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Tuesday, June 19, 2007
U.S. Open drought continues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
It may not have occurred to you, but the last time our Open golf championship traveled overseas for the fourth time in a row, William Howard Taft was president. And, coincidentally, Mr. Taft was the first president to have tinkered with golf. It’s probable that his handicap was, that because of his considerable girth, he had trouble seeing the ball.
In those days, leading up to 1910, we Americans were still trying to get the hang of the game. Players were imported from Scotland or England to teach us, and every country club had to have a professional from one of the two, or it was somewhat behind the times. Finally, in 1911 the first American won the U.S. Open, then John McDermott won it again the next year. Then came the upset of the ages, when a caddie at the Brookline club in Massachusetts, a mere lad by the name of Francis Ouimet, beat both Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, the two most acclaimed pros in the world, in a playoff, and our rocket was launched.
Americans have pretty much defended the flag staunchly from that time forward. An occasional foreigner would crash the home country line, but from Long Jim Barnes down through the years to David Graham, our national championship stayed home. The Masters, though, through its international goodwill, began to open the shores. Gary Player finally broke our monopoly, and in the 1980s and ’90s, foreign guests were stocking up on green jackets, Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal and Vijay Singh, native of Fiji, though a longtime resident of Florida.
Our Open, though, was pretty zealously defended, thanks mainly to Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and with occasional intervention by Hale Irwin. Then came a renewed foreign insurgence, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, both South African, and both of whom won it twice. Then Michael Campbell of New Zealand, Goeff Ogilvy of Australia, who won just standing around, watching Phil Mickelson crash (“I am such an idiot,” he wailed, and who was to disagree), and now the latest from the south of us, Angel Cabrera of Argentina.
Remember when Palmer used to toss his cigarette away while he putted? And Lloyd Mangrum, who left a trail of smoke wherever he went, and many another inhaler? Well, you wouldn’t believe these bloggers who have taken the whip to Cabrera, who had the audacity to light up on the course at Oakmont during his run to the championship. He is a rather oddly conformed golf player, constructed along the lines of a blocking back or a pulling guard, and the rolling walk which inspired the nickname of “The Duck.” Not a figure to be envied.
It came across as something of a disappointment that he had to rely on a translator to caddie him through press conferences. Roberto de Vicenzo did not, for I recall, after he had disqualified himself by signing for the wrong score at Augusta, he scolded himself with, ‘I am such a stupid.”
What I’m getting around to here is the absence of home-grown contenders, beyond Tiger Woods, Mickelson and Jim Furyk, clubbed himself out of a playoff at Oakmont. Where have the guys gone who were once looked upon to carry the challenge? Davis Love, once No. 3 in the world, had a three-year drought until he picked off the Greensboro tournament, on a course he designed, and is now down to No. 35. David Toms, except for the PGA Championship he won at Atlanta Athletic Club, rollicks along making happy in familiar precincts at New Orleans and Memphis. He made a slight push at Oakmont but finished fifth and now ranks 20th.
After Mike Weir won the World Golf Championship, then followed it up with the Tour Championship and the Masters, he was ready to join the giants. Then he disappeared. He is now ranked No. 45. Charles Howell has never caught fire. Chris DiMarco’s big moment remains the winning putt in one of those Presidents Cups. Chad Campbell was once forecast as the next great American player. He’s now just another guy from Texas. All of this has opened the course for the revival of Scott Verplank and Steve Stricker, and the rise of a few guys named Boo, Bubba, Zach and Brett.
What it all comes down to, it seems, is this: Give me a few good endorsements, let me score well enough to get some good television time, let me make a good living, and let the majors fall where they may, Argentina, South Africa or wherever. Come on, guys, how about one for the home team?
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“Pacman” ablaze in controversy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
THE TUESDAY COUNTDOWN…
10: So I’m curious. If you’re Adam “Pacman” Jones and you’ve just released a statement that says, “I met with [Roger Goodell] to tell him about the steps I have taken to change my life since being suspended by the NFL,” where exactly does being wanted for questioning in a shooting at an Atlanta strip club at 4:15 a.m. fit in?
9: Michael Huyghue, Jones’ agent, claimed last week his client would be spending the off-season working out and taking online courses from West Virginia. So I guess we’re to assume that Club Blaze on Moreland Avenue actually is a 24-hour Internet cafe. With a topless support staff. And laptop dances.
8: Maybe Michael Vick just doesn’t like camp.
7: Would the last Georgia Tech player who leaves the building please turn out the season?
6: Paul Hewitt will tell you that the Jackets will be just fine without Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young (neither of whom, by the way, are ready for the NBA). But losing the team’s two leading scorers can’t exactly be termed a step forward. Especially when they’re only freshmen. Even in this one-and-done era, Hewitt never could have anticipated he would lose both.
5: Delta has renamed several of its 757s the “Hank Aaron 755.” There also were plans to rename an MD-88 in honor of Barry Bonds. But the plane mysteriously morphed into a space shuttle in the off-season and the head couldn’t fit into the hangar.
4: Just wondering how Leo Mazzone likes the view now in Baltimore. The Orioles fired his buddy, manager Sam Perlozzo. Mazzone worked for Bobby Cox for 15 seasons. He worked for Perlozzo for 20 months.
3: Michael Vick has canceled an appearance in his kitchen later today because of “scheduling” conflicts.
2: Kobe Bryant asked to be traded. Then he recanted. Now he has asked to be traded again. Is there any way that clause in Billy Donovan’s contract banning him from the NBA for five years can be imposed on this guy?
1: Pacman’s Internet study group will meet tonight in Sugarloaf, at Lisa Ann Taylor’s house.
Permalink | Comments (197) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Quick Hit
