A golfing buddy and I attended the 3rd round of the Open today. It was a very enjoyable experience and I give Oakmont CC and the PGA tour an A for the way everything was coordinated and handled.
After checking out a few holes and pairings, we eventually settled in at Number 8 for a while, the 288 yard Par 3. I'd say about 90 percent of the chatter all day was about The One. When he could be spotted off in the distance walking up the fairway on the second hole, the crowd became excited. Not having Mickelson, Els, Goosen, Singh or any of the big names in contention other than Pennsylvania native Jim Furyk didn't help, but there was no question that this was almost entirely a Tiger Woodscrowd today.
But the most amazing sight was when Woods finished playing 7. Heretofore there had been only a tiny trickle of cameramen, reporters, and other media personnel at the 8th green as a number of pairings played through. As Woods arrived at the 8th tee, a veritable army of media crittersbegan trooping down the fairway, finally encircling the green by the time the great man arrived.Overall, about 90 percent of the media and about two-thirds of the gallery were following Tiger.
We followed Woods for a few holes after 8, but spent most of the time in thecrush of humanity, rarely able to position ourselves for a good view of the proceedings. We decided to sit in the grandstand at 13, a par 3, where we also had a greatview of the nearby green at 12, a monster 667 yard par 5.
It was there that I was truly blessed today.
While sitting in the grandstands at 8, wemet and talked to the father and sister ofPablo Martin, the youngSpanish player who fell out of contention today, andalso the mother and grandmother of obscure American player Jason Duffner.
Then in the grandstands at 13, we noticed some folks with tickets identifying them as a player's relatives sit down behind and in front of us as Justin Rose and Aaron Baddeley were playing toward the green at 12. After hearing Aussie accents I asked the couple behind me if they were Aaron's parents, which they proudly but modestly acknowledged. Besides his parents there was Aaron's beautiful girlfriend or wife, and another female sitting in front of us.
Up to that point, Woods was 2 under for the round and it looked like another one of those days where the entire field fell back under his charge. But then Baddeley birdied 12 and then 13 to take the outright lead. I turned around and said the obvious to his parents, "The outright lead at the U.S. Open!" Their look of joy wasa privilegeto see.
We thenfollowed Baddeleyto cheer him on for the rest of his round. Fortunately (or is it unfortunately?) it became very easy to get close to the tees and greens and watch Baddeley and Rose close up as Woods wasseveral groups ahead. The galleries were tepid at best in their support of the non-Tiger leader, so I made it a point to loudly yell encouragement to Aaron at every conceivable opportunity.
Bads made a couple of bogies, but then made a brilliant birdie at 18, the hardest hole on a very difficult course. I haven't checked for sure yet but I think Woods is in the final grouping with Baddeley tomorrow. Guess who I'll be rooting for.
Edited by: Don Wassall
After checking out a few holes and pairings, we eventually settled in at Number 8 for a while, the 288 yard Par 3. I'd say about 90 percent of the chatter all day was about The One. When he could be spotted off in the distance walking up the fairway on the second hole, the crowd became excited. Not having Mickelson, Els, Goosen, Singh or any of the big names in contention other than Pennsylvania native Jim Furyk didn't help, but there was no question that this was almost entirely a Tiger Woodscrowd today.
But the most amazing sight was when Woods finished playing 7. Heretofore there had been only a tiny trickle of cameramen, reporters, and other media personnel at the 8th green as a number of pairings played through. As Woods arrived at the 8th tee, a veritable army of media crittersbegan trooping down the fairway, finally encircling the green by the time the great man arrived.Overall, about 90 percent of the media and about two-thirds of the gallery were following Tiger.
We followed Woods for a few holes after 8, but spent most of the time in thecrush of humanity, rarely able to position ourselves for a good view of the proceedings. We decided to sit in the grandstand at 13, a par 3, where we also had a greatview of the nearby green at 12, a monster 667 yard par 5.
It was there that I was truly blessed today.
While sitting in the grandstands at 8, wemet and talked to the father and sister ofPablo Martin, the youngSpanish player who fell out of contention today, andalso the mother and grandmother of obscure American player Jason Duffner.
Then in the grandstands at 13, we noticed some folks with tickets identifying them as a player's relatives sit down behind and in front of us as Justin Rose and Aaron Baddeley were playing toward the green at 12. After hearing Aussie accents I asked the couple behind me if they were Aaron's parents, which they proudly but modestly acknowledged. Besides his parents there was Aaron's beautiful girlfriend or wife, and another female sitting in front of us.
Up to that point, Woods was 2 under for the round and it looked like another one of those days where the entire field fell back under his charge. But then Baddeley birdied 12 and then 13 to take the outright lead. I turned around and said the obvious to his parents, "The outright lead at the U.S. Open!" Their look of joy wasa privilegeto see.
We thenfollowed Baddeleyto cheer him on for the rest of his round. Fortunately (or is it unfortunately?) it became very easy to get close to the tees and greens and watch Baddeley and Rose close up as Woods wasseveral groups ahead. The galleries were tepid at best in their support of the non-Tiger leader, so I made it a point to loudly yell encouragement to Aaron at every conceivable opportunity.
Bads made a couple of bogies, but then made a brilliant birdie at 18, the hardest hole on a very difficult course. I haven't checked for sure yet but I think Woods is in the final grouping with Baddeley tomorrow. Guess who I'll be rooting for.
