I was on PGATOUR.com the other day and found a fascinating stat.
Of the past eight British Open Champions, seven of them ranked inside the top 11 at the tournament in scrambling (ability to make par or better after missing the green). Only Stewart Cink, who lucked-out with a Tom Watson missed put on 18 to eventually win in a playoff, finished outside that group.
And with a huge wind expected at Royal St. George’s it figures to make scrambling again a key stat on the links style course.
So who is best suited to take advantage?
White-hot Steve Stricker (+3000), coming off a three-peat at the John Deere Classic which moved him into second place in the FedEx Cup Standings, is the current tour leader in scrambling at 66.27 percent. Other notables include Jason Day (+3500) at 65.42 percent and Zach Johnson (+8000) at 64.72.
Still not sold? Ben Curtis (+10,000), who last won the tournament at Royal St. George’s in 2003, ranks eighth on the tour at 64.21 percent.
Who do you have to win the British Open? What do you think will be the biggest factor?
No one will debate that Derek Jeter is one of the greatest players of all-time.
Hell, he might actually be the greatest clutch and postseason hitter in the history of the game. But I swear to God, I don’t give a damn about him getting 3,000 hits. If he played in anywhere but New York, I wouldn’t get live cut-ins to his at-bats and about 1,000 DL updates and continual front page reminders on all of the big sports sites.
I understand it’s early July and the NBA and NFL are both being locked out. There isn’t horse racing or any good boxing to talk about.
This is all we have.
But why can’t we talk more about the women’s World Cup? What about the U-19 FIBA tournament going on overseas right now? Hell, I could go for some CFL chatter at this point.
Are you passed the Jeter love fest? What else is there to talk about?
Would you smoke pot at work?
Well that’s exactly what Robert Garrigus said he and a number of other pro golfers did some years ago on the Nationwide Tour. Garrigus claims he and other tour members would actually get high during rounds.
"Oh yeah, there were plenty of guys on the Nationwide Tour who smoked in the middle of the round," Garrigus told Golf Digest." The PGA Tour did not institute drug testing until six years later.”
I think that the drug testing might have curbed this kind of behavior, but would the PGA Tour really suspend a guy for randomly failing a pot test? Doubtful. If this kind of brazen behavior was going on, what happened behind the scenes that we don’t know about? In 2010 the PGA Tour suspended Matt Every for “conduct unbecoming a golfer” when he got busted for possession of marijuana. But just failing a drug test seems like it would be a much smaller slap on the wrist.
Hell, if other leagues were strict, there would no longer be an NBA franchise in Portland.
But this is my favorite quote from our resident grass enthusiast.
"We always talked about it,” Garrigus added. “You could go in the Porta John and take your drags."
Now
that is well played.
Could you golf if you were stoned? Do you care if Garrigus was high?
Posted Monday, June 27, 2011 11:13 AMEver get a pedicure?
I was sitting by the pool with my girlfriend on Friday night and had a few too many beers as we were chatting. I kicked off my sandals and looked at my feet and just passively said “man, I could really go for a pedicure sometime. If we would go, I would pay for yours too.”
Apparently this was like me screaming “free pot” at Woodstock.
Before I knew it she had gone to get the car and we were off. It was really weird having my feet scrubbed and all of my callouses scratched off. Sure, everyone likes getting their feet rubbed, but man was this weird and I am sure glad I had a few beers in me. It was nice to have the massaging chair in back of me.
I don’t know if I will ever do it again, but I am pretty sure I will need some booze to do it. Plus, when I got back to her apartment, I literally slipped and fell twice --- my feet were so smooth now I was having trouble gripping the carpet when I walked.
I think next time I will stay by the pool and have another beer.
Have you ever gotten a pedicure? What’s the girliest thing you will admit to trying?
The NBA is starting to stear clear of headcases.
No longer do you see high picks used on the likes of Rasheed Wallace, Isaiah Rider and Derrick Coleman. Think the Kings and the rest of the league learned their lesson after having ongoing issues with DeMarcus Cousins last year? This season, they made moves to acquire All-American Jimmer Fredette.
And take a closer look at the headcases in this year’s NBA Draft.
Josh Selby, who took impermissible benefits at Kansas and suffered through bouts with injuries and immaturity, saw his stock fall from lottery lock to second round slider.
Illinois guard Demetri McCamey, who was projected by many to be the Big Ten Player of the Year, had more off the court run ins with coach Bruce Weber for his attitude than anything else last season. In fact, Weber benched him during the year for his lack of effort and poor leadership. As a result, the elite talent went undrafted on Thursday night.
Are NBA teams getting smarter about drafting headcases?
