2007 US Open: Round One

 

I don't know why, but the US Open might be my favorite sporting event of them all.

The Open began today and even if I did watch from 10 in the morning until 7 in the evening, I can't remember the leaders' name.  Some Brit.  Nobody will remember who he was by Sunday night, so don't give me a hard time for not remembering his name on Thurday night, 'kay?  Tiger Woods shot 71.  Par.  Even par.  He's two shots back of the Brit.  That's all you need to know, for now. 

This years Open is at Oakmont Country Club, 12 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, PA. If  Oakmont wasn't the first golf course built in the US, it is among the first, and if you have ever driven across PA on the Penna Turnpike, you have been, without knowing it, on the very course where they are playing the 2007 US Open!

Here's another Oakmont quirk as reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:  The ninth green at Oakmont  is so massive that only half is in play for the tournament. The other half, marked by a blue line on the turf and blue stakes on either side, is the practice green. So while Tiger Woods is finishing out the hole, a dozen players could be practicing their putting stroke a few feet away.

Players on the ninth hole can play their shot from wherever it lands, even if it runs past the blue line. If the ball happens to go into one of the practice holes -- don't laugh, it happened today -- it's considered ground under repair, and the player can take the ball out, place it and play without penalty. For players who are practicing, it's a little trickier. If their ball goes over the line, they're supposed to pick it up and return to the practice area.  Just don't hit it. That's considered practicing on the course -- and the penalty for that is disqualification.