matt - you are hopeless for actually taking my comments seriously.
*snicker*
Paul, Matt takes a whole lot in the virtual world very seriously.
Haha!
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