Golf

[Zombie]

The Open Championship started today. Whodya think's gonna take the claret jug? Tiger Woods has not won a major since 2008. Of course he's had injuries - there was the "car crash" - and then there was that, er, wick dipping distraction ... So far he's in a good position *tries to avoid smutty entendres* ... will this be his cum-back? (ooops failed heheheh) or who else would you pick from the field?

[Bill W]

I like Mickelson, but there are some young guns out there that may end up showing up their elders.

 

 

Sure, I mention Phil Mickelso and he's way, way, WAY back in the pack. I'm not even sure he can see the leaders with binoculars. lol

Edited July 20, 2012 by Bill W

[PrivateTim]

I am pulling for Thorbjørn Olesen.

 

[Zombie]

Ryder Cup 2012

 

Bad luck USA. Never mind, maybe next time in 2014

[Bill W]

Total US meltdown, but I still give credit to the Europeans for not giving up.

[Zombie]

You couldn't make this up - turns out we only won thanks to a Chicago cop and two sharp eyed US PGA ...

 

Medinah, Ill. — The Europe team management on Monday was trying to locate “the man who won the Ryder Cup” to make a presentation to him. They were also considering making a similar gesture to “the two women who won the Ryder Cup.”

 

Deputy chief Patrick Rollins is the policeman who rushed Rory McIlroy to the course in time to make his singles match, while Maggie Budzar and Erica Stoll are the PGA of America’s transport officials who first noticed McIlroy was late and tracked him down.

 

Without their help, he would have been disqualified, the U.S. would have won the trophy and the world No. 1 would now be in hiding. Who knows what such levels of ignominy could have done to his career.

 

McIlroy was refusing even to consider that as the bizarre series of events went directly into Ryder Cup folklore. The anatomy of the farce is scarcely believable in high-class sport. McIlroy took full blame.

 

“I read my tee time on the Golf Channel and they were displaying them in Eastern Time, an hour ahead of Central Time,” he said.

 

“I thought I was off at 12:25 p.m., not 11:25 a.m. I definitely wouldn’t have made it there in time if it wasn’t for the police car. I don’t even want to think what would have happened if I hadn’t. I would have been slaughtered.”

 

Contrary to some reports, McIlroy had not slept in. He awoke at 9 a.m. and phoned his girlfriend, Caroline Wozniacki, who is playing a tennis event in Beijing. Downstairs, the lobby of the Westin Lombard was buzzing with fans taking pictures of players as they got in their courtesy cars to make the 30-minute journey to Medinah.

 

Budzar was there organizing the travel for the players ticking them off as they went. At the course, Stoll was checking them in as they arrived. Suddenly they noticed a white space where a notable squiggle should have been.

 

“I knew J.P. [Fitzgerald, McIlroy’s caddie] had left about an hour earlier and I knew his tee time was 11:25,” Budzar said. “I knew everyone who was walking out of the hotel and we still hadn’t seen Rory. There was a huge crowd here so everyone knew he hadn’t come down. The crowd were getting antsy, asking where he was. I just lied and said he had already left.”

 

At the course, officials started to fret about McIlroy’s absence. Jamie Spence, the former European Tour professional who was acting as Europe’s team manager, asked Fitzgerald about his player. The Irishman told Spence not to be concerned as McIlroy often left it late. When he won the U.S. PGA Championship seven weeks ago, he arrived only 30 minutes before the final round.

 

Fortunately, two young ladies were not as trusting as Fitzgerald.

 

“I started getting worried that something had happened to him,” Budzar said. “There was only one room still in use when housekeeping checked and a male voice said not to come in. We figured it had to be him because by now we knew he wasn’t at the course. We had someone go to his room, and there he was.”

 

It was now 11am and McIlroy had 25 minutes to make his tee-time, otherwise the point would go to Keegan Bradley and America.

 

“At first I was going to drive him to the course because I knew the way and we didn’t want to put a volunteer under stress in the courtesy car,” Budzar said.

 

“I asked a policeman parked out at the front if he could take him. I gave Rory the choice and he jumped straight in the front seat. He was on the phone saying to someone he thought his tee time was 12:25 p.m. There was a sense of panic.”

 

By now the media had wind of the story and cameras waited in the car park. At 11:14 a.m., the police car whizzed in and McIlroy jumped out. He put on his shoes and raced to the putting green where he hugged his captain, Jose Maria Olazabal, and walked directly to the first tee and proceeded to beat Bradley 2&1.

 

“I had to win as everyone would have blamed my lack of preparation otherwise,” McIlroy said. “I don’t need much practice time to get loose. The policeman put his lights on and got me past all the traffic. If we hadn’t had them on, it would have taken at least another 10 minutes from the highway junction where the traffic was backed up. I’ve never been so scared whole life.”

 

No wonder Olazabal organized flags to be signed by the team to hand over to Rollins. Budzar and Stoll will also be rewarded. And there was golf thinking the Americans did not win the Ryder Cup. These three did, for Europe.

 

So next time Rory wear a wrist watch!

 

http://www.vancouver...6877/story.html

Edited October 1, 2012 by Zombie