Category: Pro Golf

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Round 1 Rory

Wow, Rory McIlroy with the lead at the US Open after shooting 6 under.  It’s like he’s all they’re talking about on TV and rightly so.  He was playing out of his gourd yet again.  It’s another major and another incredible round for the young Irishman.  Of course, given what happened at the Master’s, there’s no telling what the weekend may bring.  However, if he keeps shooting rounds this low in Majors, he’s sure to end up with the trophy at the end of one of ‘em.

My favorite thing about Rory McIlroy is his swing.  If someone came up to me and said “hey, dude, you can have the swing of any player on the PGA tour”, I’d have to say Rory McIlroy’s.  It wouldn’t be Tiger Woods’ because it seems so difficult to do and he keeps changing it anyway.  So if he’s not satisfied, then maybe that’s not the swing I want.  I don’t want Phil’s swing either because he’s a lefty and his swing has just never appealed to me.  The Big Easy has a sweet swing that I’d take, especially because he makes it look so..well..easy!  Plus, back in the day Ernie was an awesome player!  Wait, he’s still an awesome player!  Another swing that I’ve always liked was Freddie Couples’.  He’s always had that effortless power thing going and he seems like a fantastic guy to go get a beer and hang out with.  Anyway, the point is, I’d love to have Rory’s swing!  It’s so smooth and his rhythm is so great!  It’s Nair smooth, triple blade smooth, even George Clooney smooth! And his balance is so, uh, balanced!

Well, you get the picture.  So just like everyone else, I’ll be waiting with bated breath to see what happens this weekend.  Oh, but another favorite thing about Rory McIlroy is that his name is so close to Roy McAvoy!  Now there was a player…

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The Heritage at Hilton Head

This week’s Heritage was great!  Those spectators really got their money’s worth when Luke Donald and Brandt Snedeker went to a playoff.  And what a playoff!  I was pulling for Luke since he could take the #1 ranking, but he kept making things difficult for himself.  You had to feel for the guy though when his last chip lipped out.  Anyway, so what about Hilton Head?

I visited Hilton Head and it was a great time.  If you look past the 18th green on TV you can see the lighthouse behind it.  Surrounding the lighthouse is a small yacht harbor with some nice, sizeable boats.  I was very jealous and I think there was one actually named “Jealousy”.  We climbed the lighthouse where they have a webcam you can get on and wave to your friends.  Beneath the lighthouse is a small shopping area with some restaurants and a yacht club.  It’s a cute little town.  On Hilton Head Island, there are a few of those shopping areas.

Did you know that Harbor Town is on a private part of the island called Sea Pines?  You have to pay a little just to get in.  Hilton Head Island is shaped like a foot and Sea Pines encompasses the front part of the shoe.

I just spent one night there, but it was a pleasure.  Hilton Head is the type of place where people ride bikes and the breeze flows off the water like there’s a girl with a fan standing beside you.  Off season, it’s very reasonable and you can probably get on the golf course easier.  Even when it was in the 40s, people were playing.  In season, it’s still probably worth it, but you might have to plan ahead a little better.  I stayed at…you guessed it: the Hilton!  What a surprise, right?!  It was great and waterfront.  The restaurant is good, there’s a little bar/club, and it was waterfront.  What more could you ask for?

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Tiger Woods is coming back at the Masters!

I’ve always been a Tiger Woods fan.  That hasn’t changed after all the hoopla surrounding his personal life.  I think he could’ve handled it better, but who’ll really cares anymore?  I just want him to win.  This long hiatus that he’s taken has just made the drama last even longer.  But, finally, it looks like Tiger is ready to get back to the thing that made him great: golf.  And he’s coming back at the biggest stage in golf: the Masters.

The Masters is where the greatest come to test themselves against the best.  It has a storied history that golfers recount like it was yesterday.  It remains the hardest ticket in sports to get.  Augusta is hallowed grounds for golfers.

Is Augusta the place that Tiger makes his triumphant return?  May people have talked about this and many have taken different points of view.  It seems as though many people agree that Tiger will come back sharp, but the problem may come with has lack of competitive play recently.  Will that have an effect on his play?

Here’s the thing:  Tiger is driven to win.  If his history is any indication, he is not going to Augusta for a top ten.  He wants to win.  His goal is still to win more majors than Jack.  He’s still got that goal in his sights.  I guess this week we’ll see how close he’s getting.

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Tom Watson 2009

Can’t believe Tom Watson lost…

I was crushed when Tom Watson lost the British Open Championship.  It was such a disappointment because you could see how much he wanted to win and how magical it would have been.

There are times when you know history is being made.  We didn’t know that after around two, although the 54 hole lead of the major championship is pretty remarkable.  But after the third round and on the back nine of the last day of the Open Championship, we knew we were watching history.  Tom Watson was almost 60 years old and he has winning the Open.  We all know that this is amazing, and it will always stir our emotions.

The emotions that we feel when a man is in such a position are incredible.  We all draw from our experience and taste a little bit of what he’s going through.  We can imagine that day in high school years ago, when we are trying to win a game or had a shot.  We magnify that by a million.  That’s what I felt.  For me it was the feeling of being at the state championship track meet, getting ready for the finals of the high hurdles, knowing that I had a chance to get into the record books and win a medal.  That anxiousness, that energy, it runs in your veins.  It’s what you’ve always wanted, all the while knowing the odds you’re fighting.  We all knew that Tom Watson was fighting the odds, but that energy was coursing through him from his feet to top of his head.  We all wanted him to do it so we could be a part of something unthinkably fantastic, even if it was as a fan.

Tom Watson is an incredible champion and I only wish he could have won the Open so the record books with reflected.  My fear now is that people will remember the winner of the 2009 Open Championship and that Tom Watson’s runner-up will only become a footnote.  I know that students of the game will remember this forever, but Tom Watson deserves to be remembered by all.