Will McIlroy hold on to win the U.S. Open Sunday?

Written by: Tony Korologos | Saturday, June 18th, 2011
Categories: PGA TourPro GolfU.S. OPEN
Tags:

2011 U.S. Open - CongressionalI’m just powering up my DVR of today’s U.S. Open broadcast. I didn’t get to watch any of it today unfortunately and fortunately. I was playing in a tournament with my pops at his club, the annual father/son. Last year we won the father/son, but this year we didn’t bring our best games to the course and ended up in 3rd. We were two shots out of 1st, with many shots left on the course.

Following the tourney I had to work on some music with my musician pals, for an upcoming show we are playing a week from today at the Utah Arts Festival. That group is called Zentherstick, and features some wild instruments.

So after rolling home from all of that fun stuff, I’d missed the entire broadcast. But I had the U.S. Open iPhone application running all day and followed the rounds of all the players, especially Rory McIlroy.  I know that McIlroy finished at -14, which is now a new record for the most under par at a U.S. Open at any point.  The old record was from yesterday when Rory reached -13.

How did Rory get to -14 and his eight shot lead over Y.E. Yang?  I have no idea.  Watching DVR now.

Will Rory hold on to win the U.S. Open tomorrow?

So the question obviously is whether Rory McIlroy will hold on and win his first major?  Or will he have a Sunday meltdown like at Augusta a couple of months ago?  Eight shots is a huge lead, but that could be four bad swings which equal doubles.  I’m voting for yes, Rory will pull it off.  I’m a Rory fan for sure, especially since his swing looks a lot like mine. 🙂


2011 U.S. Open – Who made it and who missed the cut

Written by: Tony Korologos | Saturday, June 18th, 2011
Categories: PGA TourPro GolfU.S. OPEN
Tags:

Below is the U.S. Open leaderboard table following round two.

POS PLAYER NAME: FIRST | LAST SCORING TO PAR ROUNDS TOTAL
TOTAL THRU TODAY 1 2 3 4
1 Rory McIlroy -11 F -5 65 66 131
2 Y.E. Yang -5 F -2 68 69 137
T3
7
Robert Garrigus -2 F -1 70 70 140
T3
1
Sergio Garcia -2 F E 69 71 140
T3
19
Zach Johnson -2 F -2 71 69 140
T3
7
Brandt Snedeker -2 F -1 70 70 140
T3
31
Matt Kuchar -2 F -3 72 68 140
T8
4
Kyung-tae Kim -1 F +1 69 72 141
T8
2
Alvaro Quiros -1 F E 70 71 141
T8
2
Robert Rock -1 F E 70 71 141
T8
14
Heath Slocum -1 F -1 71 70 141
T8
2
Davis Love III -1 F E 70 71 141
T8
4
Ryan Palmer -1 F +1 69 72 141
T8
14
Brandt Jobe -1 F -1 71 70 141
T15
69
Patrick Cantlay (a) E F -4 75 67 142
T15
5
John Senden E F +1 70 72 142
T15
19
Seung-yul Noh E F -1 72 70 142
T15
13
Charl Schwartzel E F +3 68 74 142
T15
69
Alexander Noren E F -4 75 67 142
T15
30
Marc Leishman E F -2 73 69 142
T15
30
Russell Henley (a) E F -2 73 69 142
T15
11
Louis Oosthuizen E F +2 69 73 142
T15
5
Johan Edfors E F +1 70 72 142
T15
5
Henrik Stenson E F +1 70 72 142
T25
86
Bo Van Pelt +1 F -4 76 67 143
T25
9
Peter Hanson +1 F E 72 71 143
T25
37
Phil Mickelson +1 F -2 74 69 143
T25
86
Kevin Chappell +1 F -4 76 67 143
T25
37
Fredrik Jacobson +1 F -2 74 69 143
T25
59
Lee Westwood +1 F -3 75 68 143
T25
3
Jason Day +1 F +1 71 72 143
T25
3
William Cauley +1 F +1 71 72 143
T33
51
Steve Stricker +2 F -2 75 69 144
T33
29
Edoardo Molinari +2 F -1 74 70 144
T33
12
Do-Hoon Kim +2 F E 73 71 144
T33
12
Brian Gay +2 F E 73 71 144
T33
11
Padraig Harrington +2 F +2 71 73 144
T33
29
Ryo Ishikawa +2 F -1 74 70 144
T33
23
Graeme McDowell +2 F +3 70 74 144
T33
29
Martin Kaymer +2 F -1 74 70 144
T33
1
Jeff Overton +2 F +1 72 72 144
T33
12
Scott Piercy +2 F E 73 71 144
T33
12
Gary Woodland +2 F E 73 71 144
T44
40
Alexandre Rocha +3 F +5 69 76 145
T44
18
Michael Putnam +3 F E 74 71 145
T44
1
Todd Hamilton +3 F +1 73 72 145
T44
67
Lucas Glover +3 F -2 76 69 145
T44
10
Rory Sabbatini +3 F +2 72 73 145
T44
22
Charley Hoffman +3 F +3 71 74 145
T44
10
Harrison Frazar +3 F +2 72 73 145
T44
34
Chez Reavie +3 F +4 70 75 145
T44
18
Justin Hicks +3 F E 74 71 145
T44
101
Marcel Siem +3 F -5 79 66 145
T44
10
J.J. Henry +3 F +2 72 73 145
T44
10
Brad Benjamin (a) +3 F +2 72 73 145
T56
11
Retief Goosen +4 F +2 73 73 146
T56
28
Dustin Johnson +4 F E 75 71 146
T56
6
Matteo Manassero +4 F +1 74 72 146
T56
11
Kenichi Kuboya +4 F +2 73 73 146
T56
28
Sang-Moon Bae +4 F E 75 71 146
T56
28
Wes Heffernan +4 F E 75 71 146
T56
6
Sunghoon Kang +4 F +1 74 72 146
T56
71
Gregory Havret +4 F -2 77 69 146
T56
11
Kevin Streelman +4 F +2 73 73 146
T56
6
Anthony Kim +4 F +1 74 72 146
T56
6
Luke Donald +4 F +1 74 72 146
T56
11
Bill Haas +4 F +2 73 73 146
T56
28
Webb Simpson +4 F E 75 71 146
T56
89
Robert Karlsson +4 F -4 79 67 146
T56
34
Bubba Watson +4 F +4 71 75 146
T56
22
Christo Greyling +4 F +3 72 74 146
T56
28
Adam Hadwin +4 F E 75 71 146
T56
6
John Ellis +4 17 +1 74 74
T56
55
Jesse Hutchins +4 17* -1 76 76
Cut – lowest 60 scores and ties, plus those within 10 strokes of leader
T75
71
Scott Hend +5 F +7 69 78 147
T75
30
Stephen Gallacher +5 F +3 73 74 147
T75
30
Martin Laird +5 F +3 73 74 147
T75
13
Rickie Fowler +5 F +2 74 73 147
T75
13
Hunter Mahan +5 F +2 74 73 147
T75
53
Christopher DeForest +5 F +5 71 76 147
T75
53
David May +5 F +5 71 76 147
T75
36
Chad Campbell +5 F E 76 71 147
T75
30
Paul Casey +5 F +3 73 74 147
T75
65
Stewart Cink +5 F +6 70 77 147
T75
13
Justin Rose +5 F +2 74 73 147
T75
13
Adam Scott +5 F +2 74 73 147
T75
52
Nick O’Hern +5 F -1 77 70 147
T88
39
Ben Crane +6 F E 77 71 148
T88
52
Mark Wilson +6 F -1 78 70 148
T88
4
Ian Poulter +6 F +2 75 73 148
T88
4
Nick Watney +6 F +2 75 73 148
T88
66
Aaron Baddeley +6 F +6 71 77 148
T88
39
Elliot Gealy +6 F E 77 71 148
T88
54
Shane Lowry +6 F +5 72 76 148
T88
43
Ernie Els +6 F +4 73 75 148
T96
49
Andres Gonzales +7 F -1 79 70 149
T96
12
Jason Dufner +7 F +3 75 74 149
T96
34
David Toms +7 F +4 74 75 149
T96
12
Francesco Molinari +7 F +3 75 74 149
T96
12
Trevor Immelman +7 F +3 75 74 149
T96
31
Camilo Villegas +7 F +1 77 72 149
T96
12
Briny Baird +7 F +3 75 74 149
T96
15
Jon Mills +7 F +2 76 73 149
T96
15
Bennett Blakeman (a) +7 F +2 76 73 149
T96
15
Chris Williams (a) +7 F +2 76 73 149
T96
15
Marc Turnesa +7 F +2 76 73 149
T96
15
Greg Chalmers +7 F +2 76 73 149
T96
12
Alex Cejka +7 F +3 75 74 149
T96
34
Jim Furyk +7 F +4 74 75 149
T96
34
Sam Saunders +7 F +4 74 75 149
T96
34
D.A. Points +7 F +4 74 75 149
T96
12
Michael Tobiason Jr. +7 17* +3 75 75
T113
29
Scott Barr +8 F +4 75 75 150
T113
14
Miguel A. Jimenez +8 F +2 77 73 150
T113
68
Ryan Moore +8 F +6 73 77 150
T113
2
Nicholas Colsaerts +8 F +3 76 74 150
T113
29
Fred Funk +8 F +4 75 75 150
T113
91
Angel Cabrera +8 F +8 71 79 150
T113
14
K.J. Choi +8 F +2 77 73 150
T113
79
Peter Uihlein (a) +8 F +7 72 78 150
T113
29
Matthew Edwards +8 F +4 75 75 150
T122
112
Bubba Dickerson +9 F +10 70 81 151
T122
38
Geoff Ogilvy +9 F +5 75 76 151
T122
77
Robert Allenby +9 F +7 73 78 151
T122
11
Kirk Triplett +9 F +4 76 75 151
T122
38
Thomas Levet +9 F +5 75 76 151
T122
11
Joey Lamielle +9 F +4 76 75 151
T128
12
Robert Dinwiddie +10 F +3 78 74 152
T128
66
Cheng-Tsung Pan (a) +10 F +7 74 78 152
T128
17
Hiroyuki Fujita +10 F +2 79 73 152
T128
12
David Howell +10 F +3 78 74 152
T128
66
Chris Wilson +10 F +7 74 78 152
T128
44
Michael Campbell +10 F +6 75 77 152
T128
44
Jonathan Byrd +10 F +6 75 77 152
T128
1
Zach Byrd +10 F +4 77 75 152
T128
17
Michael Smith +10 F +5 76 76 152
T128
1
Michael Whitehead +10 17 +4 77 77
T138
7
Maarten Lafeber +11 F +3 79 74 153
T138
54
Brian Locke +11 F +7 75 78 153
T138
54
Ryan Nelson +11 F +7 75 78 153
T138
27
Beau Hossler (a) +11 F +6 76 77 153
T138
7
Dae-Hyun Kim +11 F +3 79 74 153
T138
11
Brad Adamonis +11 F +5 77 76 153
T138
27
Adam Long +11 F +6 76 77 153
T145
5
Andreas Harto +12 F +5 78 76 154
T145 Scott Pinckney (a) +12 F +4 79 75 154
T145 Will Wilcox +12 17 +4 79 79
T148
21
Geoffery Sisk +13 F +7 77 78 155
T148
5
Kevin Na +13 F +4 80 75 155
T148
8
Steve Irwin (a) +13 F +6 78 77 155
T148
21
Brett Patterson (a) +13 F +7 77 78 155
T152
4
Ty Tryon +15 F +2 84 73 157
T152
2
David Chung (a) +15 F +4 82 75 157
154
27
Matthew Richardson +16 F +10 77 81 158
155 Michael Barbosa (a) +24 F +12 83 83 166
WD Tim Petrovic

McIlroy smashing U.S. Open records in round two

Written by: Tony Korologos | Saturday, June 18th, 2011
Categories: PGA TourPro GolfTiger WoodsU.S. OPEN
Tags:

Rory McIlroyWow what a clinic by 22 year old Rory McIlroy.  Did I mention that his swing looks a lot like mine?  🙂

Where does one even start to discuss how amazing and historic Rory’s first two rounds at this year’s U.S. Open at Congressional CC are?  He’s smashing records left and right and has damn near lapped the field on the scoreboard.

Records Tied Or Broken

Let’s see what records Rory has tied or broken so far.

First he has become the fastest player to double digits under par in a U.S. Open.  That feat happened after 26 holes, shattering the old record by Gil Morgan by 13 holes.  Only four other players have ever reached double digits under par in an Open, Tiger Woods (-12), Gil Morgan (-12), Ricky Barnes (-11) and Jim Furyk (-11).  Woods reached that point in the final round while the other three in their third rounds.  Rory did it in his 2nd round.

Rory had an eight shot lead until he doubled the final hole in round two, his only booboo on the week so far.  His six shot lead at the half way point ties Tiger Woods for largest 36 hole lead in a U.S. Open, six.

Finally, McIlroy has set a new 36 hole scoring record with rounds of 65-66.  His total of 131 after two days beats the old record set by Ricky Barnes back in 2009 at Beth Page Black.  Barnes didn’t win by the way.

The Weekend? Can Rory Hold On This Time?

Seldom do players follow up super low rounds with more super low rounds.  Saturday’s cut day I anticipate some movement.  I expect McIlroy to still have a lead, but my guess is it will be cut down to about three shots by the end of the day.  I’d love to see him extend it even farther though.

Y.E. Yang knows how to overcome six shot leads in majors and he’s six shots behind McIlroy.  They’ll be playing together in round three.  Good place for Yang to put some pressure on, being in the pairing with Rory.

I imagine that the double bogey on 18 in round two may have done more good than harm.  It would possibly serve as a wake up call for Rory, letting him know that one bad swing or two could erase that lead.  Sure he should have know that at the Masters this year, but I think that experience will help him overcome the nerves this time around.

After moving day we’ll see if anyone else in the field can make a move and become a factor.  Other than Yang who is six shots back, the closest players are at two under par, nine shots back.


U.S. Open round two has begun. Think I know Rory McIlroy’s plan now.

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, June 17th, 2011
Categories: European TourPGA TourPro GolfU.S. OPEN
Tags:

Rory McIlroyThankfully I’m able to tune into DirecTv for the “U.S. Open Mix” where I can select one of several channels to view.  I turned off the crappy ESPN feed with the awful Chris Berman announcing and tuned into channel 703 which is the featured group of Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.  If you have DirecTv, tune to channel 701 for the mix.

McIlroy’s Plan?

Rory McIlroy this morning has made birdie on holes #4 and #6.  But the big fireworks happened on #8 where he holed out from 113 yards for eagle.  Through hole #8 Rory is -4 on the day and -10 for the Open, a SEVEN shot lead.

Apparently Rory’s plan is to run away and hide from the field, sort of like Tiger Woods years back at Pebble.  If he builds up a big enough lead, he can insure that a nervous Sunday round won’t hurt him too much I suppose.

Front Nine Done

The featured group is now done with the Friday front nine.  Phil Mickelson is playing much better today, shooting -3 on the front.  Mcilroy ends up -4 on the front and sits at -10 with the tougher back nine to go.

Note: Rory’s ascension to double digits under par in 26 holes is the fastest in U.S. Open history.


2011 U.S. Open Round One Thoughts

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, June 16th, 2011
Categories: GolfPGA TourPro GolfU.S. OPEN
Tags:

2011 U.S. Open - CongressionalRound one of the 2011 U.S. Open is completed.  Today’s competition had many interesting story lines and I won’t be able to address all of them.

Rory McIlroy

The biggest storyline is obviously Rory McIlroy, my pick to win by the way.  I have the tweet to prove it.  I watched Rory’s entire round today.  His first swing, on hole #10, was pure and the ball flew right over the flag stick on that par-3.  Despite watching the struggles of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, McIlroy dropped a 65.  The nearest two competitors are Y.E. Yang and Charl Schwartzel, both with 68’s.

“Everything felt pretty good out there today and hopefully I can just keep it going out there tomorrow.” ~Rory McIlroy on his round today

“If you keep putting yourself there, sooner or later its going to happen for you.” ~Rory McIlroy on finishing off a major championship

I’ve enjoyed watching McIlroy play the last couple of years.  Today I was watching his swing closely and at this point I’d have to say that there’s no better swing in the game right now, except for mine of course.  I love watching his balance.

Statistically Rory was incredible today.  He missed ONE green in a U.S. Open, and that particular one he got up and down for par.  No bogeys in an Open.

Phil Mickelson

Phil started out on #10 with Rory as part of the featured group which also included Dustin Johnson.  Phil’s tee shot ended up finding the drink short of the par-3, and he would record a double bogey on his first hole.  He was spraying his 2-iron all over the course, spending a lot of time at what my buddies and I would call “the salad bar,” the deep stuff.  At one point I thought Phil might shoot himself right out of the tournament as he hit a driver out of the rough with a tree in his back swing.  Instead, Phil stayed in the pack turning in a round which looked like an 83 but was only a +3 74.

Dustin Johnson

Dustin Johnson found TWO hazards on his 2nd hole, carding a triple bogey just like his 2nd hole last year in the final round at Pebble’s U.S. Open.  Aside from that hole, Dustin’s round was solid and he only added one more stroke over par to finish at a +4 75.

Robert Rock Rocks!

Who the heck is Robert Rock?  He doesn’t even have a bio photo on his profile page of the PGA Tour’s Major Championship site.  This English player had issues with his visa and had been working on getting that taken care of once he’d qualified for the U.S. Open two weeks prior.  In order to expedite the process and get all the legal issues taken care of to travel to the USA for the Open, he had to fork out about $16,000.  Then he rolls into Newark NJ last night very late, hiring a car to take him to Bethesda, Maryland.  The hired car was $1000.

Rock proceeded to play some great golf having never seen Congressional Country Club in person.  His fatigued and inexperienced round of -1 70 was very impressive.

My prediction on twitter this morning

I want to call it an international player. Love to see McIlroy. My top USA picks would be Nick Watney or Kuchar.

Other Story Lines

There are so many other story lines, like the condition of the course.  David Feherty said in the post round TGC broadcast that the greens were bad.  Paraphrasing.  Keep in mind that U.S. Open greens are typically dry and hard.  Casual fans who only watch majors will be wondering why the course isn’t pretty and perfectly green like Augusta and the Masters.

I’ve got to stop. So much more to talk about, and it is only the first round. Can’t wait to see what unfolds tomorrow.


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