Sunday, May 23, 2010

“Stanford, Cal golf make NCAA Championships” plus 3 more

“Stanford, Cal golf make NCAA Championships” plus 3 more

Stanford, Cal golf make NCAA Championships

Posted: 23 May 2010 05:40 AM PDT

Both the Stanford and Cal men's golf teams advanced to the NCAA Championships with good showings in separate regionals Saturday.

The second-ranked Cardinal shot a final-round 6-under-par to take the Central Regional title by four shots over Florida State in South Bend, Ind. Cal finished in a three-way tie for third place at the San Diego Regional.

Stanford will be seeking its ninth national title and Cal will be competing for its first since 2004, June 1-6 at the Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn.

-- Tennis: The Stanford women knocked off top-seeded Baylor 4-2 to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA team championships in Athens, Ga. Baylor ended each of Stanford's previous two seasons.

-- Softball: Valerie Arioto hit her 18th home run in the top of the first inning, and Cal defeated Kentucky 1-0 in the Columbus Regional. The Bears (43-17) will play today for a chance to advance to the Super Regional. ... Stanford lost to both Hawaii and Texas Tech in the Stanford Regionals, ending its season.

-- Baseball: No. 10 UCLA (40-11, 15-8 Pac-10) scored seven runs in the last two innings and won 12-4 at Cal (27-21, 11-12). ... Steve Selsky hit a two-run double in the eighth inning to give host Arizona (32-19, 11-12 Pac-10) a 9-8 victory over Stanford. Stephen Piscotty went 5-for-5 with three RBIs for the Cardinal (29-21, 12-11).

-- Women's lacrosse: A season filled with grief for the Virginia players ended with a 17-7 quarterfinals loss to North Carolina the day before slain teammate Yeardley Love was supposed to graduate.

Motor sports

Kurt Busch pockets an All-Star million

Kurt Busch sailed past feuding teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch to win NASCAR's annual All-Star race and its $1 million prize in Concord, N.C. Hamlin and Kyle Busch, teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing and the hottest drivers, were racing for the lead when Hamlin tried to block Kyle Busch and sent him into the wall.

-- Helio Castroneves won his fourth Indianapolis 500 pole after posting a four-lap qualifying average of 227.970 mph on a day during which Danica Patrick struggled. She finished 23rd and heard fans' displeasure when her comments blaming the poor qualifying performance on her car's setup were broadcast over the racetrack public-address system.

ELSEWHERE

Hall of Fame tackle, NFL innovator dies

Pro football Hall of Famer Stan Jones, a two-way tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1950s and '60s and an innovator of weight training in the NFL, died from complications of heart disease. He was 78.

Boxing: Rafael Marquez stopped Israel Vazquez midway through the third round in Los Angeles, evening their rivalry at two fights apiece. More than 26 months after Vazquez claimed their third meeting, Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs) made short work of his greatest rival by cutting Vazquez (44-5, 32 KOs) near both eyes in the opening rounds of the featherweight bout.

-- Former heavyweight champ Ruslan Chagaev (26-1-1, 17 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Kali Meehan (35-4, 29 KOs) in a WBA title eliminator in Rostock, Germany, and is the mandatory challenger for David Haye. Haye has been trying to work out a deal to fight Wladimir Klitschko in a unification bout.

Blessed event: Two-time Olympic beach-volleyball gold-medalist Kerri Walsh and pro-volleyball-player husband Casey Jennings, have a son, Sundance Thomas Jennings.

WNBA: Chamique Holdsclaw scored 19 points in her Silver Stars debut, and host San Antonio held off Los Angeles 88-81. ... Tamika Catchings scored eight of her 28 points in overtime to lead Indiana past host Chicago 92-86.

This article appeared on page B - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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Final-round drama for NCAA golf at Yale

Posted: 23 May 2010 11:52 AM PDT

By Bill Cloutier. Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@newhavenregister.com

NEW HAVEN — You don't have to play golf to know how South Carolina's Wesley Bryan feels. You just have to have a heart.



Imagine the swing of Bryan's emotions in a span of 10 minutes.

Bryan stepped up to the ninth tee (his last of the day after teeing off on No. 10) with a 2-shot lead at the NCAA East Regional Championship at The Course at Yale. His fabulous play on the first 53 holes had not only vaulted himself into the individual lead but moved his entire team to the verge of a berth in the NCAA championships at Chattanooga, Tenn., on June 1.

And, to quote a line from "Caddyshack," Bryan could possibly have broken the course record as he prepared to play his final hole.

And then it all came crashing down.

Bryan made a nine on the par-3 ninth hole at The Course of Yale, destroying his personal round. To make matters worse, his meltdown cost his entire team a berth into the finals.

"You can't help but feel for him," Kent State coach Herb Page said. "That's the cruel game that we play."



VIDEO: Featured holes of Yale Golf Course

Wesley's collapse was good news for the University of Virginia team which was packing up their van and heading home when they found out. In the regionals, the Top 5 teams advance to the championships. Virginia leap-frogged South Carolina to earn a berth in the nationals.

Wesley's ninth hole also cleared the way for East Tennessee State's Rhys Enoch to advance as the top individual not on one of the qualifying teams also advance.

"It's bittersweet," Enoch said. "You want to make it but you don't want to make it that way. And I'm going to have to go alone. It will be weird playing without my team."

Page's Kent State team and Texas tied at 5-under par to share the team title. Top-seeded UCLA finished third, a shot back of the leaders after scuffling their way through the first two rounds. At one point on Friday the Bruins were 10-over par. They finished 4-under.

"We all played well as a team (Saturday)," UCLA's top scorer, Alex Kim, said. "We're going to go back to Westwood. We're all playing good, it's just a matter of making a few more putts. We'll see what happens at Nationals but we're going to give it all we've got."

TJ Howe, who qualified for the U.S. Open sectional last week, tied Enoch for the individual title at 7-under par in the 54-hole event to pace Penn State to a fourth-place finish. Virginia was the final team qualifier at 3-over par.

Howe three-putted No. 18 to fall into a tie with Enoch for the medalist honors. With no scoreboards on the course Howe, who birdied three straight holes on the back nine, played No. 18 a bit too aggressively.

"The way things were going I thought I needed another birdie to win it," Howe said. "I hit the ball real well and was always on the right side except for the last hole. On 18, I left the ball right where I wanted but I hit the putt right through the break.

"There's a big difference from winning the title outright. I would have liked to won it outright but it is an NCAA Championship."

Bryan's saga is nearly unbelievable, especially the way he had been playing.

Bryan stood on the ninth tee with a total of 61 through 17 holes. The course record is 63, the college course record is 64 tied by Texas' Cody Gribble on Thursday.

Bryan tried to power a 6-iron over the water on the signature hole to the elevated green around 190 yards away. It landed well short and rolled down the hill nearly going in the water. He flubbed his next shot and only advanced a foot. Then he flubbed his ensuing shot so badly that it hit the hill in front of him and rolled back into the water.

Bryan was then forced to go to the drop zone on the other side of the water again already shooting five. His next shot nearly landed back in the water. He then chipped onto the green and two-putted for a nine as the entire South Carolina team hung their heads.

Bryan finished the event at 3-under and walked back to his team's van with his head down the entire way and got a big hug from his coach and wept.

South Carolina finished 3 shots short of qualifying for the NCAA. Even if Bryan had made a triple-bogey on the hole the Gamecocks would have advanced.

"Hopefully the thing you say to him is you get knocked down you've got to get up and do it again," Page said. "It's happened to everyone here. We've had tournaments that all we needed was a par on the last hole to win it and we got a double-bogey. You don't wish that on anybody."

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Myers: Golf won't be golf without Big Dave to share the joy

Posted: 23 May 2010 09:28 AM PDT

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I literally fell out of the cart laughing. That became the leader in the clubhouse for his funniest shot ever, and it held up. Not that he didn't try to top it.

Two of my high school buddies joined Big Dave and me for a 36-hole day at Lake DeGray State Park in Bismarck, Ark. The tee markers were Wiffle balls held in place by long, skinny nails. On his first shot of the day, Big Dave blasted a low screamer that smashed into one of the tee markers a few yards ahead. The Wiffle ball shot straight up about 20 feet, then looked like a helicopter as the nail spun around and guided it gently back to the ground. It took a full 10 minutes for the rest of us to regain enough composure to tee off.

They say about 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but it was closer to 100 percent during a round with Big Dave. The man hit so many golf balls into so many water hazards, he developed a coping mechanism. Before trying to hit over water, he would take off his hat, put his hand over his heart, face the water and say, "Oh, Mighty Pond God, we salute thee."

Nine times out of 10, it didn't work. During one 36-hole day at The Dunes Golf Club on Sanibel Island, Fla., Big Dave dumped 45 balls into the water. When faced with a particularly daunting hazard once in Arkansas, he teed up a Spalding, took off his hat and said, "Goodbye, Mr. Spalding. We hardly knew ye." A few seconds later, Mr. Spalding was swimming.

But Big Dave also skipped a few over the water, and hit enough good shots to keep him going. He made two hole-in-ones in his career, played at Pebble Beach (without me!) and chipped in for a par on the famed 18th hole at the Blue Monster at Doral. That came when I worked in Fort Myers, Fla., and Dad came down for a nine-day visit that saw us play 18 different courses.

He could never play enough golf, especially with me and my wife, Jill. The three of us once played in Delaware, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut and Rhode Island -- all in one week. He suffered through all of the 136 shots during my first round at the age of 12, then proudly watched as I became a low-handicap player. He taught me the etiquette of the game, caddied for me during USGA qualifiers, and started almost every long-distance phone conversation with, "Did you play golf today?"

Of course, Big Dave did a few things besides golf. He worked as a salesman, then owned and operated an auto parts store and auto paint and body supply store for more than 25 years. He enjoyed a 45-year marriage to my mother, Glenda, then another 61¼2 years of marriage to Maxine after Mom passed away. He couldn't read music, but was a fantastic piano player. He could hear a song once, then play it forever.

And he loved to eat fried oysters. He ordered them at every meal on our last golf trip to Florida in February, where he played 18 holes three days in a row despite having to wear an oxygen mask between shots. He was tired, hurting and out of breath, but we both knew it may be his last chance to play. I was never happier to see him make a couple of pars.

Golf is going to miss you, Big Dave. So are fried oysters, pianos, and anybody who loves a good joke.

But I'm going to miss you more. I played golf Saturday, and for the first time, I can't pick up the phone and tell you about it.

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Golf Needs a Little Pick-Me-Up: Pebble Beach and St. Andrews Should Help

Posted: 23 May 2010 09:25 AM PDT

It is kind of the lull before the storm. Golf's break between its first major and its second. At a shade over two months between The Masters and the U.S. Open, it is simply too long.

Apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way. Have you seen golf's ratings lately? With Tiger resting his neck, golf has struggled without its ratings magnet. And when Phil decides to skip an event here and there, well, let's just say CBS could use a little pick-me-up.

The pick-me-up is coming (although not for CBS). The U.S. Open is getting closer. We can almost smell it. Smells like salt water and sea weed. Pebble Beach, that beautiful old lady on the rugged California coast, is set to host another U.S. Open in June.

And after the U.S. Open, the majors come fast and furious. In July we get the grand daddy of all golf courses, St. Andrews and the British Open, and in August the PGA Championship at the strangely enjoyable Whistling Straits.

Sounds like a good plan. The question remains though, will there be a Tiger running along the beach in California, or at least limping?

Pebble Beach has hosted four previous U.S. Opens. In 1972, Jack Nicklaus was the winner. Ten years later Tom Watson had his memorable win at Pebble Beach in the 1982 U.S. Open. Ten more years passed before Tom Kite won in '92. Tiger Woods won the last one in 2000, his historic 15 shot victory.

The Old Course at St. Andrews, the home of golf, is the site again this year for the British Open. Over the years St. Andrews has hosted The Open 27 times. This will be the third time this century. In 2000 and again in 2005, Tiger Woods was the winner.

And then in August, the major season gets wrapped up with a visit to Whistling Straits on the banks of Lake Michigan in Kohler, Wisconsin, for the PGA Championship.

Whistling Straits has no where near the tradition of the other two (in fairness, no one has the tradition of St. Andrews). Pete and Alice Dye designed the links style course which opened in 1998.

The course hosted the PGA Championship in 2004, won by Vijay Singh. Whistling Straits is a long puppy at over 7500 yards, and boasts vast, rolling greens reminiscent of Scotland. In fact, if you didn't see the occasional cheese head standing around in the crowd, you'd think you'd magically been transported across the pond.

We also get a bonus this year, it being an even year. The Ryder Cup will take place in October. Celtic Manor Resort in Wales gets the matches this year.

So, we just need to get through the lull. We're almost there. We do get a rather nice little gem in the beginning of June to get us ready for Pebble Beach. The Memorial Tournament, at Muirfiled Village in Ohio, is one of the better golf courses and better tournaments on tour. The course that Jack built, it always is in great shape and draws the top players in the world.

Tiger Woods is the defending champion of The Memorial.

So, make sure your TVs still work. Get your yard work done in the next week or so, and get ready for a summer of what promises to be great golf. Or, if not great golf, at least great golf courses.

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