Tag PGA Tour

He Does It Again

Danny Vinik 1 Comment

Was there any chance that Tiger was going to miss that 16-foot birdie putt? Everyone knew it was coming. It was just a matter of how dark it would be when Tiger would sink the putt to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the 72ndhole. Starting the day 5 strokes behind Sean O’hair, Tiger fought back quickly to get within stroke by the 8th hole, but O’Hairfought back, birdieing number nine andreaching the turn with a two stroke lead. A combination of O’Hair bogeying 10 and Tiger birdieintiger-comebackg 13 left the two tied after the 15th hole. Even more, Tiger took the lead on 16 when O’Hairbogeyed. The lead was short-lived though as a poor tee shot left Tiger with a bogey on the par-3 17th. The two entered the 72nd hole tied. Who did you expect would win?

Woods and O’Hair both reached the green in regulation, leaving themselves pretty lengthy puts though. First up, O’Hair hits his putt short and to the left, leaving the ball about 4 feet away from the hole. You could hear murmurs rise in the crowd as everyone knew that Tiger had a shot to win it. He spoke with his caddie, aligned the ball, and measured the precise line of the putt. Finally, as anticipation reached its peak, Tiger stepped up to his ball. A clean stroke and the ball made its way towards the hole. Just as it was about a yard away from the hole, Tiger takes a skip step backward before pumping his fist in the air as the ball smoothly sank into the cup. Tiger had done it again. Continue reading “He Does It Again” →

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Padraig Wins the 2008 British Open

Danny Vinik 1 Comment

Padraig Harrington won the 2008 British Open Championship on Sunday with a final round 69 (-1) to finish the tournament at +5, four shots ahead of runner-up Ian Poulter. The week began with Harrington unsure if he’d even be able to play and defend his 2007 Open victory, but it ended with Padraig holding the trophy high for the second consecutive year. Entering the 17th hole with a two-shot lead of Poulter, Harrington hit a perfect five wood which left him a ten-foot putt for eagle. After Padraig knocked that putt in to give himself a four shot lead, he parred 18 and pumped is fist high in the air. Lost in Padraig’s victory though is  53-year-old Greg Norman, who gave us quite a ride during the entire tournament.

Norman finished the 137th British Open tied for third at nine over par. He started the day with a two shot lead on the rest of the field, but a final round 77 cost him a shot at becoming the oldest major champion in PGA history. Yet, Norman has nothing to be ashamed of. His performance was nothing less than magical, and though this story did not have a fairy-tale ending, it was still a great ride. His putting during today’s final round was mediocre at the best. The horrible weather conditions at Royal Birkdale caused putting to be a nightmare for all of the golfers and Norman struggled mightily. Continue reading “Padraig Wins the 2008 British Open” →

So Close, Yet So Far For Rocco Mediate

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The 2008 US Open’s fourth round was completed today and I say fourth round, not final round, for a reason. 54-hole leader Tiger Woods shot a +2 round (73) to end all four rounds combined at a -1 (283). However, unknown Rocco Mediate, ranked 158th in the world rankings, shot an even par round (71) to also end all four rounds at a 1-under (283). With Mediate and Woods tied, they will play 18 more holes tomorrow morning to decide the winner of the 2008 US Open. As much as I was looking forward to watching someone raise the US Open Trophy today, I have no problem watch Tiger and Rocco duke it out for 18 more holes tomorrow on one of the toughest courses in golf.

For Tiger, he should be thankful to even be in the playoff, but also worried about how is surgically repaired left knee will handle another full round of golf. Having never lost a major championship when he had a 54-hole lead, Tiger looked to be in some trouble early after he double bogeyed the first hole and bogeyed the second. As the round progressed, Tiger continued to flutter around even par for the remainder of the round, but his left knee caused him to grimace after nearly every shot. Having never had knee surgery myself (especially not three times on the same knee), I have no idea the amount of pain that Tiger was feeling. However, I can’t help but believe that Tiger may have embellished a little bit. That’s not to say he wasn’t in any pain, but I think that Tiger may have exaggerated the pain slightly to make a victory at Torrey Pines seem that much more incredible. Continue reading “So Close, Yet So Far For Rocco Mediate” →