British Open Recap

Amazing finish to the British Open, after three heavily sedated rounds (Saturday was miserable) yesterday had the drama expected in a major championship. Carnoustie is a fantastic venue for competitive golf; I'd nominate its final 9 holes for best 9 in the world. The final nine at Carnoustie has a rhythmic quality that perfectly framed the competition. 10-12 are difficult (10 essentially being a parkland hole), followed by 13/14, which provide opportunities to gain strokes to par, and the challenging 15-18, where every player was cognizant of the Van De Velde collapse, and some (Harrington/Romero) were apt to repeat it. The only reason it might not be the best is 17 is a bland home, but Sunday's pin position was excellent.

Yesterday's golf was a great mix of explicit and implicit events that built suspense until the final putt dropped. There were the 2x4 to the face moments of Romero pulling 2I on 17 from the rough, and knowing something terrible was bound to happen, to the more subtle lip-out for par on 18 that ultimately kept him out of the playoff. At no point during the round was I sure if Sergio was going to make/miss a putt.

I am convinced Paul McGinley was icing Sergio on 18, to the advantage of his countryman, Harrington. Sergio had to wait for almost 10 minutes in the middle of the fairway, while McGinley double read both his approach and final putt (from 18 inches). It was classic. After a raking of the bunker, Sergio promptly dumped his approach and coudn't get up and down.

Back to School

Yesterday I played my first golf round in ages, nearly three months after ACL reconstruction. I was giddy like a 12-year-old leading up to the round, I was barely able to sleep until my 5:00 alarm. It was so nice to be back on the course, on a gorgeous day. Unfortunately my swing is still extremely guarded (and very left side centric), but only having the option to putt over the last 3+ months improved my short game. Unbelieveably, I only had 22 putts (although I hit 3 greens, but biridied all 3). I can't see that occuring again anytime soon.

Watching Steve Stricker this AM, he could use my help!

The British Open - II

Sergio Garcia needs to win the British Open...like the Yankees need another World Series and like the Cowboys need another Super Bowl. The way the media fawned over his 65 and anointed him gracious, poised, and mature after his post-round session with the media makes me shake my head. If I shot 65 at the British, I would graciously talk to the media. SG is still the cup-spitting, arrogant Ryder-cupping, US Open tee time-bitching, weather delay-griping baby he's always been (saying he wants to win for Seve reinforces the notion). Might was well just dedicate the win to Curtis Strange.

Is it tacky to wear khaki pants, brown shoes, and navy socks? I say yes, but would estimate 80% of men in DC do it with regularity.

British Open Picks

Eagerly anticipating thhe British Open. Picks:

3. Henrik Stenson
2. Stuart Cink
1. Luke Donald

How is Justin Rose 20-1? Did they leave off a 0? What has he won of note?

Advice?

I went to Washington Golf in the attempt to find a new 3W. I haven't hit a 3W well since my old scool Callaway Big Bertha 3W, circa 1994.

I wasn't blown away by the 3W, finding the Titleist, Cobra, Callaway FT, and Nike to be miserable. A 3W I found to be 'eh' was the Taylor Made. Putters I kinda liked were the Callaway Fusion (1) and Ping G5 (2). Sadly, I wasn't overly impressed by any 3W, as they all seem to be low-profile. Any 3W with an indented face (Cobra, Cleveland) or a white stripe on the top of the club, outlining the face (FT) were horrible.

Any suggestions on a good 3W? Would I be stupid to buy and old school Callaway on ebay and put a new shaft in it?

Summer Albums

Over the summer I take great pride in reconnecting with older albums that make for great listening. So far I've 're-found':

Slaughter - Stick It To Ya
Aerosmith - Pump
Def Leppard - Pyromania

Including DL is a stretch, as the album is always great.

Sirens of the Ditch

Pretty excited the new Jason Isbell album was released today (Sirens of the Ditch). For those who are not familiar, he is the former Drive By Truckers guitarist. 'Not that kind of Actress', available for iTunes, is a good starting point to get a feel for his sounds. Very similar to DBT.

Just took a quick pass through the Wizzzz site to check out their summer league roster and saw they will have Kyle Visser participating. Impressed they tracked down the All-ACC selection, who can be more servicable than Brenda Haywood. Good pickup.

Random 2

Some random thoughts in my head. Thought I would oblige and put to print.

- Amazing golf article in today's WP about Steve Marino playing the TPC. What a Monday gem for anyone who has ever played golf in the DC area.

- Just recently realized Drew Weaver won the British Amateur. Nice story.

- Decent Entourage last night. If I had to rank the main characters, my list would read Ari, Turtle, Vince, E/Drama (tied for last). If I had to insert minor characters, Billy Walsh (Wally Balls) would be between Turtle and Vince (I am a fan), Ms. Ari with E/Drama/Lloyd, all the others.