PGA Tour: The Olympic Game: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).Notes this week from the Land That WiFi Forgot; but the beach cricket pitches are spectacular - if anyone only knew how to play. So: Notes very short, if not sweet.

2).Last week's entertainment in Memphis was predictably unpredictable. Good to have Dustin Johnson back in Victory Lane, but a short stint in front of the telly would have suggested that, if Rory had made just half the putts he missed under five feet, he'd have probably won.

3).Glimmer of form from two unlikely Aussie sources with Nick O'Hern registering his first top 25 finish of the season. Expect him also to play well in Hartford in a fortnight. And Robert Allenby was back on the leaderboard after a couple of months in the weeds. Allenby, who could always be depended upon for his ball-striking - and his unpredictable short game. Now the whole lot has been unpredictable. Maybe that will change with some confidence from a good result..

4).More good results from Greg Owen, now almost certain to qualify, not just for The Barclays, but for the Deutsche Bank also.

5).Dustin Johnson now has six wins since 2007 - only Woods (16), Mickelson (10), Stricker (9) and Zach (7) have more. About 3/1 against one of those five increasing his total this week?

6).Robert Karlsson has sunk to #50 in the World Rankings, perhaps just a continuation of his rotten form away from leaving for the Top 50 for the first time in over 4 years. The leaders in consecutive weeks in the top 50 might surprise:
Mickelson - 968
Donald - 406
Poulter - 299
Stricker - 275
Zach Johnson - 270
Westwood - 249
Kaymer - 229

7).No-one has won the US Open after winning on the PGA Tour the previous week, in recent history at least. Dustin Johnson has a lot to prove and his successes (and an ultimate disappointment) at Pebble Beach suggest that he's a strong candidate to upset that line in the record book. But the past two US Opens at Olympic have been won by Scott Simpson and Lee Janzen, top-class golfers to be sure but known better for steady play and sometimes excellent short games. Furyk-like, Donald, Stricker? Not sure I've got the faintest idea, but Olympic will certainly test the patience.

8).More as an item of interest than an indicator for this week, the 1998 leaders from this week's field include:
5th: Stricker
7th: Westwood
10th: Cink, Mickelson
14th: Furyk, Kuchar
18th: Woods
23rd: Casey Martin
25th: Bjorn, Singh,
32nd: Durant, Harrington
43th: Olin Browne
49th: Els

9).The forecast for Thursday and Friday at least suggests cool, breezy weather with temps not reaching 70F until the weekend. Combined with the traditional "heavy" ocean air, the course yardage of approx 7,100 yards will play much longer, especially given the very narrow actual landing areas on some fairways caused by the sloped landing areas. I'd guess that will favour a Westwood over a Donald, a Mahan over a Stricker, but really can't think of any "favourite".

10).So who are we going to be staying up late to see crowned "US Open Champion"? Not McIlroy or Donald for me, and not Bubba or even Tiger, despite his return to winning form at Memorial. In 2009 he won each of his last pre-Major start but came up empty; it would be a brave punter who bet on a repeat, but this may not be the opportunity for him. Best bet might be e.w. on someone like Peter Hanson. Or even a real stretch, Spencer Levin. And by that time I’ll have returned to the land of wi-fi.



From incontinentia (merged from another thread):


Site: The Olympic Club (Lake Course)

The course: The Lake Course was designed in 1924 by Willie Watson and Sam Whiting, and then Whiting redesigned it three years later because of significant storm damage. Its main characteristics are sloping, tree-lined fairways as the property works its way down toward Lake Merced. There is only one fairway bunker on the entire course, at the par-4 sixth. There have been minimal renovations over the years, except for a new hole created for the par-3 eighth that now plays 200 yards and was moved to the right. Hundreds of trees have been removed, opening views down toward Lake Merced.

Length: 7,170 yards
Par: 34-36—70

Last time at Olympic Club: Lee Janzen overcame a five-shot deficit against Payne Stewart and closed with a 2-under 68 for a two-shot victory. Janzen got a huge break in the final round when his ball, stuck in a tree on the fifth hole, was dislodged as Janzen was headed back to the tee to play his third shot. It was his second U.S. Open title.

U.S. Open champions at Olympic Club: Jack Fleck (1955), Billy Casper (1966), Scott Simpson (1987), Lee Janzen (1998).

Noteworthy: The four players who finished second in the U.S. Opens at The Olympic Club won a combined 27 majors. The four winners won a combined seven majors.

Quoteworthy: "Now we are going to get back to where it's not going to be so much fun and games out there. It's going to be hard work."—Johnny Miller on Olympic Club.

Key statistic: The U.S. Open is the only major Tiger Woods has not won in consecutive years.

Key coincidence: The U.S. Open champion played with Phil Mickelson in the opening two rounds twice in the last four years.

Tiger tales: Tiger Woods has gone four years without winning a major. The longest Jack Nicklaus went without a major was five years, a drought that began at age 41.

Russia had so many chances..

Cabrera picked up a birdie on the 13th; now at +6. NBC started coverage which shifts to live in ten minutes.

We? What the chuff is Montgomerie talking about? Why does Poulter always speak like he's one of the top players and like he represents the whole field.

He was closer to missing the cut than he was to the lead after two days.

Think I'll go back to the football until they actually start showing some action.

No German game on tonight Hibbz

poults isnt in that bad shape actually - and he did very well in the first major of the year.

Nope, he's not in bad shape but he's still 100-1 to win the tournament. Hardly a realistic challenger.

Only slightly more likely than England are to win the Euro Championships x

Greece must win this match and also hope the other match has no result. A decisive result in the other match eliminated Greece even if they beat the Reds.

Hibbz wrote:Nope, he's not in bad shape but he's still 100-1 to win the tournament. Hardly a realistic challenger.

Only slightly more likely than England are to win the Euro Championships x

poulters will get a top 10 and england a semi final

12 Holes played easier on Friday, 5 of them significantly (greater than an avg of 0.10)

5 holes played harder on Friday, and only one of them by more than a 0.1 strokes.

Hole 12 played exactly the same on Thu and Friday.

Hole … Thu … Fri … Diff
16 … 5.56 … 5.28 … 0.29
3 … 3.44 … 3.20 … 0.24
10 … 4.17 … 3.99 … 0.19
15 … 3.17 … 3.01 … 0.16
18 … 4.20 … 4.07 … 0.13
8 … 3.34 … 3.26 … 0.08
1 … 4.58 … 4.53 … 0.06
9 … 4.33 … 4.29 … 0.04
5 … 4.51 … 4.48 … 0.03
4 … 4.29 … 4.26 … 0.03
7 … 3.85 … 3.83 … 0.02
11 … 4.22 … 4.21 … 0.01
12 … 4.19 … 4.19 … 0.00
17 … 4.77 … 4.78 … -0.01
2 … 4.42 … 4.47 … -0.06
13 … 3.22 … 3.31 … -0.08
6 … 4.51 … 4.60 … -0.08
14 … 4.14 … 4.31 … -0.17
--------------------------------------------
Tot … 74.92 … 74.05 … 0.87

On Friday: Hole 16 played 60 yards shorter, Holes 3 and 18 had a much easier pin placement (IMO). I am not sure why Holes 10 and 15 played significantly easier on Friday.

Nor am I sure why hole 14 played much tougher on Friday.

GOAL for Czech.

George1507 wrote:

robopz wrote:

John Cregan wrote:Robo,

Any idea on why they waited till 9.15 to get the 3rd Round underway, especially with the large number of qualifiers???

sirbenson is correct. It's all about TV. When majors play on the West Coast it gives the networks a chance to broadcast in Prime Time in the East Coast... so they figure the starting time for the final group... then go back in 10 minute increments from there.

And actually... 72 is NOT a lot playing in round 3 and 4. If the 10-shot rule would still have been in effect, then the 22 players at +9 would be in as well. Now that (94) would have been a large number.

That's not really true in this case. The final start time is 3.05 PDT, which is 6.05 EDT. So the finish will be about 7.05 PDT, which is 10.05 EDT. That's not prime time, but might be good to catch some people on the east coast before they go to bed after watching the baseball..

OK... so the final groups will be playing between roughly 6-10pm Eastern... That's not a couple hours of golf in "Prime Time" on the East Coast? (Prime time in TV defined as the block between 8-11pm East/Pacific and 7-11pm Central/Mountain)

russia are going out leff

unreal stuff

princedracula wrote:

robopz wrote:And I agree with you on the overall scoring average... From hearing the talk, I would have guessed Friday scoring would have been higher as well. Perhaps, the course actually WAS more difficult on Friday, but maybe the players were more acclimated to the conditions and played better, despite the more difficult course?

robo, I'm sure that's true to an extent, but then differences in scoring averages from one day to another can also come from things like different tee and/or pin positions, etc...

OH sure... I would think there are lots of factors... my guess is getting more comfortable with the course is only one of them...

More train wrecks on Thursday than Friday.

111 double bogeys and 18 others on Thursday.

As opposed to 89 doubles and 11 others on Friday.


==============

Hole 16 (long monster par 5) accounted for 15 doubles and 4 others on Thursday. while it 'only' had 4 doubles and 1 other on Friday.

GPB wrote:More train wrecks on Thursday than Friday.

111 double bogeys and 18 others on Thursday.

As opposed to 89 doubles and 11 others on Friday.


==============

Hole 16 (long monster par 5) accounted for 15 doubles and 4 others on Thursday. while it 'only' had 4 doubles and 1 other on Friday.

I guess playing it back on Thursday, and up on Friday made quite a difference.

mystiroakey wrote:russia are going out leff

unreal stuff

Minutes now, Mysti...Czech Rep and Greece advance and shocking exit for Russia.

Greeks have the habit of doing this stuff in the Euro.

Deja vu 2004. It's Greece in Quarters.

I lost count of the number of shots taken by Russia and still can't believe they are eliminated.

Tomorrow, the Dutch face elimination barring a miracle.

Not much happening on the golf course. Webb Simpson is at +4 now.

One more birdie for Webb Simpson. He has moved up to +3.

greece well done!!

web simpson threatened so much last year- good golfer

Casey Wittenberg finished -3, best round of the day so far. He conquered #7 with birdie, birdie, and eagle.

A couple of birdies can put good old Goose in contention.

Hello, Kwini, where are you? This thread is a ghost town. Maybe the match times are unfriendly to our brothers across the Atlantic.

We have 17-year old 'Monty Junior' on the course.

Leff

I reckon Hossler should prove through a DNA test that his mother is not his auntie and his father not also his uncle. He is also seriously slow, at least he seems to take an age over the shot.

leeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Westy, Goose, and Webb all -2 and all at +3. Now the fat is on fire. By that I don't mean Westy.

arrr westy drops back,


scoring abit easier today maybe

First-round leader is off to a great start today. A birdie from no-man's land.

i can see a massive improvement today in scoring- my win prediction has certainly changed- and maybe a few 66's out there- maybe even better!!


for a good watch final day i hope it isnt the top boys!

mystiroakey wrote:arrr westy drops back,


scoring abit easier today maybe

Definitely seems to be, three 69s and a 67 already. Will be interesting to see if it hardens up for the leaders

Quite a few under par so far, maybe the lead after R3 will be 2 or 3 under?

That final pairing. Man from the the Mars and check-out clerk at Walmart. I have a feeling Walmart will do better than Mars.

Whose this Peterson kid?

incontinentia wrote:Whose this Peterson kid?

Redneck from Louisiana.

ermm my westy predo is slowly coming true- only 3 back!

Leff wrote:That final pairing. Man from the the Mars and check-out clerk at Walmart. I have a feeling Walmart will do better than Mars.

ehh??

I dont get that.

is woods mars and furyk walmart?

So many advts for drugs to treat low testosterone and impotence during golf tournaments.

Are golf players and viewers more likely to have these problems than the general population?

mystiroakey wrote:is woods mars and furyk walmart?

You got it, Misti. You always do.

Leff wrote:So many advts for drugs to treat low testosterone and impotence during golf tournaments.

Are golf players and viewers more likely to have these problems than the general population?

lol i dont think we get them!!!

mystiroakey wrote:

Leff wrote:So many advts for drugs to treat low testosterone and impotence during golf tournaments.

Are golf players and viewers more likely to have these problems than the general population?

lol i dont think we get them!!!

Maybe there is less pressure to perform there.

incontinentia wrote:Whose this Peterson kid?

In the absence of the better-informed Kwini... what I know of Peterson is he's in his first year as a pro. Stellar amateur record, runner-up as an am in a NW event, and winner I think of the national college championships, amongst others. Was probably unlucky not to make the last Walker Cup team against strong competition, and then had a massive sulk about his non-selection, criticising the decision-makers... they were proved right-ish when he flunked Q-school, think he's been playing mini-tours and trying to qualify for PGA and NW events this year.

This has got unexpectedly exciting... I start work at 5:50am tomorrow, think it may be sleeping-bag-on-the-sofa allnighter job!

GMac has that determined look on his face like he is on gold hunt and knows where it is hidden. I wouldn't be surprised if he landed way above Mars at the end of the day.

Westy is looking good too.

Ned-B: That is pretty good profile on John Peterson. He was pretty vocal about being snubbed for the US Walker Cup Team.

gmac looking sweet out there- so is coelsarts... jacobson as well- the europeans are charging

Ned, you can stand in for kwini any day, that is an excellent summary.

McD is on a mission, he seemed super comfortable and confident before the round.

I can't imagine that the European players at the fringe of contention for a Ryder Cup berth wants Freddie Jacobson to win this Championship.

A win would put Freddie ahead of Paul Lawrie (karma?) in the OWGR list and Euro List.

Jacobson having a hot streak, getting up with the leaders then going stone cold on the greens to fall back in to the pack... this is exactly what he did on Sunday last year, to a tee. Strange.

westy learn how to chip pal!

Walmart > Mars

This Johnny Miller fellow jinxed GMac. As he was teeing off, he called him the best driver in the world and a driving machine, and the ball landed somewhere in a cluster of tall trees.

Impressive 67 from Westwood

i think westy has birdied the last!!!

sweet i am lagging so much on sky go- his odds flew done mind