US Open Championship: Barnes Proving A Surprise Packet


New York (June 20): He may be a former US Amateur champion, but Ricky Barnes was never someone I thought would be atop a US Open leaderboard, especially at a course as brutish as Bethpage Black. I always laugh when I remember Barnes as a college player at Arizona. He flaunted his California surfer look and was fond of rolling up the sleeves of his golf shirts to expose his 'guns'. His golf swing had a lot of moving parts and I figured he had way too much bravado to amount to much in the conservative, methodical world of pro golf. His record has borne me out – at least until he posted eight-under-par (67-65) at Bethpage, which was good for the lead through round two of the rain-hit US Open.

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US Open Championship: Injury And 'Luck Of The Draw' Conspire Against Jeev


New York (June 19): It’s tough to be competitive at a US Open when you can’t swing with full force, especially when the championship is contested over a brute like Bethpage Black. Such is the plight of Jeev Milka Singh, who 'took the plunge' and is playing in the Open despite a painful rib injury that limits his ability to hit a driver and to extricate himself from deep rough. “I’m hurting with the driver, for sure,” Singh said on Friday after completing the last 10 holes of his first-round 78, which left him 14 shots off the pace set by leader Mike Weir.

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US Open Officials Awash In Contingency Plans As More Rain Threatens


New York (June 18): With Bethpage Black having absorbed rain on 30 of the last 45 days, and rain forecast Thursday through Sunday, the 109th US Open also is awash in contingency plans should the course teeter on being unplayable. The Black definitely won’t play to its advertised length of 7,426 yards. Rather, the US Golf Association will take advantage of multiple tees and hole locations to create an overall length that fairly accommodates course conditions. An army of more than 220 greenkeeping staff and volunteers will be spread throughout the grounds during the competition, most of them stationed at the greens and employing as many as 80 squeegees in an effort to keep the putting surfaces from turning into wet sponges. Also in use will be nine moisture-removing devices called Water Hogs.

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Global Ambassador Sorenstam Presses Golf's Olympic Claims


Ponte Vedra Beach (June 14): International Golf Federation (IGF) Global Ambassador Annika Sorenstam and 2010 European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie will join representatives of the International Golf Federation when golf’s final case for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games will be made to the International Olympic Committee Executive Board on Monday in Lausanne, Switzerland. Sorenstam, who serves as a Global Ambassador in support of the IGF’s effort, and Montgomerie will join Tim Finchem, PGA Tour Commissioner, LPGA of Japan President and World Golf Hall of Fame member Hisako 'Chako' Higuchi, IGF Co-Secretary Peter Dawson and IGF Executive Director Ty Votaw for the presentation. Dawson and Votaw have been co-ordinating golf’s Olympic bid. “We feel it is very important for the IOC Executive Board to be able to personally hear from two of the game’s most highly respected players in Annika and Colin,” Votaw said. “We will also be presenting a film featuring 16 of the game’s most prominent players including current world number one ranked Lorena Ochoa and Tiger Woods, as well as IGF Global Ambassador Jack Nicklaus describing the compelling reasons why golf should be reinstated as an Olympic sport after an absence of more than a century.”

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US Open Championship: Bethpage Black Struggle For Distressed Singh


It’s hard to imagine anyone more grateful for the 10:15 am suspension of play on Thursday at the US Open than Jeev Milkha Singh. Singh, at number 37 the highest ranked pro golfer from Asia, was in clear discomfort as he scored five bogeys in eight holes over a squishy Bethpage Black course. It wasn’t just the continuously spitting rain and sudden gusts of wind that caused his distress. Singh also was hindered by a pulled muscle on his right side, an injury that made him grimace more than once during two-and-a-half hours spent battling the elements. Singh wasn’t the only player to struggle. Masters co-runner-up Chad Campbell was five-over through seven holes. Padraig Harrington, winner of two Majors last season, was four-over through four holes. Luke Donald was five-over through five; Eduardo Romero seven-over after five. David Horsey fared worst among the 78 players who teed off before the suspension, posting 10-over through 10 holes.

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Jeev Prepares For Walk Down Memory Lane At Bethpage


New York (June 16): India’s Jeev Milkha Singh is battling time as he prepares to lead a strong Asian Tour cast at the US Open this week with the aim of delivering Asia’s first Major title. The year’s second Major starts at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course on Thursday and joining Singh will be Angelo Que of the Philippines and the Korean trio KJ Choi, Bae Sang-moon and Charlie Wi. Asian Tour honorary member Vijay Singh of Fiji is also in the elite field. It will be a walk down memory lane for Jeev, the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, as he made his Major championship debut at the US Open at the same venue back in 2002.

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