Winged Foot is not Golfer's Rabbit's Foot
*John Scognamiglio*
It's always weird when Tiger Woods doesn't win a major, but at least that's happened before. He is, after all, just a human. What we weren't accustomed to though is him not playing through the rest of the weekend. The 106th U.S. Open is the first time Tiger has not made the cut at a major as a professional.
The most surprising thing for me while watching as much of the Open as I could wasn't that Tiger missed the cut. He had been rusty, hadn't played for nine weeks due to his father's illness and death. What really surprises me is the course at Winged Foot.
Every year in April, we listeners and watchers of golf always hear about the changes to Augusta National that tries to make it "Tiger-proof." Every year, we hear that talk and see Tiger just demolish the course so much so that it really should be the Tiger Masters Open when he retires.
Winged Foot has shown itself to be the course that tamed not only Tiger, but the rest of the field. When winning a tournament with a score of 14 under par seems common place, as Ray Bradbury would attest, "Something wicked this way comes."
Winged Foot has proven itself to be the most difficult course at least in my memory of watching majors, and I have been watching majors since Tiger exploded on the scene with his Masters run in 1997. I haven't played a lot of golf in my life, but I've mowed my own grass and my dad never let me get away with having the grass as high as the roughs at Winged Foot.
There are books about golf tournaments and golf courses out there, and Winged Foot is no exception. However, when the title is Massacre at Winged Foot, it can't possibly be a happy story. Dick Schapp's account of St. Louisan Hale Irwin's victory at the 1974 U.S. Open shows just how difficult Winged Foot is.
But this is 2006, not 1974. We have the advantage of better equipment. If you're like me, you like to look at the numbers. Let's start with one. That's right, entering this weekend, there is only one player under par at one under, Steve Stricker. How about +9? That's the cut score, which Tiger missed by three strokes. Tiger isn't the only well-known pro to miss the cut this year. Stuart Appleby, K.J. Choi, Michael Campbell, Justin Leonard, Rich Beem and Rocco Mediate are just some of the well-known players to miss the cut.
With two days of play in the books, only six golfers have turned in a round with a score of under par. Colin Montgomerie was the only one to do it on day one of the tourney.
So why watch the rest of the weekend, even if Tiger is out? Well, this very well maybe one of the only times a major in my lifetime is won by an over par score. Phil Mickelson is still playing too, four shots back at three over. If you want a comeback story, watch out for Vijay Singh. Even though he's at +5 for the tourney, he could make a big push and challenge for the championship.
Either way, I don't think Winged Foot is going to let up this weekend. It sure is going to be fun to watch.
It's always weird when Tiger Woods doesn't win a major, but at least that's happened before. He is, after all, just a human. What we weren't accustomed to though is him not playing through the rest of the weekend. The 106th U.S. Open is the first time Tiger has not made the cut at a major as a professional.
The most surprising thing for me while watching as much of the Open as I could wasn't that Tiger missed the cut. He had been rusty, hadn't played for nine weeks due to his father's illness and death. What really surprises me is the course at Winged Foot.
Every year in April, we listeners and watchers of golf always hear about the changes to Augusta National that tries to make it "Tiger-proof." Every year, we hear that talk and see Tiger just demolish the course so much so that it really should be the Tiger Masters Open when he retires.
Winged Foot has shown itself to be the course that tamed not only Tiger, but the rest of the field. When winning a tournament with a score of 14 under par seems common place, as Ray Bradbury would attest, "Something wicked this way comes."
Winged Foot has proven itself to be the most difficult course at least in my memory of watching majors, and I have been watching majors since Tiger exploded on the scene with his Masters run in 1997. I haven't played a lot of golf in my life, but I've mowed my own grass and my dad never let me get away with having the grass as high as the roughs at Winged Foot.
There are books about golf tournaments and golf courses out there, and Winged Foot is no exception. However, when the title is Massacre at Winged Foot, it can't possibly be a happy story. Dick Schapp's account of St. Louisan Hale Irwin's victory at the 1974 U.S. Open shows just how difficult Winged Foot is.
But this is 2006, not 1974. We have the advantage of better equipment. If you're like me, you like to look at the numbers. Let's start with one. That's right, entering this weekend, there is only one player under par at one under, Steve Stricker. How about +9? That's the cut score, which Tiger missed by three strokes. Tiger isn't the only well-known pro to miss the cut this year. Stuart Appleby, K.J. Choi, Michael Campbell, Justin Leonard, Rich Beem and Rocco Mediate are just some of the well-known players to miss the cut.
With two days of play in the books, only six golfers have turned in a round with a score of under par. Colin Montgomerie was the only one to do it on day one of the tourney.
So why watch the rest of the weekend, even if Tiger is out? Well, this very well maybe one of the only times a major in my lifetime is won by an over par score. Phil Mickelson is still playing too, four shots back at three over. If you want a comeback story, watch out for Vijay Singh. Even though he's at +5 for the tourney, he could make a big push and challenge for the championship.
Either way, I don't think Winged Foot is going to let up this weekend. It sure is going to be fun to watch.
posted by Anonymous at Friday, June 16, 2006
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