Monthly Archives: June 2015

Beaning, base-running blunders, tough year for Cano

A day after getting beaned with an errant throw while sitting in the dugout, Robinson Cano had another tough day.

The Mariners’ second baseman made another base-running mistake on Sunday. Cano was on third base in the fourth inning and should have tagged up sooner on a line drive hit by Kyle Seager to right field. It’s debatable whether he would have scored against the Angels had he busted for home, but you have to give yourself a chance to do it in that situation.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times writes about Cano’s blunder in the second part of this story.

It’s just another in a series of Little League-like mistakes Cano has been guilty of on the bases this year.

HIs first on April 15 at Dodger Stadium was the most memorable. I’m not even gonna go into the details, but I never recall a player of his status making such a bone-headed move. You can watch it again and listen to Dodgers’ broadcaster Vin Scully describe it here.

On June 4 at Safeco Field, Cano was picked off first base on the day manager Lloyd McClendon took his team out to the field to discuss the art of base-running.

By the way, Cano was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Sunday and his averaged dropped to .241.

It’s been a tough season for the six-time All-Star. The bizarre beaning pretty much captures the whole season for Cano and the Mariners to date. The Mariners, by the way, are paying Cano $24 million a year through the 2023 season.

What they’re writing, saying about the U.S. Open, Chambers Bay

 

 

Here’s what some people are writing about the U.S. Open and Chambers Bay:

Jordan Spieth won a U.S. Junior Amateur championship at Gold Mountain Golf Club in 2011, and he won the U.S. Open on Sunday at Chambers Bay. Jeff Graham of the Kitsap Sun writes about it.

One of the feel-good stories of the week was Kitsap’s own Troy Kelly, who finished with a 1-under 69. I followed Kelly around and talked to him and his brother, caddie Ryan Kelly, after the round.

In the end, the controversial tournament was decided by nerves and the best player won, writes Cameron Morfit of golf.com.

Here’s what Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press wrote about on Sunday.

Mike Davis heard all of the complains, but the USGA’s executive director said the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay was a big success. Here’s Paul Ramsdell’s story about it in the Seattle Times.

The 115th U.S. Open was the “first completely made-for-TV major championship in golf history,” writes Dave Sheinan of the Washington Post.

Chambers Bay hogged the spotlight, and that’s not right, writes Christine Brennan of USA Today.

Can Spieth buck history and win the Grand Slam? 

Chambers Bay wasn’t so tough, according to this Golf Digest report.  Check out these numbers.

Golf Digest’s list of winners and losers, or birdies and bogeys.

Veteran golf writer Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times had this take on the U.S. Open and Spieth’s victory.

Art Thiel of sportspressnw.com writes about Jordan Spieth and his caddie, Michael Greller, and the things swirling through their minds during the mind-humbling final half hour of the U.S. Open.

Billy Horschel took shots at the USGA following his final round, and here’s Adam Lewis’ take for sportspressnw.com. Horschel loved the spectacular beauty of Chambers Bay, but said it was a disappointing week because of the conditions of the green.

For Dustin Johnson, it was a choke, plain and simple, writes Chris Case of USA Today.

ICYMI, here’s Gary Player’s rant about Chambers Bay a couple of days ago. It’s worth listening to if you haven’t heard it.

Chambers Bay designer Robert Trent Jones not ready to get into a debate with Gary Player.

Chris Kirk took a sextuple bogey on No. 1 Sunday. For those of you counting, that’s a 10.

Here’s some quotes from the Open:

Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 champion who closed with a 67, finished a few hours before Spieth. Assessing Chambers Bay, Ogilvy told the New York Times: “You have to move the ball both ways and you have to use your brain, which is a rare thing in modern golf and something we’re not very good at, I don’t think. It’s going to be a class act of a player who wins, and really that’s all you want.”

“It has been a strange atmosphere because [fans] can’t seem to get close and on some holes, there aren’t any. I watched Phil Mickelson tee off at the first today, and then people won’t see him until the second shot on the second hole, because you can’t get down the first. From a fan’s point of view, it must have been even a harder trek than for us players.” — Lee Westwood.

On Friday, Henrik Stenson said it was “like putting on broccoli.”

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy begged to differ Saturday. “I don’t think they’re as green as broccoli. More like cauliflower.”

Sergio Garcia on putting at Chambers Bay: “Obviously, luck is always a factor in golf, but this is pushing it a little bit,. This is beyond luck. Sometimes it’s hope. Some putts you hit and you hope it’s going to take the right bounce right or left . . . It just doesn’t feel right.”

Chris Kirk shot 78 to finish 21-over, last among those who made the cut, then tweeted: “The U.S. Open is a great tournament with incredible history. The USGA should be ashamed of what they did to it this week.”

Dustin Johnson, the disappointed runner-up: “You know, I played well today. I did everything I was supposed to do. I hit the ball really well, and I’m proud of the way I handled myself. I just really struggled getting the ball in the hole today. I didn’t think I was hitting bad putts; I thought I hit them pretty good. They just weren’t going in.”

 

Does Chambers Bay deserve another chance to host a major?

Golfers are already on the course for the final round of the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.

Will this be the final time the course hosts a major professional golf event?

The place has been heavily criticized by players and golf analysts for the poor conditions of the greens and by the fans for the poor viewing areas.

I walked the place Thursday, Friday and Saturday as a spectator, and it’s tough going. The terrain makes it difficult to walk and all of the sand dunes, most of them off limits to fans, make it difficult to watch. The sight lines are non-existent on some holes and unless you’ve  plopped down in one of the grandstands, you can’t get close to many of the players.

Still, the uniqueness of the place, the beauty of it all, is stunning.

Would I pay $110 for a ticket if the U.S. Open came back? Not if they keep things the way they are. The USGA says it’s worried about the safety of fans, which is why it keeps fans off of the slippery hillsides and dunes. There are ways to get around that. Build some paths up those hills, cut out some amphitheatre-like seating some of the larger hills that have fantastic viewing areas.

Put some ropes up closer to the fairways and let the fans get closer to the players. There are certainly ways to make it more fan-friendly. The USGA blew it this time around concerning the fans.

And there are certainly ways to fix those greens. Some have already been re-done since the 2010 U.S. Amateur was played at Chambers Bay. Players rave about the greens on No. 7 and No. 13. Re-do the others. Give the players a unique test of golf, but let them put on greens that are as beautiful as the surrounding Puget Sound area. Because of the terrain and the slopes on the greens, the USGA can still make sure that the winning score will be closer to even par than -20.

So going into Sunday’s final round, I’ll be back at the course, but this time I’m working. There’s no cheering in the media center, but I’ll be pulling for the local guy, Central Kitsap Troy Kelly, to have the round of his life (he tees off at 10:29 a.m.), and I’ll be looking forward to what the USGA has to say about the future of Chambers Bay.

Will this be the course’s swan song with big-time golf, or is it just the beginning?

 

Gold Mountain’s ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ have arrived

“The Stars of Tomorrow.”

That’s what they billed the U.S. Junior Amateur when it came to Bremerton’s Gold Mountain Golf Club in 2010.

I’ve mentioned this before, but Gold Mountain’s had its share of young stars pass through over the years, whether it was a USGA national event (Junior Am or 2006 U.S. Amateur  Public Links) or NCAA tournament (Husky Invitational or NCAA regional).

By my count, there’s 11 players left in the field of 75 at the U.S. Open who have competed at Gold Mountain, including co-leader Jordan Spieth, the 2010 U.S. Junior Am champ, and Troy Kelly, the Central Kitsap grad and former UW golfer now living in Steilacoom.

The others: Dustin Johnson, Jamie Lovemark, Beau Hossler, Cheng-Tsung Pan, Luke Donald, Billy Horschel, Kevin Chappel, Keegan Bradley and Morgan Hoffman.

Kelly, by the way, tees off at 8:47 a.m. on Saturday. He carded rounds of 72-73 and made it into the field with 15 others when amateur Nick Hardy bogeyed his final hole on Friday. It’s the first time Kelly has made a cut in a major. He played previously in the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst and at the 2012 British Open.

Kelly has been playing on a major medical exemption for most of the last three years. He has seven PGA Tour starts left after the US Open and unless he changes plans, he will play at the July 2-5 Greenbrier Classic, where he lost a three-hole playoff to Ted Potter Jr. and placed second in 2012.

Golf: Kelly, Jonson bid for U.S. Open spots; U.S. Open Trophy, City Amateur at Gold Mtn

Troy Kelly and Carl Jonson will try to play their way into the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay on Monday.

They will be among 50 players gunning for three spots in the 36-hole U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum.

Kelly, a Central Kitsap grad now living in Lakewood, has battled injuries on the PGA Tour. The former NCAA runner-up when he was at Washington qualified for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, N.C., in 2005. His best finish on the PGA Tour was a second at The Greenbrier Classic in 2012. He also played in the British Open that year.

Bainbridge’s Jonson, who just completed his senior year at UNLV, made it through local qualifying earlier this year. He was the Washington State Golf Association Men’s Player of the Year in 2014 and qualified for the U.S. Amateur that was played in 2010 at Chambers Bay.

Washington All-American Cheng-Tsung Pan, recent runner-up at the NCAA national championship, is also in the field. He’s qualified for two U.S. Opens, including 2013 when the sectional qualifier was also at Tumble Creek.

Another former Husky, Richard Lee, is also entered. Lee, a past Bremerton City Amateur champion, has had some success on the PGA and Web.com tours, but hasn’t played this year because of an injury.

Brent Zapp, head pro at Chambers Bay, will try to qualify to play in the national championship on his home course

You can find the complete pairings and tee times here.

U.S. Open Trophy Tour at Gold Mountain

The U.S. Open Trophy Tour stops at Gold Mountain on Saturday (June 6). It’ll be there from 1-3 p.m.

Golfers are encouraged to take a photo with the trophy and share via social media using #usopenforall and #lexusgolf to have a chance to win two tickets to the final round of the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.

City Am June 6-7

The annual Bremerton City Amateur, a 36-hole tournament, will be held Saturday and Sunday at Gold Mountain.

Golfers will play the Cascade Course on Saturday, and the Olympic Course on Sunday. Here’s Saturday’s pairings and tee times.

Mercer Island’s Charlie Kern, who finished his college career at William & Mary last month, will be back to defend his title. Kern’s best finish this spring was a tie for third at the Redhawks Invitational in April at Chambers Bay.

Bainbridge teen Sam Warkentin, who won a Class 3A state championship recently, and Olympic College standout Adam Barker are among the contenders. Past champion Scott Fenske and Devin Loudon, who won the 2014 Kitsap Amateur, also also entered.

Kenyan Fanslow from Tacoma, an NWAC standout while at Olympic College, is also in the field. He’s now at Northwest Nazarene and was the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year.

Another way to get to Chambers Bay

The Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce announced that it will run a shuttle to Chambers Bay for the U.S. Open. Cost is $30 for a roundtrip and reservations are required. Read about it in this Tacoma News Tribune story.