2008 U.S. Open

[CitricAcid]

Not sure if there already was a thread about this, but now that the tournament is over I can take a step back and breathe. What a tournament, Tiger tying it up to send it to overtime with a birdie on the 18th. TWICE! I am a big Tiger fanatic, but at the end I could have seen myself being happy for Rocco if he had pulled it out, but, alas, it wasn't in the cards for him .

I also found Johnny Miller extremely annoying. Everytime Tiger would hit a great shot, he'd be playing through the intense pain (notably with no limp), and if he hit a poor shot, his shot was blamed on his knee problems. I don't blame the media though, without the Big Cat in the world, golf wouldn't have the same appeal that it does. Another discrepancy I found with the media's treatment of Tiger is with regards to how they treat someone like Phil Mickelson. Personally, I don't think Phil Mickelson is that good, weak on some of his irons and not even close to as skilled as Tiger on the greens. The big discrepancy, however, is a hole on Sunday (I think it was the 15th), where Westwood hit his drive into the jungle right before him and then he STILL went out and shot his driver (with unsatisfactory results). IF Phil or any other golfer had done that, they would have been torn apart for being reckless and too aggressive. When Tiger does it, though, it is something only he can pull off and was a smart, calculated move. Not a big deal anyway, and Tiger is still my favorite golfer.

Any other golf fans out there?

[Coach]

Hi CitricAcid, another fan here. You're right, what an exciting tournament! My respect for those two gentlemen is boundless. It would have pleased me greatly if Mediate had won -- but going head-to-head with Woods for an 18 hole playoff was an extraordinary accomplishment.

Coach

[CitricAcid]

Edit to above: 19 hole playoff

[Achiever51]

I think this tourney really is one for the history book and it was very enjoyable to watch every day. Rocco's enthusiasm throughout was simply joyful to experience, and I do wish he had won, although the result again proves you can never count out Tiger. (Although Rocco came darn close to proving that Tiger is not invincible!)

BTW, I just heard on the radio that Tiger will not be playing "for the foreseeable future", so he is out of the Buick Open and likely will not play until the PGA in August. That said, we can still expect to see lots of TW's footage at every tournament even if he doesn't play -- which I think is a bit unfair to the other golfers at times.

As for Johnny Miller, I agree! He often gets on my nerves with his commentary, but if he said once, he said a bazillion times that he had the same knee surgery as Tiger two days before. Yeah, we got it already!

[frayne]

Big Tiger fan here as well and have seen him play in person. The guy is unreal and a real gentleman in person as well, a class act.

[Marquette]

> Any other golf fans out there?

I thought the US Open was a tennis thing until I read your post and realized you were talking about golf.

I'm not that out of touch, though. I already knew that Tiger is a golfer.

[aaronc879]

I think he'll play the British in just over 4 weeks. It's a major, he'll be there.

[FinanceDude]

So, Tiger risked his career by playing the US Open? Sounds like he should have waited until it healed, maybe no British or PGA..........

It could have been a stupid move, but will make his legacy that much more surreal...........

[Westernskies]

Can you imagine what Rocco Mediate must have been thinking when he went to bed on Sunday night- "all I have to do tomorrow is beat Tiger Woods one- on-one..."

[Bestwifeever]

I love watching Tiger play. I love that there's no referee or umpire needed in golf, so the winner is very clearcut. I would have been happy if Mediate had won. Commentators are funny--if Mickelson hesitates, they say, "He's too hesitant, that's a problem"; if Tiger hesitates, they say, "Tiger wisely holds back."

Worst thing about watching golf on TV, even worse than Johnny Miller? Listening to the morons in the gallery yell "in the hole!" after every single stroke.

[jambo101]

I'm starting to enjoy watching golf thanks to Tiger, for the first time i actally taped parts of the action when i was away.
As an ex golf course employee i can also really appreciate the efforts of ground crew to get the course looking great.
One pet peeve i have about watching golf is the bunch of morons who feel it necessary to bellow out "IN THE HOLE"after every shot if it was my decision any one who yelled "in the hole" would be immediately escorted from the course and banned for life from attending any future event, this weekend i saw the birth of a new peeve the whistlers

[Danny]

Yes, glad I got to see it...I must be in the minority here but I think Miller is the best golf commentator - I find his insights informative and very inside golf...I don't have much use for Jim Nance and the course announcers...If I had me druthers I would just have Miller, Azinger and Faldo in the booth...

My big pet peeve - the bozos that yell "in the hole!!!" - something terrible should be done to them - tasering comes to mind...

I had the sound muted most of the time

[VaCollector]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny Yes, glad I got to see it...I must be in the minority here but I think Miller is the best golf commentator - I find his insights informative and very inside golf...I don't have much use for Jim Nance and the course announcers...If I had me druthers I would just have Miller, Azinger and Faldo in the booth... My big pet peeve - the bozos that yell "in the hole!!!" - something terrible should be done to them - tasering comes to mind... I had the sound muted most of the time

Ahhhhh, but you've gotta admit that it was MUCH better than the normal Monday TV offerings!!

[Dawg52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny Yes, glad I got to see it...I must be in the minority here but I think Miller is the best golf commentator - I find his insights informative and very inside golf...I don't have much use for Jim Nance and the course announcers...If I had me druthers I would just have Miller, Azinger and Faldo in the booth... My big pet peeve - the bozos that yell "in the hole!!!" - something terrible should be done to them - tasering comes to mind... I had the sound muted most of the time

You the man!!! Sorry, couldn't help myself. I'm with you, I like Johnny Miller. One commentator I can't stand is Gary McCord. He is just plain silly.

It was a great Open. I'm always for an underdog so I was pulling for Rocco. But Tiger is just hard to beat.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny Yes, glad I got to see it...I must be in the minority here but I think Miller is the best golf commentator - I find his insights informative and very inside golf...I don't have much use for Jim Nance and the course announcers...If I had me druthers I would just have Miller, Azinger and Faldo in the booth... My big pet peeve - the bozos that yell "in the hole!!!" - something terrible should be done to them - tasering comes to mind... I had the sound muted most of the time

There was only one thing missing from the US Open, the Scottish accent of one David Feherty...........

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg52 You the man!!! Sorry, couldn't help myself. I'm with you, I like Johnny Miller. One commentator I can't stand is Gary McCord. He is just plain silly.

Johnny Miller is THE MAN!! I remember once a fair number of years ago, Nick Faldo hit a shot in the British Open. Johnny must have heard the shot over the big mike they carry near the players and said this:

"It sounded a groove low, it will probably be 8-10 yards short of the green"........

I'll be darned if that ball didn't end up 8 yards short of the green, with Faldo staring at the club in amazement..........

[lightwaves]

It was a great Open. I don't even watch golf unless Tiger is in the tournament. I will turn the tube on when it's Sunday and Tiger is in the hunt or at the lead. The mental toughness he has is unreal. No one else comes close. Rocco is an appealing guy and in a way it was his turn to shine after all of the years he has played but you just can't count Tiger out.

[Danny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaCollector Ahhhhh, but you've gotta admit that it was MUCH better than the normal Monday TV offerings!!

this is true...i tuned in early and ended up watching some day time soap opera

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg52 You the man!!! Sorry, couldn't help myself. I'm with you, I like Johnny Miller. One commentator I can't stand is Gary McCord. He is just plain silly. It was a great Open. I'm always for an underdog so I was pulling for Rocco. But Tiger is just hard to beat.

.... McCord should be tasered also...

......i was in Rocco's corner...lot of pressure and he handled it well...wish that almost hole-in-one had holed and that putt on 9!...

I just thought of another guy in the booth ..how about Sean Connery after a couple whiskeys...

[Coach]

I really enjoyed watching Monday's round. To follow two players from hole to hole was a treat. Normal golf coverage on TV drives me nuts because of all the bouncing around from hole to hole, group to group.

Coach

[frayne]

Phil needs to take a HARD look at his game and try and figure out why a half crippled Tiger ate his lunch at his home course.