Have been busy with the Open this week (and working when not at the Open). Light rain this morning here, which is a shame becuase it seems it hasn't rained here in weeks (lawns are all baking). Course looks good, crowds yesterday were the biggest I've seen for a practice round. All four days of the tourney are sold out. Lots of bogeys being made this morning. I have no idea what the winning scores will be. They were struggling to get the greens to the speed they wanted and the rain today isn't going to help. It should thicken up the rough a little and I expect that come Sunday, the course is going to be REALLY tough.
Got to work the 18th tee box yesterday and will probably be on the box again tomorrow afternoon and Saturday morning. It's a lot of fun being on the box with these guys, their caddies and coaches. Watch for the guys holding the paddles behind the tee box, I'll be the only black guy you see.
bandl wrote:Which golfers have you met? Which ones are assholes? Any newbies to watch out for?
My wife has been uberpissed off at all the extra traffic the Open has caused...
I only had a matter of minutes while they were on the box. The Koreans and Swedes all play together in the practice rounds. Makes sense since some of them don't speak English, but it was funny to see the group of Choi, Kim, Kim and Kim walk up the tee yesterday. KJ is THE man. He is always smiling, acknowledging fans, waving to everyone. One of the caddies in the group behing them asked me which of the Kim's hit the ball better, then laughed... you couldn't tell them apart, two of them were dressed identically. The Molinari brothers also played together yesterday and are actually paired together for the first two rounds (along with the other Italian guy). Three Swedes are also paired together today and tomorrow.
The tour is filled with guys of every personality, every size, every swing. I think a lot of people think they are all pretty much the same... no way.
89Hen wrote:
The tour is filled with guys of every personality, every size, every swing. I think a lot of people think they are all pretty much the same... no way.
+1
I got to see a practice round at Augusta several years ago (back when John Daly was fat) and I was amazed at how small some of these guys are, both in stature and overall size. Some of these guys are 145 lbs dripping wet and pounding the ball out there 300+. I remember being impressed with Ernie Els (big guy, beautiful swing) and watching how Daly could torque his swing around what was then a whole lot of body mass - he had to be able to see the head of the club out of his left eye.
Since Tiger isn't playing I won't be paying attention.
"What I'm saying is: You might have taken care of your wolf problem, but everyone around town is going to think of you as the crazy son of a bitch who bought land mines to get rid of wolves."
That't too bad because there are a lot of good young golfers that will take over the next 20 years. Sounds like golf is going to lose a ton of fans once Tiger is done for good, which could be sooner rather than later.
89Hen wrote:Have been busy with the Open this week (and working when not at the Open). Light rain this morning here, which is a shame becuase it seems it hasn't rained here in weeks (lawns are all baking). Course looks good, crowds yesterday were the biggest I've seen for a practice round. All four days of the tourney are sold out. Lots of bogeys being made this morning. I have no idea what the winning scores will be. They were struggling to get the greens to the speed they wanted and the rain today isn't going to help. It should thicken up the rough a little and I expect that come Sunday, the course is going to be REALLY tough.
Got to work the 18th tee box yesterday and will probably be on the box again tomorrow afternoon and Saturday morning. It's a lot of fun being on the box with these guys, their caddies and coaches. Watch for the guys holding the paddles behind the tee box, I'll be the only black guy you see.
Sorry to miss you - was on 17 today. Sad that Tiger's not there, but the groupings are still really cool - the Swedes, the Italians, the Koreans, 1/2/3, the kid (16 year old Beau Hossler), etc. Good developing storylines wrt Rory's shot at redemption, Phil's erratic play (will he recover in time to make the cut?), the greens, the rough, the weather, the really slooowww play, etc.
Also - any update on the guy who had the coronary on 11?
Rob Iola wrote:Also - any update on the guy who had the coronary on 11?
Didn't hear about that. There are a ton of old folks in scooters out there.
As for those who long for Tiger... meh. Still one of the greatest sporting events of the year. Would it have been better for him to play and be middle of the pack?
Rob Iola wrote:Also - any update on the guy who had the coronary on 11?
Didn't hear about that. There are a ton of old folks in scooters out there.
As for those who long for Tiger... meh. Still one of the greatest sporting events of the year. Would it have been better for him to play and be middle of the pack?
Phil's middle of the pack, right? Tiger would've just added to the circus - who would you group him with? Rory Sabbatini? 2 amateurs? Phil? Could you imagine: the dream 1/2/3 group of Westwood/Donald/Kaymer with little or no gallery?
89Hen wrote:Have been busy with the Open this week (and working when not at the Open). Light rain this morning here, which is a shame becuase it seems it hasn't rained here in weeks (lawns are all baking). Course looks good, crowds yesterday were the biggest I've seen for a practice round. All four days of the tourney are sold out. Lots of bogeys being made this morning. I have no idea what the winning scores will be. They were struggling to get the greens to the speed they wanted and the rain today isn't going to help. It should thicken up the rough a little and I expect that come Sunday, the course is going to be REALLY tough.
Got to work the 18th tee box yesterday and will probably be on the box again tomorrow afternoon and Saturday morning. It's a lot of fun being on the box with these guys, their caddies and coaches. Watch for the guys holding the paddles behind the tee box, I'll be the only black guy you see.
A black guy, on a golf course, who isn't a golfer or a caddy? How'd you sneak on!?
ODUalum11 wrote:Rory McIlroy might be the next superstar in golf. He has a 6 stroke lead thru 9 and is shooting 4 under today. Shooting 10 under overall.
ODUalum11 wrote:Rory McIlroy might be the next superstar in golf. He has a 6 stroke lead thru 9 and is shooting 4 under today. Shooting 10 under overall.
ODUalum11 wrote:Rory McIlroy shooting -3 for the day thru 16, -14 overall. Has an 8 stroke lead over Y.E. Yang.
Gives them a 24-hour head start on etching the name on the trophy.
Elephant in the room: shit's boring without Tiger
I watched a little on Thursday to see if I could spot 89 on the 18th but they hardly ever showed the teebox; just the second shots from the fairway. Haven't watched a minute Fri or Sat and don't plan to tomorrow, knowing it's already over.
He is always smiling, acknowledging fans, waving to everyone. One of the caddies in the group behing them asked me which of the Kim's hit the ball better, then laughed... you couldn't tell them apart, two of them were dressed identically. The Molinari brothers also played together yesterday and are actually paired together for the first two rounds (along with the other Italian guy). Three Swedes are also paired together today and tomorrow.
Didn't hear about that. There are a ton of old folks in scooters out there. 
