2009 U.S. Open Golf Championship | Round 1

This is almost the full coverage of Friday’s first round (Thursday was mostly wiped out w/rain). A few spots here and there are missing because DVD was damaged. No commercials. ESPN and NBC Coverage.

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then the heartiest of New York accents somehow someway made the course playable this morning In essence they constructed Noah’s Ark for the US Open So now the chase is renewed on a public track that today will play longer than Long Island itself The world’s best golfers are relocked and reloaded and they better be And for the golf fans of the metropolitan area the 3-day weekend has officially begun After all it’s their open the people’s open as Beth Paige Black has reopened for business And we reopen play with all those that were playing their round on the course yesterday morning at 7:30 a.m Justin Leonard and only one par on the front side He birdied bogey birdied nine He was two under at that point He double bogey 10 to give back his red numbers Tiger Woods began by missing a par putt at seven went to two over Here’s a par save at 10 He remained two over Then Tiger Woods the double defending champ if you will 211 and his second from the fairway Dink The almost goes in He makes the birdie He’s back to one over Jeff Breo one of the four names you did not know when you read your morning paper at minus one His T-shot at eight The par 38 [Music] Beautiful Made a birdie there to set him to even He went 34 out 36 in posted a 70 already Graham McDow from Port Rush Northern Ireland Really coming on as an international player Second at the second hole [Music] Beautiful approach Sets up a birdie McDow would go one under Then his third shot on the par five Uphill [Music] Beautiful sets up another birdie He’s at minus two and then has given one back since with a bogey Tiger to 14 The par three 14th [Music] Will it go Yes it does go Back back close enough for a birdie which he converts to get himself back to even for this championship Drew Weaver 22 years old from Virginia Tech at 16 The Dreamw Weaver knocks in the birdie to go to even and to prove that Argyle is indeed back His birdie putt at 17 the first American to win the British amateur since 79 He did that a couple years ago He’s at one under And then a moment ago Ben Martin 21 years old from Clemson at two [Applause] Well you didn’t know the names yesterday That goes in and Ben Martin 21 years old from Greenwood South Carolina who overcome a heart ailment earlier in his life Right now as we begin our telecast at the 109th US Open has the lead McDow and Weaver who we showed you are minus one Tiger and Justin Leonard and young Ryan Moore and one of those leaders Ed Bors and another one Brigho They’re at even par Ian Poulter is at plus one along with John Minger Trevor Murphy Ryan Spears another one of those that started the day at minus one Trangali Cabrera Furick and Singh They’re at two now with Lee Westwood and Choy and long hitting Bubba Watson and the British Open champ of about a half a decade ago Ben Curtis And there are some of the others at plus two And now we go to 18 where Drew Weaver has this for birdie and a share of the lead Should move some to his left Right line just failed to hit it hard enough Now Drew Weaver has seen some things to three Ben Martin’s T-OT 216 yards today Wonderful par three Green set on a diagonal from right to left Well played shot to 15 and Andy North is with Tiger Woods Andy doesn’t look pretty
Well he’s fortunate in the fact that the ball actually buried in the gr in the ground up here about a yard short of the green He was able to drop it twice Ball rolled down the bunker Was able to place it in this point So he’s going to have a chance at least to get this ball up and in
One of them I think in a 17 at Tory Pines last year one of these and one hopped in the hole
Not so fortunate this time
It’s the hardest hole here isn’t it Raj 15
Yes it is Shot that plays steeply uphill in the second Toughest hole of 2002 Open That didn’t get on the top ridge and that will gather back
Wa
Pick up pace
Wa
That’ll roll back 30 40 ft We didn’t even get a chance to really introduce 15 yesterday This is the one diabolical green on this course Very Oakmont like isn’t it
That’s a two-level green with a huge amount of pitch from back to front Well that was not Tory Pinesike And now here’s Weaver to finish at 18 We’re around to one under par 69 That is a
start for a young man Look at that smile Drew Weaver who was a 100 yards away from the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech two years ago and dedicated his win at British Amateur to those who fell to 17 And Scott Van Pelt is with us
Roy Sabatini looking for birdie He’s got it Roy was a four over par the front nine but he’s scoring back with a birdie on 11 Now birdie on 17 gets two over par to three to three Kevin Silva one of the qualifiers with Ben
My goodness almost one opted in the hole
What’s in the water with these guys What do they have at breakfast
It’s a 15 now Andy for Tiger Woods Yeah the Tiger’s par putt’s going to be in the 55 ft range He’s got to come up that slope This putt’s going to be very very slow The top of the ridge is about 15 ft short of the hole Two putts from here is good Graham McDow for a birdie to tie for the lead Bill Crard has been with Graham McDow Morning Kratz
Morning Chris 700 to this point 15 ft behind the hole Coming down the hill moving to his left Good up and downs on five and seven to save Par after getting it to two under The only bogey came at number six Chris I think he’s one of those players that’s on the verge of something big Well he could be if he continues like that How about Ben Martin Again not the name you expected to see at top the leaderboard here late in the morning in the first round And Graham McDall and Drew Weber the only ones underpar at this stage Hello everybody And we’re playing golf and we’re playing golf until you can’t see anymore I’m Chris Burman along with Roger Malty And boy what they did out here I mean we know that this was a quagmire and underwater and what they the ground crew has done is unbelievable That’s for sure But now that it’s playable 9,000 yard course what what are we going to see out here We already have three par fours that are over uh 500 yards What are we going to see today Raj
Well for round one certainly because they were expecting rain yesterday of course set up set up shorter than 7,400 yards 7,300 yards plus but a very long golf course as you say We’re going to face some embedded balls today We’ll see some rulings for casual water but the course is drained remarkably well Remark I mean this is almost magical I had I thought they’d have a hard time getting started at 7:30 this morning on time because of the amount of work the course would need but they got started four minutes early and it’s uh nothing short of miraculous Well that grounds crew didn’t sleep at all that’s for sure Tiger Woods now 15 He’s not the first to have trouble with with that green What do you see in his game today Roger
Well you know he faced the the toughest of the conditions yesterday certainly for seven holes one play suspended he was on the seventh green and uh so he fought through that has continued to play well today and he understands this this is the kind of round you want to get through the first round of the US Open he wants to get through no damage done he’s done a good job of that he’s been behind the eightball a couple times was two over at one point has fought it back looks like he’s going to bogey 15 maybe uh but he’s kept himself in good shape so I I would think if he can finish decently here uh with pars at the last three or maybe pick up a birdie on the land He’s not going to be displeased with his round at all
Well let’s explain what’s happening Tiger and those that resumed their rounds this morning when they’re finished today they will be done Those that were scheduled to go off yesterday afternoon like Phil Mickelson Phil Mickelson is scheduled to go off at 11:06 as he warms up on the range There’s his longtime caddyy Jimmy Bones Mai Phil will go off at 11:06 And all of those that go off second if you will the afternoon guys from yesterday they will then come in for a brief break and go right back out and play as much golf as they can Phil scheduled to tee off his second round at 506 and given decent light play to 8:15 8:20 until you can’t see anymore So the morning guys will be done the afternoon guys will play a round and a half give or take Roger
Right Well we’re expecting the round to take a little bit longer this afternoon So Phil may get in as many as 24 holes today So advantage if the conditions stay like this
An extended happy hour I have that feeling It’s Friday anyway And working with us today we welcome Scott Vanpelt to the tower along with Jimmy Roar Andy North the two-time champion of this US Open on the course You’ve heard from Andy already as you’ve heard from Bill Cratzard as well Two putt Tommy Renault the interviews David Beay Tom Oul on the rules And Andy here’s Tiger for the bogey
Yeah about three feet Slight left to right break going up the hill We can be very aggressive with this one Oh boy A shocker there Oh boy And that’s what you really dearly want to avoid in the US Open is double bogeies Only takes one good hole to get back the bogey but uh you’ve got to play two good holes So uh a frustrated Tiger right now Not very happy 15 will take many a victim Roger That’s that hole is just it’s rough from TE to to green The 14 Zack Johnson having a tough time here at plus six Daddy makes what a personable young man from Iowa Two-time winner on tour this year and of course has won the Masters to 16 Scott it’s Justin Leonard who at one point had the lead on his own at two under par but gave it back with a double of his own on 10 Now lengthy putt Basically the extent of this 16th green to get back into red numbers Clean that up and remain level Gran McDall on the T at nine Billy
and Chris uh using the forward T today The new bunker down the left hand side that yawning bunker that is right at the inside of the corner of the dog No problem for the players just to take it up and over that bunker The new T that was built here uh makes that flying that bunker in the lefth hand corner Now new bunker a virtual impossibility except for the very longest So that’s a big advantage using the forward T today for the players So just got a nice game and a nice hemp ports himself well He and Y and Palter uh played so well for the Europeans Raj in the uh in in the loss of the RDER Cup to the United States That’s fairway where he went
That is fairway where it went but not the best uh play from there shall we say He’ll be semi blind for him Now Ben Martin on three for a birdie Move toward the back of the green That had to look very good from his perspective 21-year-old Ben Martin will stay at 200 to 16
Is here in Ian Poulter eyeing up this makeable birdie puck Get back to the T-OT for Tiger Woods Got to believe there’ll be a bit of aggression in this swing Andy North
Well I think he needs he knows he needs to put it in the fairway a little bit of breeze helping the players playing down the 16th hole Ball’s not going to run any so you just want to launch it way up in the air and get all the benefit of the breeze you can and get it in the short stuff 60 ft elevation drop from Tway He’s taking it down the left side cutting it over to the right Big T- shot there Back to Poulter Popular pick this week Tough player from left to right Well hold there for Pter Kevin Silva now on three for a birdie This putt moved to his left It wasn’t too hard Wow That snapped at the end of that That was a good looking puck Not quite a silver lining there Scott to VJ for birdie to get back to one over par If this club cooperates might V figure in this weekend Beautiful roll there
About time for us to hear from him in a US Open isn’t it Don’t we
He certainly got everything you’d want if that putter cooperates Drew Weaver finished with a 69 Drew Weaver one of the stories here early on Friday He’s with our Tommy Renaldi Tom
thanks very much Chris Drew an amiter one shot off the lead Front page of the leaderboard How does it feel Feels great It was it was a good round We spoke a little bit in the clubhouse during the rain delay yesterday We know each other a little bit You said even then I’m playing well Tom what gave you that feeling You know I’ve just I’ve had a lot of confidence this spring and you know I played had a good college season and I was really able to just continue that and and uh just keep on playing Well
for people who don’t know the story Drew you play for Virginia Tech You go there You were so close to the shootings that happened Well you just graduated Take us through briefly where you were that day and how much it’s touched you That was you know about 100 yards away Uh my teammate Matt Boyd and I were you know just just got out of class and we were in the building pretty much next door to Norris Hall and heard the shots and everybody kind of freaked and uh we just ran for cover So it was but definitely terrifying
Headed to the library just 100 or 200 yards away from there When you played in the British AM and you won how much was what happened at Tech a part of that experience for you
Well it is It’s always a part of anything that you do you know something that’s that that big with that big of a scale is always with you you know and uh being that recent being so close to the tragedy it was uh definitely something I was playing for and uh it’s nice to have have a nice victory like that to dedicate to all those people that we lost The entire Virginia Tech community has rallied around Drew since then and he has had a lot of symbols of the of that particular day that he’s played with Well played today Let’s go back to the play at 14 Ed Thank you Tom on ed fors at 14 for a birdie to put him back at red numbers Put a T- shot to the safe side center of the green breaker right to 17
Ian Pter on the T four iron right hole location just a shade under 200 yd It’s bounced up just out of the deep stuff Graham McDall’s second shot at nine Bill Cryer Well actually uh his T-shot found a low area but got over the steepest uh
what would you say Dip in the fairway So he does have a good look at it Billy Huh
He does Raj 149 yds Uh what little wind there is You can see him looking peering up at the trees trying to get a idea as what the the wind is doing It is moving a little right to left but this an eight iron from McDow It’s got to go
Aggressive swing Just gets over the front Gets a for kick forward Okay Kind of a member’s bounce huh
Yeah
Yeah But we’ve seen balls that really kind of back up or barely move forward when they’ve landed on the green So that was fortunate
It’s a 16 Andy
the Tiger with 175 playing out the right center of the fairway has to carry a lot of the bunker in the right edge of the rough coming over this flag stick
That’s right There was a little bit of mud on this ball and it is long and right And from where I sit you can see all of that golf ball and not Well while Tiger ponders that we ponder yet it is still the first round of course And names like Ben Martin and Drew Weaver not what you expected to see but they’re up there Weaver in the clubhouse and Graham McDow is at red numbers as well VJ Singh with the long bird as you saw And so play continues here with the morning group from yesterday if you will Beth Paige Black a place unlike any other Be honest with yourself You got to face a challenge to find out how good you really are This public track can be your own private hell Darkheart ominous pitiles And you thought you’ve been in trouble before Welcome to Long Island and Beth Pack How’s that rough treating you I warned you didn’t I But you didn’t listen did you If you can make it here yada yada yada etc This is the US Open out there How fast are the greens after all the rain As quick as they wanted them Chris 13 and a half with all this rain They’ve done a marvelous job
Tiger at 16 in a
moment ago Tiger took a bit of a down slope
and he’ll have one of those US Open par putts that you’ve got to make to seven Seventh hole the long par4 This is Jeff Oglevie The birdie putt Oglevie with four bogeies on the day Started on the backside Not much going today until now Little late for Jeff Oglev gets it back to three over Of course Ogleby won the championship back in 2006 at Wingfoot We go ahead to 17 Ian Poulter’s second You saw he got a little fortunate as it bounced up out of that blue grass which is thick different rough around these greens It’s fairly tidy there up the hill for par Take a look at a replay of this shot Ball just clear of the taller stuff Not too big a factor Makes good contact You see where the grass grabbed the club there in the lower part Didn’t scoop it at all Very nicely done Ryan Moore on 15 for a par One time college player of the year at UNLV Good looking putt
Wow Well he looks like he’s putting well He also looks like he’s driving a train on the Long Island Railroad to 16
Andy what’s in this putt for Tiger
Yeah he’s going back up the hill Probably eightfooter Not a lot of break Grinding pretty hard Needs to hit a good solid putt especially after missing the three-footer in the last hole Left all the way He moved very very early there And Andy you talked about you just can’t afford a three putt in this championship And following that with this sliding the wrong way for Tiger Woods This is the threesome Woods Cabrera and Harrington Cabrera the Mast’s champ and of course Patrick Harrington who won the open championship across the pond and the PGA in Tiger Woods Harrington is seven over Cabrera three over And of course Tiger struggling now but Cabrera is just for birdie
to get back to two over par I I love how this guy plays He just he’s ready to rip He’s ready to play Andy is he having a hard time finding rhythm with Padrick Harrington who takes quite a bit of time over each shot
I think this group has had trouble finding the rhythm for two days Uh they’ve had a lot of weights on TE’s I mean 10 15 minute weights on nine the par4 ninth Chad Campbell a moment ago for birdie
plus 11 Wow Who would have suspected as good a ball striker as Chad is that he would struggle like that remember was in the playoff at the Masters and Graham McDall now for a par at nine to stay at 100 to finish at one under with a 69 Nice way to open for Grant McDall and his work will be done The morning groups remember do not go out again to 17
Ian Poulter to save his par and remain level heading to 18 Well hold boom I know you like this guy Well Roger Beth Paige Black it is a beast Awilling the Wingfoot Walt fame and company of the FDR work project back in the 30s You need to work pretty well here if you’re going to get around aren’t you
Well you do And it’s just it’s a big golf course on a big piece of land The features of the golf course are big big greens big bunkers It’s just a huge piece of real estate and uh it’s a lot of golf for the players to manage Reese Jones and company in the late 90s reclamation here Over 1.3 million square feet of sod plus to eight Steve Stricker for a birdie downer breaking right left Yep So Steve Stricker who won just uh last month at Colonial emotional win for him a very popular player on tour putting well the 17 on Hela Cabrera on the tea here this group of the last three major champions Cabrera had an adventurous day and he saved par a few times perhaps better than he could have done and just missed a birdie there That’s not as good as he might have done
199 yds today Right half of this green is going to be very soft Doesn’t look like he likes it He’s going to like it once this comes off this hill
Better than you think on hell Better than you think to four now and Martin clever play to the right hand side of the fairway just short of the green which gives him a great looks of green to work with and that checked up a bit shorter than he might have hoped He remains one under to 18 where VJ Singh has this after a drive into the bunker This his third shot at the par4 18 [Applause] Well done He played so well last year Back to 17 Andy little hybrid there
Yeah a hybrid Hitting it really easily Hitting it way up in the air A good play keeping a ball of the hole Good chance at a birdie He has had an adventurous round Couple of double bogeies thus far Roger what do you see here Well we’ll take a look here Patrick Harrington has gone from hitting a high fade to trying to hit a high draw And that was an abbreviated back swing Stays down and threw it Well pretty good looking swing there but it was kind of a a chip shot hybrid Now to Tiger And Tiger’s going in with a four iron Ideally it’ll take it just left of the hole Maybe hit a little cut 3/4 iron form This championship such a test of your patience and your will and following a double bogey and a bogey There’s a little cut off follow through Obviously trying to saw it some there three solid plays there So Tiger Woods three over his last two holes trying to make something happen before he calls it a day as we are underway for good at least today at the 109th US Open Championship at Bet Page We’ll be back Hey how you doing From New York Hey look What do you think of my course
Hey how about an autograph Tiger
Hey Tiger You got no shot I over there last week
Hey you guys I don’t see it You guys
forget about it That’s pretty terrible
Hey Joe No I can’t do it
No chance Yeah No chance with my Irish accent I ain’t trying a New York accent It’s not that hard Raj Right New York accent I don’t know what the problem I think I think Patty made the good play though by not going for it I don’t think he could have done it
I still can’t figure out what Hey Joe is from BJ I don’t understand that Tiger
you got no You got no chance So we’ll see Tiger probably 25 ft up the hill and it will definitely slide from left to right Like to figure out a way to birdie one these last two holes Get in with 72 [Music] Forget about it Unfortunately for Tiger there Well VJ for par now at 18
for what the players refer to as a US Open par
No maybe he was Hey Joe he was quoting Hendrickx but that putt didn’t work to four
Barton for birdie here to move to three It just slides off to the right There’s a collection area behind which is new here was maybe a little bit uh little bit timid with that pitch There’s Rocco talking to Phil Rocco still I don’t think he stopped smiling from last year fellas
Well those are the two people’s choices here aren’t they Scotty People’s choice Phil and Rocco
the only thing I can think for Rocco is it would have been uh it might have been the end of the world had he played as well as he did last year this year here in New York they’d go crazy And this is Ryan Spears who at one point had it to one under par coming off of two straight bogeies Now the birdie putt here at the 605 yd 13th hole That’s good
So Ryan Spear is 23 years old of Witchah State getting one back there playing in his first US Open Big smile on his face and why not Tough going all around Certainly on a day after as Chris said a inch and a half of rain We go to 18
Jeie Mila Singh
for par is right a little bit Just played it too high Looked like he made a decent stroke but overread the break Leader Singh made a par there So Jeie Milka Singh will finish at 78 17
Harrington’s birdie bid went begging Cabrera looking to cash one in here Just a little too much on the high side Would have been his third birdie on the round He’s still three over par [Applause] as lists go Boomer I think this is a pretty good one to join Yeah you know any of those names Scotty Well let’s see The t Yeah those that’s distinguished company Pretty nice neighborhood as they say And not a long list We can fit it on one page easily to win the Masters in the US Open in the same year
Ian Poulter at 18 par4 last Semi blind shot up the hill Green sits 27 ft above the fairway You have a putt on it That’s wet over there 18 was the fairway we were worried about Right The US was worried about Roger They had pumps and water hogs They’ve got dry wells underneath the fairway You could see the ball splash there I mean that is borderline now Even with all the work they’ve done to it it’s the lowest area in the golf course where the water collects Henrik Stenson on nine for a birdie Runaway winner at the players the spring Drops that one in nicely So Henrik Stenson three over par Fanny Sunnison the face that you know so well on the bag for so many years Roger with Nick Faldo for those wins and on the bag of it pretty good This is Justin Leonard got into an awkward situation there in the bunker All he could do was explode out to the fairway leave himself a wedge for his third Johan Edfor is one of our overnight leaders Second at the brutal par4 15th up the hill up up up Green sits 41 ft above the fairway Now will that stay That’s just on top of the ridge It does Ryan Spears off a birdie to 14 The par 3149 yards today I would think some players will try to jump on nine Some players will hit a smooth eight 23-year-old Spears from Dell City Oklahoma Brother on the bag And here at the second this is 39year-old David Smail just getting his round underway Par on the first the birdie attempt here at two Just about the flattest green on the golf course here Jimmy Not much break on this one
Yeah this is one of the ones that gathered a good deal of water So David Smail gets it to red numbers One under par just uh one back So to 18 and you see the checkered pants of Ian Palter waiting for Justin Leonard and company to come on up 18 finishing hole Not your classic finisher but that doesn’t mean it’s easy Raj No but uh the driving area you can see uh flanked by bunkers on either side
Yeah Fairway pinches down A lot of players will hit less than driver on this hole to leave a a middleish shortish iron depending how far they get it up the fairway to a green As I said semi blind that sits uh some 27 ft above the lowest area of the fairway and a green two that’s not overly sloped from back to front but it does come in from the back Now this his third again He can’t see the surface of the green there
What was that yellow ball in the sky in that shot
Right in there Didn’t even see it Chester Leonard with an interesting front Only one car Everything else bogey birdie So we’ll pick up Palter and Leonard and company on 18 as we are some of the afternoon groups from yesterday if you will starting to tee off Phil Mickelson within the half hour We’ll be back at Beth Page in a moment Now what potter of warning did you not understand Hey Darthothy I’d turn back if I were you This is Beth Paige Black Well Tiger Woods would agree A pair of double bogeies as he tees off his last 18 That’s probably his fivewood I would imagine And obviously trying to position it between the bunkers and the ferry There’s that low stinger right there Starting up the right hand side it looked like
Boy far enough Let’s see Well I could see where the ball came to rest I thought I saw it Well when they contested this US Open here in 2002 among the boisterous fans Tiger Woods was the only one under par Carfield Mickelson was at even par The course average you can see almost 75 So uh par being 70 here Uh rounds under par hardly any Nick Faldo had a a nice 66 there but uh greens in regulation Raj 50% Eeks Huh
Eeks
Eeks Right Ian Palter You know in the rain gear yesterday we didn’t get to see the Pter wear Little short greens just um I think a little slower than the USJ would like them They have never been able to quite get them to the speed they were looking for because of the moisture on the greens
Yan Edfors for a birdie at 15 Yeah So Ed is the 33year-old sweet who was one under when they suspended play yesterday gets himself back to one under So he’s even for the holes that he has played today to five Then Martin and Bill Crford you’ve caught up with this group to five is kind of an interesting second shot on this hole isn’t it
Well it is for Martin Uh on the left center of the fairway 205 yds to the hole but in order to get at the flag stick he’s going to have to work it pretty hard right to left because the hole is located right behind that last tree on the left hand side
He really only can see the top of the flag right Billy
Can’t even see that Boom Okay
back into the breeze Going with a four This is a pull left over the tree Aggressive swing He went at that pretty hard and that one duck down
Well now let’s the rough and Billy you’ve been out there and Andy will bring in too some we’ll talk about is the the rough right around the greens But this is Justin Leonard first at 18 and he misses the par Well
he’s done anything but par today Although his back nine he assembled quite a bit
So Justin Leonard will finish at one over 71 Jim Furick is at nine His second shot at the par4 ninth Just a short iron here Beautifully positioned T-shot Players can be aggressive and that a little indifferent really with that club in his hand Now Ian Poulter has this for par 33 years of age Buckingham Hamshshire England even his own line of his own even par 70 to start I like his chances Raj I I know he was your pick earlier
He was right Tiger or than him We’ll see He’s uh really was a captain’s choice last year in Rder Cup and did well Andy what does Tiger have
Well he has caught this bunker He has 162 yards Obviously you’re playing so much uphill He’s going to have to get this shot up fairly quickly because of the lip of the bunker but I think a solid shot from here You can still put it on the green You imagine seven iron eight iron I would think it’d be a seven iron Maybe go to eight just to make sure you get up high enough which would he’s got about 155 yard all the way over everything going at the hole The shape of the club head there indicated to me that I think it was a seven iron Andy and now he may be going to eight but uh the wind is a little bit a little bit with him from the right So
just something really solid up in the air shouldn’t be a problem Pretty hard swing It had to be the eight [Applause] Well I’m rough around all the greens It’s not Sometimes the ball goes all the way down Sometimes it sits It’s uneven Certainly after the rain Right Raj That’s rough
Well it’s not just the rain It’s the kind of grass that is blue grass The ball sometimes settled and gets all the way to the turf to 10
David Toms for birdie Quietly playing much better golf A lot of folks mentioning David for this week can certainly hit it straight He’s won a major championship Little red on the card to start the round That’s not a bad way to start We send it down to Tom Raldi Thanks very much Here with Gray McDall one under 69 We were chatting earlier That is actually a lot better than even the score of Flex at T2 right now considering what time you went out yesterday
Yeah seven holes on the back nine and in the in the real in the real wet stuff yesterday morning Uh the important thing was just not to blow myself out of the tournament Um hung in there I was two over through three holes but managed to kind of claw a couple back and uh um obviously I was kind of happy when the suspended play but coming back this morning we’re unbelievably surprised at how good how good a job the ground staff and maintenance crew have done to this place I mean uh you know considering we’re playing the ball down the fairways were really decent and uh the greens were fantastic So I mean uh you know we all saw how much rain fell yesterday afternoon I mean what a great job
Midm morning Friday and now you probably don’t te it up before 9 9:30 at the earliest How does that feel Um I mean it’s obviously it’s always nice to to know what your fate is I mean it means I can can can kind of use this afternoon to prepare and kind of work on a few things in my swing that I’m not 100% happy with and uh you know just treat it treat it as a Saturday morning You know obviously 54 holes this weekend so energy levels are going to be are going to be key So it’s nice to be able to get my work done get out of here this afternoon watch a bit of on TV and just relax a little bit
McDow under par and off the course Thanks very much Chris Tommy thank you It doesn’t sound like an accident if anybody went to Alabama Birmingham does it No US Open coverage Well we’re here on ESPN 3 Our friends at NBC 3 to 5 and then happy hour at 5 Eastern to conclusion Bill Cratzer you’re with the Ben Martin
He’s in that blue grass uh that it’s a very tacky grass This ball’s sitting down and practice stroke that he’s using kind of this little mini rehearsal He is really coming in at a steep angle but everything pitches from left to right and downward towards the hole Did he get enough
No he didn’t Tough Well
that is some kind of tacky grass Raj
Yeah it’s very sticky Hard to get the club keep the club accelerating through the grass We’ll take another look here See he just chopped directly down on the ball but the ball kind of climbed a little bit up the face and didn’t get the forward motion on the shot that he was wanting Zack Johnson looking for birdie which would actually be his third on the back nine and get him to four over A lot of pace hit the dust So Zack Johnson hanging around Ryan Spears for a birdie on 14 should move to his right on the way down a little bit
Just kind of hung out over there He was certainly looking for more break in the putt We’ll have that for part and nine for Jim Ferick for birdie He’s played this well off the hole We saw that it didn’t move much from this angle earlier And another one over red from that angle Well Jimmy will have that to finish up at two over 72 to three Smile for par A lot of players fooled by the putts here leaving them above the cup Moment ago Patrick Harrington second on 18 You saw Tiger in the bunker That’s Harrington in the bunker The aggressive swing there Wow Wow Is that in the dictionary under backspin Roger Now Cabrera in the bunker but by the green Andy Cabrera’s waiting for someone to walk from behind him He played an unbelievable shot just to get it to this point out of the the two- foot long fescue So he still has a chance to save His tagger’s lie is just settled straight down and it’s almost as if you dropped it from 2 or 3 feet and it didn’t bounce It just kind of sunk into this grass He’s going to have to chop this out carry it about 4 feet and let it release Not this from the kind of shot that Ben Martin just had at five And again you see the ball doesn’t come out nearly as fast as Tiger would have wanted it to Sticky stuff Ryan Moore’s had an interesting day Every bogey followed at some point by a birdie He just boied 16 Looking to erase that with a birdie and he’s done it yet again So Ria Moore heads to 18 level par the US Open never ever a bad thing to five where now Billy Ben Martin will have this for par
Just got a good look at the the putt from Kevin Silva pretty much directly on the same line Knows this ball’s going to move from his left to right Just a matter of putting the proper pace on it And guys I can’t get over how good the golf course is I mean I would never believe that they could get the greens to this speed with all the rain that we had And this young man now uh facing a little adversity a little stress He’s been going along very nicely now but now this would do a lot to boost his confidence I would think if he could hold this break that much We’ll have that for bogey Meanwhile 18 Cabrera’s par attempt and he’ll have this for par For par should move to his right a little bit Oh what a good looking putt Ouch Will finish with 74 now to 16 at first from the middle of the fairway here on 16 Good looking shot Beautiful He’ll have that to tie for the lead to 18 So Patrick Harrington Andy
Yeah Putt down the hill breaking from left to right Beautiful second shot out of the fairway bunker to this point [Applause] Patrick Harrington with a birdie Ends up with 76 [Applause] Now Martin looks like he’s aimed right at the cup here Was broke a little pretty quickly to the left but okay Bogey here at the fifth but it’s a tough par four Not all that bad
Not the first to bogey that Andy
Yeah Tiger’s left with his putt still about 10 footer for par It will break from his right to left He’ll play the last four holes at least three over par for getting back to even par with the birdie at 14 And if this doesn’t go in this is going to be an unhappy Tiger Oh wow A rough way to come in Double 15 Bogey 16 Now looking at Bogey on 18 Needs this for 74 Certainly not what we’re used to from Tiger is it You thought he kind of had set the plate up there He’d get in with a round of par Roger got back to even with a birdie on 14 But we mentioned double bogey then bogey then bar then bogey So Tiger in the books with his 74 He will not play until tomorrow in midm morning And meanwhile while Tiger exits Phil Mickelson enters He will tee off shortly from hole number 10 We’ll be back I love the New York sports fans because they get it
Bill even though you’re on the beach we still love you
They can be hard on on some
hit the ball
but they also appreciate good athletics We got [Music] to and that was Wednesday when the uh crowd at the practice round serenated him with a happy birthday and he was visibly moved Roger as uh why wouldn’t he be They they love him here Uh everyone knows the story that his wife Amy now is battling breast cancer and will undergo treatment shortly And so add to that support from everybody and Amy is just so popular out here with everybody involved with the tour And Phil Mickelson’s done so well as you pointed out yesterday in the New York area in particular finishing close wing foot you know close here close shin I mean the winning at Balders Raw PGA they’re going to be behind him 100% You could hear him as he walked onto the 10th T They’re in full voice already And uh it’s going to be loud following Phil And if he plays well believe me they are going to get excited
Oh by the way he is playing with Ernie Ellie Gooen so there should be some great golf out of that group Scotty on 16
head force for birdie but the outright lead never high enough He’s been streaky this year in Europe When he’s played well he’s been very good Three top five finishes thus far Camilo Beagas underway at the first hole The sharp dog leg right Hardest fairway to hit in the 2002 Open here
Well this is what we call the heartthrob group Beas Sergio and Camille Bejas to three JJ Henry setting up way to the right Going to hit a big sweeping hook into this hole Cut it on the left hand side What a shot
That’s my partner
That’s your partner from the AT&T Good start for JJ Henry Sergio Garcia playing with Vagus and Adam Scott at one The left hand side as good an angle as you’re going to get here A little unfortunate that ball just checked in the fringe a little bit and kind of killed its backspin Now Graham McDall in the clubhouse with a 69 David Toms beginning with a birdie on his first hole Johan Edfors is at one under Steven Allen just underway at one under and Drew Weaver with the 69 The youngster what a thrill and see Leair and Martin are out there Ryan Moore is it even There’s JJ Henry with a chance to get in red numbers Ian Poulter finished with a 70 as did Jeff Breo So you you sleep on that quote lead if you will like Breo did Roger And then you end up coming out and shooting just as well to finish the round And we move along to names like Justin Leonard who posted a very nice 71 Now you see some of the names beginning their first round the originally was the afternoon groups yesterday all teeing off Tiger Woods with a four over 74 Can’t emphasize enough how big an advantage really the players have that are starting their first rounds today under much better conditions certainly than the players faced for the first three three hours and 16 minutes yesterday
Adam Scott had to hit it over to get it around And how’s that Roger Wow Got that ball to spin coming out of the rough Bad angle That’s a great shot Jagus Scott and Garcia That’ll be fun Josh McCumber nephew of longtime pro Mark McCumber Second shot at six Shot that plays downhill Rough uh two and a half inches here in the first primary cut Certainly something that can be manageable but that pulled Now Sergio at one for a birdie Be great to get off to a good start and hold a putt for Sergio Get some confidence with the putter Of course this is what he seems to struggle with Oh pretty good looking putt Well Sergio much was made of the gallery giving him a hard time for all his waggles back in O2 You forget that he finished fourth that year here at Beth Page Rod he played well
and he got through all that and hopefully uh the crowd won’t be on him quite that way this time around I
don’t think they will be Ryan Moore second on the par four last See just hear just how soft that fairway is down there Bit of a squisher up here but on the safe side of the hole
A squisher
Squisher huh
Squisher
I like it Now back to one where Majis will have a birdie attempt Boy what a
I don’t know with how wet it is He going to do the usual crawl to line up the putts Raj but
he might He’s got his black trousers on today Won the last two events of the year on tour including the Tour Championship is finished with a flourish Let the chip move gently right Good start Very good start Now at 10 Ladies and gentlemen this is the 11:06 starting time Please welcome from Petersburg South Africa the 2001 and 2004 US Open champion Retif Gusen Ratif Gusen been quiet Well he is quiet lately but he he won earlier What Tampa this year He’s
Boulder’s been the guy you’ve had a feeling about this week This is the guy I’ve got a feeling about this week I think this is a very good golf course for Ret Gusen now This one’s working its way to the right side and we’ll miss and catch that fairway bunker From George South Africa the 1994 and 1997 US Open champion Ernie Ell [Applause] The big easy When will we see that form that won at Oakmont and won at Congressional in the ‘9s played a practice round here last week on Thursday Had a chance to watch him play about five holes Looked pretty good in that practice round left That’s in the could be in the tall fescue And from Rancho Santa Fe California please welcome Phil Mickelson [Applause] The heroes welcome Let’s go Mets That’s it This is well to the right It’s a pretty straight shot but uh doesn’t appear to be making a turn Well this group Judy Rankin and Roger came out of the garage with the parking brakes on off the feet didn’t they
They need uh to get some brakes here These could be in some tough spots Meanwhile back to one We saw Beagas Birdie had won Now Adam Scott has a chance Yeah So Scott and Beas Birdie Sergio Parr to begin their round And remember all these golfers you’re seeing will play about a round and a half today to six We’re Ben Martin’s second shot Top of the hill here You can see the whole cut on the right hand side of the green What a shot Taking dead aim He’s not backing off 21 years of age He doesn’t know any better Play by him great So there you see but the big score is the 69 posted by Port Northern Ireland’s Graham McDow and by the young man Virginia Tech Drew Weaver and Ian Palter with a 70 They’re the ones in the clubhouse already as is Jeff Breo 46 years of age from the Nationwide Tour with a 70 We’ll be back Billy Crower and Mark Ralph on the ground to 10 This group made a bit of a mess of it off the tea Looked to draw a pretty good lie there in the bunker and hit a pretty good shot as well Well done
I tell you that was really a very good shot because I didn’t think it was that great a lie and it was 199 yards Ernie just had to advance the ball down the fairway What’s Mickelson looking at Judy 195 yards The ball sits pretty nicely really almost on a little up slope but he has to get this ball up very quickly up over that little tongue of grass in the tall fescue
All below his feet here a little bit
Ball is below his feet
Bit awkward it appears Well this is going to be left These mammoth galleries just want so desperately to be able to cheer Mickelson on
and offer their support throughout Ryan Moore a moment ago on 18 should a little to his right would have had it but he’ll have that to finish up an even par 70 So good work by Ryan Moore to six for Ben Martin Now
good look at birdie here
A misread Went right You can see he fooled him You can see him motioning to the right Didn’t see it Moment ago on eighth apart 38 Kevin Sutherland the only hole with water on it
in front of the greens over a lot from the waist Hands low This is seven iron [Applause] Wow That works That’ll work Now to one Sean O’Hare He’s a good looking player Raj
Yeah
look at this
He really is a good-looking player And coming into his own Now back to Tim
Ernie L’s trying to make one of those US Open pars Figure out a way to get it in the hole in four
That little sandwich from 102 yds and it should come back
It does too much unfortunately for Ernie
Wow Does it come back Now one thing you can count on Ernie is fellas that ladies he tease it up in the US Open 17 in a row for him one more than Phil and one more two more than BJ and Tiger And then a way to go to catch Jack Nicholas 44 straight It’s like it’s like in managing are you going to catch Connie Mack I don’t think so
It’s just one of those numbers that seems impossible to surpass to two And this the shortest par4 on the course at 389 yards Camilo Beas his second shot The green is 33 feet above the fairway Andy
Yeah he has 131 yards The lie is not very good He’s going to have to come in here with some of his immense strength that he possesses Just getting it on the green from here would be a good shot Well that was a lash Fire and fall back but uh pretty acceptable results
Let’s go back to the first Ladies and gentlemen this is the 1117 starting time from Los Angeles California Rocco Medi [Applause] Well obviously a hero during last year’s US Open Tough fairway to hit here Big elevated T-shot hard dog leg right and Roco is almost in the fairway from Franklin Kentucky Kenny Perry [Applause] played his best golf since he turned 40 Heartbreaking loss at the Masters earlier this year Seemed to have it in his grasp won 10 times since he turned 40 Especially tough fair for Kenny to hit Likes to hit it right to left Whole shapes left to right Catches that left side back to 10
and Phil Mickelson who started 33 on 10 and 11 back in 2002 And good speed there though Scott Yep Nice swag
I believe four Raj would be just fine after that T- ball Back to the first TE and Tom Layman This is Tom Layman Seemed as though he was destined to win a US Open
Yep three times in the final group on Sunday consecutive years This one is pulled up the left hand side It will need to get down quickly Oh that dives in deep Sergio and Vgas and Scott are the heartthrob group Then mediate Perry and Layman are the heartbreak group And everybody pulling form
to 17 And for us from the bunker left it here to remain in red numbers in the championship It just slides off back to level Judy Bertif What’s he got You know it’s a putt that looks like it’s going to go right to left but I’m not sure It’s not fairly straight
Fooled him too Evidently I’m standing at the back of the green and uh you definitely get a different look That’s why people circle putts Now Shaun O’Hare for a birdie at one Shaun O’Hare who was surpassed at the Bay Hill by Arnold Palmer What did he do He said “I learned a lot from it.” Tiger Woods passed him there and came back and won at Wakovi He’s a good-look player Seven And here’s the T-shot of Ben Martin just a moment ago The whole playing 489 yards today Of course there’s a much celebrated back te not in use And uh it’s the universal language right there See a piece of the ball but right is not the side to miss on
Big stand of trees there Uh to 10 Jimmy Ernie’s got lengthy putt Yeah this is um this is probably a little bit outside of 20 ft And um the same issue with a little run off the front right bunker I’m not sure the ball is going to move back that direction Might actually go to the back of the green Just not enough pace for the two-time champion And this would be for the outright lead Camilo Beagga started with the birdie on one Now the birdie attempt on two Andy Yeah Coming back down the hill a little right to left after a very good shot out of the right hand Rough Putting those big muscles to use [Music] Back to 10 now and Phil Mickelson to start his championship with a a four And we’re off He will hear it at every green at every T- box and from the walk from the T- box to the green This is Saurin Hansen coming off a birdie at 10 Now his second shot at the par 411 Saw Tiger Woods almost whole his second shot here earlier This one taken behind the hole using the slope to spin it back Nice to two Sergio Garcia now the par at one The birdie putt here at two just on the low side So Garcia will settle for par Although uh as has been said many times so far par is uh not something that you necessarily have to look at as a compromise here Two straight pars to start his 2009 US Open for Sergio Garcia Finished fourth here in O2 playing in his 10th United States Open Meanwhile ahead at the 12th this is David Tom’s the birdie putt here on the long par4 Just short And that would have been maybe worth a stroke and a half considering the way this hole played Second hardest back in O2 Back at seven Ben Martin now from the right side in the rough Saw him missed the fairway before This uh is one of the few holes you can really chase the ball onto the green here at Beth Page Great number of the approaches are uphill As soft as it is who knows if the ball will bounce up but there is an alleyway there It looks like that’s exactly how he’s approaching it So a very very smart play by Ben Martin to 11 bunkers both right and left um in play off this tee and if you’re my height it is a completely blind fairway so Phil safe in the fairway at 11 Judy now to one mediate good lie but an awkward angle across the trees and bunker hold tucked right
okay good shot
they’ll have a Roco with the long putter We got to know to 12 Darren Clark now for parano So Darren Clark himself a very very popular figure of course uh suffered through the loss of his wife to breast cancer Heather a few years back and Phil Mickelson have spent a good deal of time talking No doubt you’ll see him in the news this week We are on the second day but the first round here at the 109th US Open Championship from the black course at Beth Paige Black Back after this a 74 overpar Not exactly thrilled when he talked about it I was even par four to go I mean it’s not like I was you know hitting it all over the place um hit a lot of good shots Unfortunately I just didn’t finish off the round the way I needed to
Are you glad that you have the rest of the day off or would you run and get right back up
Uh as I the way I feel right now no I I don’t want to go back out there right now Uh probably would be a few clubs light Does it turn out to be a disadvantage to have had to have played any yesterday as bad as it was
You know you would say yes automatically quickly but if you look at it probably no Um because I think the guys who are playing today and and tomorrow morning are going to get more mud balls Um it’s only going to get worse unless we get more rain If you get more rain then you won’t you won’t catch them again Uh if it dries out just a little bit more it’s going to get interesting Um because you know you’re going to have to hit you would think that you’d have to hit low T- shots and run it off but the problem is if you hit low T- shots the fairway is this soft it’s not going to go anywhere Um so you take the chance of carrying the ball out there Well then again you also get a good chance of picking up some mud on the ball too Were you amazed at the course conditions considering what what they went through
They looked it looked great The staff did a hell of a job getting the golf course ready Uh I’m sure they worked all night to try and get this golf course playable and uh it was great out there
Well they did work all night I mean they’ll sleep on Tuesday The the the grounds crew So while Tiger is done Phil Mickelson just getting underway Judy
nine iron in his hand 168 yards The hole is just a little bit beyond center Big slope from back to front This is going to be kind of a big nine So it’ll be interesting to see just how much spin he gets on the ball Didn’t come back as hard as I thought it might What a shot Game on Saurin Hansen by the way made a birdie at two and he says Saurin Hansen has come out birdie birdie Roco mediate now at one again Channel breaker to the right Oh speed He does look all around doesn’t he Hits a shot looking caddyy gallery etc to seven
And Ben Martin who just refuses to go away 21 years old playing in his first open Third shot here at the long and difficult par4 So he comes up that short He’ll have that left to remain underpar Martin was the medalist at the qualifier in Rockville Maryland Pretty impressive player It’s a 10
Yeah And Jimmy was uh our boy from Maryland Fred Funk who got out of a playoff at Woodmont to qualify How about it ran into his caddy last night in a sporting goods store Many of us were out trying to find shoes that were waterproof And he said Freddy doesn’t fly it too far anymore but he still hits it straight He thought he might hit every single fairway this week is here at the third five iron 216 Wow Solid shot Johan Edfor’s second shot at the par4 last 33-year-old Swede won a few times Look at that Won a few times in ‘ 06 on the European tour Haven’t heard much from him but we’re hearing a lot from him thus far Now Phil Mickelson walking up and you guys are right be a hero’s welcome in every green every te shots like that they’ll be throating and getting up getting under early will only get the crowd more in behind him And he said he wants to use the crowd His family’s not here as his support group to use the crowd as his wings beneath him to get him up and going And it just may happen Vanill have some wings yesterday water wins today otherwise So Mickelson will play this round and then the plan is to have them go out at 506 or shortly thereafter First round has been his round I mean Phil has not won a US Open yet but he’s finished second four times mainly on the wings of a strong first round Raj
and it’s so important to get off to a good start in the US Open It’s hard to come back in the US Open And uh let’s see now if Ben Martin here at the seventh can uh save par after coming up short having missed the fairway to the right Nervous putt here Jimmy I’d imagine he’s going to see a few nervous putts over the next couple of days Oh So he lets one slide away Does Martin now Three birdies and three bogeies on the day Just don’t get disappointed Keep your chin up You’re still in great shape Having a great round
211 Birdie L’s Judy Rankin is this for a birdie
Interesting case of it’ll be considerably slower going back up this hill from above the hole This is one of the greens where the putt is as quick as it can get almost So Ernie will bogey 10 will have that to clean up for his par to 15 where James Kempy What a story this is Yeah Boomer I spoke with Ernie El uh earlier this week Kempty is a son of Suetto Johannesburg South Africa and he was part of Ernie El’s foundation They helped him with schooling They helped him with tutoring They helped him with golf lessons and such And Ernie played in a Ernie speaking of Kempy feels like it’s so important that this message get out And and what a moment it was for him on Monday to play nine holes alongside Tiger Woods This little dynamo He’s about 5’6 hits it miles just glowing when he spoke about that opportunity to play alongside Tiger Woods But Ernie feels like this child of a family of 14 to make it from Soetto to play in the US Open I I I can’t tell you how startling it was to hear the two-time champion talk about how it was as important for the story of Kempy to get out as it was for him to win Here’s Gusen speaking of a South African champion in our US Open Kempy Scotty is only plus three and came over and got to meet and play with Jack Nicholas didn’t he At the Memorial too He did He did And here he is at the US Open Wow What a dreams do come true sometimes Here’s Phil Mickelson for has just this for a birdie [Applause] Red numbers right out of the gates for Phil Mickelson Two holes played one under par Here’s Beth Paige Black The plot beginning to thicken We’ll be back with more of the first round Ah the New York Golf fan And I’ll tell you what a special fan it is
They’ll definitely let you have it when you hit a poor shot I could have done that
Hit the ball
He loves to go out there and scream and and get pressure off his chest I love the New York sports fans because they get it Oh they’re fantastic You know there’s nothing like playing golf h in New York [Applause] [Music] And this is New York’s course that’s for sure Beth Paige Black five public courses here 300,000 rounds a year out here to 12 You got a problem with that [Music] And this is one of the holes Chris that’s been changed a little bit because the player is complaining Nice drive by Mickelson It’s 504 yards You have to fly at 260 to get over that bunker But uh ahead to 13 David Tom’s third shot here on the par five Get back to that in just a moment Tom’s at one under Nice shot And that’s something you’re not going to see an awful lot of at US Opens A ball stopping and backing up no matter how short a club is in the hand 18
Johan Edfor Billy
a little bit unlucky here actually the ball just carried just beyond the flag took one big hop into this short little blueg grass around the putting surfaces a little shot here down the hill this shot 669 in terms of his world ranking We take another look at this You can see the collar there’s been number one in the world back in 1999 been through so much Back problems personal problems confidence problems Best finish as you see there tied for seventh in 989 Had a great first round remember at Pinehurst in 99 And he thinks he’s really headed in the right direction although his results really haven’t shown it Back to 15 Scotty told you story of James Kemp Here he is now for a birdie on three par By the way got a special invite to Tigers event in a couple weeks in the DC area Play a practice round with them Monday How’d you like to play with me again
At my tournament
Yes at my tournament Very nice That’s a great It’s an uplifting story It really is As a child suffering the circumstances of aparthide to come from that and now have these kinds of opportunities It’s really really good stuff It’s just a tough That’s the toughest So have that left for 15 to 13
David now the birdie putt
I think it’s just right on that right corner to tie for the lead Not many opportunities like that Take a look at that again from view kind of cuts across it a little bit putter went left after he struck it and I think the ball just came off a little bit right of where he wanted it inside the right three to a five iron shape right at the Looks pretty good so far Hunter Mayhem beginning at one a moment ago And the big cup in recently always starting the US Open with a nice long bomb in the club is two and Phil Mickelson is two after two with an early birdie David Tom playing well has a chance to go to and now our leader at 12 for this perhaps a little bit more than he’d like to have bargain for at this point looks to be about 10 short people tied now under the leaderboard including to where mediate the birdie putt it to go in although I’m sure he’ll talk to it a little bit ahead at 13 if you haven’t seen this young manhold in his first US Open on the European Jimmy
that’s what a what is it An 18y old back will do for you Well Jimmy you talked earlier about carrying that bunker on the left hand side But all that immediately over the bunker was rough So the players could carry it across that bunker but get caught in the rough and not out the canificable 275 yard a little bit of a bottleneck here at this long forward This is a forearm from 232 very well Great shot here in this long long paran ahead Anthony Kim third shot at the par That’s right Heck of a birthday present there Meanwhile back at 12 now seems to have found the rough Judy carrying a I’m betting that’s the right 217 yard and a marginally playable I think Ernie has played to the right of the green and either short of the bunker just in the bunker and he played from the left No same result will not allow you to get the club on the ballidly and you cannot control the direction
and I’d imagine the fact that that rough is wet certainly doesn’t make it any easier ahead to 14 Billip well it was interesting because Darren Clark and David Tom coming off that green looked at We shouldn’t have watched Deval’s chip shot This par three with an eight iron and right now the conditions are so perfect these players have to take advantage of it would be a good club for David This was uh this is where you could make some hay if that’s the proper term here at Bage So since 1986 played the easiest So they have to give you something here don’t they of the threes that is they have to give you something
Well they’ve come up with a few different hole locations and have modified this green So I don’t think they wanted to play quite that easy
It’s larger that’s for sure And now Shaun O’Hare for the out breaker left here slightly downhill That’s it Yeah And here after that terrific second shot I misspoke a moment ago saying the 18y old back will do that he’s actually 20 turned pro when he was 18y old Many people have to watch over the years on the par 14 that we just spoke about That’s a nir trying to bring it in from the right Just a magnificent hole If you find the fairway you can have a go Or you’re pretty sometimes as you know the farther line you are the better off for parl that’s what can happen certainly to a young player any player actually but young players Things start to go the other way They get a little rasled You know it’s it’s tough 12 now Third shot Judy what’s the look like
Well no surprise Somewhat difficult but not the worst I’ve seen It is also on a bit of a down slope So this is a tricky shot because of that little soft tear in the green One of the biggest greens on the course about 8,000 square feet here with perhaps the most combin very thick and still moist 216 yd location It’s almost like he’s surprised reminiscent of running it Anthony Kim now over to get back to number two of just a moment ago We saw Ernie’s third shot of the bunker stroke three Tom Layman Mark location that requires a right to left that he didn’t like right up his alley this one very high in the air just right now
Well we saw Rory Mroy before the long and Yeah this off the back edge for par It’s uphill in the beginning and then downhill at the hole Not one you would ever feel just very confident about stroking aggressively Where does the moisture lie in certain places now David has Beautiful putting stroke Good control speed almost a pretty good effort at it
Coming off a second How about this Phil Best look to his right So a tap in here at 129 US Open on the meter that’s only supposed to go to 14 David for a birdie Billy
Yeah just a little bit of a hook putt just to get David back to plus one Maybe give him a little confidence as well Kevin for a birdie This is for a 30 Are you kidding me Didn’t think that was out here The bad news is he had a 41 on the back They don’t add them all up until you played 18
That’s correct He’ll be thrilled with that 40 after that fabulous shot from the gallery He couldn’t have played it But since he was 45 it was perfect to this just a moment ago after his troubles in the rough and the bunker Now you can add to those troubles as well
Andy what’s Garcia got here in his eagle putt
Well you’d think this put would go from his right to left but this green actually goes from front to back So may want to optical illusion to the left anticipate you could put a circle on the card and Garcia will do that Well
Sergio played beautifully here Boomer in 2002 in spite of the fact as we’ve ought to put a counter on how many times we see that fellow with a mustache scream “I wrote him mercilessly.” But that was during that time when he was just gripping and gripping and milking that club and different player these days just a moment ago So like Ernie’s teeth dropping a pair of strokes at least at least a pair of strokes here He’s not done yet to four Well Andy I went and gave this to him Did they make you play it out here in the US Open as you well know
I believe he can handle it though
I think so But I’m not going to stand in the way of formality here stands at the top of the leaderboard with Shan O’Hare Couple of fine young players Another good chance for Roco each of the first three holes but hasn’t put yetim talking to Phil Mickelson Judy
you know I think he’s talking about a little bit of help maybe from a breeze but this breeze is almost certainly when you’re on a tree you can surprises me aggressive I have a little info about that hybrid club It is somewhere between a two and a three It’s brand new and his own designs I warned you didn’t I But you didn’t listen did you This is Beth Black Tiger Woods as we just come across noon on the East Coast and 9 on the West Coast We welcome you to our continuing coverage of the 109th US Open here on ESPN 2 covering the US Open Proud to be a part of it once again We have coverage for another NBC takes over Eastern And then we’re back from five to conclusion as we wrap up this first full round and second day of the open Mike Tico here Before we get you back to the golf and catch up with Mickelson and his problems over at 13 Let just give you perspective if you’re just tuning in how Tiger Woods did on this day Remember when he left the golf course he was one over and the rain stoppage two shots off the lead which was sitting at one at that point Woods came out and faced this putt for par at the 47 and did not convert So slides back to that point after a series of 10 grouping major reds for a moment and then the problems begin at the 15 unsope at the Woods looked sharp at different by Woods by a double bogey and all of a sudden Woods goes from the championship and back to pars one more A very poor hole finish at the 17th round of four very difficult yet exciting closing holes Woods goes four in that stretch where he ends up ha the way I feel right now No I I don’t want to go back out there right now probably would be a few clubs light So there’s Tigers numbers on the day of 14 and famously coming off a terrific ball striking round from Tway at the memorial a few weeks ago Greens in regulation has been a significant stat to watch for the US Open champ the last three years Tiger off there and a high number of putts for day one There’s Woods 74 over one of the things he’s discussed after that knee surgery We almost get to the one year anniversary of that what in his mind is a full and complete practice session if there’s a problem to deal with after his rounds So he was doing that as you see just about 14 minutes ago up on the practice range and Tiger will be back out here for a second round tomorrow afternoon Well as we expected over the last couple of weeks and we saw starting with Phil support and his wife as she breast cancer surgery in a few weeks playing his first round going a Hans one of the players put his name up on the leader his second at the 11th teing off the big round is done and he completed his round today with a very good finish at the fourth Here’s Drew Weaver in 2007 just a short time after the tragic shootings on campus at Virginia Tech He was 100 yards away when it happened Weaver with a very good round of 69 So he in the club at 69 a couple of Jeff Bre one of the four men who led overnight in the lead there and back through the field A lot of those players through very few holes as this first round hopefully will get concluded late this afternoon You know David the executive director of the USG He joins us here on our sports center First David we’re back on time We actually see something similar to the sun out behind us What a great job the staff your USGA staff and the staff here at Beth Page Black did to make this course playable today
Couldn’t agree more Craig Courier and his staff and his extended staff because he brings in um superintendent assistant superintendent from so many other golf course They worked literally all night to get this ready
A fabulous job We’ve heard a lot of players commenting how good the course conditions were considering the nearly 2 in of rain we’ve had We know is bad but let’s just keep our head down and play as much as we can today There was one issue that came up yesterday We only had three hours or so of play and then the rains came and there was a question about the the ticket purchasers who were here on Thursday and really didn’t get to see as much golf as they had hoped You made an announcement earlier how the USGA is going to address that issue
Yeah Well we were hoping they’d get to see more too So uh and it was it was I can understand why the why the fans would feel that way but uh for the 34,000 who are out cutting to the chase this is what we’ve decided to do Um if there’s play on Monday anyone holding a Thursday ticket will be able to come on Monday And that’s something that other sports have to deal with with rain outs and rain check situations And in baseball if sometimes you buy for the Yankees Red Sox series let’s say doesn’t mean you get back in the next couple of days We have finite window So this was not an easy decision that you guys had to arrive at immediately say “Well only three hours of play Let’s bring them all in on Monday.”
We went through so many scenarios and it’s unfortunate we didn’t we you try to learn from these situations And a few things we’ve learned is that we had language we thought covered it but many people thought it was vague Other people thought it was too rigid And bottom line a lot of people were unhappy Uh but going forward we have to be more concise in our langage and uh and we we honor the fans and particularly here at Beth Page given its history in 2002 and so we we went through a number of different scenarios and we felt at the end this was the uh this was the fairest thing we could do well a few miles away at the US tennis open that would have been considered a full day and that would have been you saw enough tennis so accommodations have to be made we won’t find it in the decisions of golf going forward but it will be on the back of the US Open tickets in the future thank you David as always we appreciate coming up David executive director of the USGA mentioned at 13 Eastern with our continuing coverage Round one day two at Page Black and it’s all welcome to Long Island New York Thank you very much So now the issue of who can come here when but now the issue at 12 did we find the ball is out with Philision what’s happening at 12 but not so Wow Oh here it is I’ll describe that It was a hybrid right guys new club that he designed and it was deep and so we now hole mud on the ball
Yeah And I think that’s just something you’re going to have to deal with from now on Certainly a well shot He’s got a chance to save 14 Kim for a birdie attempt while 24 years of age young man with a ton of talent Also the Hans continue to attack this course And this was also another chance Both birdies for Hans if we can convert this serves in one That’s a handsome Hans right there Who will be the low Hans today David Tom O’Hare to move it to three We’ve not seen a three on the board yet and we still don’t Ouch We’ve seen number of lips hit already and I’m sure there’ll be many more to come But he’s got everything in his game that you would think would translate well hits it Miles hits it high over Martin But you know what You’re 21 years of age from the start No problem Not bad at all Great playing Martin with a 72 with providing a cover of the challenging course below Visit.com to find out where the blimps will be next Well they’re going to be here for a while And that’s the good news
Yes Andy Camil about 18 ft to the right of the hole He’s going to have a p that’s going to break from his right to left Really played some solid golf so far this year Andy last year was 111th in greens in regulation and so far this year fifth So quite a move up the statistical ladder there Well he’s improving every single year as a player How he finished out 2008 with his wins in the FedEx Cup Really some special golf We’ll give one back He is one He’s not afraid to get out there and work What he needs to work on We told you in the majors the best finish but he’s just off the ski do as we say Uh PGA fourth won the last including the tour championship sky is the limit for him I mean that’s no question about that He’s playing with Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott Andy
Yeah Adam’s made one bird and one bogey so far Played an incredible shot from 195 attempt rightly aggressive going up the hill Wow We’ve seen some players fooled from there Now David Toming this birdie on the treacherous 15 bill
He’s got 12 feet Uh guess it all depends on your definition of quick Even though this putt is only 12 feet is going to be very quick coming down the hill and should move a little bit to his right This is the one green Roger where every day where they put the pin will be completely different green
Uh yes but all all the whole locations I’m sure will be in the back part of this green There really isn’t usable space on a lower level U but yes a steeply sloped green here And if he makes this he is in the bonus situation A hard breaker to the right All right Solid four
And Raj this is a green that they’re going to try to keep a little bit slower Maybe 135 all week 13th hole Reten a moment ago Third shot in this long par five When you win two opens you have to be able to make sure the shots within 100 yards are tight Nice shot by Genble Remember Phil Nicholson lost his T-ball This is his fifth shot took this one shot and moved pretty low What a great damage control and he has done a good job so far having just lost a chance to save a bogey after losing his t-share leading the 2009 United States Open Championship Back to see some birdie opportunities and a bogey save after this 13
This would be a happy moment if Nicholson can make this after a shot that he lost in the trees But considering nobody could find the golf ball he’ll take that And prior to him Ernie Ellie was busy winning in 94 and 97 The common thread at the Open was Greens in regulation He finished first both years He rolls in a nice green That’s a birdie for two over 15 Anthony Kim off a birdie at 14 now to the tough uphill shot at 15 Get it on the right level into the center of the green You have to wonderful shot Well he’s got a smile that lights up a room when things are going well Now to five Shaun O’Hare second Working on the swing a little bit there on his takeaway Two A shot that plays uphill about a half a dozen shots here Play substantially uphill from the fairways Approach shots You get limited visibility or no visibility of the green This being one of them to really shape this one too huh Raj got work it in there if you can Trees overhanging on the left hand side and lot of real estate
That’s okay Lot of real estate to four
just a moment ago I don’t know if this championship owes Tom Layman the way Augusta National owes Greg Norman but what a fantastic story it would be if this 50-year-old man who qualified What does it mean to him and qualified to play in this championship He’s to one under Mark you’re there with this group Roco could have been three under at this point
He really could Scott This is a very good chance here
Got to go finally [Applause] Man if he contends I can’t fathom the type of support Roco would get here on Long Island Chief Gus in par 3 14th right on a great line just left of the flag stick The goose will have a good chance on his second open not far from here out to the tip of Long Island at Shikok Then we stay for ED else Well he surely had the trickiest putt of the three at the par five and managed to get it to drop This another eight iron Um there’s just a few feet really from the front of the green on the line to the flag stick It measures on the location sheet 16 paces back but that is way over at the left front With the green being as receptive as it is and having a club this short in your hand on this long golf course you want to be aggressive You want to take it at the hole Needs to turn over just a touch Safely on Now Phil [Applause] Judy they have been uh hero welcoming for Phil Mickelson everywhere haven’t they been
They they have been The crowds have been terrific to Phil And I I would uh also point out that there is they are not rockus at all They’re really respectful and just kind of joyous to see him Phil go ahead Just as we saw at the 11th Phil one club longer with his short arms This is a nine iried [Applause] my second ball What’s the problem to six second shot Sergio Garcia cut on the right Was trying to hold off the finish a little bit there to get it to cut and a good shot Good opportunity for birdie there Now Anthony Kim on 15 for a share of the lead on his birthday downhill on a slicing putt [Applause] Will not be many birdies at 15 We saw Eders do it earlier but there won’t be many As we said that’s like almost an eagle isn’t it Raj when you’re birdie 15 So Anthony Kim and Sean O’Hare and Saurin Hansen two under right now the lead in the first round of the page And at 18 J Kempy We told you the story before That’s pretty there Very nice James Kempy South Africa to 15
Oh this is Oh boy Oh it’s tough to get it up that hill from the rough So important to hit the fairway here And look you have to say it It’s a Hansen with a shot like that It was a slap shot You have to say it And you did 14 Judy Phil Mickelson should move a little bit to his right I would think And it just stayed as straight as an arrow That is exactly where he tried to hit that putt And I believe precisely at the speed he wanted to hit it
Bar 14 for Phil Now he’ll walk down the hill to that treacherous 15 David Duval Billy’s with him
After a perfect drive just 165 yards That’s an eight iron right at the flag if it’s right That’s right Wow I tell you Billy this David Dval was the best player in the world as Jimmy Roberts was talking about earlier but he wasn’t nearly as happy as he is now Life is good for him and it’d be great to see the golf rebound Well Scotty I was walking down the uh to the right of the 15th fairway and and Puggy Blackman said that the turnaround really came at Memphis in the first round The first 16 out of the 18 holes David Duval hit it inside 20 ft
Wow
It shot one over par Buggy was his coach at Georgia Tech
But at least he’s starting to feel comfortable on the golf course and I think a lot of guys are expecting David Dval to come back in a big way
So does he Most importantly he’s put the work in He believes he’ll be as good as good again Andy
Yeah Garcia with a birdie opportunity down the hill from left to right Off to a good solid start Sean O’Hare for a birdie at five This one should move a little to his left on the way up there He is off to a fine start Roger
He’s a fine young player He is a good player You’re going to hear a lot more from Shan O’Hare Yes sir No sir Uh willing to work as hard as it takes Got a great demeanor Just a moment ago Now and this hole the 55th playing very long right now Roger 223 yards for Rocco Breeze has come up out of the north Trees overhanging on the left Probably got to shape this a little right to left up that hill No surprise there I like the 53-year-old Fred Funk on the 13th green putting for birdie and he comes up shy taps in there for Fred within a couple of shots of the lead Let’s go back to the fifth Tom Layman’s second shot at five Ralph and another good T- shot All three players in the fairway here Tom’s got 216 back up the hill to the hole This one has hung out a little bit to the right The soft greens though holds on the right hand side Now Saurin Hansen at 15 after the slash He’s got wedge out You can see up a very steep face here Trying to land the ball very near the top and get it just to release over Tough shot to judge That’s really not that bad Let’s play that shot a little bit It’ll end up on the front of the green They put the Hansen’s together the no relation the Sings together no relation and two Romero’s playing together to five Kenny Perry now Ralph and coming off a very ugly double bogey back at four Made a mess of that hole Setting up right for his hook Is that
It is a low bullet Roger That looked like it was kind of just a pull kind of a hook and that settles down You could hear him say mudball So that may have had something to do with the flight of the ball That’s uneven back there for sure to 16 Boomer or David looking for his second birdie in three holes
And Scott actually he’s going to wait because the the grouping of Gusen Mickelson and L’s is on the 15th T So they’re waiting for Ret to hit In the meantime David can get a good look at this one I always laugh at the idea of a makeable putt In theory they’re all makeable but in the US Open when they’re in this sort of a territory they they become more critical to make because they’re uh few and far between aren’t they
Yeah this is a pretty good spot right here
I think going back up the hill moving slightly from his left to right It’s a confident stroke but didn’t come back quite enough And there’s a great look to give you an idea of what it was that Duval was waiting on there just to the left with Ernie Ell’s on the T at 15 Big easy Really important to get this ball on the fairway This just whole has trouble written all over it Rod from start to finish And that would include Ernie’s start there Well we can see the ball from above so that’s a start
Mhm
But uh if you get it out in the second cut of the primary really
your chances of hitting this green are swim and none Basically
tell by that the elevation now Mickelson at 15 He likes it [Applause] Why not
That’s the soft conditions That ball with firmer conditions would have found the rough but uh as it is now in great shape Now we go back to 16 Scotty you were very patient yourself Not so much Bo Not so much I would not have thrived in the US Open David Toms looking to do that right here and tie for the lead Birdies for Davids Coming off a fantastic finish a week ago in Memphis David Tom who was well down the money list outside of the top 125 a year ago back to the form that we remember when he was a major champion at the beginning of the 2000s We’re back with more from Beth Paige Black Welcome back to first round coverage here at Beth Page While we were away Saurin Hansen trying to save par at 15 Quick little putt down the hill here breaking left So he’ll drop one but many will to 16 where we have somebody firing it Scotty yeah Anthony Kim’s got no backup in his game Boomer With conditions the way they are right now I would expect to see him do this all afternoon Fire at flags try to take it as low as he can on his birthday You’re talking about a guy who’s won at Quail Hollow and at Congressional major championship type venues Back to Roco on five
and a very fast putt down the hill Tom Leman has already missed his birdie attempt here [Applause] So Roco the runner up in 91 hole fashion Uh how did runner-ups do the next year Well for Tiger Woods I don’t know that anything counts cuz he won the next year But Jim Furick after 06 finished another T2 So kind of a mixed bag there Raj If you just miss sometimes you really miss There’s an MC miss It tells us really nothing
Correct
It could go either way Basically as somebody once told me there are lies there are damn lies and there are statistics to seven Moment ago JB Holmes he had this for birdie They get into red numbers If they don’t move after they put there’s a good chance it’s got a chance to go in When they start walking after it it’s it’s probably not going to go in So Holmes gets into red numbers 13th hole a moment ago This was Ross Fiser He’s third 15th hole Pratif Gen now with his second shot See how steeply uphill this shot plays anywhere on that back level Good Yes
that’s going to be a little speedy one from behind the green
Little wide a little long Lucen playing with L’s and Mickelson Phil came out firing now Judy what does Phil have Phil is talking it over with Bones as he does They have long conversations out there Rod They do as much or more than any other player really that I’ve ever watched But they thoroughly discuss strategy club selection atmospheric conditions and just about everything else before a shot’s played He’s trying to shape some kind of big left to right draw in there Starting at using that back slope How about this I’ll tell you what I got to believe that was planned That’s why they talk about it so long Why not use the backboard if you can huh Wow [Applause] Let’s take a look from above here Starts it out Trying to shape a draw at that left side of the green Look at the H get now going to utilize the slope and bring it back to the hole Pretty clever Anthony Kim for his first fourth birdie in a row Oh it slides off and he’s not done Really dove hard right towards the hole at the 13th Mike Weir chance to go to two under and get into a share with a lead without a question that was going to the bottom Former Masters champ knocks it in and Mike Weir maybe this is a lefties course with he and Nicholson both playing well on 17T David Toms not the five he used in Atlanta Doesn’t need it It’s not 243 It’s a shade under 200 Conditions perfect at the moment That’ll get better
Not quite as much as maybe he might have liked with a four iron Still no complaints Raj green in regulation in the US Open We’ll take it and take our putt The welcome at 15 from Bill Mickelson in company Great look he has at a bird there Raj Well it’s still a very quick putt from back there He’s still a putt He’s got to be careful with But
yeah but considering the ball hit where he’s walking that’s Yeah that was pretty clever Back to 17 David Duval with a four iron One over par thus far Billy Crazer telling us earlier that Puggy Blackman his coach at Georgia Tech is feels like his swing’s great Oh that’s fantastic Short He’s in trouble Scotty back to Ross Fischer I misspoke said the 13th He’s on the sixth hole And if he can get that to hang there and drop in he’s got a birdie and Ross Fisher joins David Toms Mike Weer Anthony Kim Sean O’Hare at the top at two under So that’s the number that everyone is shooting for And I mentioned the two unders as we update the leaderboard And uh you’re right about Anthony Kim and his ability to go low Certainly Weir has got that ability and uh people look at Mike and think sort of short in stature but as good a driver of the golf ball and hits it fairly long You look at his driving distances in 2008 299 last year in the open Sergio drove in the rough and now he’s putting for par at the seventh
They had to pitch out His third shot was from 161 yards That’s from about 35 ft Not a lot of break to it He may have read a break to it All right
Sergio struggling this year and we have heard all about his off the golf course situations with his old girlfriend Let’s go to the 14
Now Mike we are on the par three 14 Carl 159 yards That’s an eight iron for Mike I think just a nice one I’m sure he’ll try to shape us a little left to right in there And as soft as these greens are this is a place to be aggressive Bold Short-sided miss Not a good spot
Nope Bunker work for Mike Weir the personable Canadian to seven Watching Adam Scott at the seventh Birdie opportunity Adam really like to get some some good golf going He’s coming off one of the worst stretches of golf he’s had in his career missing seven cuts in his last eight starts Looks like he’s swinging well See if he can just get some something positive going this week Well he always looks like he swings Well what a beautiful swing I’m a huge fan of Adam Scott’s golf swing
To the 15th Now here is Phil with a chance after that carum and beautiful twirl for a birdie at 15 There won’t be many Well just one of those putts that you in a US Open even though the greens are not at the speed that USJ might like this one uh is one you have to be careful with Little move to his left You just can’t get up and bang It takes some thought takes some touch That was over red Birdie 11 but
couldn’t convert here Now to six Roco mediate mark Very poor lie in the bunker Ball was sitting down in a little rake group but he got a lot of club on it That is an excellent shot from there Well we’re having a full day of golf finally And I’m sure that as we go to Rick Riley it’s it’s about time isn’t it Yeah You know just seeing Roco there Of all the things Rockco took from his unforgettable 91ole loss to Tiger Woods in last year’s US Open His favorite is a well-worn piece of paper he takes with him everywhere he goes Roco Mediate received thousands of letters since last year’s US Open It may have been the charm he showed that week or the humor or the guts Whatever it was in Long View Texas it lit the darkness of a man named John Ray Roco I’ve had something on my mind and my heart that needed to be expressed On May 30th my youngest daughter was to graduate from high school She was on the way home from graduation practice that morning when she was involved in a wreck Allison Ray was a high school senior a volunteer firefighter a fishing fanatic and the very next day she was supposed to be a high school graduate She was leaving a a morning graduation practice and uh for some reason the right side tires left the edge of the road and when she went to get back on the road she overcorrected and it sent the car into a tree the only tree for hundreds of yards The family that was in town for Allison’s high school graduation instead went to her funeral Losing a child right on the cusp of graduating You know that losing a child anytime it doesn’t matter turns your life upside down sideways It put me in I felt like I was in the middle of a hurricane Time didn’t mean anything That day and the days that followed are without a doubt the darkest of my life I stayed home for days I found myself watching the tournament Slowly I became captivated by the drama that was unfolding I found myself pulling for you And I had never heard of you before that weekend You showed me that it’s possible to lose and yet not be beaten I can’t begin to express to you how big that was for me how much it helped me
I have lost and I’ve lost big But I am not licked I picked up something that helped me get back on my feet that I still lean on
It was not only what you did but how you did it with grace po and charm
It’s a letter that’s meant as much to the sender as the receiver
It’s a an unbelievable honor that he even thought enough to even do this to even send a letter Yeah I lost But he took something from that And that’s the coolest thing ever You can have all the Yeah I hit a great shot here Who cares about that When this stuff happens like this it goes way above the other stuff It’s amazing what he got out of it and how much it helped him I’m so happy for him
I was just thanking him cuz what he did that day that Monday did so much for me And so I was just trying to say thanks That was all I was trying to do Now two weeks ago Rocco’s own son Rocco Jr went through his graduation and it was a bittersweet moment that wasn’t lost on Rocco He said “That whole day all I could think of was John Ray.” Well that would be Roco Mediate He’s of the people He is And uh you know that he’s truly touched Moment ago at 17 Boomer David Toms looking for birdie This right hole location giving players a chance at it But that slides by David Dval looking for his second birdie in four holes which would move him back to even par As the cliche goes it’s good in the US Open And this putt looks good all the way David Deval back in this championship and just two off the lead There you see his card gave a couple away early on [Applause] Now here’s Mickelson after that greeting They’ve got mayors and governors senators in this state This guy could be the king of Beth Page They can’t carry the ball out into the fairway and place it for him He’s got to do that on his own And here he’s found that rough It’ll all depend on the lie as it always does Over to six Now back to Roco Mark golfing What’s he eyeing
Well he’s got an uphill putt here Chris It’s going to break to his right a little bit It’s somewhat on the slow side and it’s been an excellent start for Rockco We’ve been talking about the Phil Mickelson applause at every hole Rocco is getting the same thing and he has really embraced this whole atmosphere Obviously he so captured the hearts of the people last year at Tory Pines And I say this with respect I’ve never seen a player gain more not winning an event
But you just said it He didn’t win He didn’t really lose but he didn’t Tied for the lead here Another day at the office
Same as last year
No big deal You can’t help but love him
And on that playoff Monday last year never lost his demeanor Never lost that kind of attitude Now unfortunately remember Mike we had shortsighted it in the bunker Now this is the par save Nicely done for the port side So Mike Weir remains a two under as we’re starting to see some scores creep red David Toms who was two under after two holes at Beth Page in O2 It didn’t get any better for him but has a nice start again and Rocco and Mike Weir and Sean O’Hare and Anthony Kim Some names you know Ross Fischer from across the pond Last score of the day because it’s in the clubhouse is Grant McDall 69 and you see Jagus and now this is Shawn O’Hare at seven Carl
Hi Boomer He drove it in the fairway but he has had a lot of club indecision He’s switched clubs twice on this 489 yd par4 in the right spot playing from the left side of the fairway here Okay
there you go Just like the Mickelson kick we saw a few holes ago A good break for O’Hare will have that for birdie to go to three under ahead to 17 Four iron for AK One of the many a two under par You see that familiar choking down he does on the club They like it at the T I like it at the green [Applause] Our coverage continues here as the first round is underway and we’ll begin the second round Wall to- wall golf here on ESPN We step aside for Mike Dico and Curtis Strange as our coverage continues on ESPN 3 Then our friends at NBC to 5 and Roger and I back for extended happy hour from 5 Eastern till minus 2 including Roco Mediate in the lead in round one Our coverage continues from Beth Paige Black Anthony Kim the birthday boy for birdie and the outright lead on 17 Little too much borrow It’s been a familiar spot for the fellas to miss today Here’s Rocco tied for the lead T-shot at seven is off You see you clear those bunkers and the players have not had a hard time doing that It’s the second shot That’s the long part of this hole Easy par five
Yeah And you heard someone say easy par five Long par four Judy what kind of a lot does Phil have in the rough
You know the ball is um sitting up You can see a lot of it but uh it has still got a little grass behind it So um not simple but he’s very good um with these kind of lies and short arms And this is just a nine arm Looks like that’s a little left but safely [Applause] And we welcome in two familiar faces our friends Mike Tico Curtis Strange Gentlemen
thank you Scotty Good to be back with the only man alive who’s won back-to-back United States Open Championship It makes me feel like it was something special or I’m getting a little old
Well you are old Let’s be back with you Anyway the guys we’re seeing out there when Chris and Raj just walked out Talk about the leaderboard and everybody two under par and out there on the golf course and some big names Tell me what you’re seeing out of this group that’s out on the course right now
I think this group on the course right now has a definite advantage on the other half which played yesterday and this morning The weather is ideal out there and the golf course is playing exceptionally long but the greens are soft and we have virtually no wind and we don’t have any rain that they had to play in yesterday
And coming over to the tower here at 18 As you come over round Swamp Road the amphitheater is 15 through 18 It is packed The weather’s perfect Players are happy to be putting through their shadows because they can see some sun So I think what you’re going to see over the next couple hours and then on NBC as we continue through at 3 Eastern a lot of good golf and more importantly a great atmosphere that is uh conducive to Beth Paige Black’s history from O2 and we saw that with Mickelson as he did the walk to the tea a moment ago and David Duval His presence on the leaderboard will spark some excitement Let’s go down to Billy for Duval at 18 seconds
Hit an iron off the tea 167 yards left to the hole USGA official walking with this group Dr Tom loss uh gave the ball relief from casual water fairway very soft play into this elevated green players can only see top twothirds of the flag stick from down here
Billy surprising we haven’t seen more drops from casual water today isn’t it
it really is Curtis and and when you look at this golf course they have done a magnificent job getting it ready with a little sixiron But he’s pulled this back to seven We got a chance for Sean O’Hare to bring us to the minus three category Ross Fischer’s in this group He’s left himself with a long par putt So O’Hare the guy with a chance to get to three at only 26 years old I’m going to come up a little bit short Seeing quite a bit of putts left short today Carl just from the standpoint that they practiced Monday and Tuesday Wednesday Greens ran they were getting him almost to 14 Now they’re probably about 12 It’s hard to make an adjustment overnight Yeah we talked about that about the moisture on the greens and at what point does the moisture kind of disappear so that you can get back to that 134 speed this afternoon late and let’s go back to 18 David Toms with the birdies at 10 and 60 Remember this is his first nine holes His second shot here Bill
145 yards left The wind cutting across this green from right to left Toms with a seven iron Expect this ball Sorry Billy Expect this ball to be a little bit left of the hole
This is just a little bit right of a pretty good line here Curtis [Applause] That’s why he’s been playing well I can’t think of a shot he’s missed Curtis in the Accenture match play think about the guys Ross Fischer beat He beat Justin Leonard Jim Furick Pat Perez and Robert Allenby before losing as he misses that putt before losing to Paul Casey And that’s a bogey for Fiser He’ll go back to one under And let’s come back to the T at 18 15th ranked player in the world Anthony Kim What do you think his T-shot Curtis
Well just a little bit downhill but tight pinches in at about 270 yards Tight driving area earlier in the week A lot of players laying up a little bit of those bunkers Anthony go the driver Come on 16 Phil Mickelson from the left side of the green Tracking tracking just ran out of pace Curtis talking about the difficulty in finding the speed They’ve just come from 15 Probably the slowest screen on the golf course They’ve got to leave it a little bit slower
And over there Scott Mike We are missing the fairway Second shot Almost impossible What a shot What a shot by We playing the most difficult Only three birdies all day He’ll have a look at one Let’s go over to eight and Sergio Garcia to get to one par
Putting off the fringe Fairly slow putt Oh [Applause] back one to seven All right Mark if you can keep it in the fairway which Tom Layman has done that’s an advantage
It is He’s still got a big second shot here though 240 yards Little bit of a helping wind Ball sitting right up against the intermediate cut of R Little bit of a problem This is a low hook Needs to kick left but does not Hopped over the rake that’s lying there and got into the bunker Let’s go to the finishing hole
That’s Duval’s ball on the way Scott or Carl is third So David will have an opportunity to make par here Again many of the players you’re seeing on this second nine This is their first nine holes They started on 10T Over to seven
People that watch Layman may forget that he actually has finished second in this event has got a lot of top fives Roco Mediate of course finishing second last year and he’s in a good position to take a shot at the green
He’s got 239 yards He has hit some real quality shots Kyle these first six holes Begging for it to turn And a great shot for Mediate A very good score here on the seventh hole measuring 489 yards M A his caddy was the uh the caddy last year That was the first
major that he ever carried a bag in The combination works really well Why change it Although the shirt he probably will reconsider but he’s working hard This is a working man’s event Now Perry Big drive for Kenny He is just 204 to the hole This is a good looking shot here Outstanding approach for Kenny Perry One of the longest drivers on the tour Obviously over 300 every time
Well you saw the ball and shot at Darren Clark’s earlier when you saw Toms hit the good one
Darren able to roll in birdie So he will be two over through his first nine The 18th hole would be considered one of the birdie holes on this golf course where you could attack if you drive it in the fairway
Keep that in your back pocket for Sunday or Monday whenever we finish Now Tom’s for the outright lead I think Tiger missed that same putt on the same side of the hole One more look at that Yeah it looked like to me just pulled it just ever so slightly got it low of the hole started breaking hard and caught the bottom edge Boy you just can’t afford in the US Open to miss many of those You don’t have that many opportunities You know you go from thinking you’re going to make in a regular tour event 15 or 20 birdies in the week if you play well US Open you might win making seven or eight David Duval who had a stretch of three top tens decade ago when he was at the top of his game performed well at the US Open before a couple of year absence and a pretty solid first opening nine for David Par 70 35 each side at nine the 460 yd par four long hitting JB Holmes second shot if he has a good week of drive in the golf ball he could be there Sunday afternoon on this type of golf course Mike if you’re that long it is such an advantage 17 Mike Peter Hansen has a birdie a moment ago that if it dropped would be his third of the day against no bogeies and would put his name at top all others in the 109th United States Open Championship Many have missed on the high side Hansen did not and he stands alone as our leader Man scoring conditions right now feel like they’re as good as they’re likely to be for the rest of this championship And that’s the point we were making earlier when Curtis and I hopped on that this stretch today into this evening these guys will play some of their second round like Rory Mroy here hitting his second at 18 You get him while the getting’s good but you can’t put any extra pressure on yourself and force the issue as we watch Royy’s shot into the last hole right over top the flag which is a bit long come back ever so slightly you have like to have a little stock in this kid right here Mike
at 20
oh my gosh so mature at 20 it’s it’s incredible not only physically but mentally to come out here and play against these players
20 years old 18 in the world Anthony Kim second shot looked like he had a pretty decent lie And there you see the advantage of having soft rain that normally would go to the back edge of the green coming out of the rough being firm today very soft Roger and Chris were talking about some of the creative storyline pairings The young stars like Kim and Maroy Dustin Johnson in this group All the 20somes Judy’s with Mickelson on 17 Story line here and everywhere else Judy it sounds like Phil and Bones are chit cchatting That’s not unusual Yeah now he’s back Um there is a breeze coming back down from the green to the tea It’s the most significant breeze that this three these three have felt all day for sure 199 And Phil has said so often that uh the Council of Bones matters a great deal but ultimately he will make the decision that he feels is best because he can’t bear to make a mistake that he felt like someone else made the decision on And ultimately they settle on a five
Yeah The six went back in the bag and um I’m told by Marshall here at the TE that every shot that nearly every shot that’s been wrong today has been short and right
Well five is considerably less than many of those that have played the hole thus far Well he started it really well Just barely Safely on over to Rocco
That’s Scotty at seven Only five birdies all day Rocco’s got a long putt here for birdie We get him to three under you know there would be some momentum coming from last year He shows up all the good positive press that he’s been reading in the last couple weeks leading up to the event You come in here you you’re eager to go and he’s he’s taking advantage of it right now He just has to keep that energy moving forward Right Snoopy one is with us It’s providing aerial coverage of the challenging course below Visit metlife.com to find out where the blimp will be next Yeah Rocco’s voyage into the the final round and then the sudden death last year He finished second but he’s had a couple of other top 10s in US Opens All right Carl let’s come back to 15 for the fourth birdie of the day at 15 or the round I should say
And a share in the lead It could be the shot of the day out of that right for the hybrid Mike Weir Peter Hansen from Sweden Both three under par There’s Rory Mroyy’s birdie attempt at 18
Pretty quick coming down the hill Not much to it though And we’ll continue to see that the players get so used to a certain speed Monday Tuesday Wednesday we had so much rain almost two inches They were probably a foot and a half two feet shorter on the stent meter And it’s hard to change overnight You know it’s slower but when you’re coming down the hill the last thing you want to do is run it four or five fivet by so you’re careful Sometimes too careful
Totally different angle for the birdie putt for Kenny Perry We saw Roco Mediate come across the green Kenny Perry putting back up into it And yes sir play that hole about as well as you can Had a big drive Ran his second shot up to about 10 ft short and rolled in for a rare birdie on the seventh The seventh birdie we saw there
Ernie else on the tea at 17 That familiar syrupy finish Has he hit it enough Just barely Just barely But bunker very very deep there You see the ball that’s close that belongs to this man Here’s Ratif He like Ernie with two trying so hard to keep that right elbow down at the top of his swing
Did a nice job there
Useful I waited until now I you know I got another 45 minutes and then I’m gone You get one and that’s it
You sitting on that all day brother The combined age of this group Anthony Kim Rory Mroy and Dustin Johnson the winner of Pebble this year is 67 Mroy 20 Kim 23 both in the top 20 of the world rankings and Anthony 24 today as the guys mentioned and Johnson 24 already You see his numbers just missing one green the 13 putts Anthony very open about how it has been a struggle for this season after the lightning success last year punctuated by his great performance partnering Mickelson the RDER Cup
and I was at that Ryder Cup and this young man has some swing in some game you know he’ll go through peaks and valleys
in this 247 of media circus unfortunately the valleys are so documented but
just kind of the flow of a career Let’s go to the par three 14th in the T- shop for Andrew McCclardy 13 players under par McCclardy in that big group at even from Zimbabwe Greensboro North Carolina is home now And a beautiful shot for the European tour regular He made that one under for the championship Two off the lead And here’s Kim to stay at two
Boy this is where you don’t want to make a mistake Okay 33 for his first nine holes We go to the ninth hole and JB Holmes to get to two under So he’ll open with 34 Sean O’Hare was in that group at two under that was tied for the lead a moment ago Here he is at the par 3 eighth Best looking young player I’ve seen in quite a while
Oh
Yes
Really
Yes
What Tall strength swing attitude
Duval second on the way at the first 430yard par4 And well judged down wind So David Duval looks sharp
Yes
Keep focused You know he hadn’t stayed in the game He hasn’t been playing that much Just stay focused And I think the open might might be the recipe to keep him interested 17
It’s a very interesting point Curtis I would agree with that
Hadn’t played nearly as much but trying to get back in the game Ernie
thank you VP Appreciate that
I don’t know if my endorsement means anything other than that maybe we’re both
no
off base Ernie from the collar up the hill Be aggressive Maybe a bit too much
Yeah Tennessee trying to force the issue just a little bit
So hard to be patient is it Curtis It is that Well you just don’t you’re not used to not making so many birdies and struggling for pars a lot during the four of these four days Second for Sergio at nine Took a third of Long Island with him Take that Garcia for 34 and one under for the opening nine if he can roll that in Back to 17
Could have buried a squirrel in that thing I’m all for that farm It’s eating all my sunflower seeds
Phil and who can forget the roar we heard on this hole back in 2002 Was like Giant Stadium One more time Fellas I tell you what if he can just ride the wave of support I can’t imagine what that story would be like on Sunday or Monday or Tuesday or whenever it might be One more look from above Tracking all the way Watch him in the grand stands Nothing like a New York sports fan Nothing Well we know know he’s going through a lot Hy back home getting ready to have some some surgery and some treatment from breast cancer and I can relate My wife Sarah is a breast cancer survivor and it’s good to see him playing but I know his mind is other places His priorities are in other places and it would be a wonderful story if he continue to play well here but certainly our our thoughts are with him and Amy and u we hope he does well and I know he can’t wait to get home It’s um you know you circle the wagons you take care of business at home and and I know that’s what they’re doing
No doubt
It’s um you see the orange or the pink ribbon on his hat Nice sir Else did make that comebacker incidentally And now Goose and the birdie We certainly wish all the best for the Mickelson clan The show of support at Colonial the Pinkout Phil spoke of it in his press conference meant so much to him fellas it was five irons all the way around here for these three And um even though Phil was well underneath the hole it certainly beats being long at this par three Too much borrow That’s so tough Curtis When you miss a putt like that for a birdie in the US Open I can’t imagine what the cumulative effect must be 18 Now here’s Peter Hansen the Swede who is on the lead with Mike Weir his second Remember this is his ninth hole of the day The players you’re watching here on the back started their day on 10 and 74th in the world Finished tied for ninth at the match play Over to Roco Mediate now for his T-OT at the eighth 163 over the pond Bank is shaved if you come up short and spin it back living dangerously but it’s okay now Sticks right there [Applause] There’s a great article written in the New York Times a couple of days ago about Phil Mickelson and this love affair with New York from Baltas and his PGA on through Wingfoot the disappointment there the US Open here in O2 and we’ll talk about that when we get back to Mickelson let’s go to 16 first Mike after that birdie on 15 we’re from the middle of the fairway fellas
how about those last two shots you tell me you’ve done out there I have it That’s
You feel like you’re stealing a couple You feel like you’re stealing a couple of shots when you go birdie birdie on two holes like that
That one Duval already missed his birdie attempt David Toms try to coax in a par putt So I’ll drop David back
and just the opposite You feel like David Toms has given two back with two putts like that and see if Sergio can finish off the work at nine That’ll be the other thing to listen to and watch for as Garcia makes mistakes that are so used to seeing from any good player in the US Open Will people get on him around here Iron for Mickelson off 182
You just saw Anthony Kim drive over the bunkers I don’t mind this play laying back at the bunkers a little bit Well this is way left Curtis Well Judy that’s no good If you do lay up and then put it in trouble
I don’t think there’s anything that can make you more angry than to lay up in trouble Well there’s a huge group of fans lining 18 and waiting for Mickelson up in the grand stands And he still has nine more holes to go Any of those players with the yellow dot next to the number of holes they’re through they’ll be on your TV for the next couple of hours here on ESPN and on NBC at 3 Eastern And these roars still are they back again for a long time in 09 at Beth Page Black at the US Open Such pride of the fans many of whom have played Beth Paige Black Let’s go to nine earlier This was Camila Beij in that same group with Garcia rolling in his third birdie of the opening nine So three three birdies in a bogey for the number 12 ranked player in the world And beus is two under one off the lead Players who started on 10 started to make the turn This is Anthony Kim Second shot at number one [Applause] They’re tough up and down almost but came up a little short in the in the rough Let’s go back over to eight Roco favored the right side of the green A birdie putt Do it Let’s come up to Peter Hansen co-leader with Mike Weer at 18 This for birdie and the outright lead So that puts a 32 on the opening night for Hansen who made a hole in one on the second playoff hole at Sunningale to grab the 11th and final spot in the qualifying over there
Did he say goodbye friends I’m out of here Have a nice day I’m in the open You’re not
The fifth time that there’s been a sectional qualifying in in England and Japan near some of the best players in Europe and Asia Okay let’s see if Rocco can stay at two under You know there comes a point when you are excited about a week but then you have to keep your energy and and game up Hasn’t been playing great But
Sean O’Hare one off the lead his second of the ninth What a swing that is Just beautiful Smooth powerful effortless power
Playing with Justin Rose and Ross Fiser Fiser at one under Let’s go back to Anthony Kim’s 10th hole The first third shot Just going to lay up the sand wedge flop it way up in the air And with that comes a lot of room for error Tough shot especially out of the two and a half inch rough Drive it to the right Got to take your medicine This Curtis for Mike’s fourth birdie in seven holes played in the US Open That’s atypical I’d say
Well he’s he’s uh he’s getting lucky He’s had a couple of tapins on the last couple holes
Well he got lucky because he hit gorgeous shots I tell you he hasn’t won since 2004 fellas He’s had cashed a bunch of checks but it’s been a while since he’s won Looking down here at 18 Judy trying to figure out who plays first
Yeah I I actually have Nicholson just a couple of yards closer but regardless uh ball sits okay but it is up above his feet 162 yards up the hill so it plays more like 170 Pretty nice strike if it carries far enough [Applause] 11 birdie attempt coming Hard attempt for Kim
down the hill a little bit from left to right Once again the drive got him in trouble Our four ninth Ross Fischer second shot calls Wentworth in England his his home chance to back up his birdies at four and six with another one He dropped his shot at seven Let’s move up to the play of the second with Carl
And that’s where David Duval finds himself in the fairway looking at a green that uh stands some 60 ft above his feet Now flags take 11 on four off the left How’s his swing Curtis You’re obviously in love with O’Hare How’s David Duval because it’s a little different
Well David Duval has always had a very solid different golf swing and when he went bad as we watch the shot of David Tom’s go over the flag and come back Go ahead Curtis
Carl when he went bad I think that was some of the problem He didn’t have any basics to go back to He’s always been a field player and when he played well when he was number one in the world he was fantastic But when you go bad you better have some solid fundamentals to go back to Now he and his dad knew what he did right and what he did wrong but uh now you got to work your way through that and it’s sometimes it’s very frustrating and you become impatient Mickelson arrives at 18 [Applause] got a couple of multiple US Open champions in this group in Gusen and Els And then you have a man who has come so close so often going back to 2006 at Wingfoot and we know the 72nd hole from there and then 04 and 02 and on back to 99 a memorable moment on the final green with Payne Stewart as Mickelson was about to become a dad the first time So many close opportunities and Curtis I thought that New York Times article was very interesting because it made a great point As somebody who grew up in New York this really resonated with me They said New Yorkers really are behind Mickelson a West Coast kid a country club kid if you will because he gives us his time He signs every autograph and all that attention to the people that he has given that personality he’s carved out he’s getting back in support out here in O2 and I think again here O’Hare nine to turning three under Only player in his 20s American player to have more than two wins He has three won this year at the quail hollow
Mhm Charlotte 17
Here’s where that familiar practice takeaway using a hybrid There’s been a lot of hybrids put in bags Scott
he is locked and loaded
He is that
early in the US Open That’s a good way to be Well he struggled the last couple years because he tried to change his golf swing He went to that stack and tilt Whenever you make a change it’s tough Here’s Beagus on 10 One of the holes that the USGA altered a bit in the players favor It’s still a beast Beautiful abbreviated follow through from Vas We’ll give him a good look at birdie up the hill about over the corner of the bunker huh
And you look down at those jigsaw puzzle piecers surrounding the 18th green or T Gen to play first Judy
seven iron up here to the green and he uh the shot that he played from the tea was the first ball I have actually seen completely embedded down in the fairway was allowed to uh lift it clean it and drop it This the quick putt from the back portion of the green You know Judy I know he’s working on his swing and trying to keep the right elbow closer to his body on the top of the back swing but I don’t think he’s putted as well either Well he certainly hasn’t puted as well as when he won a chin a not so far from here That was the greatest uh putting expo exhibition I think any of us had seen
Yeah Judy Nobody has or will right
We always put well when we win Well given that combination of of greens and the pressure of Sunday at the Open that was extraordinary Now Mickelson has this putt two under for his first nine if this goes in This putt is somewhere on top of the left edge and whether just on the edge or has to give it a little bit more That’s pretty much his judgment Ever so slightly uphill to start So make the turn one under 34 [Applause] Good start for Mickelson Plenty more on the way as he move to the front nine Mike Weir is knocking it stiff all around the second nine here at Beth Paige Black He’s got another birdie attempt to get to five under in the lead on round one day two of the on ESPN Let’s send you back to the play at the Tiff Andy you’re there
Yeah Scotty Uh Jay has hit a beautiful second shot into this this hole He’s kept it below the hole He’s putting up the hill breaking from his left to right but a great chance to get another birdie
Little back to back firm up the hill but not enough pace Speed of the greens varies dramatically uphill or downhill out here
And are they varying Andy Green to green just because some of the elevations are different
A little bit but not as much as you might think
Judy T- shot for Mickelson at one Pretty good breeze from his left now If this ball turned with a dog leg it would be helping it
This was the toughest fairway to hit Right in the middle but the toughest fairway to hit 02 A quirky T- shot way down the hill And as you see have to drive it if you’re long in the dog leg 22 David Duval’s birdie putt Billy Crouch talked about how he’s been hitting it long and hitting it straight He’s made a few putts Get going Oh how can it stop there Yeah I David just said “How can it stop there?” And it does stop there So he’ll stay at even par Of course Met Life flying high above Beth Paige Black It’s got today’s round covered end to end with great shots from the Snoopy One airship Whether tackling the hazards of the course or the uncertainties of life Metife has you covered and we’re all grateful that it has us covered today as opposed to yesterday when it wasn’t covering anything Steuart Sink Ravi looking for par on 17 He of course has figured in this championship over the years back to 2001 at Southern Hills And I like Steuart Sink starting the week Has the open championship type game Drives it reasonably straight long enough to compete at Beth Page Black and been one of the best putters on tour lately We take a look at what Mike Weir has done thus far During one of the breaks Sandy North said there’s a 65 out here and evidently Mike Weer’s got designs on that Who knows maybe better here on the then is second on 15 And this is this is one where Curtis I think accurately put it You’re just you’re stealing from that stuff to this elevated green hardest hole out here but couldn’t hit it with an iron only able to hit it with a utility And then his second on 16 from the middle of this fairway Very generous fairway on 16 You tee off from an elevated position It’s nearly 30 yards wide so it’s generous but you still have to hit it Then from there never left the flag for a moment He handled that with ease Then on the T at 17 that hybrid again not from the rump but from a peg on the ground That pace and that tempo looked magnificent earlier Hard to figure this champ hasn’t won since 2004 when you see that Now to birdie Five of his first eight holes to begin the 109th United States Open Oh that is unjust Those are the kind of par putts that anyone would like Low stress Let’s go up to nine after the bogey at the eighth Roco mediate at one under par And another rather indifferent iron shot for Rocco Curtis He kind of scooped a short iron here Has about 40 feet now Well from the back te I think one of the top two or three toughest holes in this golf course but playing a little bit up today And I I got to tell you I I know you said that but any par on any hole at Beth Page Black is okay Let’s come back to the first in the Swede Peter Hansen has this for birdie to join Weir at top the leaderboard Yes beautiful putt Twice a winner in Europe twice in the US Open Made the cut once Make an 07 at Oakmont Henson and Weir share the lead on four under right now Pick up David Duval at the third the lengthy par three playing 216 yards Hardest hole location today Back left Good shot Smart shot Safe shot Solid shot They say the word is he’s really playing well Garcia here on 10 And that was for that was for par He’ll drop a shot there Mike
and Mike Weer on the T at 18 Just missed that birdie on 17 Otherwise Scott would have had a chance Well he still has a chance if he holds this shot to tie the US Open record for nine holes 29 which always gives us a reason to mention Neil Lancaster who did it twice at Shinik and Oakland Hills
which means nothing
I understand Anytime you mentioned Neil Lancaster it’s good VJ did it in 03 on the way to his great day at Olympia Fields in the second round We Hansen share the lead at the open Well it was right about this time yesterday If you’re with us we were telling you that we are done for the day after waiting about 3 and 1/2 hours But uh looks wonderful out there for the moment and perhaps the best weather conditions the players will see for the first couple of rounds because there is rain still in the forecast and significant rain for Saturday But let’s deal with what’s going on right now here at the open and the play at the second hook
at one under Anthony Kim This is a pretty straightforward putt Maybe right edge Don’t have to worry about speed too much Boy it didn’t move did it
H did not move Tap that in Let’s go to the ninth
Kenny Perry has this for birdie Lot of talk of the unique groups the young 20somes the GQ kind of group guys from Oklahoma State and Clemson How about this group with Kenny Perry and layman and mediate Not gonna see many left to right shots out of this group
No you are not
Mickelson second at the first His 10th hole Very accessible Short iron Spin it back Not too good from where he was
See the other players in this group And a reminder they’ll finish these nine holes and then get started on their second round We have some players who maybe will get in 27 to 30 holes potentially today
They hope
that best case scenario And the good news is that it’s sunny so we’ll have maximum light and to get in as much golf as possible And you have the players who finished their first rounds like Jeff Breo who had finished 11 holes after yesterday finished up quite strong today He will play seven holes That’s the minimum saw a wide variance of how much golf is played by the 156 players in the field here completing round one and starting but not concluding for anyone round two in all likelihood Let’s check in on Camila B Jagus and 11 Late up hit it right down the middle of fairway with a fairway wood now with 153 yds Just a nine iron playing downwind Green’s really receptive Boy he swung it that hard Andy He goes at everything hard
He definitely does A little short swing but really creates a lot of speed
Yeah
And they’re throwing darts out here Curtis
Well as Mike just said I really think this half of the field has a definite advantage Even though they might go into tomorrow and it might be raining these guys this morning and yesterday had the tougher end of it right now
Absolutely
This group is Camil Adam Scott and Garcia This one was put together for the ladies I believe Garcia with 115 yards after hitting driver off the te pretty sporty
Yeah for all three Adam Scott in there as well Has been a struggle for Adam Scott Remember the dream pairing of one two three in the world for the first 36 holes last year Scott was the third with Mickelson and Woods It has been off the boil since then
You know it’s been frustrating for Scott but it’s also been frustrating for people like I do
You know he just potentially has everything
and just hasn’t performed yet
At one Mickelson for Birdie Ordinarily be pretty fast but not too bad right now That’s two in a row of seem right in the jaw short and will continue to do that because they’re so much slower today He’ll stay at one under Duval at the third to get there Just for perspective right now you have two players Weir and Hans at four under two at two under with the Jagus and O’Hare and Mickelson leading a big group of about 10 that are at one under par And then on back to the even pars You can see a lot of guys looking to see if there’s any mud on their golf ball And Curtis it’s something you can look for and try to counteract but sometimes the mud there’s nothing you can do about predicting where your ball’s going to go No Oh and it’s uh it’s just one of the the elements of playing a game outdoors Uh I don’t think they’ll be picking up much mud today Uh tomorrow if it didn’t rain possibly But there’s so much grass on these fairways Mud today Uh tomorrow if it didn’t rain possibly But there’s so much grass on these fairways It’s in such immaculate shape It’s hard to believe it’s a municipal golf course isn’t it Well yeah you’re right And on the PGA Tour you might be in a a situation where lift clean and place would be played and play and people have talked about that in the media but you as a US Open champion twice you’re all for keeping the ball down
I do I think it’s it’s special It’s the way the game really should be played As we watch Mike Reer up the hill a little bit he’s flagged his last two iron shots He’s flagged his last three four shots four shots since 15 Well you know as we talked about the other day Mike the PGA Tour is not more of a business I don’t mean it like that but it’s a schedule and we have to stay on schedule and we will cut to 54 Sometimes we will lift Ken in place to get through the round in that day The USG will not do that It’s
special It’s our national championship
I commend them for it It should be tougher It should be the way it supposed to be played
Andy we’re watching Garcia at 11 for Birdie Yeah very makeable putt should slide a little bit from his left to right Watch Sergio’s head If Sergio’s head stays really steady he’ll hit a good puck He moves it a little bit early once in a while Two co-leader with Mike Weir That’s Peter Hansen Drove the ball beautifully here A lot of the guys have been hitting the ball to the center of the green staying away from the flag as much as they can
Well this is a green light here And that a very poor shot from where he was You don’t get many short irons here Beth plates Beth Paige Black And when you do you have to go to the 10th
just earlier This is O’Hare from the bunker Lofts this straight up Lance beautifully Went on to make his part I’m with Curtis I think that this young player’s got everything you want for a championship like this This guy’s got a lot of that stuff too At 11 Camilis And what that stuff is is a success Andy yeah I think it’s been really interesting watching this group He and Sergio have played very much alike Sergio every time he’s had a 10 feet he’s missed it Every time the Jagus has had one this length he’s made it That’s been the difference in their rounds Should slide a little to the right Camila Visas won off the lead that terrific golf program in Gainesville second cut off as much as he can with a power fade and it’s going to stay in the rough
That’s a really aggressive play for short hole This is the only hole par4 on the golf course under 400 yds 11
and see if Adam Scott can get into red figures [Applause] runner up in Honolulu at the Sony in January Since then nothing happening for Scott Six missed cuts in a row as a matter of fact and barely made the cut and a non-factor at Colonial earlier this month but really no success for Adam for a half year here now And that’s a guy who was number three in the world a year ago And that tells me yes he’s struggling with this game but when you miss six cuts in a row your your attitude is poor You’re not staying in the game Uh if I ever missed more than two cuts in a row my gosh the last thing I wanted to do was three
Curtis cuz it builds on itself
63 is Major Golf Championship’s magic number That’s the lowest score ever shot in a Major Golf Championship Four times in the US Open We referred to VJ earlier with his 29 holes four in the US Open Of course Johnny’s great 63 Mike we are getting a good look at that board and uh a lot of red following his name Three lines down So you’re going to ask me a 62 in the game here
Well I I’m all I’m going to bring up is that yesterday when we rained out I said in the right conditions somebody would have a chance to put up a low number You disagreed with me I’m going to give you a chance to buy back in
You’re patting yourself in the back here No I’m I’m giving you a chance to buy back into to only living two-time US Open Champ
I will I mean think of it He’s got a big five more Even if he makes this I I think he’s on playing wonderfully well I think he’s going to shoot a good score today He seems like he’s in that zone His irons are in he’s driving in the middle of every fairway but it’s it’s tough to keep it going at a golf course like this He’s got a lot of long par4s ahead of him That was for an opening nine of 30 Instead he will shoot 31 Of course here par is 70 As we talk about someone shooting 62 or 63
Sorry I can’t My math is not very good
Mhm It’s all right It’s fine
Well Mike had a chance on both 17 and 18 He’ll make the turn at four under tied with Peter Hansen for the lead
And as Curtis talked about Hansen took a real conservative approach here and he’s got a long birdie putt The Nicholson group is back there in the fairway in the rough Hansen has been on the European tour Came out of the gate in a very competitive HSBC championship and finished third And that is the popular spot from that area We’ve seen a lot of balls stay there Nicholson’s in the rough just uhund something yards back having played another conservative shot that he has found himself not in the fairway A discussion to be taken up when we come back from this timeout as we head towards the top of the hour 2:00 in the East round one of the United States Open Championship The turning point was when Tom Kite hit it in the water off the tea on the fifth hole and they triple Bowie That’s why they call this hole double trouble
I went from three or four back to all of a sudden I believe one back after that
Get in the hole Get in the hole Get in the hole
And now it was anybody’s ball game to win And it was going to be a gutsy very tough playing last 13 holes of the US Open
That’s the greatest feeling in the game coming to the 18th hole and knowing you’ve won
It was more of a feeling of satisfaction that I accomplished something really special winning it back to back Well we mentioned Curtis is the only living man who has done that and really you go back now uh to Hogan in 51 and all the time from now till then Tiger Woods trying to accomplish that play the last four holes at four over par currently is eight shots off the lead Every time I see that clip of you at Oakill winning your second US Open which was 20 years ago yesterday first thought that always comes to mind is Sarah looks the same Your wife does She really does I’m not joking about that Um what’s the difficulty and the challenge uh that Tiger faces as he goes through the rest of this week in trying to do what you did 20 years ago
Well it’s very simple It’s it’s a year removed So your golf game has to be in top shape again Tigers is most of the time he goes to the golf course It’s a difficult golf course the toughest test we face That plays a part of it You’re going to a different golf course unlike Augusta National You’re going to a different golf course which might not fit your eye and you have to be on You’ve got to beat the best players in the world I was the right place at the right time Tom Kite made triple at the fifth hole which let me in a foot in the door Uh I certainly expect it’s not so much what I did as what others didn’t do because uh Nicholas Palmer Trevino Watson you certainly expect those guys to win backtoback But I really think that Tiger’s not thinking about backto-back He’s thinking about number 15 major championships He’s thinking about uh winning another US Open to get to that magic number of 18 or 19 So uh uh it the older I get the more it means to me but I don’t think it’s on Tiger’s radar screen It’s certainly a different time and a different era with all the talk about it leading up There wasn’t as much with different talent in players too
Let’s h move on over to the second and welcome in Bob Murphy who slid into the tower Murf
thank you Thank you
In this case a talented player out of some heavy stuff Shooting straight uphill He cannot see the green surface Doesn’t need to I mentioned Bob Murphy Gary Ko with familiar voices will stay through when NBC picks up coverage at the top of the hour 3 Eastern joining Andy North our other twotime US Open champ Bill Cratzer Hall of Famer Judy Rankin Mark Ralphing on the golf course Tom Raldi and Tom Oul if the situation arises Both standing by And here’s Coco now over at 10
Thank you Kenny Perry has this putt for a birdie three and a chance to birdie four of his last five Wow So Kenny Perry all of a sudden to two under par as we go to 11 And at the par for Shawn O’Hare just up the hill a little bit This the toughest stretch on the golf course And Kenny Perry’s making it look easy [Applause] Send you back to number one and Fred Funk His attempt for birdie just a moment ago It’s one for the old guys
53 years old Yep 53 Fred Funk
There we go Finished sixth in the open back in 2004 This last played here on Long Island at Shinox And there’s uh how we stand with Weir and Hansen at four Be Jagus moving to within one Gary told you the run that Perry’s on Graham McDow has the clubhouse lead shooting 69 Drew Weaver amazing story out of Virginia Tech Young man won the British amter in 2007 He was only 100 yards away from those tragic shootings at Virginia Tech earlier that year Still an amiter He’s come back and played well His game was in good form Ian Poulter right there leading the European charge The players who were done with their round along with McDow Let’s go to Gary now at the par five on the front
and the fourth hole it is Mike 517 yardd par five You could see the green uh the players can’t uh they are some 37 ft down below the level of the putting surface as David Dval goes for the green and two that from 215 yards Gary just a beautiful T-OT just in a little right Well it’s
I don’t know if he caught the green or not
Just going to trickle off the edge Billy But in excellent position should have a lot of options from there And there’s a good look at the elevation change that the players face Uh that big bunker you see right in the middle of your screen Uh Telling Hass called that the glacier bunker He was very big in his design philosophy of having what he called a great hazard That one certainly qualifies Glacier bunkers to the Canadian Mike Weir missed the fairway here at one his 10th hole All depends on what type of lie He’s in the 2 and 1/2 in intermediate cut Looks like he can get some club on the ball Looks like getting to the green will not be an issue Just controlling the spin is the issue Well done
Yeah absolutely
Well done Not able to handle all that dog leg right but certainly not blocked out In okay shape Give himself a couple of putts to remain at four under Let’s go visit Mickelson Phil sliding in behind Judy this doesn’t appear to be a very hard putt No it it doesn’t uh certainly doesn’t appear to do much Although yesterday we saw but putts go both ways from beyond the hole here It does that for Phil Mickelson when he’s on Get that putter rolling from 5 to 8 ft He will be a terror
Bob that shot from up the hill was 122 yards It was not a very good lie and he just sat it down so gently Yeah it’s fantastic what they can do out of that heavy rough and watch Phil’s reaction He likes it and the people jump straight up in the air They’re into it I’ll tell you
And they’re into him as well Murf
Darn right they are over to 11
This guy would receive a similar reaction as the day goes on but it’s come off the boil a little bit here from M for Roco Mediate the last couple of holes
What’s the total again really has Mike
front 76 hole
straight help with the wind
As you can hear the wind is behind him He’s got a good lie in the bunker And even though there’s a high lip on this fairway bunker I think he’s far enough back in it that he’ll have a shot
Sorry I lost No worries
Obviously cannot see anything courteous at the top of the flag stick from where he is
Well that’s one of the characteristics of this golf course Mark Deep deep bunkers in the fairway and the green Just got to catch it perfectly And it looked heavy
Well and it went right also Okay Very good Matter of fact
well fairway bunkers for the players who are watching the US Open usually not a problem but sometimes the golf course and for those of you at home fairway bunkers can be a problem Andy North with a little perspective on missing the fairway and finding a bunker One thing you’re going to notice this week about the fairway bunkers at Beth Page Black one there’s a ton of them Two they’re huge If you’re lucky enough to put in the bunker and it’s in a flat area you’ll have enough room to clear these high lips But if you hit it up anywhere near the face of the bunker it’s a whole another story You still have a blind shot but now you have to get the ball up so quickly you’re probably going to have to take more loft than you need to reach the green So you’re going to be coming up well short of the green But the key is get the ball out of the bunker over these high lips One other thing you’ll notice they kept the long fescue in the top lips of these bunkers It makes it You talk about a great story Is it one under definite birdie hole here This is um had a 100 birdies in the last US Open on this hole Just goes right over the stick and Roco seems to have that happy golucky mojo going that he had at Tory Pines last year He’s playing way different He’s been playing He’s inspired All right over at the six we check in with Mickelson and Daddy Pepper with this group
A second shot of 140 yards after a hybrid off the team Well has settled down a bit in this first cut 32 or 42 Good angle Johnny
Perfect angle I would think he’s probably going to try to go flag stick hunting here Maybe play it 5 ft left of the flag
And what little breeze uh is there Johnny is helping toward the flag stick It’s a really ideal setup swinging just fantastically well Uh working with Butch Harmon it’s just much shorter Watch the back swing position Used to be parallel or past with a shot [Music] just turning toward the flag stick
and deep Wow Little miscue there Was that wasn’t a jumper was it Dy
No that was that was not a jumper at all And that’s just his second missed green in regulation for Mickelson Now Mike Weir
there’s that utility club hybrid that he’s just been knocking the flag sticks down That ball looks like he was playing winter rules and teed it up It is just sitting up Mark Well Johnny it is a very good lie I would say given the wetness of the rough But you can see Mike is headed all the way over to the right hand side of the fairway which means he’s almost totally blocked with trees between the hole in him He’s going to have to get this one up quite high to get it over the corner of the trees
What do you think you can hit that
I don’t think [Music] I hit right here
Now he’s talking cut Yeah he he hit that He had a couple of little cuts with these clubs What club is this Mark can you tell him
Yeah I I think it actually may be that Well now he’s going to go back The problem is he’s got 220 up the hill So well this is second toughest hole in this round 4.56 average Just four birdies and just 27% of the field has hit this green and two So that’s probably not one of those birdie chances but the bottom line is sitting up Mark and uh the way he’s swinging who knows what he’s going to do He might not get stiff again
Well a cut is a safer shot Johnny If he misses it he’ll miss it to the right of the green If it doesn’t cut enough worried to hit the tree would come down in the long fue He’s aiming for a cut Boy he has done it John Got plenty of length just off the back of the green but not bad at all from there for Mike Reer Again needs to play two under golf in the last five holes to shoot what’s never been shot before in a major championship A 62 over to the eighth Dval for birdie moves towards the water Did he hit it Wow Way short some work Yep to stay at two under again This his second to last hole of the first round And over to 15
Sergio Garcia now for his bogey That’s a fantastic save He airmmailed the green in two left his chip short of the green and then fluffed it coming down So as we’ve said you try to avoid double bogeies in these major championships That is a fantastic escape right there Back to six And Mickelson from the lie there What’s it like Daddy
It is not very good It settled right down to the bottom Club face now wide open trying to hit the flop shot Blue grass is tough stuff Doy thick and wet Well does it [Applause] tiger struggled with those shots around the greens coming in those chip shots So Mickelson with a good chance to remain at three under We talked about all the close calls for Mickelson in the US Opens especially right here in this area Tied for fourth at Shinnok back in ’95 when Paven won Tiger felt some heat from Mickelson before Mickelson settled for second Shinnik Mickelson had it Ratif Gusen ended up winning it and of course the real problems at the 72nd hole at Wingfoot where Mickelson went to that 72nd hole with a one-shot lead and just lost it So V is now at 15 What a big mistake this was He hit a beautiful second shot from the middle of the fairway Left his short putt Left his parry putt short and then missed that for made bogey with a nice power saber And for so long now Johnny he’s been telling everybody I’m close I’m close I’m not far away But he really hasn’t had any results to back that talk up He’s backing it up right now
Yes he is But uh you know Thursday’s Thursday got to wait till Saturday or Sunday That is true Now mediate for his birdie at 14 Yes Roco back to two under Talk about a guy that gets along with these crowds right in his wheelhouse And over at the sixth Ernie just earlier for birdie playing with Mickelson and Ratif Gusen Hasn’t been making many of these in the last several years So Ernie with a couple of birdies in the last three holes but a double at the third Still fighting back from that Mike Rear is fighting for a possible 62 today He’s at 6 under He’s got a threeshot lead in the 109th United States Open [Music] Back at Beth Paige Black Second time this public course has hosted the US Open Championship 109th edition continuing with perhaps some history being made here Mike Weir for birdie at the fifth
going with a fairway medal there and that one looking really good It’s going to be a tap in par for Weir making it look easy
who now has to play two under the last four holes to get the unprecedented 62 in a major And while we were away this was Mikkelson at the six for his par Oh man So Mickelson with a bogey his second of the day He’s got three holes left in his first round and slips to four behind And a reminder for a full wrap-up of the day’s events you can watch the US Open wrap-up presented by Lexus It’s live on NBCports.com at the conclusion of today’s tournament coverage [Music] And again we’re going to be joining you at 10:00 a.m Eastern time tomorrow on NBC 7:00 a.m Pacific So lots of golf coming your way here in NBC to 13 And Ricky Barnes from the heavy stuff his third at the par five Oh that’s going to be a good one He goes on to tap that in and moves to red numbers minus one
And Murf the USGAA likes to have some fun with the pairings And this grouping all US amer champions Billy Mayfair the 87 champion sporting the bucket hat Matt Cooer 97 champion and Ricky Barnes at Oakland Hills back in 2002 In fact there’s a total of seven US amer champions in the field And over to 15 Sean O’Hare out just earlier from the middle of the 15th fairway Beautiful T-shot coming straight up the hill some 40 ft Blind putting surface from the fairway Beautiful shot Very popular spot today The greens are soft The players expect the ball to roll to the right because of the slope on that green But boy that is a tough putt coming down that hill Back on 17T Phil Mickelson Let’s take a look at this seventh hole There you see it’s only about 250 to carry that bunker So it’s a visual intimidation more than anything else But you must get around the corner to come at this hole Plays two different lengths 489 and 505 So it’s going to be a big one either way And Murf that’s 3wood His fellow competitors both hit driver and that’s on a really tight line on the trees And it is too tight and into the trees No good Paced out a little bit
Maybe depends on your lie He must stay under tree limbs there Fantastic holding And over to five And all that’s left for Mike Wear to remain six under on his round We’re the 2003 Masters Champion It’s not like he’s been winning a lot since getting that green jacket He’s won just twice in the last six years but he has it going today on a golf course that if any of the days here is vulnerable a little bit now Sean O’Hare for his birdie on 15 coming down the hill As we’ve seen the greens are soft They’re wet This is pretty quick It’s going to turn dramatically to his left We saw Sergio Garcia make a nice putt for a bogey and just a just a group ahead of him You see the speed got him Still a great par on a very difficult hole Let’s go back to six And this is a 408 yardd par four It’s not a hard hole at all folks if you can hit the fairway but you need to hit the fairway Uh Phil Mickelson of course just bogeied it from a good spot Unforced error and he’s actually playing a little draw John He started it left trying to bring it back right and does not You got to hit this fairway It’s not easy to hit it Semilind from the T but it’s just a short par4 Just the second shortest par4 out here to 16
Just a moment ago Adam Scott’s second shot here at the 490 yd par four but it’s playing downwind and it is downhill off the tee So
Adam Scott after a big drive short iron
Well done Chance to get to two under We go back to 15 Roco now from the right side of the fairway As you can see right there how how elevated that green is from the fairway taking it right at it but just a little bit short and it doesn’t crawl up onto that ledge and will gather back to the low area Hit a lot of shots at the flag stick uh beater
Yeah he’s swinging well He’s got the ball in play which is the most important thing here at Beth Page
Oh what a nicer day we’ve got on this Friday afternoon Snoopy one providing the dramatic views of this US Open championship and the MetLife blip providing coverage of major sporting events while Metife provides you with the guarantees for the ifs in life Visit metlife.com today Good luck across Long Island as the black horse host this US Open championship for the second time in seven years And let’s go back down on the course to the ninth in the final hole for Dval Peter what a great round he’s got going Completing his first round Started on the 10th T What a what an easier hole this is They’ve got the TE’s up so you can carry that cross bunker John Tempo’s good Shot’s good That’s a beautiful shot right there Fantastic story Wouldn’t it be something if David Duval were to have a chance to win the US Open You see Mike Weir chasing history six under looking at that magic number of 62 What is the situation for Mike Weir Mark it is decision time for Mike Weir right now He’s got 172 yds to the hole He’s in the bunker Has a good lie The lip not particularly high but he’s very close to it So normally downhill a little bit downwind I think this would be a seveniron shot for him And with the ball below his feet he’s going to have to work hard Johnny to get it up quickly The ball looks like it’s actually quarter of an inch sitting down I don’t know if maybe it’s just our illusion but doesn’t look like it’s teed up by any means I mean it looks like it’s nestled a titch
Well you know that the sand is very wet in the bottom of these bunkers and everything is sitting down a little It looks like it part of that ball sitting down He’s going to have to hit a perfect You know you’d think a guy’s not too long of a hitter He’s hit five fairways today out of 12 You surely wouldn’t think he would be six under par but that’s maybe what you can do with this new kind of fairway I mean rough cut that the USG is has set up He’s had some great recovery shots really good ones Well he got a lot of club on this one but it is headed left Dangerously left and in the thick rough on that little peninsula that goes out into the bunker Yeah just squirted on him with that ball below his feet over to the seventh Well watch this Phil Mickelson He has to hook this ball at least 30 yards to get it maybe to run up the runway I don’t know how you could do it any better than that Most guys would have a big decision to make there on that shot Let’s go to Bob Costas
All right And as Phil Mickelson contemplates that decision here is Tim Rosa Ford of course from Golf World magazine And you spent some time with Phil around the putting green
I was here at 8:00 this morning and Phil was already getting ready for his round some 3 hours away A poignant moment Darren Clark came over and they had an extended conversation Of course Darren lost his wife Heather to breast cancer Darren wearing a pink belt in Phil’s honor I was talking to his caddyy Bones Mai and obviously Phil got a big break with the draw yesterday Didn’t have to come out uh with all the delays Didn’t have to expend a lot of energy It was just a good afternoon for him They went to see a movie The Taking Appelum 123 Popular movie obviously especially in the New York area
And how was his review of Denzel and Travolta
Well it wasn’t exactly the mellowest movie to go see obviously but it got maybe more fired up than these not as quite as fired up as these New York fans but another reason And then they got a little takeout from PF Chains afterwards so it was a nice way to spend the day Did they have the lettuce cups I didn’t get that
If you were a real reporter you’d be on top of this information This is what the public wants to know before Phil came out here to Long Island Went home
daughter’s birthday spent as much quality time as he could
Uh walked the practice round with him the other day and it was obviously a different Phil Mickelson than what we saw in Memphis when you could really read how brave he was uh through his face But he did have a chance and something you could do when you have your own plane He had a chance to duck home from Memphis Celebrated two birthdays his daughter Amanda remember born just after the US Open in 1999 and then Phil’s birthday as well which of course you know Phil’s losing weight but he had to go out for two breakfast one that the kids served in bed one at his favorite place and uh it was a nice way to actually reset unwind as he said his do his his wife uh Amy gave him a beautiful birthday present which is a tough act to follow because last year it was a dinosaur head of course this year was a cool little camera that had as we all know it’s well known was it a triceratops a raptor what was it
was Velociraptor I guess But
guess you know you’re just making that up now You’re making that up I’m trying
I heard it was the Stegosaurus
This year I don’t know if she topped it but she gave him this cool camera that he can actually use to shoot on a driving range Phil can use it Bones can use it Butch Harmon can use it And afterward they plan a vacation in Hawaii where Phil hopes to have that silver trophy on the plane with him that Amy keeps requesting in text messages and notes
All right Tim Thanks very much Couple more notes here The USGAA has reversed field First they said that they would issue no rain checks for those who held tickets for yesterday’s rain abbreviated round Now after much public disapproval they say “Look here’s what we’ll do It’s likely that there will be golf on Monday the way things are shaping up.” And in that case we will honor tickets from Thursday on Monday If there is no Monday golf since they did play about 3 hours before Rainforced the suspension shortly after 10:00 a.m yesterday there will be 50% refunds to those holding tickets for round one if there is no Monday golf Otherwise they can use those tickets and show up for what should be the conclusion of this 109th US Open on Monday Another note and this one is significant from the world of tennis citing tendonitis in his knees The defending champion Raphael Nadal who won that epic final over Roger Federer a year ago has withdrawn from Wimbledon I guess there’s an upside therefore for Federer tied presently with Pete Sampas with 14 career Grand Slam victories This would seem to open up the draw for him and maybe get to number 15 Here we go Back to Phil at number seven Phil’s third and importantly needs to get up on that level You can see in that picture and he does that left for par That’s a good chip Up to nine David Duval now to finish a fantastic round The first day putting for birdie down the hill Great round David Duval Fantastic In with a 67 today Even though it’s Friday it’s the finish of the first round Let’s go to 16 And Sergio Garcia with a chance for birdie Beats it after bogeies at last two There we go Nicely done So Garcia he’s back to plus one Over at six And Mark Weir now Mark might be
he will need to keep this club head moving Johnny through this ball It’s a very thick lie but plenty of green to work with
Well the good news he practices in Utah there at Thanksgiving point with the same kind of grass uh blue grass and so he he knows how to play out of this uh rough This shot will have some pretty good break to the right once it gets on the green and roll I don’t think he hit it far enough
Tiger hit a few of those coming in today where he just the grass It’s tough Bluegrass is really tough grass So we’re in danger of making his first bogey A long par putt coming up Here’s the view from above to see what kind of carry it got out of the thick rough Not much
Yeah just grabbed the club face and u leaves himself a tough putt Um you know he can do it A little bit of a hook putt for him Zabatine and the par three 199 yds today Sergio Garcia with a five iron He likes it Annie beautifully positioned underneath the hole Uphill putt from there Seems as though the New York fans have adopted a little different attitude with Garcia this time as we go to eight Saurin Hansen just earlier at the par 38 163 yds The only hole here to feature a water hazard just in front We’ve seen a ton of good shots on this hole And Hansen went on to make that to get it back to even and playing with Peter Hansen at 200 Well he just saw a great shot He’s playing a high draw Hansen was a part of the lead not too long ago but he’s made two bogeies in the last three holes but he made that So how about the twos by Hansen and Hansen at eight over to Mickelson for par Not a ton of break Murf but if it wants to go anywhere it will want to go to the right Oh
started it outside the hole Well he yanked it on the what the last hole Murf and then pushes it this one It was a obviously a big push Yes Well we say it a lot but those are mustakes What a gamble he took Hooked that ball around those trees dramatically Heck of a pitch and missed the putt And Mike Weir who again has not made a bogey all day And now the prospects of a 62 slipping away and he’s still not in Want golf updates whenever and wherever Use NBC Sports Mobile Get them right on your cell phone Just text the word golf to 51515 again the letters GF to 51515 And once again we are going to be with you just about as much as possible on this Saturday at the US Open tomorrow 10:00 a.m Eastern time 7:00 a.m Pacific Live coverage of the conclusion of the second round on this uh continued catchup process after the rain washed everything away virtually as play was uh cancelled yesterday at 10:15 in the morning before resuming this morning at 7:30 now aims for par at six playing with Weir and Stewart Sink in this group and Ames with backto-back bogeies falls to plus four and a full 10 shots right now behind Mike Weir which must feel like twice that many shots Well we’s going to drop at least one here Mark If you keep missing the fairways eventually it’s going to get you You know we just can’t keep missing this many fairways He did he’s hit some unbelievable approach shots but he did miss the cut here in 2002 is 7874 So whatever he’s done homework wise he’s going to surely shoot in the mid60s today Well he has hit some brilliant hybrids and and fairway medals out of the rough Johnny which is the whole theory of this graduated rough that the USGA has implemented the last few years Oh hard to believe how well it was going And all of a sudden the double That takes him off track for a 62 and makes a 63 unlikely now You better hope he shoots four under now Going the wrong way Three holes left for Weir He’s really a terrific player He’s got a great swing Gets a lot out of small stature And over at 16 Shawn O’Hare with this birdie opportunity Chance to move to 400 and share the lead It’ll go hard to his left Will it break enough Man what a good effort Great looking player Gary
Yeah very impressive Johnny Does everything extremely well as we go to eight
And Ratif Genen on the tea of this par three This hole you can’t mish hit it that’s for sure But the guys uh we’ve just seen great shot after great shot just just annihilating this hole with this front left hole location Even though the bank is shaved and the water’s in play if you come up short
Just a touch of breeze up in the face of the players Now you got to really be careful about that spin you talked about
That going left or right That is high and left of the flag stick just barely At plus three He’s broken pot in the opening round in only two of his 11 US Opens the 66 at Southern Hills in 2001 when he won and then at Pinehurst when he shot 68 when it looked like he was going to win And we all remember what happened on that final round Sunday
Well he’s got the nerves of a forward observer I mean he just he is really a cool calm collected guy 27 ft downhill Do
needs to turn this around right here Eight iron That is right at it This hole three times in the last opening Three good shots Trying to get out of that bogey bunk that he’s in right now 17
And Garcia for another birdie Couldn’t ask for a better position to putt from Johnny up the hill ever so slightly turning right to left Made a beautiful stroke on the last hole Yeah he’s gone back to the belly putter Missed the cut last week in Memphis and was using the regular length putter
Oh nice That’s the way to come back I mentioned the crowd a little more appreciative of Garcia this time around 2002 He had some issues with the New York crowd as we take another look Really hit through that nice though Yeah I did a lot of acceleration and boy even as good as these greens are there’s still when we slow it down that much that ball hops around a little bit
Well whenever you got moisture footprints and things that the balls aren’t bouncing off line are they Gary
No they are not As we go to seven and from behind Mike Weir I can tell you that he wants to go at that very large tower right in the back of his head there
And Bob time to get one in the fairway now
Yes practice that real high follow through mark I’m not sure if he’s trying to hit a cut or what Well he’s going to have to hit a hard cut if it’s going to cut We’ll see it See what he hits And this one looks pretty good here He bent down and got that T real quickly That’s a giveaway when they go after that T like that It’s a good one So Mike Weir just had a disaster there David Duval How about that 67 [Music] And
it’s a slow one actually uphill Well you can hear the crowd pulling for him every step He’s a little ashen at the moment The putter has left him a bit Now in the middle of the ninth fairway Peter Hansen with a tremendous opening round going Three under par That’s a good swing He’s got a nice tempo doesn’t he John Looks like he’s powerful Also
a beautiful second shot pulling that back Well he’ll have that for four under par for the first round Fantastic start Let’s go out to Jimmy Roberts Peter Hansen Quite a story And you know we say it every year and it’s really one of the most appealing things about this event It’s called the Open for good reason Just about anyone can enter and if they’re good enough make it into the field to compete for the national championship All you need is to be a declared professional or an amateur with no higher than a 1.4 USGA handicap index Then you can just pay your $150 entry fee and take a shot This year a record 9,086 golfers entered Local qualifiers were held in May at 112 sites before the field was whittleled down for 36 whole sectional events at 13 sites here in the United States And for the fifth time sectional qualifying also held overseas at one site in Japan and one in England And a pretty good story makes it here to Beth Paige out of the sectional competition at Walton Heath in England In the person of Peter Hansen who you just saw hitting that nice shot into nine He’s been at top the leaderboard or around it most of the day Seven players in that Walton Heath qualifier found themselves tied after 36 holes and playing off for just five spots And after four of them burned the first extra hole this is Hansen one hole later 206 yds the sixiron the par three and that’s where the playoff ends the hole in one This game is just so stupid he said sometimes afterward Obviously I’m delighted to get through but to do it like that is unbelievable And Dan in 2005 the first year of these international qualifiers that was the route that Michael Campbell used to make his way into the field at Pinehurst And we know what happened there Of course he won But if Hansen should go on this week to win considering the way he just barely got into the field that’d be some kind of story don’t you think
Yep absolutely Jimmy It what makes this championship so special It is open and you never knew what kind of avenues guys are going to take to lift that trophy Mike we are at the seventh now
Just Sorry Bob Go ahead
He’s looking to help himself out now Johnny after a mistake and perfect drive here There’s that utility wood again huh
He’s had a lot of the same distance shots This one’s from 224 right toward the center of the green Good safe shot there Absolutely You can’t mark this down as a birdie hole We’ll take a look at our IBM scoring summary down below You see young Alexander a couple over par Just six birdies on this hole so far today So that was one heck of a second shot by wear Well it’s not a position from which you get real brave either You just want to get it on the green Hopefully you don’t pick up mud on your ball when you hit the drive up to 16
where Roco Mediate has a very lengthy putt for a birdie three And Dan it was interesting earlier in the week He was talking about the New York crowds and you know we all know Rocco’s attitude about things and he said you know it’s going to be great It’s going to be fun These guys are going to be insane I love that kind of stuff It’s going to be nuts and I’m going to fit right in You know we’ve talked about it Gary and you mentioned the Sergio Garcia uh crowd that wasn’t exactly on his side back in 2002 A lot of the players very aware of Rockco doesn’t have to worry about it because all the crowds love him but a lot of the players I think doing even a little extra this week you know kind of making contact with the crowds to make sure that they’re on their side When they’re not it makes it really tough All right if this were to somehow go in it would move into a three under Nicely judged It’s been an interesting year for Rockco He’s played 12 events He’s made the cut every time but uh just hasn’t really played that well once he makes the cut as we go over to nine And now Peter Hansen for his birdie to shoot four under in the opening round after that fantastic second shot What a great story that is Jimmy making a hole in one in the sectional qualify Kind of reminded me of Craig Perry when he hauled out on the 18th hole in the playoff to win at Dorado a few years ago That’s way to slam the the door on the competition Let’s go to 17
And that’s the second shot for Shawn O’Hare T- shot with a five iron Hung a little to the right and a good bunker shot Chance to save par Has not made a bogey yet today See his name there at three under par And back to 15 now Ricky Barnes coming down the hill for Birdie at 15 This is without a doubt the most difficult putting surface at Beth Paige That’s not a bad leave right there Let’s go to eight And the T-OT for Todd Hamilton at one under three back [Music] Plays that nice high cut shot which is perfect for here And you can see how receptive these greens are Pretty much stops exactly where you want it to over to the ninth
Yeah it’s an interesting hole You want to drive it in here Some players can actually get over that bunker but there’s a groove right in there and uh a lot of players are in that and then and Mickelson is going to put it down that groove or is he going to go all the way He’s going right of the bunkers I think
he is This is a 3-wood just like the two other players in this group A
lot of the balls in There’s a million divots down in that little groove I was talking about but that one’s up above it That’s a big advantage today with that T up It allows the players as you said John to carry that cross bunker off the tea Let’s go to 18
And Camila Bishas and his second from right in the middle of the fairway Oh that’s a lot of dirt there He got did he get the ball first
That’s one of the softest if not the softest area of the golf course at least in the fairway That’s where they were pumping out water yesterday here at 18 It’s a good shot as Beas has really fallen off He was three under through 12 He’s plus four the last five holes though at plus one Now Adam Scott
who’s been trying to dig himself out of a lengthy stretch of play that is just far from what we’ve been used to seeing from him You know when you’re hitting off a flat lie to an uphill green you don’t see a lot of great iron shots You see that on par threes uphill par 3es with a flat T Guys either flip it left or they sometimes hang it out to the right The guys that do well are the ones that can cut the ball Scott the third ranked player in the world at this time last year In fact he was paired with Tiger Phil last year in the first couple of rounds of Tory Pines now 42nd in the world Pretty typical right there
Thank you
While Tiger and Phil are still one two 16 mediate for par to remain at two under certainly didn’t miss many of those last year and well you hate to give one back like that As we go to seven and Mike we’re ready and Mark Ralphing you have a read for us It is going to break to the left Bob And a lot of the players have missed this low but Steuart Sink hit a putt on a similar line that we saw He just didn’t hit it hard enough but a good par Cozy par back to 18
And Sergio Garcia who’s bringing it back nicely here on this back nine Watch this divot folks Good strike plane See if he goes left Yeah that’s that where the flag stick was There’d be a lot of birdies on this hole Sergio coming off backto back birdies after backto back bogeies David Dval with a 67 matches his low US Open round the same round he turned in back in 99 at Pinehurst when he shared the first and second round leads And here’s your divot man Sergio Garcia on a soft fairway at 18 That’s some earth Welcome back Phil Mickelson Now with his second shot on the ninth hole after a perfect T-shot looking straight at the green Can’t see much of the putting surface Looks like he likes it And he does And he should Beautiful shot Nobody can pull the string on those short irons like Phil Nicholson Let’s go to 18 Adam Scott looking over this birdie putt Never enough on it It’s a good par though Be a good back nine for Adam Be a one under back 34 And over to the eighth We saw Todd Hamilton’s T-shot this to get to two under Very easy putt right up the hill Nicely done That’s his third birdie on this nine This is his uh final nine and he is within a couple Hamilton coming off a good Masters in the first major play Tie for 15th there and up at 17 just a moment ago O’Hare for his par to remain at three under So bogey free is Shawn O’Hare as he goes to the 18th Back at eight
and Mike Weir in his second to last hole tied for the lead with Hansen who is already in with a 66 in this hole playing just about as short as it will all week long John they’re playing on a lower T and whole location in the front So it’s just 163 yds The difference between this year’s championship and 2002 though is they have mowed down this bank between the front of the green and the water So anything that lands short will spin back into the water I would think being left-handed is a slightly tougher shot He’d probably put it more to the right of the flag stick It’s a little bit of a draw and it’s just right of the flag Beautiful So maybe he can get it back to five under That was a quality shot And back at 18 Garcia has already missed his birdie attempt So Be Jagus in need of one here after four bogeies in the last five What a nice putt that was That was looking so good But it’s supposed to break at the end of the putt when it’s slowing down So Beas was out in two under comes home in plus three So a first round 71 for him to 17
Roco on the tea with a four iron Familiar setup aiming to the right with the whole location on the right He’s got to flirt with that bunker right and play his draw Oh he does it beautifully Boom Crowd’s going to love that at this amphitheater setting here at 17 One of the best shots we’ve seen all day So we go to 18
And Adam Scott to save his par This has kind of been the area of the game that’s been betraying him a bit Shortish putts but no problem with that for Adam And he opens up with a 69 Good start for Scott I’ll say that’s very good I mean he looks like he should be winning every other tournament but uh it just hasn’t been happening Gary mentioned that amphitheater setting at 17 and Garcia such a big part of that incredible Saturday back in 2002 which really kind of culminated at 17 Mickelson making a birdie there But Garcia was kind of on the opposite end of the love for Mickelson I mean that was a tough week for him He said he learned a lot about himself Good round though
Garcia in with a even round 70 And over the fourth this is Courtland Lowe with his third shot Courtland Low uh moved next door to Charles Howell when he was 8 years old in Augusta Georgia Qualified at the Dayton qualifying site Shot 62 at the NCR Championship course And Gary reminder we are on earlier than you might expect tomorrow 1000 a.m Eastern time 700 a.m on the West Coast Live coverage of this 109th US Open Championship We’ll be seeing Phil again weather permitting Mickelson a part of that wave Now over at the ninth Ratif Gooseen now for Birdie
I played a beautiful in here second in here from 145 First turn going left Love the rhythm on his stroke Doy He’s always seems to be under control with the putter We don’t always make everything but he sure looks good standing over it [Applause] Just a formality we hope [Applause] Matif Gusen three over par Not happy with this first round but he’ll have a chance to get it back tomorrow Beautiful shot there from above The putting greens here at Beth Page Black are the the the easiest part of this golf course is getting there getting to the fairway and getting on the green Now Phil Mickelson I think a subtle break to the at the start to the left and then to the right at the hole Well he just completely lost his touch coming in Peter
don’t you think these greens are hard to read Doy Except for the ones that are so severely sloped This is a fairly benign green
There are there’s nothing obvious about probably half of these greens Very difficult and easy to overread I believe And when Phil Mickelson’s confident you see him blast those putts That’s why you see him knock some putts two three four feet by Now Ernie for his bogey He hit his second in the long stuff uh left hit a blast out that barely stayed on the green and then the fourth past the hole Oh one of those dreaded double bogeies Very uncharacteristic for Ernie Ell’s It’s his fourth double of the day Finishing eight over par 78 What you got here Daddy
Anything it wants to go left Peter And uh a test to finish for sure So Phil Mickelson good solid round today One undercar 69 certainly in the mix Got a break by playing in the afternoon and avoiding all that rain we had yesterday and Jake he’ll have about an hour and 15 minutes or so as we look at the schedule to where he begins his second round here today and they can play here till I don’t know 8:15ish something like that here on the East Coast Phil seems to always get off to good starts in the US Open He’s only once not been par better and that was in 74 when he had the bad wrist at Oakmont
And that’s another reason as you look at Weir eyeing and birdie putt at eight It’s another reason why if you’re playing well and you’re getting on this side of the wave keep playing and keep putting up some pretty good numbers on a golf course that uh is fairly easy right now as far as US Open championship courses are considered But this is weird to get back on track to five under Yes Weir shakes off the double at six and regains the lead with one hole left Things are looking really good for Mike Weary He’s just needs to hit a few more fairways but his approach shots have been the best of anybody in the field and his putting is very solid [Music] So over at the seventh just earlier this is the French pairing and this is Jean Frano Francois Lacaw and that finds the bottom of the cup That gets him to plus three That’s La Birdie and also paired with Thomas Le You You flew it in French Johnny You might want to take over at this point but Ly for birdie Raphael Zukla is also Jacula is in this pairing as well So Ly Jacula there we go We need some We need some Jake French All right Rocco That’s a little easier to pronounce Especially for the people around here All right Nice birdie And listen to this roar Yeah there you go So Rocco back to two under par with his fifth birdie of the day Up to 18
Sean O’Hare had to take an unplayable So this is his third
at 18 comes in here at three under without a single bogey on his card He surely didn’t need to hit his drive that far down in there to bring that stuff into play He’s got some work left at 18 We go to 16
And Ricky Barnes after a big drive here at the 490 yd par4 His second shot with just a short iron Oh and that’s a beauty So Ricky Barnes with a great chance to get the two under And let’s take a look at this 16th hole T-shot some 60 ft down to the fairway And fairway about 28 29 yds wide They’ve shifted it a little bit more to the right this year Johnny and than it was in 2002 to bring that right bunker into play and give it a little bit of an illusion of a dog leg to the left
It’s almost a double dog leg isn’t it
It is And uh a very bowlshaped green One of the few here at Beth Page Black where you know anything from the edges of the green tries to gather in toward the center of the putting surface
Little Redan style there with a candid angle As we go over to number nine we’ve reached the 19 now Our leader Mike Weir five under par Mark he’s on the T They have 3-wood or driver
I believe it’s going to be a 3-wood for Mike I’m far enough up the fairway I can’t see But it is a dog leg left which means a little bit of a fade for Mike
It’s a driver and the te is up a smooth little 41 yds today Course is not set up tough He’s still going to have to hit it pretty good to get it over the corner of the bunker It was tough for the guys that had to play in that rain yesterday though wasn’t it But uh in the afternoon group that those that didn’t begin until today 11 players are under par Perfect T-shot for Mike Weir off the ninth hole He’s got a one-shot lead over Peter Hansen We’ll be right back with more coverage of the US Open right after this If he pars his final hole the ninth it will be a 65 and it would be the lowest US Open round ever here on this Beth Paige black course And then down there you see it one under Mickelson with a great start today with an opening round 69 and he is with Dy Pepper
Thank you Dan Great start to the US Open championship 15 of 18 greens Your best ever in an open Um talk us a little about your ball striking and then the struggles with the putter to finish The soft conditions are are great because balls that land in the fairway are staying in the fairway And uh usually uh when I miss fairways if I hit a sometimes I’ll hit a good T- shot I’ll hit fairway and kick in the rough I very rarely have the ball land in the rough and kick in the fairway So the soft conditions are helping uh to for me to hit fairways and be able to attack pins and get on the greens
An emotional return to the New York area for you after all that’s going on in your personal life How hard is it to get your emotions in check and get this round done
Yeah I think that the conditions right now will never get easier throughout the week This So we want to play as much golf as we can They moved our tea times back a half hour which means we’re going to have two holes in tougher conditions We want to play as much golf as we can today We certainly were on the better end of the tea times How about the reception from these fans It it has to um be very gratifying for you for all you for what’s happened in the last 3 weeks
I I love playing here The people here have been incredible for me and my family They’ve uh treated us so good I love playing golf here I love having big events here because they’re some of the best sports fans in the country
Thanks for your time Play well later today and we’ll go back to you Dan Thank you Doie And Phil goes off at about 5:30 for round two That’s again about an hour and 15 minutes from now 16 we go And that was Ricky Barnes with a little two and a half footer for birdie to move to two under par We go to nine Todd Hamilton now for Birdie to get to one under par for the championship [Applause] Todd has been playing some great golf this year Excuse me Three under par today 67 I was mistaken As you said he did a lot for hybrids when he when he hit that hybrid from the front of the green at the 18th hole to win the open championship You see there Todd Hamilton at three under Great opening round Now he’s got to go in grab something to eat and head back out Let’s go to 18
And this was a moment ago Ross Fiser Not a hard putt just a little breaker to the right Medium speed And that gets the 28-year-old Englishman in with an even par round of 70 Just his second US Open appearance Missed the cut last year at Tory Pines but Fischer does have a couple of European tour wins And now O’Hare for a bogey His wife Jackie is expecting their third child
Nice In fact they went to the hospital last Sunday thinking that maybe she was going into labor but it ended up she was just having back spasms
But he apparently has made arrangements for a possible chopper to be choppered out of here to his home in Westchester Pennsylvania or to the hospital if it turns out that’s what it’s going to be But uh this championship has a history of babies being born and close calls but O’Hare says he will be out of here in a moment if that happens So a good round for him even despite the double bogey at the last
Tough way to finish but he is a stout player He could win the US Open this week
Prepared for the unexpected on the course the Metife blip navigating high above to provide a unique angle of the round below And you can learn how MetLife can do the same in your life at metlife.com See these beautiful bunkers here Beth Page Black Big everything’s big here huh Mark Well and Mike Weir actually has hit a pretty big T- shot here at night Got it up on a nice flat spot in the fairway Just 137 to the hole Mike’s not a short hitter He’s almost tour tour average So for a small guy he can rip it pretty good thing about Mike Weir is he’s so precise with everything His his putting stroke the way he chips the ball his golf swing you see him make a little bit of a of a little premotion move before he hits the shot He works on his alignment I think he’s got a shot If he gets off to a good start as he has I think he’s got a shot Good shot just behind the hole You know you’re playing good when you hit that and you’re not too happy Peter Yeah he’s uh when he gets on a roll I don’t think there’s much stopping Mike Weir Let’s go to 18
Yeah Weir’s going to have that for a 64 Kenny Perry at his second shot That interlocking grip of his Plays a draw on there to that slice pin Not a good hole location for him unless you go crazy and try to aim in the bunker and hook it back Kenny had it to 200 under through 12 but has made three bogeies since over the last five holes This is kind of the old guy threesome but tops among the old guys right now is the man that pushed Tiger to 91 holes last year Rocco definitely not his whole location either He plays a big swinging hook as we know from last year Big hook stance and of a Jimmy Ballard sway off sway on swing Of course he goes right at the Oh that was a mistake but he got away with it You could also term this threesome the major heartbreak group We know what happened to Rockco We know what happened to Kenny Perry at this year’s Master and then Masters And then Tom Layman had all those close calls in four US Opens when he played in the final group and four consecutive US Open championships You mentioned it’s a big golf course Johnny and they’ve got a lot of animals and on the ground and up in the air flying around That’s a red tail hawk looking for Mishure Go fair There’s that French again Maybe he’s he does have he is flying with his head down
Yeah he is He just he is hunting And here’s Layman Plays the Champions Tour now Another shot He tried to hold it And when you hook it when you’re trying to play cut you hook it it always goes long Good shot Layman Qualifying to get in this championship And we go over to 16 17 excuse me
Yeah Ricky Barnes on the tea coming off the birdie at 16 and two under par The five iron in his hand changed his grip a lot A lot weaker
Yeah And uh his lower body is a lot steadier I think Johnny than it was when we certainly when we saw him when he won the US Hammeer back in 2002 Yeah We talk about Duval going through a lot in a big slump His slump was there was a lot expected out of
Yes there was And it took him a long time to get onto the PGA Tour Just got out there this year um through the Nationwide Tour Now up on the ninth Steuart sink for his birdie And Peter this would be for a round of 72 Doesn’t sound that great Plus two but certainly well in the championship
Yeah certainly not out of it especially with the scores we saw in the morning Greens still roll very nicely Mark I am really surprised I mean they have held their speed and actually are a little bit firm right now Firmer than I thought they would be
I think they’re very comfortable The whole golf course is comfortable I think
really been nice not seeing a water hog all day today I think one of the reasons Johnny and Peter why the scores are so low right now is there’s not a lot of fear in three putting because there isn’t that much fire even in the long putts Mike Weir now for his birdie to finish off a fantastic round
That’s a good example here I mean this is a downhill putt Not overly downhill but and it’s probably in the 22 23 foot range but it’s it’s really not one he has to worry about the pace
Yeah Peter we were talking earlier about a possible 62 and a 63 This is for a 64 And the last time a 64 was shot in a US Open 2003 at Olympia Fields in the second round And that golf course was not a hard US Open venue either with not very much rough I mean just 12 64s in US Open history It’s hard for the players to come out play Monday Tuesday Wednesday practice round when the Greens are lightning and then they come and get here on a on a Friday to the first round and they’re so slow [Applause] Wow So there it is Jake 64 64 with the double bogey And Jacob Jake I believe you shot one of those 64s in the US Open But I’m not talking 10 cop either Yes I did I did shoot 64 That was uh a long time ago Dan how about the country club when you pulled it off in 88
Yeah it was a Brooklyn Curtis Strange beat Nick Faldo in a playoff Let’s take a look at Mike Weir’s putt for 64 Is pretty bold down the hill breaking a little bit to the left and he flies it in the middle
And that Jake by two shots the lowest US Open round here at Beth Paige What a round for you know you think about the double bogey at six
I mean
John I think this is a tough kid I I I really am uh impressed with Mike Weir not only on the golf course but on the off the golf course as well and he’s got the game He’s got the game to be there on Sunday
I think the Canadian Open that he sort of blew few years ago set him back a little bit He wanted to win his own national championship so much and uh he’s he’s still got a lot of game left in him All right the old guys at 18 Tom Layman who turned 50 in March in fact one of three seniors in the field Eduardo Romero the US Senior Open Champion and Fred Funk who qualified to get into this championship Just a movement just a little bit to the right Looks pretty good You know when you get older you hit a lot of those putts that look pretty good For some reason they don’t go in They don’t go in like when you’re younger And over 17 just a moment ago Billy Mayfair on the tea with a four iron Only guy on the field that lifts his left heel on his back swing
with an iron With an iron even
does it even with a wedge How about that He nearly lifts that one out of the cup I was going to say Mayfair in his 14th US Open provides a thrill there at 17 Man what a shot Go up to 18 You talk about scar tissue Johnny And you talked about how Mike Weir won it so dearly to win that Canadian Open Uh Kenny Perry what happened to him at Augusta this year is just was hard to watch
Yeah it was because he’s usually pretty unflapable Ta green has no sort of choke factor in that regard and when he knocked it over that 71st green then chipped it over the green and then never hit another shot on those next three holes after that Um just really just succumbed to the pressure of wanting that green jacket Broke down cried with his family I mean tough tough moment Well that break It has a little flat in the middle
It’s coming down there but I think it would have lipped out if he hit it about another foot farther It’s a soft solid 71 for Perry Now up on nine Steven Ames putting for birdie playing with Mike Weir Currently five over That’s to get him back to our opening round of 74 Again not what he wanted
but it’s not too bad Can’t go back to 18 I
was going to say Canada well represented in that group Names a transplanted
74 in the afternoon This group here is not a good score Uh with what they’re shooting these guys the guys that played yesterday morning Peter Jacobson they’re probably watching this thinking you guys are so lucky playing this afternoon and then finishing up more holes before dark and we had to slop it around and it was windier and it was colder So there’s a big advantage for this group that’s playing right now Well you’re going to hear a little Rocco roar here If this goes down it’s not going to break Not that much They didn’t come back a little There’s a little flat spot on from both sides going that way And it’s hard to see Lot of people wondered how Rocco would perform the year after his Cinderella run at Tory Pines 68 is all you need to know First round Rocco is right there He’s inspired and he loves it here He just fits right in and great story Fun guy I wish more guys had his attitude playing golf 17 Ricky Barnes for Birdie Chance to get the three under the hill Little turn to his right and never quite high enough [Music] Ricky Barnes with a good uh par there at 17 will remain at two under And what a finish by Mike Weir comes back after the double bogey Third in the eighth and then this downhill putt at the ninth for a 600 par 64 We’ll be right back Right now I don’t want to go back out there [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Tiger Woods with a 74 today He played the last four holes in plus four That was kind of how he felt about things But he is going to be 10 shots back of Mike Weir after the first round here No one has ever come back from that far back after round one to win the US Open But we’ve seen Tiger take care of some other neverbe before is done and get it done Well last time they played this championship I think 10 over made the cut wasn’t it
So I mean it’s going to be a lot lower this year I can tell you that Here is Matt Coocher who has had his uh fair share of major championship experience and has kind of risen to the occasion when he won the US amateur title years ago Took advantage of those exemptions and played well and masters and US Opens Made one of the biggest swing changes I’ve ever seen He used to have a super upright back swing Now it’s going really flat right on plane but right over his right underneath his right shoulder going back talked to Matt earlier this week and said he’s playing well He’s excited about his chances here
but not thrilled with that shot Short side of 18 You know when he was younger he liked every shot he hit It looks like he’s learned to not like some of them So here is the US Amter pairing here You’ve got Cooer with Ricky Barnes And Barnes at two under You see that much weaker left hand grip It’s almost flat on the club Still upright swing Hold on Follow through left
Yeah it might be a little right He’s asking to come left He’s okay Ricky Barnes is going to have a chance to get within three of Mike Weir Let’s take a look at the swing Remember he used to be a lot of real handsy when he was an amateur Takes it back Real one piece Good there Good shape right there Pretty upright Good spot Good good good Perfect at impact Supinated that left wrist Little awkward follow through but I think he was trying to hold on to it That’s why he pushed it a bit but uh all in all he’s done a lot of work on his game grip swing Fifth appearance at this US Open for Ricky Barnes He has missed the cut every other time Moment ago Ryan Gay for birdie He can putt and he’s been on a hot streak his latest PGA Tour win his second got him into this championship And Gay puts it right in the middle [Applause] And that gets him to plus two with one hole left on his first round a 17
And a good look at the hole location on the far right hand side of this hourglass shaped putting surface Only about 18 yds in depth there Greens 43 yds wide though which is the widest on the entire course
Big greens on this course Gary
Yeah Well big everything Johnny I mean the bunkering’s big Yeah got to be the biggest greens Oakland Hills are big too But the besides that I think they’re the biggest greens
All right on the tea Ryan Blum man who played his college golf at Duke University Lost it right huh Yeah he did And that is not where you want to be Shortsided with a lengthy carry over the bunker as we go over to the first And James Kempy from South Africa just made his first trip to the United States when Jack Nicholas gave him a special exemption into the memorial and then qualified to get into this US Open one of 14 children Great story from South Africa And who did he get to play with in a practice round on Monday None other than the top player in the world Tiger Woods Look at the smile on his face He was so flustered when Tiger asked him to go out for a practice round I think he left his wallet and a few other belongings in the locker room raced out to the te you know just so excited to get out there and play shot 74 in the first round and matched Tiger Woods as opening round score at this US Open
Well to quote Roger Malty you think All right the third for Coocher a moment ago from that short side Well done I’ll say very nice The bunkers are just you know crispy enough with the with the wet You know it sounds like a you know contradiction there but when the little bit of moisture in the bunkers they compact and you can just thump them and spin them
So Coocher should end up here with an opening round 71 He turns 31 years old on Sunday
You see how many bunkers here at 18
over at 16 this is Doug Batty playing his second shot Native from New Zealand This game will drive you
Yeah Oh well he’s uh you know he’s been playing the Canadian Tour the last couple of years And after he qualified I guess he knows Steve Williams
uh from down in New Zealand He emailed Steve and said “Is there any way I could maybe play a practice round with Tiger here?” And he was able to do that So yeah it’s not impossible is it Just ask
Well you that and you have to be willing to play at about 6:30 in the morning
Yeah Set the alarm clock
as we go to 18
Billy Mayfair for Birdie And this is to finish off what could be a really nice back n here People have been overreading this and he’s looking pretty far out to the right He’s going to have to hit it softly if he wants it to break that much
Billy went out at plus 439 Two under on the back Just won’t break that much Billy Everybody’s overreading it Mayfair had a good US Open here back in 2002 Finished tied for fifth He starts off with a 73 as this 109th US Open Championship is being brought to you by John Hancock The future is yours by FedEx and also by Travelers Insurance in Sync [Music] And back to the green at 18 And Ricky Barnes boy did he splash onto the scene there when he won that US at Oakland Hills He had it all Had the game had the looks I mean the sky was the limit He had sponsors knocking on his door And in this sport of golf it can do some funny things to you
Yeah A lot of times you turn pro and you think you got to make corrections on things that are a little amateur-ish as far as maybe a sort of a wristy swing you know with a little downcock on the down swing and you know this and that and you’re changing clubs and changing this and that and next thing you know you don’t know what Ricky’s supposed to do He started off so well In 2003 after he won the Amiter in O2 he became the first amateur to make the cut in the Masters and the US Open in the same year since Matt Cooer the guy he’s playing with pulled it off in 1998 And Ricky waiting for the green to clear And so we go over to one green and Kempy for Birdie That was a good looking putt Just did not break supposed to break right and back over to 18 And now Ricky is ready Yeah Wow Nice finish Three birdies in the last six holes and a 67 for Ricky Barnes Career low round in the US Open for Ricky Barnes His first subpar round in five US Opens Nice simple stroke See how he hits through it and up Throws it out there right of the hole and just lets a feed down there and it looks like a Yeah there was a can’t miss guy who went to Q school all those times just a few years back Coocher tapping a nice bunker save for a par for Cooch And the amateur threesome is in Coocher with his 71 and Barnes with an impressive 67 which has him just three off Mike Weir’s lead 64 for Mike Weir And when we come back we’ll show you how Tiger Wood shot his 74 in the first round of this US Open [Music]