Bridgestone Invitational Trip: Tuesday

Players I saw today: Angel Cabrera, Bubba Watson (Who ESPN referred to as Bo Watson. And they are supposed to be the leader in sports? Please boycott ESPN until they learn their jobs.), Heath Slocum, Robert Karlsson, Graeme McDowell, Oliver Wilson, Martin Laird, Rhys Davies, Sergio Garcia, Marcus Fraser, Boo Weekley, Martin Kaymer, Chad Campbell, Mike Weir, Ernie Els, Steve Stricker, Vijay Singh, JB Holmes and Henrik Stenson.

Observations:

The weather forecasters got it all wrong today. It rained off and on all day, and as I thought all three news stations couldn't be wrong, I didn't bring an umbrella. As a result, I spent a lot of time in the pro-shop looking at outrageously expensive t-shirts.

Some men must bathe in aftershave. Several minutes after one zipped by me on a golf cart, the smell still lingered. Maybe he should have just taken a real bath with soap.

Sergio and Rhys Davies actually practiced out of the rough today. Usually if players hit the ball into the rough, they will just pick it up during their practice rounds and not play it, as if there was some kind of superstition about it, tempting fate and all that. But I think they should practice more out of the rough. I mean, they should know how to play from the fairway by now.

There is a barnyard type smell here on the course. It took me a while, but I finally figured out what it reminds me of - it smells like the part of my parents' flower bed where all the neighborhood cats do their business. I'm sure that wasn't what the groundskeepers were going for, but there you have it. (It's the mulch around the trees.)

In keeping with my personal belief that rules are just suggestions, I saw a woman today with a huge purse, much larger than the 6 inch by 6 inch by 6 inch regulation that is supposed to be enforced during the event. (Actually I saw several women with huge purses during the week.) And I saw one man (a spectator) with a cell phone. I took his picture for proof, but won't post it here. There are all kinds of crazy people who would love to sue if their picture made it on to the web so the picture will stay with me. But it does make me wonder just how secure the tournament is if the rules aren't being stringently enforced. It's no wonder Sergio has security go around with him during his rounds.

On Facebook, I asked the Bridgestone Invitational folks where you go if there's inclement weather. Their answer was to leave the course altogether and get a handstamp to be able to re-enter the event when the all clear sounds. The problem with this is that there's no where to go once you get that handstamp and walk out on the other side of the gate. There are no permanent structures to take shelter in and if you arrive on a bus from the public parking area, then you're stuck waiting 10-15 minutes outside for a bus to show up. I'm sure their lawyers told them to say that to limit their liability in case of lightning strikes, but common sense will tell you that lightning doesn't recognize a boundary such as an admissions gate. The Bridgestone people have been great all week answering fans' questions, but I think with this one, they dropped the ball.

Crazy fan story: A fan yelled at Sergio, "You've got a lot of fans here this week Sergio!" To which, Sergio replied "Thank you." Then the fan said, "Hey Caddie, you want a day off?" He'll be yelling "Get in the hole!" by the end of the week.

I applaud the golfers for their patience with autograph seekers. Today the same guy got Sergio's autograph like three times as Sergio moved from one green to the next tee. The guy just kept getting back in line (and getting in front of other autograph seekers). You know this guy was just looking to sell stuff on ebay.

Other Trip Thoughts: The Red Roof Inn has the firmest beds in the world. People who sleep on slabs of rocks in the jungle are probably more comfortable than I've been. And poor Lebron James. After watching the Cleveland news, I really feel for him and wish him the best of luck in Miami. By the end of the week, you start thinking, "No wonder he left."

Bridgestone Invitational Trip: Monday

Monday was a travelling day. I was happy to see that there was less road construction going on in Ohio this year. That helped with my cruise control and I averaged about 31.9 mpg. My car is rated at 18-28 mpg. Every state should lower its speed limits.

I was also fighting bad luck on this day, a theme that continued through the rest of the week. Friday I hit my cat with my car (she's hobbling around but is otherwise alert and active so hopefully she will be ok). Monday I was dropping everything.

Another theme that continued through the rest of the week was the cold. I got into my hotel room and had to turn the heat on. It was 85 degrees outside and I was freezing. I froze the whole week. It is so nice to be back in WV today and out in the sun.

Magic word of the day: Inflamed Cumulonimbus. The weather forecaster used this and the news guys were having great fun with it. Too bad they couldn't accurately forecast the weather. While they claimed it wasn't going to rain, it did end up raining some just about every day I was there. For all of you who might want to travel around the Great Lakes area - just assume it's going to rain or snow (depending on your season). Don't even bother to listen to the forecast. It did eventually become laughable when the forecasters throughout the week would say "It's going to be hot and humid folks. Really miserable." and I would be freezing and thinking, "Is this what you think hot is?"

Oh, and just a curious bit of trivia: This weekend in the Akron area you have the final two rounds of the Bridgestone Invitational, the Football Hall of Fame Induction ceremony and the Twins convention in Twinsburg.

Unbelievable!!!

I was watching Golf Central this morning and Craig Kann and Frank Nobilo actually made a distinction between being the #1 ranked player in the world and being the world's best player. I am so disgusted by the media's seemingly blind ignorance of Tiger's bargain basement, worst player in the field play that we're seeing lately. The whole reason the World Rankings system was created was to identify the world's best player. For the media to blantantly ignore that system and just proclaim whoever they want to be the world's best player is so irresponsible that they should not be considered "news media" and should be renamed "agenda-promoting fan club". It's obvious that the more they talk up Tiger, the more advertising dollars they receive, some from the same companies Tiger has deals with. This is a blatant conflict of interest and could be seen as the media being on the payroll of companies like Nike.

As for the rankings system, I have been critical of it in the past. It seems like the rankings tell us more about who was #1 a year ago rather than who's #1 now and the system should be revamped to be more responsive to the current year's results. Tiger can coast with sucky play for a year before he loses his #1 ranking? That isn't a legitimate reflection of what's going on in the world of golf.

So now, thanks to the media, we are going to have the new label "best #1 ranked player to never have been the world's best player". Ridiculous.

Phil Mickelson, should he attain the #1 ranking, deserves all of the accolades that come with it. I guess I'll have to do the job the media won't and give him his due here. I urge all other bloggers to do the same.

The Greenbrier Classic

I'm sure you've all been wondering why this West Virginian hasn't weighed in on the Greenbrier Classic yet. Truthfully, I haven't been watching the Golf Channel leading up to the tournament, and the newspapers I've read all say the same things. It seems the articles are just copied from one paper to the other (and one website to another on the web). But I guess I can offer some opinions:

1. People were saying the course was too easy. It looked to me like the golfers were working pretty hard today. DA Points and Jeff Overton were fighting for every drive, every iron shot, every bunker shot, every putt. If the course was so easy, why then didn't Stuart Appleby shoot a 58? Or a 57? Or that hypothetical 54 that Annika Sorenstam always thought was achievable? Yes the scores were low, but the golfers played their butts off too.

2. Where were the clowns and face painting booths? With all of the attractions and concerts, you would expect clowns, balloons, face painting etc. I'm not sure I like all of the extra stuff. Although I do support a fun hole in one prize. We need more fun on the PGA Tour. And I love the 18th hole being a par 3. After stretching things out for 17 holes and all of those shots, it's cool to have it all come down to one swing and one putt.

3. They should have done a special about how the course had been reconstructed from decades old pictures. Nick Faldo was downright giddy over the process and it sounds like it would be fascinating to learn about.

4. I'm reserving judgment on Jim Justice. As a West Virginian, I have to be suspicious of coal barons. Time will tell what he's like.

5. West Virginia papers need to try a little harder in the accuracy department. They misidentified Davis Love in a picture earlier this week. And for some reason, one of the papers thinks it's supposed to put the author's name as the jump head when putting the rest of the golf article on a different page. The article was about Paul Goydos, the jump head was the writer's name. Obviously, since I didn't know who the writer was, I missed the second half of the article on Paul Goydos. Lucky for me, I saw the whole Paul Goydos 59 thing a few weeks ago on the Golf Channel. I'm sure the local paper hadn't added any new information.

6. It's good that Sergio Garcia joined Kenny Perry in donating money to the miners' fund. I don't care what people say about Sergio's commitment to the sport, or his attitude, or his technique. His heart is in the right place and you really can't argue with that.

I'll be attending the Bridgestone Invitational this coming week. I'm taking my iPod Touch so hopefully I can check in and post a few little things on the blog, twitter, and Facebook. Not too much, though, because it's very difficult typing on those little buttons. And of course, the iPod stays away from the course. Not only is that a rule, but I'd probably lose it in the rough on 16 as well.

Another 59

Every year I've attended the Bridgestone Invitational I've seen this man in the gallery sporting a shirt that says "Stuart's Stalwarts" and "Appleby's Accolytes". Saturday, I read through the list of eligible players for this year's Bridgestone Invitational and noted that Appleby's name was absent from the list. I wondered what Stuart's Stalwart would do if his player wasn't there in Akron competing this coming week. Would he still show his support and wear the shirts? Maybe Stuart wondered about him as well. It seemed like Stuart went out today with the sole goal of winning the tournament. He was methodical, automatic, and could only see through the very narrow window that allowed the ball to get from the tee to the hole with as little effort as possible. Appleby shot a 59 and still had to wait to see if he had won. If he had guaranteed his spot at Bridgestone. If his Stalwart and Accolyte would again be able to show his unwavering support. I hope Stuart's Stalwarts are out in force in Akron. I for one will be looking for them.

British Open Backlash

I've been seeing some comments on the web about how this Open was boring, ho-hum, far from great. That makes me a little angry. Substitute Woods' name for Oosthuizen's and you'd be seeing comments like "the greatest exhibition of golf in the modern era". But because it's Louis Oosthuizen, for some reason, people feel justified in diminishing the greatness of his accomplishment. Shame on you nay-sayers. This final round was every bit as exciting as a playoff victory. There was just as much suspense in wondering if Oosthuizen would collapse, if Casey would surge, if the weather would beat them both. I can only hope given time for reflection, the nay-sayers will recognize the great golf that was played today. There are no asterisks, no buts, no except fors, Oosthuizen beat everyone today. He is the Champion Golfer of the Year.

A Great Open

I watched most of the final round of the British Open today and was thrilled to see Louis Oosthuizen win. The announcers kept saying that he'd come from nowhere and no one knew who he was. Well, if you watch the European Tour coverage, you know who Louis Oosthuizen is. The US announcers just need to do their homework a little better. They get a little lazy, only studying up on Woods and Mickelson.

It was a sad day for Paul Casey. I was really hoping he would take it to Oosthuizen since I doubted the others could make up that many shots to be in contention. But even though that didn't happen, the final round was a good one to watch.

All's Right in Golf, Sergio is Feeling Better Now

Thank goodness this moment of uncertainty has been resolved. According to this article, Sergio has thought about things and found a new attitude on Saturday. His played reflected that as he went eagle, birdie on the front nine with some nice, positive play. The article quoted Sergio as saying he still thought he needed a rest. I think that too. He's been playing year after year since he was 18-19 years old without a real break. A lot of golfers get that break by not securing their tour cards or not playing well enough to get into majors or now the Fed Ex Cup playoffs. But Sergio has been playing a full schedule for all these years now, complete with international travel which has to be grueling.

I just hope he doesn't start his break until after the Bridgestone Invitational. I'm planning to go to that tournament and I'd really like to see him.

Olazabal Has a New Gig

It's been announced that Jose Maria Olazabal will be representing Nespresso coffee this year in conjunction with Ryder Cup activities. I'm happy to see Olazabal do anything these days. So happy, that I would probably buy some of this coffee if it was for sale here in my little WV town. And I don't drink coffee.

Say It Ain't So, Sergio!

I just read this article that says Sergio Garcia is contemplating quitting golf! Now, I'm the first one to say do what makes you happy, but I really wish Sergio would stick with golf and just change how he feels about it. I think he's turned golf into a chore, like cleaning my cat's litter box, when he should probably try to get back to a time when golf was a fun game.

In those immortal words by the Partridge Family, "Come on get happy!"

British Open so far

Early this morning I turned the tv on to watch a little bit of the British Open. Louis Oosthuizen (spelled that right without looking) was leading at -12 and I said to Winnie, PJ and Parker (my dogs and cat) that I thought -12 could be leading after round two. And it looks like I might be right on that. I didn't expect Rory McIlroy to shoot an 80 though. I figured he might be a couple under par at best and maybe a couple over par at worst. Yesterday the announcers said the golfers who had good weather on Thursday would have good weather on Friday. But from what I could tell, no one had good weather today. Some other good stories to follow this year are Mark Calcavecchia, John Daly and Steven Tiley. I'm really thrilled that John Daly is doing so well. He's worked really hard to turn his golf game and his life around and it's about time he sees some positive results.

I thought it was interesting that at the start of the day today, it only took Mark Calcavecchia's group just under four hours to play a round of golf, but on the PGA Tour network this evening, they said it was taking Tiger Woods' group over 6 hours (7 if you add in some kind of delay). I like Calcavecchia's get 'er done attitude.

Some scores so far:

Miguel Angel Jimenez -5 and T6
Graeme McDowell -5 and T6
Martin Kaymer -4 T15
John Daly -2 T28
Sergio Garcia -2 T28

I had to look up Sergio's score. I haven't heard anyone talk about him these last two days. It got to a point where I wondered if he was even playing this year, but then I remembered a picture of him in the USA Today paper on Thursday.

I might watch some this weekend. It depends on how much coverage they devote to Tiger. I liked hearing Mike Tirico, Andy North and Judy Rankin again. They really are great announcers/analysts.

Just How Good is Steve Stricker?

I've had no phone service since Wednesday which also means no internet access. So, I actually spent some time watching golf this weekend. Steve Stricker is playing phenomenal golf at the John Deere Classic. He has to be one of the best all around players on tour and hopefully he will now get some of the attention he deserves.

Instead of figuring the #1 ranking on money, they should instead factor in those qualities that make a person a well-rounded, respected individual. Good values mean a lot more at the end of the day, or the end of a career, than a long number with a dollar sign in front. And I'm betting guys like Steve Stricker already know that.

4th of July

Justin Rose, of Great Britain, won the AT&T National today, a rebound of sorts from last week's final round troubles. Could it be that this year we might have a Player of the Year based on heart and intestinal fortitude rather than bank accounts and political clout? I hope so. There've been a lot of good players over the last decade who haven't had the recognition they deserve. Maybe this year will be Justin's.

Over in France, Miguel Angel Jimenez won that tournament in a playoff against Canizares and Molinari. Way to go for Jimenez who hasn't been lighting up the tour lately. Jose Maria Olazabal had rounds of 82, 70 the first two days. That second round proves just what kind of spectacular player he is. He will play in the Pro-Am this week in Ireland.

Round Up

Bubba Watson won his first tournament ever as a pro today at the Travelers Championship. Good for him. He's a good guy who plays golf with a "hold my drink and watch this" attitude which is way more fun for the spectators than the "ooh, better play it safe and protect my fed ex cup points" approach.

The European Tour saw a first time winner today too in David Horsey. Congratulations to him too.

Interestingly, both tournaments had third round leaders who fell back in the final round.

And according to this article, Jose Maria Olazabal plans to play in the French Open. I really hope he can put his ailments behind him and play well. Golf misses the two time Masters winner and Ryder Cup legend. So do I.

US Open

Congratulations to Graeme McDowell on his US Open win. I didn't watch any of the tournament but did check out the scores periodically last night. It was great seeing two European Tour guys at the top of the board in McDowell and Havret.

Good Luck With That...

I just read this little blurb that said Colin Montgomerie is planning on giving Sergio Garcia a Ryder Cup Pep Talk. This on the heels of Sergio 'reportedly' stating that if he didn't feel his form was good enough for the Ryder Cup would consider not accepting a wild card if offered one.

Is Colin Montgomerie the right guy to give anyone a pep talk? I don't think I've ever seen him happy. Well, he probably was the day they gave him the Ryder Cup Captaincy. But Pollyanna he isn't.

Personally, I think it's just fine if Sergio does in fact opt out of the Ryder Cup if he feels his level of play is not the best. Maybe Martin Kaymer might actually get on the team this time after being a little snubbed last time (yes, I know he was invited to watch the event. That's like inviting Miss America's first runner up to come and watch Miss America participate in a photo shoot with Brad Pitt.) Frankly, it's a sign of just how much the Ryder Cup means to Sergio if he makes way for someone playing better to participate. The important thing is for the team to win, not so much for this player or that player to participate.

Olazabal Wins Again!

Here's a brief report on Jose Maria Olazabal's success at the Wentworth Pro-Am. I am so happy that he found some success this week while battling his ailments.

Maybe It's About Job Satisfaction

I found out this morning that Hank Haney has 'resigned' as Tiger's coach. There's a lot of speculation floating around on the web, along with a lot of negative comments. Well, here's my take on it: How much satisfaction can Hank Haney actually get from working with Tiger Woods? The guy's the #1 player in the world. There isn't a lot of room for improvement there. I think Haney actually got some 'hey this feels great' emotions from working with Barkley and Romano and he's probably decided that he would rather work with really bad players so he can see that what he does is making a difference. Unfortunately, during his time with Tiger, Haney never did stop Tiger from hitting the gallery folks in the head with the golf balls. I may still need a helmet if I go to Bridgestone this year and Tiger shows up.

A Very Popular Win

I got to watch both the third and fourth rounds of the Players Championship this week and I was fortunate to see Tim Clark finally get a US PGA Tour win. And what a win it is - the Players Championship. Tim played great all day, as did Robert Allenby who had a chance to win the tournament too. Lee Westwood had another tough final round and wasn't able to finish off the tournament the way he wanted to.

I had a lot of fun watching this event this year. There were a lot of good stories to keep an eye on. And I didn't hear very much about Tiger all weekend. Yes, he withdrew today with an alleged injury, but NBC didn't harp on it. They noted it and then moved on to cover the golf. NBC has the best golf coverage with the Golf Channel's European Tour announcers coming in second.

Checking out the Golf Channel's postgame coverage now. They are trying to cover the actual golf news but they did take some time to discuss Tiger's situation. It's funny how some of them are acting like Tiger betrayed them by not disclosing this injury sooner. LOL. They were very willing to do whatever Tiger wanted before the scandal. They never posed tough questions to him and never challenged him in any way. Now they think he somehow should have to answer to the media for everything. The media helped create the Tiger Woods persona they are now criticising. I think they should accept that and not act like victims whenever Tiger decides to keep some things private.

Masters Thoughts

There shouldn't be too many of these thoughts since I only watched the last 40 minutes or so. I checked the leaderboard and saw that Anthony Kim was already in the clubhouse at -12 so I knew Tiger wasn't going to win and could then watch the rest of the tournament.

Unfortunately, I tuned in just before they interviewed Tiger. So, I had to switch the channel and ended up watching a little bit of Judge Judy. Which is pretty funny when you think that maybe what Tiger needs is Judge Judy yelling at him.

Where did Phil Mickelson find all of those putts? He wasn't putting like that earlier in the year. I watched the highlights of his round and it seems like this tournament/round was just meant to be for him. No bogeys and some amazing recovery shots.

Wonder if Lee Westwood had a chance to talk to Phil about his choice of wedges since Westwood had plenty to say about it earlier in the year when the whole groovy groove thing was going on.

It is fitting that Phil should win since he has such a wholesome family and relationship with his wife. This is the statement that the PGA Tour needs to be making to the world, especially the mainstream media who would have never covered any golf if it hadn't been for scandal.

And I have to single out Fred Couples 6th place finish and Matteo's low amateur honor. How great are those accomplishments?