Bjorn Again—Ryder Cup Captaincy Ahead?

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following excerpt from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

Courtesy of CallwayGolf.com

PAUL MCGINLEY FANS WILL BE appalled but Thomas Bjorn must be regarded as a likely candidate to skipper Europe when the Ryder Cup is played at Gleneagles in 2014. Judging by the blistering 62 he shot to win the Omega European Masters and jump to the top of the 2012 Ryder Cup qualifying table, the 40-year old Dane is playing well enough to make the 2014 team as a player. After all, his four-shot triumph over Martin Kaymer was his second win in a row and his third of the year.

Add to that the fact that he finished fourth in the Open and he fits the identikit picture of a Ryder Cup captain that McGinley and others declared as the standard when Colin Montgomerie was given the role two years ago.

Bjorn is very much a respected, current player but along with Darren Clarke, he is also the biggest threat to McGinley’s hopes of winning the ‘14 captaincy. The list of those likely to succeed Jose Maria Olazabal is not massively long but while it was always assumed that Clarke or Bjorn would do the job in the US in 2016, leaving 2014 to McGinley, that is far from clear cut with three years to go before the next home match.

One thing is sure, like Clarke and McGinley, Bjorn would have the respect of the young guns on tour, such as Rory McIlroy. The 22-year old opened with two birdies in Crans to top the leaderboard but then missed a series of chances on the greens and by the time he made back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th, Bjorn was out of sight.

“I’ve really gotten to know Thomas well over the years,” said McIlroy, who finished five behind in joint third after a 68.

“He was assistant at the Ryder Cup and when I played the Vivendi in 2009, he was the captain of the European team. To shoot a 62 is very impressive and I don’t think I could have done anything to beat that.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

The Rory McIlroy Guessing Game

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following excerpt from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

THERE’S A NEW GUESSING GAME in golf—what’s Rory McIlroy going to do next. In June he surprised nearly everyone when he followed his implosion at the Masters with an eight-shot US Open win. Fast forward six weeks and he’s overshadowed the return to Tiger Woods to PGA Tour action this week by announcing that he’s seriously considering rejoining the PGA Tour next season.

Nearly nine months ago, McIlroy gave up his card and said:

“I found myself in America last year, especially in the FedEx Cup play-off series, just not wanting to be there…. If you’re not playing well in the States it can be a lonely place. But if you’re not playing well on the European Tour you still have plenty of mates to hang out with. Holly also has another two years at university and we have two dogs, a nice house and I love my life back in Ireland. I don’t ever want to give that up.”

Fast forward to the eve of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron and the story is very different. Holly is history, he’s playing well and life in Ireland has become more of grind since his went from golf star to public megastar in the space of a few weeks.

“I spoke to a couple of the guys from the PGA Tour today about it, and I’m leaning towards taking my card up again definitely,” said McIlroy, who is involved a burgeoning romance with the Danish world tennis number one Caroline Wozniacki.

“I feel as if I play my best golf over here. I’m very comfortable in this country. I’m going to look at a few houses down in Florida after the (US) PGA.

“I might go and stay with G-Mac (Graeme McDowell) for a night at Lake Nona and see what that’s like and then down in West Palm Beach and Jupiter, around there. I’m definitely looking towards coming back and playing a full schedule over here.”

McIlroy fired a 68 in the first round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and trails leader Adam Scott by six shots. Scott blistered Firestone Country Club with an eight-birdie, no-bogey 62.

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

Ireland: The Spiritual Home of Golf (Conclusion)

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series on golf in Ireland by guest contributor Barry Ward.

By Barry Ward
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

Copyright © Barry Ward. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

(CONTINUED FROM PART 1.) If you’ve the time, you should wander up the west coast where the counties of Galway, Mayo and Sligo have links that impoverish adjectives. En route, though, you must pop into Lahinch, in County Clare, where Old Tom Morris laid out “the St Andrews of Ireland.” I could tell a tale or two about this grand old links but I doubt you’d believe me…. OK. How about a blind par three and goats that forecast the weather? Told you.

The west coast is one of Ireland’s premier golfing destinations and its list of courses will tell why: Connemara, Enniscrone, Donegal, Carne, Ballyliffin and Rosses Point, where dinner at Aunties is a traditional imperative if you effect an escape from the club bar.

Another word of caution, though: allow plenty of time for navigation. You’ll frequently find yourself in the middle of nowhere, where the only sign of life is a solitary sheep which appears equally lost. Whatever you do don’t make eye contact or she’ll never leave you.

Great golf aside, there’s not a lot of activity hereabouts where the next stop west is Boston, USA. So golf tourism is a vitally important facet of the economy and the appreciative locals do a grand job in making you feel welcome. It’s a glorious bonus to outstanding golf. I once went to Connemara for two days and was trapped there for two weeks. I blamed the sheep. My expense claim took a bit of explaining but fortunately my then editor was Irish and most sympathetic.

That’s a quick Cook’s tour of golf holidays in the republic and we haven’t mentioned the K Club, venue for the 2006 Ryder Cup matches, or Mullingar, the Midland’s gem by James Braid, or Tullamore, where they lock the clubhouse doors when you go in for a post-round Guinness, or Woodenbridge, now 18 holes but a delicious nine holer when the timber clubhouse floated away after a storm prompted the river to break its banks: they say no one noticed until the Guinness ran out.

Then there’s the Mackenzie-designed Cork that’s a combination of parkland, heathland and links; and nearby Fota Island, and Rathsallagh, with its exquisite hotel, and Adare Manor, one of Ireland’s premier golf resorts with a course by Robert Trent Jones Sr. I really have had a misspent life….

Ulster’s Links and Parkland Beauties

And then there’s Ulster, up north. An indication of the quality that awaits here is that the Irish Golf Union, which commendably governs national golf without recognition of borders, has little difficulty in identifying Ireland’s number one links: they simply alternate each year between Portmarnock Old, Ballybunion, Royal County Down and Royal Portrush. Easy peasy, although the European Club is coming up fast on the rails.

That said, you’ll realise that County Down and Portrush, where Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy are members, are both in Ulster which has only 100 or so clubs. Most are parkland, and some beauties they have, too: Belvoir Park, Malone and Royal Belfast to scratch the surface. But I have fond memories of playing Royal Portrush, neighbouring Portstewart and nearby Castlerock over one glorious summer week on the Antrim coast. It’s an incomparable combination of links.

Those who prefer tournament golf on holidays would enjoy the Bushmill’s Blackbush tournament, played each June over the links of Portrush, Portstewart, Castlerock and nearby Ballycastle. It’s a 72 hole teams’ event with individual prizes too and huge fun if you like cutthroat golf. But go with a thirst you could hang your hat on and be prepared for 12-hour debates and lots of singing.

There are numerous such tournaments each year all over Ireland, staged by the regional tourist boards in conjunction with the local golf associations. They cater for all combinations of teams, male and female, pairs and fours and they don’t cut corners on the social side, either.

Or you could take the Royal Tour, playing the Royal courses of Belfast, Portrush, County Down and Dublin, where you could meet with Himself, Christy O’Connor Sr. Now there’s a blue-blooded itinerary for you.

And if none of that grabs you I’m afraid it’s back to the dart throwing.

Barry Ward is a veteran golf writer and the publisher/editor of www.posh-golf-travel.com, a guide to luxurious, family friendly golf resorts and destinations. He lives in golf-gorgeous Rutland, England.

(Photo: Courtesy of ctoverdrive, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Ireland: The Spiritual Home of Golf

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on golf in Ireland by guest contributor Barry Ward.

By Barry Ward
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

Copyright © Barry Ward. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

IF YOU HAVE THE HAND-EYE coordination to hit a barn door with a bucket of water, then I know how you can find the perfect golfing holiday destination with all the extras a chap needs: good food, friendly natives, oodles of après golf distractions and courses to make your eyes stick out like chapel hat pegs.

Here’s how. Pin a map of Ireland to the wall and throw a dart at it, then make tracks for where ever it sticks. You’re almost guaranteed to find a cluster of first-class courses with agreeable accommodation nearby, plus all the other things required to soothe the inner man.

Scotland may be the historical home of golf but Ireland is the spiritual home. The Emerald Isle has more first-rate courses, pro rata, than just about anywhere on the planet, most of them oozing history. For many years the number was static at around 230: now the figure is 440-plus and rising.

Land of McDowell, McIlroy and Clarke

Thanks to the exploits of the Irish contingent in the Ryder Cup of late, plus the success of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell in the US Open and Darren Clarke’s epic victory in the recent Open Championship, the grand old game has long since overtaken horse racing, football and that other pastime enjoyed by two members of the opposite sex as the main topic of conversation in bars and clubs up and down the land. It’s become the in-game. Everyone wants to play. The architects are beside themselves.

Much of the nation’s coastline is now protected so few links are being built these days, but parkland courses continue to spring up in all corners of this green and pleasant land, much to the delight of the tourist boards, regional and national, whose work in keeping them busy with overseas visitors has become a central plank of the economy.

You’ll doubtless know of the golfing attractions of Dublin. Suffice to say that the there are 50 or so courses within easy reach of the city centre, and another 30 only half an hour further away. This may be the world’s dominant golfing city.

Numerically, only Myrtle Beach and Sydney are superior but neither has courses of comparable quality to Dublin’s. Just think of Portmarnock (Old and New), Baltray, The Island, Malahide, Royal Dublin, The Hermitage, Powerscourt, City West, Palmerston, Druids Glen, and Druids Heath, its new neighbour, another gem designed by the ubiquitous Pat Ruddy, whose links at the European Club is winning rave reviews world-wide. But that’s another story…

If your dart hits the south east corner of the country a quite different treat awaits. Bed down in the charming city of Waterford on the banks of the River Suir (you’ll be pampered to distraction at the Tower Hotel and the nearby après golf attractions would exhaust a hedonist in full fig) where a lustrous collection of parkland courses awaits your pleasure.

The region boasts of 30 courses and not for nothing is it known as the Sunshine Coast. I was there with the usual suspects in mid-October and on a couple of days we might well have been in Spain, although the club’s house wine at Waterford Castle was superior.

The Tower Hotel is convenient for Waterford Castle, Faithlegg, Tramore and Mount Juliet, and if you know of a finer collection of parkland courses you should drop me a line, post haste. There’s a good value green fee passport available, too. (see: www.irishgolftours.com)

The south west is your target?

Then your golfing holiday will become a pilgrimage as you drool over a collection of historic links in what’s known as the Ring of Kerry. Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks and Waterville are the main attractions but there are scads of others, not least the two glorious parkland courses of the Killarney. Golf and Fishing Club, which gives a clue what awaits out there.

It’s a bit of a hike but you could fly into Shannon and the Great Southern Hotel at Killarney takes some topping, particularly since it was up-graded. And there are 20 or so cracking pubs within strolling distance on the main street. A word of caution: identifying the best pint of Guinness on offer is a local challenge not to be taken lightly.

TO BE CONCLUDED TOMORROW.

Barry Ward is a veteran golf writer and the publisher/editor of www.posh-golf-travel.com, a guide to luxurious, family friendly golf resorts and destinations. He lives in golf-gorgeous Rutland, England.

(Photo: Courtesy of ctoverdrive, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

DarrenClarke.com Wanders Offline to Celebrate Open Triumph

NORTHERN IRISHMAN DARREN CLARKE IS a self-described regular guy who likes to puff on a cigarette and have a drink or two or three. Now he’s the highly improbable and popular Open champion whose head hasn’t hit the pillow since Saturday night.

“I have not been to bed yet,” Clark said at a Monday morning press conference at Royal St. George’s. “I probably won’t get any sleep until tomorrow at some stage. You have to enjoy it while you can. It’s been a very good night.”

And, like its namesake, DarrenClarke.com is a regular sort of website that enjoys its time away from the 24/7 pressures of the Internet. The site was in a celebratory mood after the final putt dropped and employer-hero Darren Clarke hoisted the cherished Claret Jug.

“Website will be back online soon,” announced DarrenClarke.com shortly after publishing the above photo of Clarke kissing the silver trophy. “Just doing some maintenance.”

Maintenance? Ha!

Sources have told ARMCHAIR GOLF that DarrenClarke.com was seen carrying on in the wee hours of Monday morning with RoryMcIlroy.com and GraemeMcDowell.com. RoryMcIlroy.com was described as the lightweight of the group. After a few drinks it slurs its links.

As far as the statement about being back online soon, don’t bet a Guinness on it. DarrenClarke.com might just party on for a month or longer.

It really wouldn’t matter much when you think about it. That homepage photo of Clarke kissing the Claret Jug pretty much says it all, don’t you agree?

−The Armchair Golfer

(This is an ARMCHAIR GOLF spoof.)

(Photo: Courtesy of DarrenClarke.com)

Darren Clarke Thrives Thanks to Doctor’s Remedy

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

DARREN CLARKE JUMPED TO ATTENTION under doctor’s orders to putt his way into contention for major glory at the 140th Open Championship at Royal St. George’s. The Ulster veteran, 42, cracked five birdies for a super 68 to finish just three shots behind first-round leaders Tom Lewis and Thomas Bjorn and immediately thanked mental guru Dr Bob Rotella. Now Clarke’s second-round 68 has given him the clubhouse lead at 4 under par as play continues on Friday.

After using the blade just 28 times on Thursday, Clarke beamed: “I’ve been lucky this week and seen an old friend of mine in Bob Rotella. I haven’t seen him for quite some time and was able to catch up with him because my ball striking and tee-to-green stuff has been very good, very solid, but the putter has been poor.”

Asked what the Doc had ordered, Clarke said: “He charges me a lot of money, so I can’t tell you that. But he knows me inside out. We’ve worked together for a very long time.”

Clarke said before the start that he needed his putter to fire on all cylinders to win the Open at his 21st attempt. While he’s won three times since 2008 with his latest victory coming in Mallorca this season, his cold putter has prevented him from re-establishing himself in the world’s top 100.

Ranked 111th starting the week, he has been overshadowed in the ISM stable by major winners Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Rory McIlroy, as well as world No 2 Lee Westwood.

But Clarke showed he’s still a force to be reckoned with on links terrain as he survived some blustery early conditions and then took advantage of a drop in the wind late on Thursday afternoon.

Believing he’s got enough in the tank to keep it up, Clarke said: “I’m not that old yet, am I? I’m only 42. I still behave as if I’m 14.

“But no, I’m enjoying it. The golf course is great, fantastic. It’s the biggest and best tournament in the world. Why wouldn’t I enjoy it?”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

(Photo: Courtesy of zrim, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

2011 U.S. Women’s Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

THE 2011 U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN teed off on Thursday at The Broadmoor (East Course) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and was halted due to weather. Cristie Kerr and amateur Amy Anderson are tied for the lead at 2 under par. Neither player has completed her round. Inbee Park and Ai Miyazato are 1 under par.

Juli Inkster finished with a 3-over 74, and, with one hole to play, Michelle Wie is 7 over par. Alexis Thompson is 5 over after 15 holes. Grouped together, defending champion Paula Creamer and four-time major winner Yani Tseng have not started play.

(Photo: Paula Creamer at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.)

“It’s an exhausting golf course,” Creamer said on Wednesday. “It’s a long walk, lots of thinking. Definitely if you lose your mind on one shot, it’s gonna cost you big time here.”

“I feel less pressure this week than before,” Tseng said on Tuesday. “I always feel so much pressure on U.S. Open course. It’s such a tough, tough golf course. But after I see Rory McIlroy do it I feel much more relaxed. You just have got to come out here and have fun, enjoy the pressure and enjoy the big crowds.”


Purse: $3.25 million
Defending champion: Paula Creamer
Course: The Broadmoor, East Course, Par 71, 7,047 yards

2011 U.S. Women’s Open Leaderboard

Tournament preview
Final field
Pairings
Spectator guide
U.S. Women’s Open website


TV SCHEDULE

TV coverage of the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open is on ESPN2 and NBC.

Thu, Jul 07
5:00-9:00 PM ET ESPN2

Fri, Jul 08
5:00-9:00 PM ET ESPN2

Sat, Jul 09
3:00-6:00 PM ET NBC

Sun, Jul 10
3:00-6:00 PM ET NBC


−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: John E Kaminski, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Rory McIlroy Goes Back to School

WITH THE BLESSING OF his headmaster, U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy left school at the age of 15 to pursue his career in golf. Recently, McIlroy, toting a large silver trophy, returned to Sullivan Upper in his hometown of Holywood, Northern Ireland. Headmaster John Stevenson must be proud.

The BBC’s Mark Simpson, also a former Sullivan Upper pupil, sat down with RMac for some light-hearted banter about school days and more.

First shocker: young Rory’s favorite subject was P.E. (Ha ha.) His least favorite subject was English Literature.

“All I wanted to do was play golf,” he said.

Lunches?

“A panini every day. That was me.”

The hair used to be shorter, he admitted, when mum and dad had their say.

And his favorite teacher?

“They were all great,” Rory said.

Of course they were. The charmer. The media are putty in his hands.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Titleist.com)

The Real Marshals of the Dubai World Championship

NO, IT’S NOT A REALITY TV show. The people pictured above with champion Robert Karlsson (wearing red shirt, white cap and, I believe, holding a scepter) are real volunteer marshals at last year’s Dubai World Championship.

Question: Why is the fellow on the far right holding up his “QUIET” sign? Doesn’t he know The Race to Dubai is over?

The European Tour is looking to round up volunteer marshals for this year’s Dubai World Championship to be played on December 8-11 at the Earth Course (Jumeirah Golf Estates) in Dubai. Of course, it’s the concluding tournament of The Race to Dubai (a series of 50 tournaments in 29 golf destinations) and a great opportunity to see and be alongside Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Karlsson and many other European Tour pros.

Jenni Hoskins, a 17 handicapper and member of Emirates Golf Club and Bearwood Lakes in England, has been appointed Chief Marshal of the volunteer marshal operation, which last year numbered more than 300 from Dubai, the UAE, the gulf region and overseas. Marshal perks include clothing, caps, tournament passes, parking and invitations to 200 volunteers for an appreciation day with a round of golf on the Earth Course.

To learn more about marshalling in Dubai, email Hoskins at jennih51@yahoo.com.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Dubai World Championship via Alan Ewens)

20 Major Champions Under Age of 25

GOLF.COM PUBLISHED A PHOTO GALLERY of “Notable Major Champions Under the Age of 25.” I’ve included their list below, but in a different order, from youngest to oldest. I’ve also added each player’s majors total. Plus I’ve included a handful of players (at bottom) Golf.com didn’t list.

(I’m not sure why they didn’t mention Ernie Els, who I believe won his first U.S. Open at the age of 24.)

(Photo: Morgan Pressel.)

Many of the retired players on the list went on to win five or more majors. So obviously it’s good to win early. Maybe you’ll win often. Tseng is the quickest to four. McIlroy has one and a world of potential. But there’s no guarantee you’ll win many or any after the first. Just ask Jerry Pate, who won his first and last major, the U.S. Open, at the tender age of 22.




Young Tom Morris, 17, 1868 British Open
Total majors: 4

Morgan Pressel, 18, 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship
Total majors: 1

Yani Tseng, 19, 2008 LPGA Championship
Total majors: 4

Francis Ouimet, 20, 1913 U.S. Open
Total majors: 3 (includes amateur titles)

Gene Sarazen, 20, 1922 U.S. Open
Total majors: 7

Bobby Jones, 21, 1923 U.S. Open
Total majors: 13 (includes amateur titles)

Nancy Lopez, 21, 1978 LPGA Championship
Total majors: 3

Tiger Woods, 21, 1997 Masters
Total majors: 14

Se Ri Pak, 21, 1998 LPGA Championship
Total majors: 5

Jack Nicklaus, 22, 1962 U.S. Open
Total majors: 18

Seve Ballesteros, 22, 1979 British Open
Total majors: 5

Rory McIlroy, 22, 2011 U.S. Open
Total majors: 1

Gary Player, 23, 1959 British Open
Total majors: 9

Brittany Lincicome, 23, 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship
Total majors: 1

Paula Creamer, 23, 2010 U.S. Women’s Open
Total majors: 1

Annika Sorenstam, 24, 1995 Women’s British Open
Total majors: 10

Others who won a major early: John McDermott (19), Jerry Pate (22), Johnny Goodman (23), Ernie Els (24). (Feel free to help with this list of others, which is probably incomplete.)

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Keith Allison, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Move Over, Rory; Here Comes Yani

RORY MCILROY IS THE record-smashing U.S. Open champion and perhaps the next Tiger Woods. Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington tagged his fellow Irishman as the player to challenge the majors record of Jack Nicklaus. Rory mania pretty much sucked all of the oxygen out of the golf world last week.

But it’s a new week, so here’s a new fact: McIlroy is only the second-best 22-year-old golfer in the world. Yani Tseng is the best. It ain’t even close.

Tseng collected her fourth major title at the Wegmans LPGA Championship on Sunday, a crushing 10-stroke victory that must be disturbing to the women who compete against her. The women’s top-ranked player, Tseng has racked up four majors faster than anyone in golf history, male or female. The Taiwanese superstar now has won three of the last six majors and a total of eight LPGA events since joining the tour in 2008.

In a wire-to-wire win, Tseng kept her foot on the accelerator, firing 67 and 66 on the weekend and missing the tournament record by a shot. Hitting 57 of 72 greens in regulation, she carded 27 birdies against six bogeys and one double. She averages 270 yards off the tee and can putt the eyes out of a chipmunk.

Oh my gosh. How in the world will the women slow this talent down?

“We knew she was going to be good,” said Cristie Kerr, last year’s LPGA Championship winner. “I didn’t know she would be this good. She is pretty dang good.”

I’ll say.

“Now I’m thinking about a grand slam,” Tseng mentioned.

Uh-oh.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Keith Allison, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Golf Cracks TIME Magazine’s Evil Sports List

GOLF IS GETTING A LOT attention this week. Rory McIlroy is on the cover of the June 27th issue of Sports Illustrated, which will be on newsstands tomorrow with the cover message, “Golf’s New Era.”

But that’s not all. TIME has placed the game of golf on its “Top 10 Evil Sports List.” Golf is ranked No. 6.

“The aftermath of the U.S. Open may be all rosy sweet, what with Rory McIlroy’s sensational victory, but don’t get too caught up,” writes Ishaan Tharoor. “Apart from being the sport of choice for scheming politicians and fat-cat businessmen, golf is quite frankly a waste of space. It devours the public commons, swallows up water—the preponderance of golf courses in arid places like the Arabian peninsula borders on the obscene—and indulges middle-class ennui the world over.”

OK, a couple of things. First, I’m guessing Tharoor doesn’t play golf and perhaps has never set foot on a golf course. That said, there can be a dark side to this game. As it’s written, “What good is it for a man to become a scratch golfer, yet forfeit his soul?”

Tharoor and TIME have me considering a new evil sport. Below golf on the list are poker, the hunt, American football and wife-carrying races (who knew?). But I’d probably want to take up something more evil than golf just to be daring. Here’s the top five: 1) Soccer, 2) Female Gymnastics, 3) Camel Racing, 4) Boxing, and 5) Bull Fighting.

Soccer involves too much running. Female gymnastics won’t work for obvious reasons. Boxing has too much punching. Bull fighting has too much blood. I guess that leaves camel racing.

Anybody have a camel I can borrow?

−The Armchair Golfer

Champions Predict Greatness for Rory McIlroy

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

“CELTIC TIGER” RORY MCILROY roared to an incredible eight-shot US Open victory last night to give American golf the hero it badly needs. The 22-year old Holywood idol brushed aside all doubts about his ability to close when he fired a two under 69 to decimate the field with an amazing 16 under par total and smash the US Open scoring record of 272 held by the likes of Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

It was a cool, calculated performance by the greatest talent to emerge in the game since Woods, and McIlroy, who broke multiple scoring records in Bethesda and jumped from eighth to world No 4, immediately set his sights on becoming a multiple major champion.

“Just to sit here, knowing that I’ve just won that trophy and following in the footsteps of one of my best friends, Graeme McDowell, last year at Pebble, you know, it’s a great feeling,” McIlroy said. “And I got my first Major Championship out of the way quite early on in my career, especially after what’s happened the last couple of months.

“It feels great. And just looking forward to putting myself in the picture for hopefully many more.”

Nicklaus Love

The hype surrounding McIlroy will increase to unprecedented levels over the coming months as the game looks to him to fill the void left by Woods over the past 18 months. And instead of Woods, Padraig Harrington reckons McIlroy has the talent and enough time to go on and beat Nicklaus’ record of 18 major wins.

The Golden Bear himself confessed last night that he is a huge fan of McIlroy’s, explaining: “I love his golf swing and I love his moxie and the way he walks like he is a little cocksure about himself. I think this kid is going to have a great career. I don’t think there is any question about it.

“He’s got all the components and a lot of people rooting for him. He’s a nice kid, he’s humble when he needs to be humble and he’s confident when he needs to be confident.”

Told that McIlroy was four months younger than he was when he won his first major, Nicklaus laughed and said: “Well, he’s ahead of my major pace.”

McIlroy’s win gave Northern Ireland back to back US Open wins, with the defending champion Graeme McDowell confessing: “The probability of two players from Northern Ireland winning back to back US Opens is lottery numbers or bigger than that. It’s just incredible.

“He’s an awesome player. He’s the best player I have ever seen. I didn’t have a chance to play with Tiger in his pomp but he’s the best I’ve ever seen, simple as that.”

It was a triumphal march from the moment he shook off his first tee jitters with a perfect three-wood down the middle, beamed a huge smile at manager Chubby Chandler and took his first steps towards a place in the history books with an opening birdie that ended the championship as a contest.

After flicking a wedge to just seven feet, the Irish prodigy stroked home the putt to go nine shots clear and set up Ireland’s fifth major win from the last 16 big ones. He got a massive roar from US fans as the putt dropped and is clearly what world and American golf has been crying out for since Woods, out injured, fell from grace and lost his game.

What Golf Needs

Even McIlroy’s new putting coach, two time major winner Dave Stockton, believes that the Ulsterman is now an all-American hero.

Stockton said: “He is what golf totally needs. He will be the sixth non-US winner in the last eight years and I’ve got to tell you that the American people love him so much that they are not going to care.”

McIlroy is also only the seventh wire-to-wire US Open winner in history and the first since Woods did it for the second time at Bethpage in New York in 2002. And with Woods out injured with knee and Achilles’ problems, McIlroy looks set to fill the power vacuum and hoover up the majors.

Harrington certainly believes that McIlroy could turn out to be the man who eventually breaks the Golden Bear’s major records.

Harrington said: “If you are going to talk about someone challenging Jack’s record, there’s your man.”

McDowell hit a 69 to finish on two under par and conclude a stout title defence and hand the title to his best pal.

Before his final round, McDowell said: “He’s potentially the next Tiger Woods. He’s that good. It’s great to see him out there fulfilling his potential.

“Will he achieve what Tiger was doing around 2000, 15 major championships to date or whatever he’s got? Can he be that good? Yeah, potentially. He’s got that potential. He’s got the full package as far as his golf game is concerned—if his putter behaves itself.

“Tiger was something very special. He had it all, the mental capacity, the short game, the putter. If Rory can add a couple of weapons to his arsenal, yeah, he can be as good.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

(Photo: Courtesy of Titleist.com)

2011 U.S. Open: USGA Can’t Stop Low Scores

Editor’s note: I’m at Congressional Country Club this week covering the 2011 U.S. Open. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

PLAYERS WHINING ABOUT THE U.S. Open setup is nothing new. It’s been going on for more than a half century. Horace Rawlins, winner of the inaugural U.S. Open in 1895, probably would have griped about the Newport Country Club had he not won. But the complaints at the 111th edition of the national championship are strangely different.

Congressional Country Club is way too easy. This is not a U.S. Open test, an unfair fight to the finish. Rather, it’s a different kind of bloodbath, a sea of red on the scoreboard resulting from an onslaught of birdies. As one person in the media center put it, the Blue Course is handing out birdies like they’re Halloween candy.

Defending champion Graeme McDowell admitted as much after his 69 on Saturday.

“I’ve been a little disappointed with the golf course the last couple of days,” McDowell said. “It wasn’t as firm and fast as I would like to have seen it. The storms on Thursday night really softened the place. So it’s not a true U.S. Open test out there, to be honest. There were some tough pins out there, no doubt. I’d like to see it tougher than it was.”

World No. 1 Luke Donald, who at 7 over for the championship is not exactly lighting it up, said the rough is not as difficult as at past U.S. Opens.

“It has that different feel,” Donald said of the course. “It almost feels like the Firestone or something.”

Firestone, as in the home of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Due to the rain and cooler temperatures this week, Congressional is playing much softer than expected. The greens are receptive to approach shots, and are not the rock-hard, dry, brownish putting surfaces seen at past U.S. Opens. Rory McIlroy and others are, in effect, playing darts.

The USGA said it can’t be helped.

“I think it’s the oppressive heat we had last week that started us off on this dynamic of weather that we’ve experienced,” said the USGA’s Tom O'Toole, “and then of course making sure that we maintain the health of those greens by hydrating them and raising the cut of our mowing, not rolling, and the number of times we’ve mowed and rolled. So we’ve done all those things to maintain the health of Congressional’s greens.”

In its previous three majors (two U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship), Congressional has yielded scores of 276, 278 and 281. The winning scores ranged from 4 under at the 1997 U.S. Open won by Ernie Els to 1 over at the 1976 PGA Championship won by Dave Stockton.

This week the winning 72-hole total will likely be much lower and could break the U.S. Open record of 272 set by Jack Nicklaus and tied by Lee Janzen, Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk. Rory McIlroy needs a 72 in the final round to eclipse the U.S. Open standard of Nicklaus and Woods, golf’s two greatest champions. But what McIlroy wants more than anything is his name on the large silver trophy.

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
Rory McIlroy Extends U.S. Open Lead to 8 Shots
Comeback Award Goes to Marcel Siem
2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

Rory McIlroy Extends U.S. Open Lead to 8 Shots

Editor’s note: I’m at Congressional Country Club this week covering the 2011 U.S. Open. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

THE CLOSEST PURSUERS BEGAN teeing off about an hour before 36-hole leader Rory McIlroy began his third round alongside Y.E. Yang at 3:50 p.m. McIlroy’s record-setting U.S. Open play over the first two days gave him a six-stroke advantage over Yang and a nine-shot cushion on six other players. The chase pack, if you could call it that, had a lot of ground to make up.

While Englishman Robert Rock and Spaniard Alvaro Quiros teed off on the 1st hole, Matt Kuchar and Sergio Garcia grooved their putting strokes on the practice green. Garcia worked on short ones, nudging three footers toward the cup using his claw grip. Kuchar, wielding a long putter, stuck a tee in the ground and stroked right-to-left breakers at it until departing for his 3:20 p.m. tee time with Kyung-Tae Kim.

The crowds on this overcast Saturday at the U.S. Open were large, enthusiastic and sometimes raucous. But not all were enthralled by the action. While Kuchar lined up his birdie putt at the 1st, one woman read a novel under a nearby tree. The book title: Suite Francaise, the bestseller by Irene Nemirovsky. The woman claimed to be a golf fan but quickly admitted she was “sort of” dragged to the event. She said she needed a reading break.

Moments later Zach Johnson arrived at the 1st green and sank a birdie to get to 2-under par. Johnson gave the stroke back at the long par-3 3rd when his hybrid fell short of the green and he failed to get up and down for par. Meanwhile, playing partner Brandt Snedeker got a sand-save par by sinking a slippery 10-foot putt.

Then along came the leader, Rory McIlroy. The Irishman flared his tee shot into the right-hand rough at the 466-yard par-4 3rd. A man in the gallery taunted McIlroy as he walked to his ball. “Go get that Green Jacket, Rory! Go get that Green Jacket!”

Yet there were far more cheers than jeers. From the other side of the fairway came this chant: “Let’s go, Rory!” Then clap, clap … clap-clap-clap. The boisterous cheer repeated as the 22-year-old walked to his golf ball. He may not be Tiger Woods, but young McIlroy does seem to be building an American fan base, slowly, surely.

McIlroy wisely took his medicine, punching his ball out of the rough and onto the 3rd fairway. He followed with a little wedge shot that skipped to within two feet of the hole, another smart par save, another hole closer to his goal. Bunkered at the 4th, he nearly holed his sand shot for a birdie.

Rory McIlroy was on his way. No one was going to catch him on this day. Nor was anyone going to close the gap.

When the round ended a few hours later, McIlroy had increased his lead to eight shots over Y.E. Yang by firing a 3-under 68, a record-setting performance on a soft and defenseless Congressional course. (There’s a lot of red on the scoreboard. There were a bushel full of rounds in the 60s on Saturday, including 65s by Jason Day and Lee Westwood. It doesn’t feel like a U.S. Open.)

At this U.S. Open, McIlroy is like a Ferrari among Volkswagens. Now he’s one day closer to taking the checkered flag.

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
Comeback Award Goes to Marcel Siem
Y.E. Yang Is Hanging Around at 137
Rory McIlroy Beats Up ‘Neighborhood Bully’
2011 U.S. Open: 36-Hole Records and Other Notes
2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

2011 U.S. Open: Comeback Award Goes to Marcel Siem

Editor’s note: I’m at Congressional Country Club this week covering the 2011 U.S. Open. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

RORY MCILROY WASN’T THE only player to post a 66 in the second round of the U.S. Open. Tying McIlroy for low score on Friday was Marcel Siem, a 30-year-old German who plays on the European Tour. Siem looked like he was all but finished at Congressional Country Club after an opening 79. Pack your bags. Check for flights to Munich.

Siem’s opening round started badly. He hit a spectator (with his golf ball) and made a double bogey. Then he three-putted. He lost his confidence and said that playing in the U.S. Open was “pretty frightening.” But Siem did not give up. He told the Marriott staff to hold his room just in case. “It’s a nice balcony room,” he said.

Siem watched part of McIlroy’s second round on television and realized a good score was possible with the soft course conditions. Then he went out and did it. Siem recorded seven birdies and fired 33 on both nines for the 66 that rocketed him up the leaderboard. With his 13-shot improvement, he made the cut on the number, 146, 4-over par.

“That means a lot to me,” Siem said. “Everybody was always talking about U.S. Open, and … it was always a dream for me. So I’ve played a U.S. Open now, making the cut …. When I go back to the hotel and call my girlfriend and my parents, I think I’m going to be really, really happy.”

Siem is currently 1 under for his third round and 3 over for the tournament. He’ll be around all weekend, staying in that nice balcony room at the Marriott.

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
Y.E. Yang Is Hanging Around at 137
2011 U.S. Open: Rory McIlroy Beats Up ‘Neighborhood Bully’
2011 U.S. Open: 36-Hole Records and Other Notes
2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

2011 U.S. Open: 36-Hole Records and Other Notes

Editor’s note: I’m at Congressional Country Club this week covering the 2011 U.S. Open. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

RORY MCILROY’S THURSDAY AND FRIDAY run at Congressional Country Club set or tied a handful of 36-hole U.S. Open records.

McIlroy’s 36-hole total of 131 (rounds of 65 and 66) is the lowest 36-hole score in U.S. Open history.

McIlroy is the first player to reach 13 under at the U.S. Open. He broke the previous record of 12 under par shared by Gil Morgan in 1992 and Tiger Woods in 2000.

McIlroy was the fifth person in U.S. Open history to reach double digits under par. He performed the feat in the fewest number of holes, 26.

McIlroy’s six-stroke cushion ties the largest 36-hole lead in U.S. Open history, which was set by Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000.

McIlroy, 22, is believed to be the youngest 36-hole leader in 97 years. Walter Hagen led the 1914 U.S. Open after the second round at the age of 21.

The Cut

The 36-hole cut was set at 146, a 4-over total on the par-71 championship layout. The low 60 players plus ties (including all within 10 shots of the lead) advance to the final two rounds.

Notable players who missed the cut include two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els, 2007 U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera, 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk, Paul Casey, Stewart Cink, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan, Adam Scott, Ian Poulter, Nick Watney, Trevor Immelman, David Toms, Francesco Molinari, Aaron Baddeley, Camilo Villegas, K.J. Choi and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Third Round Tee Times for Leaders

2:50 PM Brandt Jobe (-1), Ryan Palmer (-1)

3:00 PM Davis Love III (-1), Heath Slocum (-1)

3:10 PM Robert Rock (-1), Alvaro Quiros (-1)

3:20 PM Kyung-Tae Kim (-1), Matt Kuchar (-2)

3:30 PM Brandt Snedeker (-2), Zach Johnson (-2)

3:40 PM Sergio Garcia (-2), Robert Garrigus (-2)

3:50 PM Y.E. Yang (-5), Rory McIlroy (-11)

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
Y.E. Yang Is Hanging Around at 137
2011 U.S. Open: Rory McIlroy Beats Up ‘Neighborhood Bully’
2011 U.S. Open: A Rock and a Hard Place
2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

Y.E. Yang Is Hanging Around at 137

Editor’s note: I’m at Congressional Country Club this week covering the 2011 U.S. Open. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

WERE IT NOT FOR Rory McIlroy’s record-setting pace at the U.S. Open, Y.E. Yang might just be the talk of the tournament. The South Korean who slayed Tiger Woods at the 2009 PGA Championship backed up his opening 68 with a hard-earned 69. Yang has posted a 5-under total of 137 through 36 holes, six shots behind the streaking McIlroy and three shots clear of the rest of the field.

With birdies at the par-3 7th and par-4 9th, Yang went out in 34. I caught up with him at the 11th and watched as he pulled his approach shot on the 494-yard par 4 into the deep stuff left of the green. He was unable to salvage a par, but got the shot back at the 12th with a birdie from short range after an exquisite wedge shot. (Playing partners Ryo Ishikawa and Anthony Kim also birdied the 12th to make it three for three.)

Yang bogeyed again after pulling his tee shot at the par-3 13th. The pulls, it seemed, were a trend—at least on the back nine. After making par at the 14th, Yang yanked his tee shot into the tall rough on the long par-4 15th. He laid up, wedged on, and sank the putt for a scrappy par. He followed with his fourth birdie of the round at the par-5 16th and finished with two pars.

It looked like a round during which Yang didn’t have his best game and yet manufactured a good score, which is exactly what you need to do at the U.S. Open. Take away McIlroy and Yang would have a three-shot lead on six players at 2-under, or 140. Instead, Yang will try to keep McIlroy within sight as they tee off in the final pairing on Saturday afternoon.

Yang said he isn’t concerned about McIlroy at the moment, focusing instead on his own game and how to get around a rugged U.S. Open layout.

“I do have a strategy and that’s just to zone out everything around me and just play my game,” he said.

But he also doesn’t believe that McIlroy has an insurmountable lead. Yang cited last year’s Korean Open where he won after trailing by 10 shots.

“I know it’s sort of a different kind of level of golf tournament,” he said, “but still there are many amazing things that happen in golf.”

There’s a long way to go, 36 holes of pressure-filled U.S. Open golf. If McIlroy keeps playing like he did the first two days, no one will catch him. But if he runs into a rough patch, Yang might have the fortitude and game to rise to the top of the leaderboard. After all, he’s already taken down a Tiger.

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
2011 U.S. Open: Rory McIlroy Beats Up ‘Neighborhood Bully’
2011 U.S. Open: A Rock and a Hard Place
2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes
2011 U.S. Open: A 16-Year-Old Player and Other Notes
2011 U.S. Open: ‘Big Blue’ Ready to Challenge Field of 156

(Photo: Courtesy of Ballantine’s)

2011 U.S. Open: Rory McIlroy Beats Up ‘Neighborhood Bully’

Editor’s note: I’m at Congressional Country Club this week covering the 2011 U.S. Open. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

RORY MCILROY HAS POSTED some astonishing numbers at the midway point of the 111th U.S. Open Championship. McIlroy’s 65-66 for 131 sets a 36-hole record. He leads the tournament by a whopping eight shots.

“I don’t really know what to say,” McIlroy said. “It’s been two very, very good days of golf. I put myself in a great position going into the weekend.”

You’re not supposed to do this to U.S. Open courses. Not the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club, not any of them. U.S. Open courses are the biggest and baddest golf courses around. They’re the neighborhood bully, that cruel dude in school everyone feared because he made a sport of hurting people with his fists. The bully was an intimidator, an evil force to be respected and, if possible, avoided.

But on Friday afternoon as the enormity of McIlroy’s 36-hole tear sinks in, it’s as if young Rory sized up the Blue Course and said to himself, “I can take this bully.” On Thursday afternoon playing alongside Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, the Irish tour pro extracted six birdies from Congressional on his way to a bogey-free 6-under 65 and a three-shot lead.

In Friday’s second round, McIlroy picked up where he left off on a course that was softened by rain on Thursday night. He made two birdies and an eagle on the outward nine to card a 4-under 32. After a string of four consecutive pars, he reeled off three birdies in the next four holes to go 7 under for his round and 13 under for the tournament. No one had ever reached 13-under par in the 111-year history of the U.S. Open. Not even Tiger Woods.

The neighborhood bully was on the receiving end of a serious thumping, and the crowd loved it. They cheered and cheered and cheered. The young lad had knocked Congressional down, stomped all over it and taken all the lunch money it had stolen through the years. No doubt, our hero Rory would donate the recovered funds to the Haiti relief effort.

But just when we thought that big, bad Blue Course was down for the count, bloodied and completely humiliated, it reached out and tripped McIlroy on the way to the clubhouse celebration. Rory stumbled at the last hole, making a double bogey, the first blemish on his scorecard in two days.

The bully will be waiting for him tomorrow. You can count on it.

“I know more than probably anyone else what can happen,” McIlroy said. “So I’ve got to stay really focused and try and finish this thing off.“

To be continued.

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
2011 U.S. Open: A Rock and a Hard Place
2011 U.S. Open: Day One Belongs to Rory McIlroy
2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes
2011 U.S. Open: A 16-Year-Old Player and Other Notes
2011 U.S. Open: ‘Big Blue’ Ready to Challenge Field of 156

2011 U.S. Open: A Rock and a Hard Place

Editor’s note: I’m at Congressional Country Club this week covering the 2011 U.S. Open. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

SOME PEOPLE WOULD DO almost anything to play in the U.S. Open. For Robert Rock, winner of last week’s BMW Italian Open, it was a $14,000 trip he won’t soon forget.

Rock had visa paperwork problems in London. By the time that got sorted out, there were no direct flights to Washington, D.C. Instead, Rock boarded a flight to Newark, New Jersey, and then hired a driver for the trip down I-95 to Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Rock slept along the way and teed off at 2:19 p.m. on Thursday without the benefit of a practice round. He had never seen the Blue Course, except on TV.

No problem. Put him down for a 1-under 70.

How did the Englishman explain it? “I don’t know, really,” he said. “I’m playing okay at the moment.”

When asked how much sleep he got, Rock said, “Not a lot. I could do with some more, if you don't mind.”

Currently, Rock is even par for his second round and 1 under for the tournament.

Course Conditions

Now the “hard place” referred to in the above title, which is Congressional Country Club, although Rory McIlroy is making it look almost ridiculously easy at the moment.

Weather: About a quarter of an inch of rain fell Thursday night. A shower or storm is possible from noon to early afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s.

Green speeds: This morning’s green speeds averaged almost 14 feet on the USGA Stimpmeter, and are expected to slow down slightly to the mid 13s by midday.

Rough: The closer-in first cut of rough (3 ¼” and 3 ¾” on the long and short approach-shot holes) along the fairway was mowed late Thursday afternoon. The further-out longer second cut was not mowed.

Friday course yardage: 3,565 yards out; 3,769 yards in for 7,334 total yards.

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
2011 U.S. Open: Day One Belongs to Rory McIlroy
2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes
2011 U.S. Open: A 16-Year-Old Player and Other Notes
2011 U.S. Open: ‘Big Blue’ Ready to Challenge Field of 156