2013 Northern Trust Open 3rd Round Comment Thread

I went out early and saw the setup of Riviera for the third round of play. With temps pushing 80 today, the course in the best condition it's ever been, a firmness to the greens and a diverse leaderboard, look for an entertaining day of golf. 

The 10th hole is set up as driveable (285ish to the hole) and the 15th features a wicked front right hole location. Both could get a little dicey if unforecasted on-shore breezes continue.

Golf Channel is live with coverage from 10-11:30, then CBS comes on after college basketball sometime past noon.

Comments

[David]

I think Phil is out of gas, having played five weeks in a row. I wonder where his next tournament will be -- Doral? Arnold Palmer? The Masters?

[Mark]

1206p PT: CBS Hoops game running late as usual and PGA Leaderboard still has Bae on Hole 3. #PGAFAIL

[dbh]

@ Mark, the Tour site board has been frozen for maybe an hour, lol.
The GC one's only about a hole behind...

[ellis]

First 45 minutes were brutal. More commercials in that time frame than I can remember.

Can't believe how fast the course is playing. What fun that would be!

[DavidC]

CBS really knows how to make an interesting tournament quite dull. So many plugs and putts. Let's see more of no. 10!

[Mark]

We cannot go more than 5 minutes without a commercial now. Could be a record.. Ahhh, probably not.

[J McAndrews]

Knew Charlie Beljan was a jerk from last year's tweeting fiasco. Just found out he is an incredibly slow player as well after seeing him putt on 18 using the LPGA line-up method that fellow slug Ben Crane has instituted into his ridiculously slow routine.

[Manku]

Just got back, having not attended a pro event since 1999. It was a spectacular day at Riviera...nicer than in the middle of summer (no june gloom!).

Couple observations:

1. These guys are slow. It's truly disgraceful.

2. These guys don't know how to smile. Aside from Michelson and Jerry Kelly after a nice chip on 4, I didn't see one sign of enjoyment from one golfer. Nor did I witness any of the golfers talking to each other as they played. Frankly, being a PGA pro seemed like a drag and grind.

3. Ted Potter Jr (at least I think it was him) cut in front of me at the Chevron station on Barrington and Sunset (he was in a Benz courtesy car)...refused to acknowledge my protests or apologize. Confirms my opinion that PGA pros are a bunch of wankers, mostly!

4. Why can't I bring bottled water onto course? So I have to pay $4 for a bottle of Dasani? And no water fountains, of course. Even Dodger Stadium under McCourt allowed outside food and beverage !

In any case, it was a very pleasant afternoon...not too crowed. I don't think I'll attend for another 15 years, however. Aside from being outdoors, golf is better on TV. What's amazing is how similar most of these pros games are...it's a fine line between being a superstar and journeyman.

[BrianS]

I like all the guys on CBS, Faldo has really grown on me, and IBF is usually a pleasure to listen to. But the synergies that NBC has with Golf Channel, from seamless coverage, to switching back and forth (like at Phoenix when the hockey went late), make me look forward to them taking over for the next month. The only exception is the presence of Begay, who is has been dreadful thus far.

[KLG]

30 mph gusts with a wind chill of about 35-mud-bouncing one off the rocks into the pond ran me in after 12.5 holes this afternoon. Got home and turned on the teevee at 5:00 EST to a promo about a coffee table book about tour wives and players at home. I had misplaced my pen or would have written down the contact information so I could get a copy for Mrs. Ghost. In the next hour I saw a handful of golf shots and a few putts. Lots of chatter. I'm good with regular broadcasts for the rest of the year. Riviera looked great though!