Anyone who was at the U.S. Open and paying attention knew something was not right with Tiger’s knee. Now it’s official: He’s done for the season. According to Tiger’s own website, he needs surgery on a blown ACL and time to heal two stress fractures in his tibia. I guess when he said that the pain he was experiencing during th Open was different, he wasn’t kidding. He knew it was serious and played on anyway, for the fans, the USGA, and even Rocco Mediate (who wouldn’t have wanted to win on a Tiger WD). Let’s hope that his career is not threatened ... full post »

The 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines was choc-a-bloc full of drama and character and story lines. But I am left with none of the lingering buzz that appears to affect some of the younger, appletini-drinking writers around here. Instead, I’ve got a U.S. Open hangover. And it’s not just that my liver looks like SpongeBob SquarePants, thanks to the open bar and attentive bartenders at the Lexus hospitality tent and Power of h Gala at the Hard Rock Hotel. And it’s not just because I wept like John Daly over a dry keg when I had to check out of ... full post »

Anyone out there remember the 1971 U.S. Open? (BTuck, you’re excused.) Chatty, wise-cracking Lee Trevino squared off against the intense, and intensely favored, Jack Nicklaus in an 18-hole playoff. On the first tee Monday morning, Trevino flipped a rubber snake over onto Jack’s bag as Jack reached for his driver. Trevino’s practical joke cracked up the gallery and the media and himself. I have the feeling that Nicklaus, though smiling on the outside, wasn’t terribly entertained – especially when Trevino went on to beat The Golden Bear in the playoff for his second U.S. Open victory. Rocco Mediate is no Trevino when it comes ... full post »

As I stood behind the tee box at the 389-yard 2nd hole at Torrey Pines, I figured Tiger Woods would try to recover from yet another triple bogey on the 1st hole (his third in four rounds), with a safe long iron down the middle of the fairway. Instead, he pulled driver. When the guy next to me asked what he was hitting driver for, I said he was going to try to hit a big cut, which would place a tremendous strain on his knee. After Woods ripped at the ball, hitting instead a push-fade that missed the short grass, he ... full post »

Major sporting events in that there are really two events running in parallel: The actual sporting competition, and the see-and-be-seen world of celebrity-rich parties. The 2008 U.S. Open is no exception, especially in the SoCal setting of La Jolla. Last night, USGA partner Lexus threw a red-carpet gala at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, celebrating “The Power of h” (i.e., their new line of hybrid vehicles. Along with golf celebrities like Chi Chi Rodriguez, Ray Floyd, Annika Sorenstam, and Peter Jacobsen, there were a phalanx of San Diego Chargers on hand and a few show biz celebs. One notable TV personality ... full post »

Players have sung the praises of Torrey Pines as a U.S. Open venue. It’s “tough but fair"—a phrase that seems to be a mantra around here this week. This said, Torrey Pines has some flaws. And I’m not just saying this to be contrarian. A couple of examples leap immediately to mind (and land with a sickening thud smack dab on my hypothalamus): The tee box at the 10th hole has got to be the most hideous abomination of a tee box ever. Even for a municipal course—which Torrey is—it’s terrible. Massive air conditioning units from an immediately adjacent building roar continuously just ... full post »

There was a theme that emerged in the media interview room during the post-round interviews over the first few days at this year’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines: They like the course and the set-up a lot better than the last few years. This isn’t saying the course isn’t tough – it is. Take, for example, this comment by Luke Donald: “The USGA is pretty good at finding tough courses and making them tougher. The course set-up has been very good this year.” D.J. Trahan, who noted that he is not fond of playing the Buick Open at Torrey Pines each year due to ... full post »

Sitting here tippy-typing away in the Lexus Hospitality tent, I overheard the following from a fellow bloody Mary aficionado: “After seeing Chi Chi Rodriquez and Johnny Miller up close, I have a whole new respect for these guys.” The comment naturally led me into a small discourse on the difference between golf—and pro golfers—of yesteryear vs. today. Here, I think, is the key: In the pre-cable and even pre-television days, players had to sell themselves to get sponsorships. They didn’t get hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars a year for just sewing a logo on their hat and showing ... full post »

There is nothing like the weekend at the U.S. Open. And there never has been anything like the 2008 U.S. Open, as this is the first time it has ever been held at Torrey Pines. The USGA has begun a trend of awarding Opens to public courses, like Torrey, ever since the success of the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, the so-called “People’s Open.” The latest good news for us regular folks was the announcement that the 2015 U.S. Open will be held at the just-opened, and also public, Chambers Bay in Washington state. So, how does one fit in at ... full post »

Arriving just past midnight last night in Los Angeles on my way down to La Jolla for the final three days of the U.S. Open, I realized that I have overlooked a critical piece of golf equipment during my stint as Equipment Editor for WorldGolf.com: My car. Actually, I realized this as soon as I settled into the soft leather seats of the Lexus LS 600h L hybrid sedan I’m in command of this weekend. What are the critical features of a car for golfers? One is trunk space, and the LS 600h has enough for two large golf bags or three ... full post »

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – I’m on my way to board a plane for Los Angeles, where I’ll be picking up a shiny new Lexus hybrid sedan and tooling on down to La Jolla for the final three days of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. The best part? I get to take my father-in-law, Donald Hicks, with me for Father’s Day. Even better? The current leader at the championship is a guy named Justin Hicks. We might be related (well, by marriage, anyway). If this guy, whose best finish on the Nationwide Tour is T-2, actually wins, just imagine the parties a distant ... full post »

For people living in the upper Midwest, the Wisconsin Dells is like the Poconos or Catskills for those living in the Northeastern seaboard. It’s a huge and, until recently, quite wild and natural network of lakes, rivers, and rocky woodlands. And, within only the last eight years or so, golf courses, water parks, and Indian casinos have sprung up like morels in springtime on the shores of the peaceful lakes. Recent torrential rains have created havoc, though, washing away half-million-dollar vacation homes (videos here) on the shores of Lake Delton. When the shores of the lake couldn’t handle the water, they ... full post »

Scotland—The sun is shining, the temperatures are balmy, and the wind is calm. And the Scots are looking around at one another quizzically, almost as if they expect a joke is being played on them. Of course two days ago, when I was treated to one of the first media rounds on the yet-to-open Castle Course at St. Andrews, it was cloudy and drizzly. Ah, it’s all about the atmosphere. Seriously, though, the first new course to be built by the St. Andrews Links Trust since 1914 was a treat to play, especially in this pre-open state. The official public opening is June ... full post »