Memphis Epilogue / US Open Prep

Well - Before we get to our national open, let's take a couple of minutes to discuss last week's quite exciting St. Jude Stanford Classic in Memphis. -4 got in a playoff! Woody Austin shot 62 last year to win on Sunday over a faltering Adam Scott (more on A. Scott later), but this year there were 10 guys in the lead at one point on Sunday, setting up one of the more exciting finishes on Tour this year.

Sure, this event is a 2nd tier event at best, but with major champions Immelman and Leonard in the playoff and winners in the last 12 calendar months Harrington, Sergio and Boo Weekley one shot behind, it was quite a ride for the Jim Nantz-less CBS crew.

Immelman birdies the last 3 holes in dramatic fashion to gain some more confidence and show everyone that his game is back on track. Riddle me this - What if Tiger had won the Masters and then birdied the last 3 holes in regulation the week before the US Open? We'd be talking Grand Slam and gushing how awesome Tiger is. All is quiet on the Western front this week about Immelman's amazing finish. Sure, 16 is a par 5 that half the field birdies, but 17 and 18 gave up at most a total of between 10-15 birdies between the two holes combined on Sunday.

I really thought Paddy Harrington was going to get in the playoff too. He was in position for some look at birdie on virtually every hole on the back nine, but could only muster making a putt on #17 while his putt on #18 from about 20 feet looked pretty good before sliding by. He moves up the depth chart of favorites heading into the US Open.

And then there's Sergio, shooting 66 on Sunday and posting the only bogey-free round of the day. He has to be feeling good also but now Tiger is back. Picture Sergio and Tiger in the last group on Sunday. Does anyone think Sergio is really ready to take the title from Tiger? You don't have to answer.

Before moving onto Torrey Pines, one comment on Robert Allenby. Despite being one of the best ball strikers on Tour, this guy has only mustered 4 wins on Tour and none since 2001. While I want to give him kudos for his great shot into 18 in regulation to make birdie and his previous unbeaten playoff mark at 10-0, this guy is one of the biggest dicks on Tour. I don't have it from any sources. But then again, that's me.
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Torrey Pines - 2008 U.S. Open

Your winner? Phil Mickelson. Sure, let's get right to it.

Phil has 4 runner-up finishes in this event and arguably has had the best run in this tourney since Tom Lehman played in the final twosome fours years in a row in the late 90's. Alas, Lehman did not grab a win and neither has Phil. We all know about Winged Foot in 2006 but Phil is the prohibitive favorite on this track (ignoring Tiger for a minute). Some have said that Phil won't be able to play well the first two days with Tiger in the same group. Whatever. See Deutsche Bank last year in the playoffs (PLAYOFFS!?) and you can see that Phil relishes the challenge. Plus, once Tiger gets off to a rough start Thursday, his confidence will rise.

Honestly, it's exciting that Tiger is playing again. It gets everyone fired up but I just can't imagine an 8-week competitive layoff and seeing Tiger simply win this week. He has only won 2 of these (only!) and those were at Pebble Beach in the historical 2000 campaign and at Bethpage, where length was a huge factor. Length will be a factor here despite the drier conditions, but I just can't see how Tiger's knee will let him do EVERYTHING he wants and needs to do to win a major event in his 1st week back. I'm not saying Tiger won't run the table again in a couple of months....I just am not picking him this week.

Here are some general thoughts on other players heading into the year's 2nd major.

Top 3 - Stewart Cink and Jim Furyk
- Cink has had a great 2008 and usually plays well in US Opens anyway. Consider his additional length of the tee and a top 3 earlier this year at Torrey Pines and he had to be one to consider. Of all the zero major players, he and Sergio have to be the favorites to get off the major schnide.
- Furyk has missed the winning score the last two years by one shot. Has not had a great 2008, but it hasn't been pathetic either. Perhaps he gets number 2 this week.

Top 10's:
- Jeff Quinney - hits it straight and is gaining confidence that he belongs
- Sergio - hard to win the Players and a major in the same year. No one has done it I believe since moving to the TPC. Confident, but still needs to wait until '09.
- Harrington - always there in majors it seems and playing well. No reason to think he won't contend.
- Luke Donald - hasn't been as consistent as one would think and despite not being known for length, should still be able to hang until late Sunday
- Geoff Ogilvy - 2006 winner playing well and simply one of the best in the world now
- Immelman

Avoid at all costs:
- VJ - never plays well at Torrey Pines in January and still has the occasional awful shot (see Memphis last week on #13 - tee ball OB) he can't eliminate
- KJ Choi - not shown much since Sony Open win and record here terrible
- Adam Scott - never contended in a major, can't handle the Phil/Tiger grouping and is hurt
Editor note: Adam, sorry I lambasted you for WD'ing from Memorial and Memphis a couple of weeks ago, but who knew?
- Steve Stricker - what is going on with his game? 4 MC's in a row
- Sean O'Hair - same question - since win and top 4 at Arnie's tournament has been pretty much MIA
- Rory Sabbatini - no patience, no good play of later and no record to speak of at Torrey
- Angel Cabrera - no two in a row from this guy; he must have partied real hard after his win at Oakmont

Dark Horse/Sleeper #1: Robert Karlsson - on fire on the European Tour -- but then again, we're talking the European Tour
#2: Jerry Kelly - Memorial play was steady. Can he keep his head about him?

Winning Score: 6 under - with par at 71, that takes the last couple of years' +5 to +1 and I heard on Golf Channel last night that the fairways are wider than usual.

Well, we are fired up here in HOT-lanta for this week. Hoping we get a great finish Sunday (not Monday!) with a couple of top tier players battling it our for our national championship.

Enjoy!