US Open

[AlexB]

OK - I've never liked Monty before - thought he was an arrogant dickhead tbh, but just seen his interview after 2 rounds at Winged Foot and I'm rooting for the guy. Finally he's matured, after all he's been thorugh, and I, even though he's a Scot (ping Critch, Ryan S ) for the first time in my life I hope he wins...

[miami_fan]

With Tiger and Michelle Wie out (you know every golf conversation on FOFC has to include Michelle Wie ) I am not sure how many people are have any interest in the final round tomorrow. Phil is tied for the lead. Has there been a quicker turnaround in golf history than the one Mickelson has? A couple of years ago, Phil was considered a guy who could not win the big one. Now if he is able to put it together tomorrow he will be only the second guy in 50 years to win 3 straight majors.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

(you know every golf conversation on FOFC has to include Fritz )

fixed

[henry296]

Why didn't Phil learn anything from Payne Stewart and chip that ball back into the fairway.

[cartman]

That collapse by Mickelson was something Greg Norman would be envious of.

Wow, finally a major where they were shooting scores where I could be competitive. What's that you say, the 290 was over four rounds, not 18 holes? Oh, never mind then.

[Buccaneer]

Man, that was heartbreaking. Can someone tell me what happened on Phil's 2nd shot on 18? It appears that his 3rd was further away than his 2nd but they didn't show where the ball went.

[kmbgolf]

can u say BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

[Thomkal]

Bucc,

Phil's shot hit a tree and came back at him from what they were saying on TV, advanced the ball about 20 yards or so.

Man that was just one major choke job after another at the end there. Furyk, Harrington, Monty, and Phil. I'm not generally a Johnny Miller fan, but he sure was right to rip into Phil's decisions on 18.

[pennywisesb]

The thing is, Phil has always played overly aggressive like he did the last few holes. He hit something like 2 fairways all day, which makes me wonder why his caddie wasn't telling him to put the driver back in the bag and hit his 3 wood or something. He totally gave that tournament to Ogilvy

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

OK - I've never liked Monty before - thought he was an arrogant dickhead tbh, but just seen his interview after 2 rounds at Winged Foot and I'm rooting for the guy. Finally he's matured, after all he's been thorugh, and I, even though he's a Scot (ping Critch, Ryan S ) for the first time in my life I hope he wins...

Having actually met Monty, I was delighted that he blew it yesterday.

My father (who works in the golf industry and knows Monty well) went to bed early last night as he could not watch Monty win a major.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

With Tiger ... out ... I am not sure how many people are have any interest in the final round tomorrow.

The trueness of this statement really makes me sad. Even the anouncers had to keep throwing Tiger's name around during the open. Golf can be interesting without Tiger...especially in a weekend where he wasn't good enough to make the cut.

[Craptacular]

I'm just glad that Steve Stricker may finally be getting back to being a contender. His play on the weekend wasn't stellar, but he hung around until the end. I'm glad I recorded the final round ... I might watch it to make me feel better the next time I hack up the local course.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BrianD

Golf can be interesting without Tiger...

TV viewers seem to disagree with you about that.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...ticle_5473.asp

With Tiger off to an early start on his weekend, ratings for the U.S. Open dropped to record-low levels.

There are two more major events left this season, and that begs the question: Can Woods return to form, and what will happen if he can’t? Golf ratings are sure to plummet.

Woods exited the tournament on Friday after shooting 12 over par for two days and missing the cut by three strokes. Thus Saturday’s Tiger-less third-round coverage of the U.S. Open on NBC averaged a 3.2 household rating, according to Nielsen overnights.

That was the lowest Saturday average since Nielsen began measuring the tournament in 1982. It was down 27 percent from the previous year, when Saturday averaged a 4.4.

Sunday’s final round averaged a 5.1, down 12 percent from a 5.8 the previous year, when Woods finished second. It was the lowest-rated final round in three years and second-lowest-rated since 1994.

NBC’s two-day average of 4.2, if it holds when final ratings are released later today, would be the worst two-day average since 1988 and tie for second-worst ever.

[Subby]

I was listening to Mike and Mike on the way in this morning and they were talking about Lefty's caddie insisting that they never even considered hitting four wood at 18. Mickelson hits his four wood 240 yards, but with the wind and uphill slope of the fairway, they didn't think it would be enough for the long closing hole.

He said that they knew par would win the Open and he wasn't going to play for a tie (which they'd likely get with a bogey there).

Awesome.