The Open Championship

[DUKIECB]

At the Old Course this year. So far the wind is calm, the course is soft and the players are taking full advantage. Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth have picked up right where they left off from Chambers Bay. Playing in the same group Spieth shoots -5 (67) and Johnson is your leader with a bogey free -7 (65). Also Jason Day another contender at the US Open is currently -6 through 16 holes.

Very early but the buzz will already be building with Spieth only 2 off the early lead. Spieth took a lot of criticism for playing the John Deere instead of coming across the pond early and doing some scouting. I think with a playoff victory at the Deere and an open round 67, he has silenced the critics would you say?

[-jk]

Weather is going to hell tomorrow and Saturday there. All bets are off...

-jk

[Bob Green]

There has been a three hour rain delay this morning.

[Bob Green]

Play has been suspended again on Saturday morning prior to the 2nd Round being finished. It's going to be another long day for the golfers at St. Andrews.

[Tripping William]

Play has been suspended again on Saturday morning prior to the 2nd Round being finished. It's going to be another long day for the golfers at St. Andrews.

Play scheduled to resume at 4:00 pm local (11:00 am ET). Round 3 tomorrow. Final round Monday. Mother Nature having her influence, for sure.

[YmoBeThere]

At this point, my sentiment is "Wake me when it is over."

[sagegrouse]

Play scheduled to resume at 4:00 pm local (11:00 am ET). Round 3 tomorrow. Final round Monday. Mother Nature having her influence, for sure.


At this point, my sentiment is "Wake me when it is over."

Paul Azinger had some interesting comments, which I will summarize: There is no question that the Open was played successfully in high winds in years past, but then the greens were slow, probably 7.0 or 7.5 on the Stimpmeter. This year the greens are beautiful, but they are 9.0 to 9.5 isn speed. Therefore, in high winds, the course becomes unplayable.

Sage Note: "Unplayable" with respect to wind appears to be if and only if the ball will not hold its position on the green.

[Tripping William]

Paul Azinger had some interesting comments, which I will summarize: There is no question that the Open was played successfully in high winds in years past, but then the greens were slow, probably 7.0 or 7.5 on the Stimpmeter. This year the greens are beautiful, but they are 9.0 to 9.5 isn speed. Therefore, in high winds, the course becomes unplayable.

Sage Note: "Unplayable" with respect to wind appears to be if and only if the ball will not hold its position on the green.

From what I have seen, Zinger has been fantastic through this delay. Lots of interesting commentary on lots of topics.

[roywhite]

From what I have seen, Zinger has been fantastic through this delay. Lots of interesting commentary on lots of topics.

Yeah, really like Zinger. Interesting guy who overcame serious illness, and also captained a victorious Ryder Cup team (rare for the USA side lately).

[BD80]

Yeah, really like Zinger. ...

So does Lefty

[Bob Green]

It is moving day and the early mover is David Duvall. He started the day even par after scoring 72, 72 the first two rounds and is now -6 through 14 holes and tied for 10th place.

[Bob Green]

More low 3rd Round scores:

Marc Leishman -8
Eddie Pepperell -7
Rickie Fowler -6
Jim Furyk -6

and five folks (including David Duval) shot -5.

[BD80]

Amazing tournament.

Six tied for the lead.

Another 14 within a stroke.

[Dukehky]

Spieth man. Dude is incredible.

[DUKIECB]

What the heck happened to Dustin Johnson today? The guy can really play but can't seem to do it when it matters the most.

One name for you... Paul Dunne! Where in the world did he come from? He was barely the best player on his college golf team a... Wait for it...UAB! He was 1500 to 1 coming into the week to win! Wow and tied for the 54 hole lead. Unbelievable

[BD80]

What the heck happened to Dustin Johnson today? The guy can really play but can't seem to do it when it matters the most.

One name for you... Paul Dunne! Where in the world did he come from? He was barely the best player on his college golf team a... Wait for it...UAB! He was 1500 to 1 coming into the week to win! Wow and tied for the 54 hole lead. Unbelievable


Young Irish golfers don't always thrive immediately on American courses. He did win the Irish Amateur.

Interesting fact: Duke's women's team will comprise ladies from France, Italy, Ireland (2), South Korea, China, India. None from the Western Hemisphere.

[wilson]

What a scramble today. Tomorrow will be a really nice day to be a teacher on summer vacation and watch what figures to be a brawl for the jug.

[NashvilleDevil]

What kind of odds would you have gotten to bet on a horse winning the triple crown, a tennis player winning the Grand Slam, and a golfer winning the Grand Slam? I know it's unlikely but man watching Serena and Spieth this year has been awesome.

[Tripping William]

What kind of odds would you have gotten to bet on a horse winning the triple crown, a tennis player winning the Grand Slam, and a golfer winning the Grand Slam? I know it's unlikely but man watching Serena and Spieth this year has been awesome.

Finally, a Jordan for whom I can cheer.

[sagegrouse]

Much as I would like to see a dark horse come in first, it looks like Oosthuizen (who won here last time), Jason Day, and Spieth are the main contenders. I suppose Padraig could rally one more time and the amateur Dunne could spring a surprise, but I expect one or more of Louie, Jason or Jordan to post a really good score tomorrow

Of course, we'll see about the weather.

[Tripping William]

Much as I would like to see a dark horse come in first, it looks like Oosthuizen (who won here last time), Jason Day, and Spieth are the main contenders. I suppose Padraig could rally one more time and the amateur Dunne could spring a surprise, but I expect one or more of Louie, Jason or Jordan to post a really good score tomorrow

Of course, we'll see about the weather.

With some of the other names within three shots (Rose, Scott, Zach J., Sergio, Goosen, Leishman), I think this thing is almost a clean slate. I absolutely hate that the day-job will not permit full-time watching, because this could be amazingly fantastic theater (especially if the Road Hole does its thing . . . . .).

[SoCalDukeFan]

Of being old is you are retired and can watch the golf tomorrow.

Rooting for Dunne, Jason, Jordan and Sergio.

SoCal

[snowdenscold]

Spieth made an absolute mess of the par 3 8th hole (double bogey despite landing on the [gigantic] green) and it spells serious trouble for his chances.

And as I type this, he's able to get one back on 9 (I'm on a bit of a DVR delay)

Second edit: makes a birdie on 10 as well. Talk about shaking that off and recovering quickly! Still a lot of work to do though as birdie opportunities are pretty tough now until 18.

[BD80]

Spieth made an absolute mess of the par 3 8th hole (double bogey despite landing on the [gigantic] green) ...

4 putt?

Been there.

[DUKIECB]

4 putt?

Been there.Yep but he followed it up with back to back birdies. Unreal how he can bounce right back seemingly every time.

No one was talking about Leishman but he may be the man to beat.

[JasonEvans]

Leishman barely made the cut, by one stroke, and is now tied for the lead with only a couple holes to go. Pretty impressive turnaround. ESPN ran a story earlier about his wife, who just a couple months ago had some terrible fluid in her lungs and was only given a 5% chance of survival. They have 2 young boys, aged 3 and 2. Leishman talked about how he was terrified his sons would never know their mother. I know who I am rooting for down the stretch.

By the way, on a day with lots of -4, -5, and -6 scores, the amateur Paul Dunne has wilted. He's 4-over through 14 and barely in the top 20 after leading the tournament at the start of the day.

-Jason "gonna be quite a final few holes!" Evans

[JasonEvans]

Spieth just sank a twisting 30-footer to tie for the lead!

[JasonEvans]

Spieth just sank a twisting 30-footer to tie for the lead!

And then promptly gave it back at the road hole. 17 is a monster!

[DUKIECB]

And then there were three - Oostie, Fleishman and Johnson in a 4 hole playoff

[DUKIECB]

Zach Johnson is your winner!

I think he deserved it. He came out of the gate firing and didn't let up. It's amazing that a short hitter like him now has a Masters and a British Open on his resume. Nice guy and a deserving champion.

[wilson]

Zach Johnson is your winner!

I think he deserved it. He came out of the gate firing and didn't let up. It's amazing that a short hitter like him now has a Masters and a British Open on his resume. Nice guy and a deserving champion.What a terrifically entertaining tournament.

[Tripping William]

A fantastic finish. My only question: How in the world does Jason Day leave that birdie putt short on #18 today? Contrast with Oostie, who absolutely rammed his in to get into the playoff.

[SoCalDukeFan]

Both Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth played in Quad Cities last week.

Nice to see them putting on grass. Very entertaining tournament. ABC/ESPN did a good job as well.

SoCal

[NashvilleDevil]

Both Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth played in Quad Cities last week.

Nice to see them putting on grass. Very entertaining tournament. ABC/ESPN did a good job as well.

SoCal

So glad golf was back on ESPN after the Fox Sports debacle of the U.S. Open.

[killerleft]

A fantastic finish. My only question: How in the world does Jason Day leave that birdie putt short on #18 today? Contrast with Oostie, who absolutely rammed his in to get into the playoff.

When I played golf a lot, usually the important putts* that I left short could be attributed to focussing in on getting the line just right and I'd forget to pay as much attention to getting the 'weight' right. Well, that and choking:o

*Putts that had at least a dollar riding on them.:)

[duke79]

Both Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth played in Quad Cities last week.

Nice to see them putting on grass. Very entertaining tournament. ABC/ESPN did a good job as well.

SoCal

Agree on the ABC/ESPN coverage. Overall, a very good job at covering the golf tournament. I think Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger were a very good team as the main broadcasters, especially given the amount of down time when golf was not being played during the bad weather delays. I do wish, at time, ESPN had show more aerial shots of some of the holes the players were on. I found it hard to visualize, because of the mounds and high rough and heather on many holes, what each hole looked like when they showed us the view from behind each tee.

Also, am I the only one who can not stand Scott Van Pelt. It seems like every sentence out of his mouth is some sort of sports cliché and I got the impression he has very little golf knowledge or experience. I hope they keep him off of future golf broadcasts. Definitely, IMHO, the weak link in an otherwise strong cast of golf announcers.

[Rich]

Also, am I the only one who can not stand Scott Van Pelt. It seems like every sentence out of his mouth is some sort of sports cliché and I got the impression he has very little golf knowledge or experience. I hope they keep him off of future golf broadcasts. Definitely, IMHO, the weak link in an otherwise strong cast of golf announcers.

Plus, he went to Maryland and is a Duke hater.

[Bob Green]

Also, am I the only one who can not stand Scott Van Pelt. It seems like every sentence out of his mouth is some sort of sports cliché and I got the impression he has very little golf knowledge or experience. I hope they keep him off of future golf broadcasts. Definitely, IMHO, the weak link in an otherwise strong cast of golf announcers.

While I am not 100 percent sure, I am pretty sure* Scott Van Pelt broke in at ESPN as a golf guy.

*Willing to wager a $1

[NashvilleDevil]

Agree on the ABC/ESPN coverage. Overall, a very good job at covering the golf tournament. I think Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger were a very good team as the main broadcasters, especially given the amount of down time when golf was not being played during the bad weather delays. I do wish, at time, ESPN had show more aerial shots of some of the holes the players were on. I found it hard to visualize, because of the mounds and high rough and heather on many holes, what each hole looked like when they showed us the view from behind each tee.

Also, am I the only one who can not stand Scott Van Pelt. It seems like every sentence out of his mouth is some sort of sports cliché and I got the impression he has very little golf knowledge or experience. I hope they keep him off of future golf broadcasts. Definitely, IMHO, the weak link in an otherwise strong cast of golf announcers.

I actually did not mind Van Pelt and prefer him to anything that Fox (other than Norman) had for the U.S. Open.

[sagegrouse]

While I am not 100 percent sure, I am pretty sure* Scott Van Pelt broke in at ESPN as a golf guy.

*Willing to wager a $1

Correctamundo, Bob. Here's a quote from his Wikipedia bio:


Van Pelt began his career in sportscasting at WTTG-TV, a FOX affiliate in Washington, D.C. in 1990 and then moved on to the Golf Channel, where he worked from 1994 to 2000 as a studio host for some of the network's signature programs. He left the channel in 2001 to join ESPN, where he serves as a presenter for SportsCenter and is one of the network's top golf correspondents, covering major tournaments such as the Masters Tournament.

[Tom B.]

Plus, he went to Maryland and is a Duke hater.

He's a Terp, but I've never seen him as a Duke hater. He's been very vocal in calling out the Maryland fans (especially the student section) for their antics, especially the garbage directed at J.J. Redick.