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15

Jun
Fri

The last man not to qualify for the U.S. Open

SAN FRANCISCO -- A lot of people miss playing in the U.S. Open by a single stroke, but four minutes is a crueler margin. That's how close one man came to hearing his name announced at Olympic Club Thursday morning. To say the attending anxieties were complicated is to understate.David May, a 25-year-old regular on the eGolf Pro Tour, shook hands with the other two players of the 8:06 starting time, Charles Howell III and Carl Petterson, and joined their ambling on the 9th tee. Rumor was the third name of the whimsical USGA grouping, Charl Schwartzel, might withdraw because of a neck injury. The gallery lined the ropes and May felt good standing in the clear space inside.David May spent Thursday wondering if any golfers would not make their starting times. Photo by Getty ImagesThe Anglo-Saxon name "Charles" and its corresponding versions in other languages translates to "free man." And rightly, the 2011 Masters champ did not decide to walk down the clubhouse steps until 8:02, a mere four minutes before his starting time. It was at this moment that May's decision to start with driver or 3-wood -- on a course he had not been permitted to play a practice round on -- no longer mattered. He stepped back outside the ropes and tried to reset his emotions."It was sort of a big surprise because we hadn't heard that [Charl] Schwartzel was injured," said May. "I'm on the driving range and all of sudden a USGA official approaches us, and then there we are in the cart on our way to the tee." After Jordan Spieth and Andy Zhang gained entry because of respective withdrawals from Brandt Snedeker and Paul Casey, May got the call Monday night from the USGA that he had moved from the third-alternate position to first. So he bought a one-way ticket for $450 and flew from Greenville, S.C. to San Francisco.    After the Carl-Charl-Charles triumvirate teed off, the same USGA official asked May if he wanted a ride back to the range. He said no, because the very next group, the 8:17 group of Bobs -- Robert Karlsson, Robert Rock and Bob Estes -- had a weak link. It was common knowledge in the locker room that Bob Estes' wrist was really bothering him, so they might need a David.But Estes showed up, his wrist in a bandage. "He was super nice about it," said May. "He told me hadn't been sure the night before if he was going to play, but this morning he had made the decision he would."        Schwartzel and Estes managed respectable rounds of 73 and 74. Not until the last groups teed off at 2:57 pm was it official that May, who qualified for the U.S. Open at Congressional and missed the cut by a stroke, would not compete in the 2012 edition. As of Thursday night he was online shopping for a one-way ticket back to Greenville."All you can do is embrace the situation," said Tim Kay, who was set to caddie for May. "There's a benefit from just being here even if you don't get to play. Psychologically, you gain something you might be able to use for next time."May wasn't as upbeat. "It's definitely disappointing, but it is what it is," he said. "I don't quite agree with the USGA policy of not letting alternates play practice rounds. Getting to walk the course from inside the ropes doesn't really do much for letting you know how firm the greens are or what it's like to hit out of the rough. I mean, we travel here to support their event in case there's a withdrawal and you'd think they could at least give us the benefit if the doubt."The 36-hole Sectional Qualifier for the U.S. Open is commonly referred to as The Longest Day. But David May can tell you about another one.-- Max Adler Follow @maxadlergd !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

15

Jun
Fri

What the stats project for Day 2 at the U.S. Open

Five notable first-round stats that indicate how the U.S. Open might unfold Friday, provided by Golf World contributing writer Brett Avery, who compiles the Rank and File statistical sections for the magazine's coverage of the major championships and other significant events. 1. If the Friday weather forecast becomes a reality, the second-round scoring average could exceed Thursday's 74.923, which would be a rarity. The expected high temperature of 77 degrees is warmer than Thursday's 70; projected clear skies and afternoon winds of 19 miles per hour would make Olympic Club's greens even firmer. Consider, too, that the USGA presented the course Thursday with 10 hole locations in the back half of the greens, potentially spelling a majority of front-half locations Friday, which would be difficult to attack. Thursday's morning wave averaged 74.590 while the afternoon half of the field went around in 75.218. An Open field's second-round average has topped the first round only six times since 1991: 2007 at Oakmont, '02 at Bethpage, '00 and 1992 at Pebble Beach, '95 at Shinnecock Hills and '93 at Baltusrol. In '98, Olympic was 74.942 the first day and 74.474 the second. 2. With the cut rules modified by the USGA this year to eliminate the provision for anyone within 10 strokes of the leader reaching the weekend, at least half of the top 10 players in the world are in danger of missing the cut. To put that prospect in perspective, two months ago the then top 10 all made the cut at Augusta National in the Masters. The current top 10 were a combined 34 over par in the first round despite one-under-par 69s from No. 4 Tiger Woods and No. 7 Justin Rose and a par 70 by No. 6 Matt Kuchar. The laggards were No. 1 Luke Donald (79), No. 2 Rory McIlroy (77), No. 3 Lee Westwood (73), No. 5 Bubba Watson (78) and No. 10 Dustin Johnson (75). Through 18 holes the top 60 and ties, the lone yardstick for the cut, included anyone at four-over 74 or better. 3. The first six holes were billed as the toughest start in major-championship play and they did not disappoint. The field averaged 2.756 shots over par in that stretch. The top 10 did not disappoint there, either. They were a combined 19 over there, an average of 1.9 shots per man, with Donald and Westwood four over each and Watson three over. One of the more intriguing questions for Friday is whether Woods (one under) and No. 9 Jason Dufner (even for first six, 72) can come close to duplicating their Thursday play. 4. Second-time starter Michael Thompson, who tied for 29th in the 2008 Open at Torrey Pines and was 2007 U.S. Amateur runner-up to Colt Knost at this course, became the second straight first-round Open leader holding a three-shot cushion. Rory McIlroy grabbed the same advantage last year at Congressional and cruised to an eight-shot win. McIlroy became only the 19th first-round leader to win in the first 111 Opens. That does not bode well for Thompson, who took only 22 putts to begin his 46th career PGA Tour start. He had led after only two rounds in his brief career. Thompson was co-leader through 36 holes of last year's RBC Canadian Open but went 74-76 on the weekend to tie for 34th. And he was solo third-round leader in last year's McGladrey Classic before a one-under 69 dropped him to third. He is scheduled to begin the second round at No. 9 tee at 12:52 p.m. (Pacific). Oh, and first-round leaders have prevailed only twice this season on the PGA Tour (George McNeill at the Puerto Rico Open and Zach Johnson at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial). 5. Friday may stand as the pivotal day for Tiger Woods in his quest for a 15th major title if he can reverse his downward trend in majors since his car crash and subsequent divorce in late 2009. This is his eighth major start since then and his round of 69 was his fifth time breaking par in the first round in that stretch. Woods, however, has broken par only three times in seven tries since the end of 2009 and only twice each in the third and fourth rounds. If he can reverse his recent second-round play -- a Friday 75 in this year's Masters and a 73 in missing the cut at last year's PGA Championship -- Woods could better the trio of T-4 finishes he's produced since 2009. -- Brett Avery Follow @BWAvery

15

Jun
Fri

Fitness Friday: How to train for a stable swing

When you watch the U.S. Open this weekend, one thing you'll notice about most of the golf swings is that there is very little extraneous movement. Top-level golfers know they can't afford to hit the...

15

Jun
Fri

Worlds Apart

100 years after hosting the U.S. Open, how a golf course -- and a city -- have changed.

15

Jun
Fri

Live Chat: Morning Recap, Afternoon Preview

Welcome to the second round of our live blog from the U.S. Open. A lot is happening this morning, and that Tiger-Phil-Bubba pairing hasn't even teed off. Need some analysis? Our Ron Sirak has been covering the game for longer than the Miami Heat has been around. (And this is his 25th U.S. Open.) He'll answer all of your questions at 3:30pm EDT. Go ahead, ask him anything you want.

15

Jun
Fri

Live Chat: Round Two

Welcome to Round Two of the U.S. Open. A lot happened this morning, and that Tiger-Phil-Bubba pairing hasn't even teed off. Need some analysis? Our Ron Sirak is covering his 25th U.S. Open. He'll answer all of your questions at 3:30 p.m. EDT. Go ahead, ask him anything you want.

14

Jun
Thu

Martin manages to survive a taxing day

Casey Martin wore Oregon green on day one at Olympic. (Photo: Getty Images)SAN FRANCISCO -- Through six holes of the first round at the U.S. Open Thursday, Casey Martin might have wondered what he had gotten himself into. Tension was tainting his swing and bogeys were filling up his scorecard. This wasn't a good time for the competitive sweats, although since the disabled golf coach at Oregon hadn't really competed in six years, he knew what could happen. "If you play golf, you kind of know what your swing feels like and then all of a sudden it gets under pressure and it feels like you've never hit a ball in your life before," Martin said. "It felt like that early on." Early on, Martin was five over through the Olympic Club's tough half-dozen opening holes. Then came a welcome birdie at No. 7. Later on, his nerves settled down (some) and he finished with a four-over 74. It was the same first-round score he shot in his historic U.S. Open appearance at Olympic 14 years ago after he had sued for the right to ride a cart due to a painful congenital circulatory disorder in his right leg. Related: 10 ways to win at Olympic "It was a special day, really thankful that I played decently," Martin said. "But man it's a stress out there. I haven't felt like this in a long, long time." With a respectable score that had him in the middle of the pack after one round Martin, 40, was hopeful about Friday. "My goal is just to relax somehow out there and be able to hit shots like I think I'm capable of and see what happens," he said. Regardless of how he plays the rest of the Open, Martin will bring a message back to his Oregon team. "Get really good if you want to play out here," he said. "Get really good because it's hard, it's hard. But this is an awesome stage, and I love this tournament." -- Bill Fields Follow @BillFields1

14

Jun
Thu

One day provides Andy Zhang years of experience

Andy Zhang with his caddie Chris Gold maneuvered their way around Olympic for an opening round 79. (Photo: Getty Images)SAN FRANCISCO -- Andy Zhang stood in the 18th fairway at Olympic Club. To the flagstick, he had only 133 yards. But such is Olympic's extreme topography that the kid seemed to be at the bottom of an abyss. To escape, he flew a pitching wedge toward the sun. That shot came to rest 15 feet from the hole -- but in the fringe, on a slippery slope above the hole, and sitting down in an indentation. Now came the real terror. When struck, the putt would bump up into the air. Rolling, it would have topspin. On Olympic's mountainsides, the ball might not stop until it passed across the Golden Gate bridge. A cautious player would have left the flagstick in as a backstop in case a failure of nerve propelled the putt downhill at hyperspeed. Andy Zhang is 14 years old. Cautious? Really? Cautious isn't what kids do. Zhang nodded to his caddie, Chris Gold, to take the stick out. Then he knocked the putt in. "If it doesn't go in," the caddie said later, again able to breathe, "it might go off the front of the green." "Luckily," Zhang said, now laughing, "I caught the hole." Related: Nicklaus and Zhang: Two prodigies generations apart So on the first day of the rest of his life, 14-year-old Andy Zhang stood at the 18th green's edge and heard a noise he'd never heard before, a sustained cheer from thousands of fans clinging to hillsides and perched on bleachers. All day, he'd heard encouragement from the gallery. But of the roar at 18, he said, "I think that was the loudest one." He said it the way a shy 14-year-old would, tentatively, not sure how far to go, the words coming softly. Only when he speaks, in fact, does he seem so young. He wears sunglasses that hide a kid's eyes. He's 6 feet tall, 185 pounds. To see him bring a driver against a tee shot is to see an adult at work, or, as a playing partner, the veteran pro Mark Wilson, said, "He looks older than he is. Hey, when I was 14, I was 5-4 and 135." Zhang shot 79. Not good or bad. He beat a handful of professionals. He was one shot behind Bubba Watson. A better measure may be made by imagination. Imagine being 14 years old. Imagine you moved from Beijing to Orlando four years ago, knowing no one, not knowing the language, leaving behind the only world you knew for one you must learn. Imagine coming to the first tee at the U.S. Open. And you hear someone on a loudspeaker say, "Now .... the 8:21 starting time ... from the People's Republic of China . . . Andy Zhang." What do you imagine thinking at that moment? Here's what Zhang said he thought: "Just please don't hit a hundred-yard slice." He hit a good drive, though into the left rough, 200 yards from the green. He had a decision to make: a full 6-iron from that iffy lie? Or a wedged escape to the fairway? The caddie, Gold, 25, an accomplished amateur player, wanted the careful play. But before he could get back to the bag -- he was checking yardage -- Zhang was over the ball with a 6-iron. He hit it so badly left that it scooted under bushes, unplayable. "When Andy's nervous," Gold said, "he gets quick." That shot led to a triple bogey. At the second hole, a double bogey. The third, fourth, fifth -- more bogeys. Suddenly, the kid was eight-over par through five. But at the 489-yard, par-4 sixth, Zhang finally hit a perfect drive, 282 yards, just short of a fairway bunker. From there, a 6-iron on. It was his first fairway hit, his first green in regulation -- after one hour and 39 minutes on the course. Zhang and Gold did a fist-bump celebration of the day's first par. Then, on the short seventh, Zhang lobbed a wedge from deep rough to 10 feet and made the birdie putt. Now it was fun. "And then," he said, "I kind of kept playing golf a little bit." Related: Golf's all-time biggest phenoms More than a little bit, as he showed on the 11th. There a drive into the right rough left him behind a cypress tree with a low-hanging branch. The only shot to the green was a screaming fade, the kind of shot pros master only after years of failure. "A 7-iron, 176 to the hole, 150 to the front," Gold said, "and he did it perfectly." Two putts, a grown-up's par. After a dispiriting double-bogey at the 16th, Zhang was again in a kid's hurry on the par-5 17th. There, from the left rough, he thought to hit a 9-iron over a tree -- but this time, Chris Gold caught him with the club in his hand. "Can you get it over that tree?" Gold said. A cypress stood tall 20 yards ahead. Silence from Zhang. "Wedge leaves you 130 in," Gold said. Silence. "I like wedge straight at that bunker on the right," the caddie said. He later said the 9-iron was too much, that the risk the shot might roll into that bunker wasn't worth the reward of maybe another 10 yards. Making a grown-up's decision, the kid handed the 9-iron back and accepted the wedge. Perfect layup, easy par. The birdie at the 18th meant Zhang played his last 13 holes in one-over par. "He was never scared all day, just frustrated," Gold said. "If he'd been scared, he'd have shot 90." Certainly, Zhang didn't much care about the numbers. The moment mattered more. "I never had that big a crowd following me ever," Zhang said. " And I never played on a course like this before." What he liked most was walking the same mountainsides with Tiger and Mickelson and Bubba and all "those other guys that I watched on TV growing up." That, of course, was way back in those days when he was 11 and 12 years old. -- Dave Kindred Follow @davekindred !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

14

Jun
Thu

Overheard in the gallery on Thursday at Olympic

SAN FRANCISCO -- Welcome to Olympic Club, where the fairways are hard and Cypress trees are eating golf balls. A complete U.S. Open experience involves eavesdropping on spectator chatter. Below, some of the nutty exchanges we overheard in the gallery on Thursday.Man watching Dustin Johnson's chip roll on the second green: "Nibble." Johnson's ball stopped about eight feet past the hole. "Didn't nibble."Man to woman: "Who's coming up in this group?" Woman: "Tadahiro Takayama, Lee Slattery and Hunter Haas." "Honey, you mean, Bill Haas." "No, Hunter." "Oh, honey, please. It's Bill." Woman hands man the pairings sheet. "Damn, you're right."Loud fan, as Rickie approached the first tee: "Rickiiieeee! You're my colorful hero, Ricckkkkiiiee!"Related: Sh-t Golfers SayMan after sizing up Tiger Woods' new Nike shoes: "Is there something wrong with Tiger's feet that he has to wear tennis shoes?"Man noting the afternoon sun. "I wish these guys were playing when it's cold and windy and foggy and crappy. It's too damn nice out. I want them to suffer. To suffer like I do."Spectator, after Fowler leaves his approach shot to the right of the first green: "Up and down, Rickie. Just keep those wrists firm." "We've been standing on this hole (the third) for two hours and haven't seen a birdie. We've seen flops, skulls missed putts and lots of sulking. I never want to leave."Woman, watching Dustin Johnson's approach hit the front of the second green, then roll all the way down, about 15 feet short of the green. "These greens are crazy. Hellish! DIABOLICAL!"Woman, to man: "I've seen two spectators with the exact outfit Rickie's wearing. Man: "That's just wrong."Man, to his friend: "How do we get over there," pointing to the other side of the third hole. Friend: "We've gotta walk all the way around." Man: "Uggghhhh. Damn Dan for buying me all those shots last night."-- Ashley Mayo

14

Jun
Thu

Media: Tiger and why, possibly, 'nobody can beat him'

(Photo by Getty Images) Tiger Woods' stature in the game allows for few comparisons beyond those that compare him to himself. Such was the case during the telecast of the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday. "During the break, Andy North compared what he's seeing today to Hoylake when Tiger just picked that place apart," ESPN's Paul Azinger said. Recall that Woods won the British Open at Hoylake in 2006 by rarely hitting driver, choosing instead clubs that ensured he kept his ball in play and out of Hoylake's bunkers. At the Olympic Club, Woods hit few drivers, often choosing irons that kept his ball out of the rough en route to a one-under par 69 that has him tied for second. "It was great to see Tiger play like that," Azinger said. "He seemed to be in complete control of his emotions. I've said this many times: When that convergence happens with that mental game and that physical game nobody can beat him." Explaining Phil Phil Mickelson shot a 79 in the opening round of the Memorial, then withdrew and two weeks later opened the U.S. Open with a 76. Mickelson, of course, has always been prone to erraticism, but Azinger introduced his psoriatic arthritis as possibly a contributing factor. "I think the arthritis thing is something he doesn't use an excuse," he said. "We've all seen the commercials. I just don't know that Phil feels the same day in and day out and he's going to be more inconsistent than the inconsistent Phil Mickelson." A new C word The C word in Johnny Miller's broadcasting vocabulary has always been choke. On Thursday, it changed. "He's getting the big C word back, which is confidence," Miller said. "Boy, you get a confident Tiger Woods with his talent watch out." Bubba's blunder? Did Bubba Watson talk himself out of an opportunity to play well? Miller was suggesting as such. "He made the comment that the course does not suit his eye," Miller said. "He came in with sort of a poor attitude." 'Greatest examination...in USGA history' Here was Azinger's assessment of the Olympic Club and how it was set up for the U.S. Open: "I think the way it's set up -- there's enough rough, it's tree lined, the greens are fast, every hole has a dogleg and a lot of the fairways are sloped opposite the way the dogleg goes -- I think it will be the greatest examination of a player's game in USGA history. I think it's that good a course. I think it will be difficult to get through this event without a double bogey." Good stat Amateur Andy Zhang from China is 14, the youngest in history to play in the U.S. Open, and "was not born when Woods won that '97 Masters," ESPN's Mike Tirico said. "He was born eight months later. Let it go On two occasions, ESPN's Mike Tirico asked Azinger whether U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III could play on his own team, should he qualify. It's a moot point, in all likelihood. Love is not going to win the U.S. Open. He's 42nd in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings. He's 48 and seldom in contention any longer (one top 10 in nine starts in 2012 and three in 22 starts in 2011). Plus, more of his attention in the coming months will be on the Ryder Cup rather than his own game. A Chris Berman-free zone ESPN's Chris Berman, a fixture on U.S. Open telecasts, is too easy a target, so we'll refrain from criticism. However, we can't resist citing Tweets from these sports journalists: Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune columnist: "I tuned in golf. I got Chris Berman. I don't need golf that badly." Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com: "Chris. Berman. Doing. Golf. And Mickelson was worried about cell phones?" On Twitter Azinger: "Walking to our new location @miketirico and I passed 4 guys openly burning one. #legal?" Comment: Well, it is San Francisco and Haight-Ashbury is nearby. U.S. Amateur champion Kelly Kraft: "Does Johnny Miller ever say anything positive? #annoying" Comment: Does this qualify? "That was well done by Tiger. Made it look easy," Miller said following Woods' round. -- John Strege