Houston Chronicle: Equal Pay For U.S. Open Winners

Here's something you don't see everyday, a newspaper editorial board advocating change in golf. In this case, it's the Houston Chronicle suggesting that winners of the U.S. mens and women's Opens play for the same purses.

A national championship is a national championship. The money should more fairly reflect that for U.S. golf's national championship. Wimbledon and the U.S. Tennis Open have decreed parity for men's and women's purses. Why not the USGA, the keeper of golf's history and grand traditions?

Phil: Merion The One That Got Away Most

Jason Sobel with some frank commentary from Phil Mickelson on his recent second place finish at Merion in the U.S. Open, including 2013 moving to the top of his list of ones that got away, his continued dedication and the shot that was his undoing.

The par-3 13th and his wedge shot there as well as on the 15th.

“I misclubbed on 13,” he admits. “I never should have hit a pitching wedge; I should have hit a gap and take the back out of play. Because if I overcook to the pin, it goes long, so that was a misclub. … We had a lot of wind. We had wind swinging in and left to right. It picked up when we got there. I thought, ‘Gosh, if I hit a gap wedge into this wind, I wonder if it will carry.’ It just kind of came up at a bad time. That’s when the rain came. I started putting on 12 and the wind and the rain picked up. We got to the 13th tee box and I ended up taking one more cl

Videos: Muirfield's 1st and 2nd Holes

Thanks to Golf Monthly and Strokesaver for these looks at Muirfield's first two holes, starting with the straightforward but difficult 448-yard opener.

And the 365 second hole, with a horrible new bunker added to the front of the cluster of three guarding the green to discourage players from driving the hole when downwind. That would be one of the R&A's "The Treatment" bunkers. The rough up the left side also negates a play to the best angle of attack at a green with a distinct right to left and back to front tilt. Other than that, I think it's a splendid preparation of a really nice hole.

Update on 2013-07-05 18:02 by Geoff

**A rear view of the second green hopefully showing the severity of the tilt from back right to back left.

Tom Watson Names Best Buddy Andy North To 2014 Ryder Cup Lead Cart Driving Post

From Reuters, the utterly spell-binding but great news that this would seem to mean we won't have to endure Andy North during ESPN's day one coverage of the 2014 Ryder Cup, as Captain Tom Watson names North to a lead cart driving post.

Talk about a headline grabber. Egypt, schmegypt!

Johnny's Silverado To Host PGA Tour Starting In '14

Ron Kroichick with the exclusive news that Johnny Miller's renovated North Course at Silverado resort in Napa will be hosting the Frys.com Open starting in 2014, and not the Frys' brothers ultra private Institute disaster course across the highway.

The Rickie Fowler generation won’t remember this, but Silverado hosted one PGA Tour event (1968-80) and another, the Transamerica, on the then-Senior Tour (1989-2002).

Home to the legendary J.C. Snead-Dave Hill fistfight on the range! Oh sorry, go on...

Miller joined Silverado’s new ownership group in 2010. He promptly renovated the North Course, with an eye toward bringing back high-level professional golf.

"I guess the excitement/ adrenaline rush of getting another opportunity to play in the greatest golf event in the world clouded my judgement"

Kudos to David Higgins for authoring a first-person statement exclusively to GolfCentralDaily.com on his 15-club DQ during from Tuesday's Open Championship qualifying playoff.

I decided to go the range to warm up again and hit a few balls. I just took driver, mid iron and wedge. It was still raining really hard so I kept the rain cover on my bag.  My caddy for the day, Monty, a local man that knows north Berwick like the back of his hand, had done a great job all day and was up for the playoff.

We headed for the tee. I hit a good tee shot, and good second to about 15 feet. I was hunkered down reading my putt when the thought suddenly came into my head, "fu€k, did I take that other rescue out if the bag?"

I stood up and felt a bit sick in my stomach as I walked over to the bag to check. And there she was looking up at me! "Bollix"..........

USGA "Pleased" PGA Tour And PGA Of America Saw The Light

A statement released today after the PGA Tour and PGA of America came on board with the anchoring ban. No acknowledgement of the suggested extension for the amateur game. 

“The United States Golf Association is pleased with the decision by the PGA Tour and The PGA of America to follow Rule 14-1b, when it goes into effect in January 2016, for their respective competitions. As set forth in our report, “Explanation of Decision to Adopt Rule 14-1b,” the game benefits from having a single set of rules worldwide, applicable to all levels of play, and the acceptance of Rule 14-1b by the PGA Tour and The PGA of America supports the game in this regard.”

 Translation: as it should have been all along until you guys decided to get all independent minded...

Tiger's World Challenge To Return This Fall, Still Searching For Sponsor

Doug Ferguson's notes column leads off with the news that the World Challenge--subsidized to the tune of $4 million last year by Tiger Woods--is returning December 5-8 with limited sponsorship. For now. 

Video: Nicklaus Talks Majors, Tennis In Wimbledon Interview

Jack Nicklaus was invited to the Live@Wimbledon booth by friend Mats Wilander to talk for nearly 15 minutes about a range of topics including Rory McIlroy, majors, the state of American tennis, etc...

Nicklaus was a guest in the Royal box the day before. Thanks to reader Michael for the tip.
 

"Gullane, North Berwick, Dunbar and Musselburgh were the settings for the kind of blazing shoot-outs that would have made the Gunfight at the OK Coral resemble a playful stooshie with water pistols."

It's hard not to get your Open juices flowing when reading about the 288 lads who made the valiant effort to qualify for the 12 Open spot up for grabs, especially when Nick Rodger is giving accounts of their efforts from Scotland's Golf Coast: North Berwick, Dunbar, Gullane and Musselburgh.

The Open can't come soon enough!

Oh and a special nod to His Montyness for a fine effort off playing in the Senior TPC Sunday and making it to East Lothian to open with a 69 only to understandably fade to a second round 76.

By the time he had completed 12 holes, the big man was five under and on a roll. His bid for one of the three Open tickets was motoring along nicely but the wheels began to shoogle with bogeys at 13, 14, 16 and 17. Despite a birdie putt of 15 feet on the 18th in a two-under 69, the face and the shoulders were beginning to crumple towards half mast and the mood would become increasingly sombre during the second round.

An average splash-out from the greenside bunker on the eighth led to him thundering the offending club back into the bag before he turned round and booted the rake into the sand pit. The silence was so tense that even that aforementioned butterfly was trying desperately to control its flatulence. In the end, a weary 76 for 145 meant he slithered down the field while the assembled scribblers steeled themselves to approach him in the same tentative way as you would edge towards a sleeping lion.

There would be no startled roar and savage bite, though. "Five-under and I threw it away; I played very badly," he groaned in a resigned, downbeat assessment before beating a glum retreat.

You can view full results from the four courses here.

Pro Plays All Existing U.S. Open Courses And Wants More!

Thanks to reader Mike for Frank Fitzpatrick's superb story on Cape Fear CC professional Joey Hines playing all of the 49 existing U.S. Open courses.

He's now on a quest to now play the existing Open Championship courses and hosts of PGA's too.

But after three or four of those trips, a friend said, 'You know you've played an awful lot of U.S. Open courses.' That interested me. "I started researching. I found out there were 49 of them - actually 50, but Englewood in New Jersey had closed. So I started nibbling away." Once he gave up his dream of playing on the PGA Tour - he failed to earn a card at qualifying school on several occasions - the pace of his quest quickened. He played Open venues in bunches with friends, then began to pick them off one-by-one on his own. As difficult as the golf was at many of those exclusive venues, securing tee times was even tougher.

"They all had their rules, and you had to respect them," he said. "It wasn't easy getting on at Baltusrol or Riviera. Chicago Golf Club was brutal. Sometimes they paired you with a member. Sometimes you had to beg, borrow, and cry."

Riviera was hard to get on? They take anyone's money!

"And Merion. I've come across that road [Ardmore Avenue] five times and I've been at even, 1 under, 1 over. But I think the lowest I ever shot there was a 77. Fifteen, 16, 17, 18 have just eaten my lunch every single time." Some of the courses, particularly those that haven't hosted an Open since the event's early days, were pleasant surprises. He liked Philadelphia Country Club (1939) much better than the Philadelphia Cricket Club (1907, 1910). Among the other out-of-the-rotation "sleepers" Hines enjoyed were Myopia Hunt near Boston, the site of four Opens from 1898 to 1908; and three Chicago-area courses, Chicago Golf Club, Onwentsia, and Glen View. "Chicago Golf Club is like Merion," Hines said. "If somebody gave you a million dollars and told you to improve it, you'd go crazy because it's already perfect."

That Was More Work Than It Needed To Be: USGA Wisely Caves On Coach Casey Martin's Cart Usage

Yet another chapter in the why-oh-why files has been put to rest as Cassie Stein reports the USGA is not going to insist on Casey Martin using a one-man scooter or walking at their events to do his recruiting duties. Which, must be at least three times a year!

Martin says that his lawyers are on standby after reviewing the circumstances, but Martin has held off filing any lawsuit in hopes of a different resolution. The USGA has reached out on two occasions – executive director Mike Davis called him, including an apology in the first telephone call – and Martin is thankful for that, but still thinks this situation warrants a public apology from the organization.

The question still remains, who at USGA headquarters called out to the host course to insist Martin lose his cart privileges? And why when everyone with an ounce of common sense, including the USGA (historically), the SCGA and the host course had no issue with Martin using a cart to help him work around his disability.

Martin posted here about the escapades (30th or so post), but it was caught up in spam filters (yes, he even gets spammed!) but it is now visible to read his side of the weird day.