One of the greatest smells in the world comes around 7 a.m. on any golf course in America. It's the smell of fresh cut grass, giving the course a fresh look for that hungry golfer looking for birdies.
This week the grass that gets cut out at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, California, will lay at the feet of some of the best golfers in the world for the 108th meeting of the U.S. Open conducted by the USGA. Some of golf's greatest memories have happened at the U.S. Open. The putt in 1999 by Payne Stewart out at Pinehurst No. 2, to last year's winner Angel Cabrera lighting up a cigarette to calm the nerves on number 18 at Oakmont Country Club.
Just as in any other tournament he plays in, all eyes are on Tiger Woods to win his third U.S. Open in the last eight years. The hot story is if he will be the Tiger we all know after recovering from knee surgery in April. This will be his first tournament back since the surgery. Tiger says the knee is a little sore, but I'm sure a guy like him will play through the pain. So far, Tiger is 0 for 1 in majors this year, so we'll have to wait another year to see if Tiger can be the first person to win the Grand Slam of golf in the same year.
Day 1 is filled with great groupings, of course headlined by the group of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Adam Scott. Mickelson is ranked #2 in the world, and is still seeking his first U.S. Open championship. Other notable groups on Thursday are Stewart Cink, Sergio Garcia, and Vijay Singh, followed by Mike Weir, and the last two years' Master's Champions, Trevor Immelman and Zach Johnson.
It's America's tournament and ultimately, any member of the USGA has a chance to play. The field is always littered with a few players who have played their way through qualifying rounds to buy themselves a spot to play in the U.S. Open.
Players to watch: Jim Furyk (runner up in the 2007 U.S. Open), and Segio Garcia (a.k.a El Nino) winner of this year's Player's Championship in search of his first major of his career. Garcia finished second to Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship in 1999.
2 comments:
Remember when you gave me your BYU golf bag and remember how I still have it? Used it just last weekend!
Amen to the smell of fresh cut fairways! I'm watching it right this moment. The course is looking good.
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