Cinking Putts is the name of the Game in the Third Round

Stewart Cink is repeating a run that landed him his first ever tour victory.  This Weekend’s golf is coming down to the final day, just like last year’s Travelers. This time, the battle could be between veterans Vijay Singh and Stewart Cink.

After Last Week’s grind at Torrey Pines, who would think that 15 under par would be obtainable?  Who had any idea? Ok, It was inevitable. I think we are all just stuck in the moment of last week still. That’s ok, because I feel more late hole magic in tomorrow’s final round.  For Now, let’s break down why the top of the leader board is doing so well.

Stewart Cink – What has kept Cink in the game is his driving ability.  Stewart is third this weekend in driving distance. And though he is not in the top 10 in driving accuracy, he is still having success, because TPC River Highlands is so  forgiving.

Vijay Singh – He hasn’t put up a top notch round yet, but his play is consistent. His putter came around today though.  If he can put everything together for the final round, It should be interesting.  Singh had a drive of 341 yards earlier in the weekend.

Kevin Streelman – After an 8 under round, Streelman has put him self into good position going into Sunday’s round.  In only 22 career starts, Streelman has finished in the top 25 just once.  So the question will for tomorrow will be, Will he fall off the table? or Will he continue his dominance of birdies and eagles without any bogeys?

Fred Funk – Funk’s impressive play has been simply because of his consistency throughout. Beyond making timely putts and great decisions in the mid to short game, Fred has been able to start well from the tee box.  He is second in driving accuracy this weekend.  Look for Funk to battle it out on the day after his 14th wedding anniversary.

Hunter Mahan – Mahan posted a three under round today, but he has always played well on Sunday here.  His front nine will have to be pretty impressive in order to compete. Mahan’s bogey on the fourth hole seemed to set the tone for his play today.

The Dark Horse:

Justin Rose – Though it will take a miracle for Rose to catch up with the top of the leader board, but he has the tools to do it. The youngster is sixth in the PGA in holes per eagle and on a course like this, a couple eagles are not out of question.  Watch for Rose to make a run.

Destined to Win:

Vijay Singh – I just have a feeling about Vijay’s chances tomorrow. Cink has been unstoppable on the links, but something is telling me that Singh will step up his game with Tiger on the shelf.  I am hoping for a playoff like last year, when Hunter Mahan and Jay Williamson duked it out.

Tomorrow’s Coverage will take place at 3 PM ET on CBS.

Mahan 63 Brings back Memory of Last Year’s Tourney

Hunter Mahan turned in a 63 round (Interview here) early this morning to put him in good position for tomorrow’s third round. We are seeing some aggressive play yet again that is paying off.

Stewart Cink and Kenny Perry have put together solid 2nd rounds, at four and three under respectfully. Cink’s first victory of his career came right here at TPC Riverview.

Another great story is amatuer Micheal Thompson, who is six under so far in the tourney. The way he is playing, it has to be time to take it to the pro game.

Fred Funk and Vijay Singh have also put themselves in good shape for tomorrow’s action. Both shot 68s.

For more stories and coverage, check out pgatour.com

Travelers Championship Preview

With all the emotion of the U.S. Open behind us, Let’s take a look at this week’s Travelers Championship.

The Venue: TPC River Highlands

Location: Cromwell, CT

Purse: 6 Million

Winning Share: 1.08 Million

TV Coverage:

Thursday 6/19	3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET	GOLF

	Thursday 6/19	8:30 PM – 11:30 PM ET	GOLF

	Friday 6/20	3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET	GOLF

	Friday 6/20	8:30 PM – 11:30 PM ET	GOLF

	Saturday 6/21	3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET	CBS

Sunday 6/22

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET

CBS

Course Description: Holes 4 and 10 can create huge problems for most golfers. Four does not have much forgiveness on each side of the fairway, with two bunkers on each side. The Green is also slopes from back to front. Hole number ten presents a tough approach to the green. If lucky, golfers will also par this hole. Here is a more in depth look of the course.

The Defending Champion: Hunter Mahan

Mahan got his first career victory last year on the same course. Known more for his driving ability than his putting game, Mahan has worked hard at evening out his game. After an 18th place finish at the U.S. Open that saw a final round 69, Mahan has to be a favorite to take it home yet again in 2008. For a youngster, Mahan is pretty poised on the links. His highest finish this year was tied for fifth at the Mercedes-Benz Championship Check out some of his footage from the 2007 championship here.

The Favorites:

Vijay Singh – The Fiji native struggled last weekend, but with 8 top ten finishes this season, he is already an instant favorite with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Adam Scott out of this weekend’s play. Tack on a fourth place finish last season and his hard work preparing this week.

Stewart Cink – Cink has played well in small tournaments this season, and finished with a 67 in the final round on Sunday. What gives Stewart an advantage is his veteran choices on a tough course. Cink will not be afraid to lay off for par instead of trying to kill the ball at times.

Kenny Perry – After a Memorial Tournament win, Perry fell off the map last weekend. After a slight break from action, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Perry come up big this weekend. His driving ability will also help him out on this course.

Hunter Mahan – Mahan’s game has turned around in the last few weeks. After a solid Sunday, Mahan is my favorite to win this weekend. He knows this course really well and he is fourth in getting to greens in regulation. That will come to play at River Highlands and help his somewhat struggling short game.

Tiger to Have Season Ending Surgery

After grueling through 91 holes and pulling out what calls his best major ever, Tiger Woods will undergo season ending surgery to reconstruct his right knee. According to his website, Woods will also require time off to rehab a double stress fracture of his tibia that was created just before the Memorial Tournament.

This could be a major blow to the USGA and the current ratings of golf. Though I wish him well and hope for a fast and full recovery, I believe this could be an interesting time in golf. Maybe we can see someone rise to the occasion and make a name for himself. This weekend could shift the rankings just a bit.

Monday Links

Lets take a look at some news circling golf after a busy weekend.

• ESPN.com is reporting that Rocco Mediate has pulled out of this weekend’s Travelers Championship. I would expect to hear the same thing from Tiger Woods sometime soon. Especially if his knee is bothering him.

• The Tour Insider takes a look at defending Travelers Champion Hunter Mahan. This includes a great interview, as well as a review of how Mayhan has been playing leading up to his first defense of a tournament.

• Lorena Ochoa will look to defend her third title of the season this week in the Wegmans LPGA Tournament. Ochoa is the number one ranked womens player in the world.

• Tiger Woods is not sure if he will be ready for the British Open at Royal Burkdale. I’m Pretty sure that he will find a way. I cannot see him missing a Major. He has a lot of time to recoup.

• Sports Illustrated looked at the NBC Coverage of the U.S. Open in depth. I felt NBC did a decent job of capturing the moment.

Quotes of the Weekend:

This weekend’s quotes come from Monday’s second place finisher Rocco Mediate.

• “I got what I wanted. I got a chance to beat the best man in the world, and I came up just a touch short. But I think I had him a little scared once, which was great. He just said ‘Great fight!’ to me and that makes it a little better, I think.”

• “It’s like a prize fight. No one even expected me to be (here) that long or survive and he had to birdie the last again to tie me. Again. And he did it. It’s amazing.”

US Open Review

After a beautiful afternoon of battling on the links, Tiger Woods pulled the win for his 3rd U.S. Open title. Rocco Mediate missed a crucial putt on the first hole of sudden death to end it. Woods missed the birdie putt as well that would of sealed the deal. Now that its over, lets take a look at the event as a whole.

Reviewing the Champion:

Tiger Woods – Woods’ play was not beautiful by any means. He continued to miss fairways, his midrange game was a bit off and he didn’t impress. When it mattered though, Woods was able to hit the timely putts that mattered. His grit and character were definitely on display this weekend and today, playing through an ailing knee and working his usual ability to close out tournaments. He continues to be the best putter when it matters, as a matter of fact, he can be defined by it.

The Weekend Warriors:

Rocco Mediate – Mediate continued battling throughout the weekend, poking away at fairways and greens constantly. He kept himself in contention on Sunday and today battled Tiger neck and neck. His performance will be remembered. He was having fun on the course, but at the same time battling through.

Lee Westwood – Though he choked in the final round, he was able to find his way in the final grouping on Sunday. I loved his composure from the tee box and on the green. Only 5 bogeys in the first 3 rounds impressed. Westwood fell apart in the final nine of the 4th round though. Three Bogeys and a Double killed his final round. One more par and he would have been in the playoff round as well.

The “I Muffed and need a Mulligan…..or Two”:

Phil Mickelson – Hey Phil, did you want to show up to your hometown course? I don’t think so. After making the choice to hide the driver in the closet to open the tournament, Mickelson shot a 74 in the second round and a 75 in the third. His fairway accuracy was atrocious and even though he shot a 68 in the final round, his six over finish was a disappointment.

We all know though why he really needed a mulligan though. His 13th hole blow up. Mickelson would later say that when he was nine was the last time he scored an 8 on the 13th. I really think that his pairing with Tiger Woods is what threw him off to start the tournament in the first two rounds.

Vijay Singh – Singh has now made the cut in 14 consecutive seasons at the U.S. Open, but a 65th place finish was well worse than expected and history has written. In all but two U.S. Opens, Vijay has been in the top 25 when going into the final round. Singh was in the news earlier in the week and it wasn’t because of his play on the links. Singh claimed that “today’s young Brits get in a comfort zone and don’t work hard enough.” Apparently you need to keep working Mr. Singh.

The Tournament Changer:

Tiger’s putt in round three on the 13th for eagle is when I knew that he would pull it out somehow. But what really sealed the deal was his eagle on 18 of the same round. The back nine of the third round was the obvious game changer for me. Tiger’s putting was unmatchable, his rebounds from the tee box were outstanding and the magic was in the air at that point.

The Gallery is Loving Mediate

It is sure apparent that Rocco Mediate is also being favored out on the course today. Fans continue to scream Rocco….Rocco. I love it. We all know that they are rooting for Tiger, but they are showing love for the underdog as well. It has been fun to watch.  I really think this will come to putting.  That is why Tiger will win. He has only hit 4 of 12 greens today in regulation, but his chipping and putting is just too much for Mediate.

10th Hole could be the End of the Playoff Run for Mediate

Rocco Mediate has held strong so far this afternoon, but on the Tenth, Tiger Woods was able to separate himself with a par put. Mediate is now three strokes behind Woods.

For Mediate it has been a good run with solid drives into the fairway, but in the last few here he has been pressing far too much. His smiles have turned into concerns. He just has to keep playing the way he has all weekend and his stroke will come back to him. He will be there at the end if he does that.

For Woods its been a day of laying back on his drives and keeping them in the Fairway. It seems he has taken a bunch of power off his drives, but it’s working for him. Look for him to step it up in the final three holes, especially after a horrid par five 9.

Tiger Woods Calms after Rough Start

Tiger Sinks it! We have 18 holes of golf tomorrow!

UPDATE (8:47 PM ET): Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood are battling on the 18th hole, looking to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate, who is in the clubhouse at one under. This is going to come down to the wire…. stay tuned. Woods is on the 18th green looking to birdie to force a playoff.

UPDATE: Tiger Woods is now under par with a birdie on the 10th. It looks like he will hold his current streak of 14 straight majors when leading after 3 rounds.

Tiger Woods has cooled down in the first round after starting three over on the first two holes. Woods has double bogeyed the first hole in every round of this U.S. Open. In the last four holes Woods has pared to stay one within leader Lee Westwood.

Another good story of the final round so far has been that of Geoff Ogilvy. He has found his way back to one over after coming into the round three over. Ogilvy has made some big puts so far and is putting himself into contention after 6 holes.

Ernie Els has also been putting on a display with his fine drives and fairway play. If he could get some solid puts, he could make a run at it.

Welcome to the 18th Hole

Welcome! At the 18th Hole, I’ll bring you the best Golf Commentary from the weekend, Including updates, links, and more from around the world of golf. I hope you will enjoy.

Look forward to:

Live Updates

Video Highlights

And More!