Posted on 06/12/2011 7:30:41 PM PDT by Baynative
So Jones suggested the 18th become the 10th and the lengthened 17th take over as the final hole, its downhill slope lending to an attractive view of Congressional’s clubhouse as well as to an interesting finish. Switching from a par 3 to a par 4 for the closing hole is not unlike asking Stephen King to change the ending of one of his horror books -- hopefully without adding to the fright factor.
The other major change is that the USGA chose to do something it rarely does -- it added a stroke to par instead of taking it away. A new tee was built to transform the sixth hole from a stock par 4 into a risk-reward par 5 that new USGA Executive Director Mike Davis will tweak on a daily basis.
(Excerpt) Read more at majorschampionships.com ...
Other good groups to watch:
Matt Kuchar, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Paul Casey, England; K.J. Choi, Korea
Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif.; Ian Poulter, England; Hunter Mahan, Colleyville, Texas
Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla.; Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
So who is your pick?
No way man,
No fun without that man whore tiger to kick around.
Certainly finishing on a par four [I think] at Wingfoot led to much excitement.
Can we start with the Tiger Woods jokes now ???
Nothing will ever beat what happened at the Winged Foot Golf Club in 1974 during the US Open—winner Hale Irwin looked a bit dazed when he accepted the winner’s trophy because the course played so hard during the tournament that year that all the favorites lost.
A pox be upon TW. He ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Golf will never be the same. Sigh!
The game of golf dissects the soul and character of a person like no other.
Stay on topic! This is titled “The Finish Factor”.
I think Tiger if finished.
;-)
Tiger let a lot of people down, as well as himself and though his era is probably finished the excitement of who will prevail is never going to die.
The stories of the challengers to the throne of golf's master are numerous and exciting. The fearless kids like McIlroy and Manaserro are blessed with physical talent and are learning how to manage the the confusion of Sunday's back nine. Several more seasoned players who are comfortable inside the ropes, but lost some of their game are coming on strong.
While Tiger's domination was amazing to watch, it goes to the heart of sport and competition as the field gets shredded by nerves and nature.
I'm a big fan of Mickelson and Kuchar. Westwood has all the right stuff and Dustin Johnson has been knocking at the door for almost two years. Somewhere in the shadows is the guy who will prevail. I can't wait for Sunday.
My opinion of Tiger has changed completely in the last two years, I no longer have any respect for him as a person, though I am certainly willing to reconsider IF he starts acting like a mature adult.
It's obvious that his personal life has had a severe impact on his game, but I have a feeling that this is only temporary.
As far has his era being over, Jack Nicklaus had a big slump in the late 1960s and came back as one of the dominant players of the 70s.
WOO HOO!
Harrison Frazar gets to go to The Masters!
“smashing gopher eggs and then chasing them is the stupidest that anyone ever came up with!”
Tried it and couldn’t get a ball off the ground, huh?
Heh heh ...
Someday, Tiger is going to tear up the Senior Tour...
I love Mickelson too, but I think he threw away his best opportunity to win The Open at Winged Foot in 2006.
Big Kuchar fan also (he's a Georgia Tech guy after all!), but he has never shown much at any of the majors save for his first Master's when he was still an amateur. Don't get me wrong - I think he would be a very worthy champion, and there are many champs who have made The Open their first major win: see Geoff Ogilvie, Graeme MacDowell, Michael Campbell, Jim Furyk, and adding some names from the past, Jack Fleck and Orville Moody.
But I vote for the guy from the shadows..... This guy being either a long-time pro who has won a couple of tournaments over his career, but never a biggie (i.e. your classic journeyman who turns it on for four days of the best golf of his life), or an older player with some glory in his background (Ernie Els? David Duval?), generally considered washed up, who comes out of nowhere to win this thing and caps his career.
You want names? From the older set:
Steve Stricker
Ernie Els
KJ Choi
Jim Furyk
From the young guns I really like Dustin Johnson. He led after 54 holes last year (even though he blew up in the final round) and missed a playoff at the PGA due to a stupid ruling from the PGA. Granted Congressional isn't Pebble Beach but I still like him. Also McElroy and Fowler. Young guys too inexperienced to be fazed by the pressure of it all.
So.... let the play begin!
Duval didn’t qualify this year. I hope he gets it back one of these days. He’s running out of time. Justin Leonard and Vijay Singh are out this year, too.
Yeah, I keep hoping David will get it back. Amazing game, on top today, missing the cut tomorrow.
Had Duvall made the field he would have been my sentimental favorite. I think it would be a kick to Ty Tryon in the hunt on Sunday.
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