Green Reading

McPherson has shot at some TV exposure during British

Conway native Kristy McPherson will have a chance to get some TV time Thursday and Friday in the opening rounds of the Ricoh Women’s British Open. ESPN coverage runs from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday and Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
McPherson tees off at 4:37 a.m. Eastern time zone, which is 9:37 a.m. at Royal Birkdale, in Thursday’s first round, and at 9:22 a.m. Eastern time zone, which is 2:22 p.m. at the course, in Friday’s second round. So she should have a couple holes remaining when coverage starts Thursday, so if she’s among the leaders ESPN may show her. McPherson’s entire front nine will be played during coverage Friday.
She will need to play well to be seen, however, with Kyeong Bae of Korea and Amy Boulden, an amateur from Wales, her playing partners in each of the first two rounds. McPherson is coming off a tie for 53^rd last weekend in the Evian Masters in France that followed a tie for 19^th in the U.S. Women’s Open and tie for 10^th in the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in early July.
McPherson is one of 30 American women in the field, which is the most of any country with the withdrawal of Sun Ju Ahn of Korea Wednesday morning. Korea now ranks second at 29 and Sweden is third with 11. Australia, England and France have the fourth most representatives with eight each.

Davies still a golf original

You have got to love Laura Davies. Through all of her success, she has remained one of the unique personalities in golf.
Davies has won 74 events in her professional career, including four major championships. One of those was the Women’s British Open at the age of 22 in 1986 at Royal Birkdale, where this week’s Ricoh Women’s British Open is being played.
Davies has always done things a little differently. When she played in the LPGA event at Wachesaw East in 1997, she also moonlighted as a soccer player for a few minutes as a member of the Myrtle Beach SeaDawgs soccer team in the first-year franchise's home opener the Friday night of the tournament. In future events at Wachesaw East she used a local friend as her caddie.
She has never been much for practice in order to keep the game fun, and was asked this week about her preparation for the Women’s British Open.
“Nothing has changed, just the same, an hour before tee time and no practice rounds because they are boring and slow, and play the Pro-Am every week, have fun with your amateurs. That's my buildup to any golf tournament, whether it's the Thailand Open or the U.S. Open, it’s always the same.”
She was asked how long ago she dispensed with the practice round? “Well, this is my 26th year, so 25 and a half years ago. Watching people chip and putt from every angle on a green for four or five or six hours in a day is not my idea of fun. Never has been, never will be.”

Goose Creek girl comes up just short

Katelyn Dambaugh of Goose Creek surprised herself and others this week by reaching the championship match of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at The Country Club of North Carolina. But she was unable to close the deal against highly-regarded Doris Chen, 17, of Bradenton, Fla.
While Chen came with intentions of winning after losing in the semifinals last year, Dambaugh was just happy to get through stroke-play qualifying to reach the final. And she had a lead more than halfway through Saturday's 36-hole final before falling 3 and 2.
In the morning 18, Chen made a 45-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh for a 2-up lead. But Dambaugh cut into the lead with a birdie on No. 10 and squared the match with a par on No. 13. Two holes later, Dambaugh took her first lead of the match when Chen had trouble getting out of a fairway bunker.
After the lunch break, Dambaugh increased her lead to 2 up with a par on the 19th hole. But her lead evaporated in the searing heat when she lost holes 24 and 25.
“I was feeling great,” the 15-year-old Dambaugh told USGA officials. “I don’t know what happened. I hit a couple of bad shots, and for some reason, started getting down on myself. I started getting really tired.”
Exhaustion was understandable, with temperatures nearing 100 and a heat index well above that.

Johnson on mini-tour of Europe, tied for lead

Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson is a long way from home this week. Johnson decided to stay in Europe following last week's British Open at St. Andrews, and he's participating in the Scandinavian Masters at the Bro Hof Slott course outside Stockholm, Sweden. "I wanted to see a bit of Europe so I came here," Johnson told reporters at the event.
He's apparently not just there to sight-see. Playing on an invitation after tying for 14th at St Andrews, Johnson is tied for the lead through the first round after matching British Open champ Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Australian Richard Green with a 5-under-par 67 that included five birdies and no bogeys. "I found the course fits my eye perfectly," Johnson said.
The Scandinavian Masters is the first regular European Tour event Johnson has ever played in his three years as a pro. He has played in 13 previous events that qualify for European Tour credit, but they have all been majors or World Golf Championship events.

Ballesteros not expected at St. Andrews

Sadly, Seve Ballesteros is not expected to make an appearance this week at the British Open.

Mark Garrod, a PA Sport Golf Correspondent, writes that Ballesteros was advised by his doctors not to make what would have been a highly emotional return to St. Andrews to participate in Wednesday’s Champions Challenge.

Garrod writes:

The doctors who have been treating Ballesteros, indeed keeping him alive, since the discovery of a brain tumor have advised against "potentially emotional situations."
And nothing would have been more emotional than the reception the 53-year-old was guaranteed on being announced at the start of the four-hole Champions Challenge, part of the celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Open.
Let us just hope that there will still be an opportunity for the gallery to show its appreciation for the player who gave more to European golf during his career than any other. Flashing up on the big screens the putt he holed to win at the Old Course in 1984 should do the trick.
Tears flowed during an interview he gave last month. At the time, he was still hoping to make the trip to St Andrews despite his physical condition.
"I don't have very good balance because my left leg has lost some feeling," he said. "My left hand is worse. When I have something in the hand, the keys or a glass of water, I don't know if I have it or not. Some of it might come back a little bit, but not like before."
During the conversation, Ballesteros' left arm repeatedly slid off its resting place on his knee and he picked it up with his right hand and put it back in position.
The three-time Open champion has also lost about 75 percent vision in his left eye and his energy levels were down – no surprise, of course, given all the surgeries, all the chemotherapy and all the radiation treatment.
"But I'm getting stronger again," he insisted. "The doctors who saved me, they say that in my treatment I am on the 15th hole. I'm looking forward to finishing this round."

Former Anderson mayor armed with pen at Open

The former mayor of Anderson (S.C.) is on special assignment this week at the British Open at St. Andrews. Richard Shirley is the winner of Golf World magazine’s inaugural “Dream Assignment” contest. As the winner, he will attend this year’s Open and experience life as a golf journalist. He will also write a column recapping the tournament that may be featured in Golf World’s British Open Coverage Issue (July 26 – August 2 issue).

Golf World began its search for America’s next great golf writer by inviting aspirants to submit an 800-word story covering a professional golf tournament that has taken place during the month of April on any of the pro tours. Entries were evaluated by a panel of judges consisting of Geoff Russell, Golf World editor-in chief; Bob Carney, creative director for Golf Digest Publications; John Marvel, Golf Digest Digital Managing Editor; and Jimmy Roberts, NBC Sports contributor.

Currently retired, Shirley is the former mayor of his Anderson and a former senior vice-president of Arthur State Bank. Shirley’s winning essay describes his experience at the 1975 and 1986 Masters while following golf greats Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and makes the connection to the 2010 Masters where Arnie and Jack served as honorary starters for the first time together. His essay includes the following excerpt:

“At 7:40 on one of the prettiest Thursday mornings ever in Augusta, I was not disappointed. Arnie's hitch and Jack's methodical approach to the ball now show some age, but their allure is ageless. When they exited the tee box minutes later, my day on the grounds could have concluded as well.  Woods, Mickelson, and the golfer du jour can come and go, but in my universe, the sun and moon had just appeared and left.”

 

Johnson goes off at 7:58 a.m. Thursday

Dustin Johnson is teeing off at 7:58 a.m. (Eastern) in the first round of the British Open and is playing with Toru Taniguchi and Robert Karlsson. The time at St. Andrews is five hours ahead of ET, so Johnson is teeing off at 12:58 local time in Scotland.

Other featured pairings include: the 3:42 a.m. (ET) time featuring Ian Poulter, Ernie Els and defending champion Stewart Cink; the 4:09 a.m. time featuring Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Camilo Villegas; and the 4:20 a.m. time featuring Padraig Harrington, Ryo Ishikawa and Tom Watson; the 9:20 a.m. time featuring Colin Montgomerie, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen; and the 1: 52 a.m. time featuring Robert Rock, John Senden and Bill Haas, who has Galivants Ferry native Michael Maness on his bag. The always noteworthy John Daly tees off at 2:25 a.m.

Johnson positioning himself to make first Ryder Cup team

As disappointing as Dustin Johnson’s tie for eighth was in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach after he took a three-shot lead into the final round, the finish still helped him considerably in his bid to make the U.S. Ryder Cup Team.
Johnson moved up to the No. 4 spot in the standings with the finish, and is currently sixth after dropping a spot in an off week. He was bumped down by Steve Stricker, who advanced from eighth to second with his John Deere victory last week. The Ryder Cup will be held Oct. 1-3 at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Johnson has a chance to solidify his spot on his first U.S. team with a strong finish this week at St. Andrews because points are double in this year’s major championships. Johnson missed the cut at Turnberry last year with rounds of 78 and 76 in his only British Open appearance, though he was playing in his first event since withdrawing from the Travelers Championship three weeks before because of a sprained left wrist .

Eight U.S. Team members will be determined by points following the PGA Championship, Aug. 15 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis. That is five tournaments after this week’s British Open. U.S. Team Captain Corey Pavin will make his four remaining selections on Sept. 7.
Points are based primarily upon the following:
Prize money earned in the 2009 major championships (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship): One point is awarded for every $1,000 earned; all U.S. players making the cut will earn points.
Prize money earned in 2010 "Official" events from Jan. 1 through Aug.15: One point is awarded for every $1,000 earned, excluding the major championships, events played opposite major championships and events played opposite World Golf Championships; all U.S. players making the cut will earn points.
Prize money earned for the 2010 major championships: (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and the PGA Championship). Two points are awarded for every $1,000 earned; all U.S. players making the cut will earn points.
Prize money earned in 2010 events played opposite the major championships and opposite World Golf Championship events between Jan. 1 and the PGA Championship, Aug. 16 - one-half point will be awarded for every $1,000 earned; all U.S. players making the cut will earn points.

Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim and Lucas Glover are ahead of Johnson. Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar are just behind him in seventh and eighth, and Ricky Barnes and Hunter Mahan are also in the top 10 and vying for spots on the team.

Bradley pupil Chappell threatens magical mark

As the eyes of the golf world were on Paul Goydos attempting to enter the PGA Tour record book at the John Deere Classic with his 59, a pupil of Sunset Beach, N.C., instructor Nick Bradley was threatening the number himself on the Nationwide Tour.
Kevin Chappell posted the lowest Nationwide round of the year relative to par with an 11-under 61 at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic in Canada. The 24-year-old former NCAA champion and college player of the year at UCLA narrowly missed birdie putts on two of his last four holes to break the magical 60 barrier. Goydos' 59 was 12 shots under par.
Starting on the 10th tee at the Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay in Thornbury, Ontario, Chappell reeled off eight birdies in the first nine holes (all but the par-3 15th). The Fresno, Calif. native parred the first three on his final nine, birdied the next two, then made one more birdie on No. 8 and had no bogies on his card. Though he obviously made his share of putts, he lipped out a 5-footer on No. 6 and hit the lip with a quick 10-footer on the ninth.
“On my back nine I shot 3-under par but it kind of feels like I shot over par. That can happen when you shoot 8-under on your opening nine holes,” Chappell said. “. . . . “The thought of shooting 59 obviously crosses your mind but the goal isn’t to shoot 59, it’s to win the golf tournament. We still have a long way to go to accomplish that but it’s nice to start off with a clean scorecard while keeping the foot on the gas pedal.”

The lowest 18-hole score in Nationwide Tour history is 59: Notah Begay III (1998), Doug Dunakey (1998) and Jason Gore (2005). Goydos' 59 joined Al Geiberger (1977), Chip Beck (1991) and David Duval (1999) in the PGA TOUR record book.

American women look for resurgence at U.S. Open

Cristie Kerr's ridiculous 12-stroke win in the LPGA Championship two weeks ago and her rise to No. 1 in the world ranking gives the impression that U.S. women are thriving on the LPGA Tour. But Kerr's success is an aberration this year and masks what is otherwise futility by American women. Kerr has won twice through 11 54- or 72-hole LPGA events, but no other American woman has won.
The lack of success hasn't been lost on U.S. players, and they know their national championship would be the perfect event in which to break through. "We're reminded of that every week," said Conway native Kristy McPherson. "Every interview we do everybody brings that up, so it's good to see Cristie get up there.
"When you have girls from 30 countries or whatever it is out here it's tough. The Koreans are good and play well every week. I think Cristie is leading the way and the Americans are going to be there. I look forward to Americans getting up there and back in the winner's circle more often, and I want to be one of them."
After her win in the Jamie Farr Classic, Kerr became the third player in as many weeks to hold the top position in the world ranking, following Jiyai Shin of South Korea and Ai Miyazato of Japan. She is the first American to earn the No. 1 ranking since the official world golf rankings were created.
International players occupy the next eight rankings, with Michelle Wie at No. 10 the second-highest ranking American. She's followed by Angela Stanford at No. 11, Paula Creamer at 13 and Morgan Pressel at 16.
McPherson, who is the seventh-highest ranking U.S. player in the Rolex Women's World Golf Ranking, is paired with fellow American Amanda Blumenherst and Na Yeon Choi of Korea. They go off the first tee Thursday at 7:55 a.m. and the 10th tee in Friday's second round at 1:25 p.m.