Inside the Ropes at the U.S. Open

Getting my radio and heading out to find my group!
Pebble Beach, here I come! I have been invited once again to work as a spotter for NBC Sports, only this time it's the US Open at Pebble Beach! The big Kahuna of PGA Tour golf in the U.S. of A.!
With this, the 2010, United States Open Golf Championship, I will complete my goal as a spotter and golf enthusiast set almost 20 years ago, to call the hitting orders in all four of golf's major's. It all started with the 1992 British Open at Muirfield, (Nick Faldo won), the 1993 PGA Championship (won by Nick Price in my hometown of St. Louis), the 1996 Masters Tournament (Faldo again after Greg Norman's 6 shot lead evaporated on Sunday)
This last major could end up being my swan song, and a final major to end my career as a TV golf spotter after having spotted for most of the golf networks at one tournament or the other for over 20 years. I'm 60 years old now and while I can still crank it out there about 250, I have been riding more than walking lately. I do plan on being in semi good shape for the walk around Pebble for four days! (more…)







This 2010 golf season has barely gotten underway and just look at all the drama, "Tiger Woods doesn’t owe anyone an apology except his wife . . . Phil Mickelson violated the spirit of the rules playing a Ping Eye 2 wedge . . . Anthony Kim betrayed his La Quinta community skipping the Bob Hope Classic . . . . Michael Sim and Tim Clark showed no nerve laying up with tournaments to be won . . . John Daly’s claim he was “done” with golf was a publicity stunt."
Golf stood still for me the day it was announced that Tiger Woods was going to take some time off to regroup and work on some personal problems. How long his absence from golf will last is anyone's guess.
One of the reasons that convinced me to write about what the rest of the world already seems to know is that Tiger's attitude is off base when he suggests that what he does in private has nothing to do with the public and he should be allowed to live quietly without intrusion. That does not mean that I approve of the lengths the paparazzi will go to just to get the story, especially when it helps to take down a celebrity athlete like Tiger Woods nor do I approve of journalists such as Charlie Pierce who have axes to grind and can't be trusted to tell the truth.
Congratulations to Martin Laird, winner of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open event in Las Vegas! It was his first win on the PGA TOUR, defeating former UNLV star Chad Campbell and George McNeill on the third hole of a three man playoff.