One of those unavoidable elements to professional golf is the intrusion of weather. Presuming a 7:30 a.m. first time and a 7:30 p.m. completion by the final grouping, tournament officials need to enforce conditions over a dozen hours of golf in a given day. As avid aficionados know, this isn’t always possible. Well-known golfers like Tiger Woods have been both beneficiary and victim to the vagaries of climate influence. We’ll see this again this weekend at Oakmont. Afternoon soakings forced a cancellation of a portion of play and a restart Saturday morning, with hope for completing round two and beginning rounds three by nightfall.
What’s in store for the competitors? Doubtless, softer, more receptive greens…a plus. Closer approach shots should cede more birdie opportunities. Fairways that hold…also a plus. Even thought the ball might mud up in spots, slightly wayward tee balls will not run as easily into the fescue and other trouble areas. Wet sand…split. From fairway bunkers, should make longer shots easier; from greenside bunkers, not so much.
In the end, as we saw last month at the men’s championship, the most patient golfers will be in the mix at the end. Typically, this relates to experience very well, but not always (first time in contention for Havret and McDowell, yet finished 2nd and 1st.) At this juncture, all eyes are on Christie Kerr.
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Golf with Shanks:
Brandon Tucker:
The Vagabond Golfer:
Jason Scott Deegan:
There must be a change of the guard or attitude in the Wie Camp. For the very first time Michelle actually admitted that her performance was a "complete failure". Before, it was "you know, I hit perfect putts all day and none of them would go in".
to Joe Cool:
I've been a Wie skeptic. In fact, if you check the blogs via Google, you'll see that I coined the term "Wie Warriors" as a pun.
but above all, I've been and am a fan of Paula Creamer, have been since before she won at 18 at Sybase.
Time for you and others to move on with your Wie bashing. No one cares any longer. Wie's ship has faded into the sunset: She will never be a major factor on the LPGA. For example, Wie, although having an LPGA win under her belt, didn't win soon enough to be the youngest LPGA winner -- Paula has that singular distinction for a multi-round LPGA event.
Now we have Alexis Thompson (15, played in U.s. Open) and Cassie Cathrea (14, made a hole-in-one at an LPGA tour event in Calif.) as young phenoms. Paula and these two and others are the future of American ladies golf -- not Wie.
What I would rather do, which I have been doing in blogs, is what I have done all along -- cheer lead for Paula.
Paula Creamer: a great champion, and now a great U.S. Open champ. And if her thumb holds up, Paula suddenly has become the leader of the young lady golf guns from America.
Michelle who? That's not the question to ask.
Where is Paula playing next? THAT's the question to ask.
Paula is talented, cute, charismatic and a winner. She has led wire to wire. She has come from behind to win: She trailed after the first round at the U.S. Open. Paula knows how to win and now she knows how to win majors.
Paula's a credit to her country and her family. One of her instant reactions to winning the most prestigious major: "Thank God and thank parents."
Paula, just shy of 24 years of age, has twice as many LPGA wins as Annika, Lorena and Beth Daniels had at the same age -- combined.
Paula has a U.S. Open title, something even the legendary Ochoa never claimed.
Paula Creamer: What a fine young woman. What a fabulous champ.
Go Paula !!!!!
-George
Point #1...As long as the mainstream web media continue to address Wie as a factor, we will continue to dispel their foolishness. If we don't, readers might actually believe that she matters.
Point #2...Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it...Don't you think that Thompson is on the razor's edge of wie or not wie? She is younger than Wie was when she turned pro. Fortunately, she has siblings (that always helps) and parents who seem a bit more informed.
Second, how do you justify in the slightest "expect a win to be handed to her"? You seriously mean she expected a win to be handed to her? We know that she is lazy and doesn't like to practice, but come on! That's such a third-grade statement. I'm ashamed that adults still use it.