Phil will regret this everyday of his life. He has never won the Open and this is his legacy. A blooper highlight with Bennie Hill background music
Mark
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
@Justacommeman said:
Phil will regret this everyday of his life. He has never won the Open and this is his legacy. A blooper highlight with Bennie Hill background music
Mark
He won't regret it. Had he been in contention, that would be a different story.
Phil has always been a bit of a maverick.
Side note...the best 150 golfers in the world started this tournament and the top group are all over par. What does par mean when no mortal can reach it?
Overblown Phil story is overshadowing what's really going on -- which is horrible USGA setup yesterday. What he did was regrettable, but not anywhere near the same as what Mike Davis did to the course. He allowed 2 guys at T-45 (or something) to tee off in the last group -- unprecedented in the history of golf. He ##%@#% the whole tournament up. DISGRACE!!!!
Still the top of the leaderboard with the exception of the last group has many of the best in the world, several are major title winners. I expect the two in the last group will fold like an accordion and not be in contention on the back nine.
@estang said:
Overblown Phil story is overshadowing what's really going on -- which is horrible USGA setup yesterday. What he did was regrettable, but not anywhere near the same as what Mike Davis did to the course. He allowed 2 guys at T-45 (or something) to tee off in the last group -- unprecedented in the history of golf. He ##%@#% the whole tournament up. DISGRACE!!!!
Fr some reason news reports keep using the phrase "disrespecting the game"
Who knew that hitting a little ball in a hole was a thing that deserves respect
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I ended up watching a bit of the early coverage Sat and most of yesterday's final round. A few thoughts:
Phil did nothing to disrespect the game and I thought it was hilarious watching the highlight reel. An ex-Nike Tour guy I used to play with a lot gave some great advice "Many of the rules of golf are written to penalize the golfer, when you can use them in your favor, do so." I have a feeling the next rules meeting may investigate the possibility of a "Mickelson Rule".
That course is awful and you couldn't pay me to play there. Shooting 150+ would be no fun for me and I doubt I could do much better than that.
Changing the course conditions so drastically between Saturday and Sunday was ridiculous. It only exacerbated the advantage of teeing off in the morning vs. afternoon. Fleetwood's got game regardless.
Congrats to Koepka! Winning one major can be a fluke, but pulling off back-to-back US Opens is an impressive feat.
Larkin, Agree that the course - especially Saturday - would have been impossible for a normal golfer to play. That said, I prefer US Opens where players struggle to make par. The other 51 weeks of the year the courses are birdie fests. I like seeing the pros suffer like average golfers. Chips/putts coming up short and rolling back to their feet. Approaches landing hard and rolling off into purgatory. I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. Professional golfers are the most spoiled athletes out there and when they are whining at a US Open I know the USGA has done something right.
Struggling to make par because it's a tough course, fine, struggling to make par because course conditions penalize good-great shots, meh. Rolling a putt two feet past the hole shouldn't be penalized with a 35-yard shot over a bunker, imho.
@LarkinCollector said:
Struggling to make par because it's a tough course, fine, struggling to make par because course conditions penalize good-great shots, meh. Rolling a putt two feet past the hole shouldn't be penalized with a 35-yard shot over a bunker, imho.
at the end of it someone is going to have a lower score than everyone else , who cares what the number is ?
@fergie23 said:
Larkin, Agree that the course - especially Saturday - would have been impossible for a normal golfer to play. That said, I prefer US Opens where players struggle to make par. The other 51 weeks of the year the courses are birdie fests. I like seeing the pros suffer like average golfers. Chips/putts coming up short and rolling back to their feet. Approaches landing hard and rolling off into purgatory. I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. Professional golfers are the most spoiled athletes out there and when they are whining at a US Open I know the USGA has done something right.
Never seen so many hills/bunkers on a course. Toward the end I was rooting for Tommy (sorry Chris Berman) "Fleetwood Mac" Fleetwood to back into winning. BTW the Native Americans are still in litigation with the course owner over the land the course is located on.
Successful transactions:Tookybandit. "Everyone is equal, some are more equal than others".
in my initial post I said casual golf fans will know who Fleetwood is by season's end. i think we can check that one off now. dude has the full arsenal and can really play. cashed in on him versus Sergio, and i very nearly raked at 30-1 for the entire tournament. so close, yet so far away.
Koepka is a badass. clearly he possesses physically strength, but one could make the argument that he's even stronger between the ears. converting all of those critical par/bogey putts on the back 9 was a beautiful sight to behold, even though he cost me a chunk of coin. he misses even one of those and he's in a playoff with Fleetwood, then it's anybody's ballgame. i suppose everyone should have believed him when he said, "no one is more confident than i am, and honestly someone is going to have to come take this from me." absolutely loved reading that.
after much thought, i have more respect for Phil than I ever have before and i'll tell you why. if anyone remembers '04 at Shinnecock, the USGA made a mockery of the tournament when they allowed the 7th hole to become virtually unplayable. the morning of the final round, the first 4 players went bogey-triple-triple-triple because they couldn't keep the ball on the putting surface. then, miraculously, there was an epiphany: perhaps we should douse the green. and they did -- after every group that passed thru #7. a complete farce it was, and there was a ton of outrage afterward. a solemn promise was made that something like that would never occur again.
oops.
in essence, Lefty risked a slice of his legacy to extend his middle finger to the USGA on behalf of all the players. i wonder if those who are calling for his head realize that. sometimes the unthinkable has to happen in order for real change to be made, and that's exactly what happened when a metamorphosis took place on 13 and suddenly there was a 4-yr-old playing putt-putt. you'll be hard-pressed to find another golfer who is better for the game, but make no mistake, Phil is a swashbuckler. he believes what he believes, and no one is going to dissuade him. did he sound remotely remorseful on Sunday after a night of being tarred and feathered by his contemporaries? i think not. he sounded as defiant as ever to me. granted, he did apologize to those whom he might have offended, but he most certainly did not do so to the United States Golf Association. they made every attempt to f the tournament up again, and trust me, they knew it. committing an infraction in golf deemed worthy of disqualification is like porn -- you know it when you see it. and what I saw on 13 green was an epic threesome. if Roberto De Vicenzo missed out on a playoff in the '68 Masters due to an innocuous scorecard faux pas, then Philly Mick definitely should have been relieved of his duties come Sunday for hitting a moving ball on the green because he didn't like where it was headed.
but naturally that didn't happen.
why naturally? because PM is not the true culprit here, and at least the USGA was savvy enough to realize that. leaning on an absurd loophole in the rules was basically making up for the blown call at the other end of the court. nothing less, nothing more. in summation, i totally agree with estang -- Mike Davis is bonafide tool who needs to be shown the door. years from now when no one can remember who won the 2018 U.S. Open but vividly recall what Phil did, Davis will have no one to thank but himself.
"""in essence, Lefty risked a slice of his legacy to extend his middle finger to the USGA on behalf of all the players. i wonder if those who are calling for his head realize that."""
C'mon Galaxy...Phil earns tons more than Woods on endorsements and that will extend to the rest of his life. If the game is so fragile that an amusing chase and hit in a tournament that was clearly out of reach for the player is legacy crushing, then they should all take their Rolexes and Mercedes Benz's and head home to a safe space.
i said a slice. how big of a slice is strictly subjective, of course. personally, after much contemplation, i dont have a beef with Mickelson for what he did. in a vacuum i dont advocate it because it could easily be the impetus behind pandora's box flying wide open, but after considering all external forces im cool with it.
but make no mistake, there are many in the world of golf who will never grant him a pass
I don't know, for all those who won't grant him a pass, I bet there's nearly as many who gained greater respect for him. The celebration after par on the 13th Sunday was epic.
Had Phil's rebound shot gone in, pressure would have been intense to bounce Mickelson from the tournament. Taking two additional strokes likely saved him.
@Coinstartled said:
Had Phil's rebound shot gone in, pressure would have been intense to bounce Mickelson from the tournament. Taking two additional strokes likely saved him.
Though the ruling should technically be the same, I agree pressure would have been different.
I like that + 2 won the tournament. I have always felt that par should win this tourney and the course should be set up accordingly. The US Open is supposed to be the ultimate test of golf. For sure it was over the top on Saturday. However, last year it was a farce with -16 winning it. For sure they over compensated this year. The one constant was Koepka. He was the best both times. By the way Koepka fired a 66 on Saturday in the toughest of conditions. Badass is right
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
@galaxy27 said:
you guys better hope you never play a round of golf with me. if you miss a putt i will run it down and putt it again while it's still moving
edit: or set my putter in front of the hole right before your ball goes in
@galaxy27 said:
you guys better hope you never play a round of golf with me. if you miss a putt i will run it down and putt it again while it's still moving
edit: or set my putter in front of the hole right before your ball goes in
Wouldn't matter. My putting gets nowhere near the hole.
@BLUEJAYWAY said:
One of the internet media headlines stated "Phil loses his mind at U.S.Open". A bit extreme to say the least.
Golf is really an unusual game where a decent player can earn a few million dollars a year and never win anything...ever. A baseball player on the worst team in the league will at least savor 40 or 50 victories each season. In golf you strive for top ten and even that is a difficult summit for the rank and file.
@LarkinCollector said:
Why, oh why, is Phil apologizing? Nothing good can come of this.
i assume it's heavy pressure from those unwilling to grant him a pass
the quotes and tweets from other tour players have been interesting. rory and jordan both had his back. beef johnston (his playing partner when it all went down) did, too. but there have been many others who haven't been so cordial. heck i've read tweets from some lpga players and a few of those gals were straight-up lambasting him.
The apology won't satisfy those upset with the action and will disappoint those who supported it. Just own it and move on, now it gets a few more days of media.
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Seems that we have a core of 25 quality players and no stars. When I get bored I'll look up the number of major winners since Woods last victory a decade ago.
Looked it up. 31 golfers have won at least one major of the last 40.
@Coinstartled said:
Seems that we have a core of 25 quality players and no stars. When I get bored I'll look up the number of major winners since Woods last victory a decade ago.
Looked it up. 31 golfers have won at least one major of the last 40.
which further shows just how dominant Tiger was in his prime. he won his first major in 1997 and his last in 2008. that's 48 total majors during that span. he won 14 of them, or 29.16%. let that marinate for a few.
today there are a slew of talented players, but there are no Tigers. it's more of a flavor-of-the-week thing.
Don't like Tiger but when he plays I watch....so Tiger.
Jim Furyk...the anti-Tiger. No drama he just keeps grinding.
Seve was spectacular to watch.
Chi Chi was the games finest ambassador.
Lexi!!
I didn’t see Palmer in his hey day and only caught Jack at the tail end of his but his last major was so memorable.
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Severiano - arguably the most flamboyant and charismatic golfer ever. was known to spray shots at times, but he could get up and down out of a trash can and therefore beat everyone to the hole with regularity. saw him play in the flesh one time in 1984 and that wasn't nearly enough.
Lefty - i just love his style. such a nice dude and such a great ambassador for the sport, yet i admire his appetite for risk and atypical approach to things (#13 green at Shinnecock solidified that). a real shame that he'll most likely end up with only 3 of 4, cuz he has been the best player in the Tiger Woods era of anyone not named Tiger Woods.
Couples - the guy has always exuded coolness. if i could emulate anyone's swing, it would unquestionably be boom boom's. so effortless, yet so powerful. has had a bad back forever and therefore has played fewer and fewer tournaments with each passing year, but he always seems to find a way to show up to the hallowed grounds of Augusta National and make the cut. hard to believe he only won one major.
Jordan - as previously mentioned, my fav modern day golfer. i see a lot of Mickelson in him: genuinely good guy, embraces his place in the game, supremely talented, yet you can sense there is a tinge of cockiness. i like that concoction. presently fighting through (at least for him) a bit of a slump, but i think it's only a matter of time before he's holding a trophy above his head again. the PGA Championship in August to complete the slam would be nice!
Hale Irwin - in the late 80s, i had the privilege of being a walking scorer for the pga/senior pga tour stop in my hometown (long since defunct). although it has been three decades, those experiences are still fresh in my mind. Duffy Waldorf once snapped a drive that ended up in someone's pool in their back yard. to this very day i still have yet to hear anyone say f*ck as many times as Ed Fiori did over the course of 4 hours. Jim Dent blew one over the green and i was convinced that there was going to be a homicide on the course........with the victim being his caddie. Charlie Sifford (with stogie in mouth) drove it into the water on a hellish par-4 and subsequently launched his cigar almost as far as his drive went. most all treated me like their own son, but the best of the best was Hale Irwin. he gave me countless balls, a glove, talked to me about school and golf.......so for a pimply-faced teenager who was deep into the sport, that was about as good as it could ever get. plus he was my grandmother's favorite golfer due to the fact that he resembled my uncle, so how could i possibly omit him from my 5?
just to give you a glimpse of how good the old farts still are, look no further than John Smoltz. he is pretty much a scratch golfer who qualified for the U.S. Senior Open this week.
@galaxy27 said:
just to give you a glimpse of how good the old farts still are, look no further than John Smoltz. he is pretty much a scratch golfer who qualified for the U.S. Senior Open this week.
he shot 85 today and is T151.
When Smoltz,Glavine,and Maddux were teamates they spent many a tee time together on their off days.
Successful transactions:Tookybandit. "Everyone is equal, some are more equal than others".
Not taking anything away from FM, but the field was a bit watered down, devoid of many of the "A" listers. But a win is a win and he achieved his goal, getting FEDex pts. and moving up to 42nd place.
Successful transactions:Tookybandit. "Everyone is equal, some are more equal than others".
Comments
and for a little added juiciness, zach johnson with some scathing comments.
those above who decided to tune out today have no idea what they've missed
Awesome on Phil. Bring some life into the tired old game.
Mike Davis from the USGA needs to step down. Go DJ!
Erik
Phil will regret this everyday of his life. He has never won the Open and this is his legacy. A blooper highlight with Bennie Hill background music
Mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
He won't regret it. Had he been in contention, that would be a different story.
Phil has always been a bit of a maverick.
Side note...the best 150 golfers in the world started this tournament and the top group are all over par. What does par mean when no mortal can reach it?
Overblown Phil story is overshadowing what's really going on -- which is horrible USGA setup yesterday. What he did was regrettable, but not anywhere near the same as what Mike Davis did to the course. He allowed 2 guys at T-45 (or something) to tee off in the last group -- unprecedented in the history of golf. He ##%@#% the whole tournament up. DISGRACE!!!!
Erik
Still the top of the leaderboard with the exception of the last group has many of the best in the world, several are major title winners. I expect the two in the last group will fold like an accordion and not be in contention on the back nine.
http://www.unisquare.com/store/brick/
Ralph
Fr some reason news reports keep using the phrase "disrespecting the game"
Who knew that hitting a little ball in a hole was a thing that deserves respect
Most impressive stat is that 4 players that made the cut are 20 or more over par.
Make that 5!
The guys who missed the cut were actually blessed
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I ended up watching a bit of the early coverage Sat and most of yesterday's final round. A few thoughts:
Larkin, Agree that the course - especially Saturday - would have been impossible for a normal golfer to play. That said, I prefer US Opens where players struggle to make par. The other 51 weeks of the year the courses are birdie fests. I like seeing the pros suffer like average golfers. Chips/putts coming up short and rolling back to their feet. Approaches landing hard and rolling off into purgatory. I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. Professional golfers are the most spoiled athletes out there and when they are whining at a US Open I know the USGA has done something right.
Robb
Struggling to make par because it's a tough course, fine, struggling to make par because course conditions penalize good-great shots, meh. Rolling a putt two feet past the hole shouldn't be penalized with a 35-yard shot over a bunker, imho.
at the end of it someone is going to have a lower score than everyone else , who cares what the number is ?
Struggling?.....no one succeeded in making par.
Never seen so many hills/bunkers on a course. Toward the end I was rooting for Tommy (sorry Chris Berman) "Fleetwood Mac" Fleetwood to back into winning. BTW the Native Americans are still in litigation with the course owner over the land the course is located on.
in my initial post I said casual golf fans will know who Fleetwood is by season's end. i think we can check that one off now. dude has the full arsenal and can really play. cashed in on him versus Sergio, and i very nearly raked at 30-1 for the entire tournament. so close, yet so far away.
Koepka is a badass. clearly he possesses physically strength, but one could make the argument that he's even stronger between the ears. converting all of those critical par/bogey putts on the back 9 was a beautiful sight to behold, even though he cost me a chunk of coin. he misses even one of those and he's in a playoff with Fleetwood, then it's anybody's ballgame. i suppose everyone should have believed him when he said, "no one is more confident than i am, and honestly someone is going to have to come take this from me." absolutely loved reading that.
after much thought, i have more respect for Phil than I ever have before and i'll tell you why. if anyone remembers '04 at Shinnecock, the USGA made a mockery of the tournament when they allowed the 7th hole to become virtually unplayable. the morning of the final round, the first 4 players went bogey-triple-triple-triple because they couldn't keep the ball on the putting surface. then, miraculously, there was an epiphany: perhaps we should douse the green. and they did -- after every group that passed thru #7. a complete farce it was, and there was a ton of outrage afterward. a solemn promise was made that something like that would never occur again.
oops.
in essence, Lefty risked a slice of his legacy to extend his middle finger to the USGA on behalf of all the players. i wonder if those who are calling for his head realize that. sometimes the unthinkable has to happen in order for real change to be made, and that's exactly what happened when a metamorphosis took place on 13 and suddenly there was a 4-yr-old playing putt-putt. you'll be hard-pressed to find another golfer who is better for the game, but make no mistake, Phil is a swashbuckler. he believes what he believes, and no one is going to dissuade him. did he sound remotely remorseful on Sunday after a night of being tarred and feathered by his contemporaries? i think not. he sounded as defiant as ever to me. granted, he did apologize to those whom he might have offended, but he most certainly did not do so to the United States Golf Association. they made every attempt to f the tournament up again, and trust me, they knew it. committing an infraction in golf deemed worthy of disqualification is like porn -- you know it when you see it. and what I saw on 13 green was an epic threesome. if Roberto De Vicenzo missed out on a playoff in the '68 Masters due to an innocuous scorecard faux pas, then Philly Mick definitely should have been relieved of his duties come Sunday for hitting a moving ball on the green because he didn't like where it was headed.
but naturally that didn't happen.
why naturally? because PM is not the true culprit here, and at least the USGA was savvy enough to realize that. leaning on an absurd loophole in the rules was basically making up for the blown call at the other end of the court. nothing less, nothing more. in summation, i totally agree with estang -- Mike Davis is bonafide tool who needs to be shown the door. years from now when no one can remember who won the 2018 U.S. Open but vividly recall what Phil did, Davis will have no one to thank but himself.
"""in essence, Lefty risked a slice of his legacy to extend his middle finger to the USGA on behalf of all the players. i wonder if those who are calling for his head realize that."""
C'mon Galaxy...Phil earns tons more than Woods on endorsements and that will extend to the rest of his life. If the game is so fragile that an amusing chase and hit in a tournament that was clearly out of reach for the player is legacy crushing, then they should all take their Rolexes and Mercedes Benz's and head home to a safe space.
i said a slice. how big of a slice is strictly subjective, of course. personally, after much contemplation, i dont have a beef with Mickelson for what he did. in a vacuum i dont advocate it because it could easily be the impetus behind pandora's box flying wide open, but after considering all external forces im cool with it.
but make no mistake, there are many in the world of golf who will never grant him a pass
I don't know, for all those who won't grant him a pass, I bet there's nearly as many who gained greater respect for him. The celebration after par on the 13th Sunday was epic.
Had Phil's rebound shot gone in, pressure would have been intense to bounce Mickelson from the tournament. Taking two additional strokes likely saved him.
you guys better hope you never play a round of golf with me. if you miss a putt i will run it down and putt it again while it's still moving
edit: or set my putter in front of the hole right before your ball goes in
With enough beers in me, I wouldn't care and it probably wouldn't have a significant impact on my score.
Though the ruling should technically be the same, I agree pressure would have been different.
I like that + 2 won the tournament. I have always felt that par should win this tourney and the course should be set up accordingly. The US Open is supposed to be the ultimate test of golf. For sure it was over the top on Saturday. However, last year it was a farce with -16 winning it. For sure they over compensated this year. The one constant was Koepka. He was the best both times. By the way Koepka fired a 66 on Saturday in the toughest of conditions. Badass is right
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Wouldn't matter. My putting gets nowhere near the hole.
One of the internet media headlines stated "Phil loses his mind at U.S.Open". A bit extreme to say the least.
Golf is really an unusual game where a decent player can earn a few million dollars a year and never win anything...ever. A baseball player on the worst team in the league will at least savor 40 or 50 victories each season. In golf you strive for top ten and even that is a difficult summit for the rank and file.
I don't know about a few million a year, from just tournament winnings at least, but $10-15 million over a career with no wins is quite doable: https://www.pga.com/news/pga-tour/best-golfer-without-pga-tour-victory
Why, oh why, is Phil apologizing? Nothing good can come of this.
i assume it's heavy pressure from those unwilling to grant him a pass
the quotes and tweets from other tour players have been interesting. rory and jordan both had his back. beef johnston (his playing partner when it all went down) did, too. but there have been many others who haven't been so cordial. heck i've read tweets from some lpga players and a few of those gals were straight-up lambasting him.
The apology won't satisfy those upset with the action and will disappoint those who supported it. Just own it and move on, now it gets a few more days of media.
I was figuring all in including sponsorship money.
Phil is now in the Tiger category. Didn't figure him to go spineless 4 days later...
It was inevitable
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Nice come from behind victory by Bubba Watson today.
Seems that we have a core of 25 quality players and no stars. When I get bored I'll look up the number of major winners since Woods last victory a decade ago.
Looked it up. 31 golfers have won at least one major of the last 40.
which further shows just how dominant Tiger was in his prime. he won his first major in 1997 and his last in 2008. that's 48 total majors during that span. he won 14 of them, or 29.16%. let that marinate for a few.
today there are a slew of talented players, but there are no Tigers. it's more of a flavor-of-the-week thing.
query for the inhabitants of this thread...
who are your five fav golfers of all time?
and if you'd like to briefly explain away your selections, even better.
The Dominators - Nicklaus, Tiger
The Artist - Seve (sorry, Phil)
The Middle Class - Palmer
The Fun, Drunk, Everyman - Daly
There's quite a few current players I enjoy watching, but don't have enough years under their belt to be in consideration.
In no particular order of preference. Arnie,Jack,Tiger,Tom Watson, and a tie for the 5th spot:My 2 late Uncles, Bill and Alex.
Don't like Tiger but when he plays I watch....so Tiger.
Jim Furyk...the anti-Tiger. No drama he just keeps grinding.
Seve was spectacular to watch.
Chi Chi was the games finest ambassador.
Lexi!!
This guy just missed the top 5 cut:
No he didn't. Probably "cut" his head when the ball hit it.
Jack
Tiger
Faldo
Seve
Tom Watson
I didn’t see Palmer in his hey day and only caught Jack at the tail end of his but his last major was so memorable.
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
time to answer my own question
Severiano - arguably the most flamboyant and charismatic golfer ever. was known to spray shots at times, but he could get up and down out of a trash can and therefore beat everyone to the hole with regularity. saw him play in the flesh one time in 1984 and that wasn't nearly enough.
Lefty - i just love his style. such a nice dude and such a great ambassador for the sport, yet i admire his appetite for risk and atypical approach to things (#13 green at Shinnecock solidified that). a real shame that he'll most likely end up with only 3 of 4, cuz he has been the best player in the Tiger Woods era of anyone not named Tiger Woods.
Couples - the guy has always exuded coolness. if i could emulate anyone's swing, it would unquestionably be boom boom's. so effortless, yet so powerful. has had a bad back forever and therefore has played fewer and fewer tournaments with each passing year, but he always seems to find a way to show up to the hallowed grounds of Augusta National and make the cut. hard to believe he only won one major.
Jordan - as previously mentioned, my fav modern day golfer. i see a lot of Mickelson in him: genuinely good guy, embraces his place in the game, supremely talented, yet you can sense there is a tinge of cockiness. i like that concoction. presently fighting through (at least for him) a bit of a slump, but i think it's only a matter of time before he's holding a trophy above his head again. the PGA Championship in August to complete the slam would be nice!
Hale Irwin - in the late 80s, i had the privilege of being a walking scorer for the pga/senior pga tour stop in my hometown (long since defunct). although it has been three decades, those experiences are still fresh in my mind. Duffy Waldorf once snapped a drive that ended up in someone's pool in their back yard. to this very day i still have yet to hear anyone say f*ck as many times as Ed Fiori did over the course of 4 hours. Jim Dent blew one over the green and i was convinced that there was going to be a homicide on the course........with the victim being his caddie. Charlie Sifford (with stogie in mouth) drove it into the water on a hellish par-4 and subsequently launched his cigar almost as far as his drive went. most all treated me like their own son, but the best of the best was Hale Irwin. he gave me countless balls, a glove, talked to me about school and golf.......so for a pimply-faced teenager who was deep into the sport, that was about as good as it could ever get. plus he was my grandmother's favorite golfer due to the fact that he resembled my uncle, so how could i possibly omit him from my 5?
just to give you a glimpse of how good the old farts still are, look no further than John Smoltz. he is pretty much a scratch golfer who qualified for the U.S. Senior Open this week.
he shot 85 today and is T151.
When Smoltz,Glavine,and Maddux were teamates they spent many a tee time together on their off days.
Molinari smokes the field.
Not taking anything away from FM, but the field was a bit watered down, devoid of many of the "A" listers. But a win is a win and he achieved his goal, getting FEDex pts. and moving up to 42nd place.