THE Open pool

[Masters Debater]

Same rules as before. I'm at home with no time to look it up. PM me your lineups.
This is the convenient major, because it's over before work ends. I should be able to provide same-day, end-of-day standings for Thursday and Friday.

[Franchise]

I was just going to post a reminder about this. My team is in. :)

[Kitten]

I was just going to post a reminder about this. My team is in. :)
Can someone PM me the rules? :)

[Masters Debater]

Hopefully someone will. Check this area for Masters pool or some title like that.
Interesting article on Mick (Mick Fan, you out there?) in the LA Times. He doesn't seem intent on winning tournaments. He's too interested in winning shots. I diagnose him with A.D.D. He's fun to watch, but don't bet money on him, and don't bet personally against him.

[Franchise]

I pm'd kitten the rules. For any others interested, it's pretty simple on our end. Just pick 8 players ... 4 over 35 as of Sunday, and 4 under 35. MD will then do all the work. It's based on finishing position for the tournament.

You can find the field at www.opengolf.com (along with players' birthdays).

[Kitten]

Thanks Franchise. I've submitted my picks. :D

[Masters Debater]

Also, I'll have to be very strict about the Wednesday 5:00 PDT deadline, since they'll be golfing very early in our morning.

[Kid Rock]

Who's in already?

[Masters Debater]

Entrants:
Franchise, Hanse, Ducky, Patience, Tom Servo, Big D, Kitten, Kid Rock, myself (as opposed to "Me").

[Masters Debater]

I'll have rosters and commentary tomorrow.
I'm taking my US Open roster. I haven't even checked to see if they're playing or not. I assume they are.

[Kid Rock]

When I woke up this morning and turned on the teley, I saw Bjorn on top and was already upset since I selected him originally and changed to Darren Clarke.

Very happy to have Justin Rose.

[Masters Debater]

Current rosters will need an update, as Kitten, the new entrant, mistakenly used 5 35+ players. I've told her to switch players with the same score after this round. I think she was misled by an ambiguous stating of the age rule.

Rosters:
Big D Thomas Bjorn 31
Big D Angel Cabrera 32
Big D Niclas Fasth 30
Big D Bernhard Langer 44
Big D Jose-Maria Olazabal 36
Big D Nick Price 45
Big D Loren Roberts 47
Big D Tiger Woods 26
Brain Ernie Els 32
Brain Retief Goosen 33
Brain Davis Love III 38
Brain Phil Mickelson 32
Brain Nick Price 45
Brain Vijay Singh 39
Brain David Toms 35
Brain Tiger Woods 26
Ducky Darren Clarke 33
Ducky Ernie Els 32
Ducky Nick Faldo 45
Ducky Sergio Garcia 22
Ducky Miguel Angel Jimenez 38
Ducky Bernhard Langer 44
Ducky Jesper Parnevik 37
Ducky Tiger Woods 26
Franchise Nick Faldo 45
Franchise Sergio Garcia 22
Franchise Padraig Harrington 31
Franchise Tom Lehman 43
Franchise Davis Love III 38
Franchise Phil Mickelson 32
Franchise Nick Price 45
Franchise Tiger Woods 26
Hanse Darren Clarke 33
Hanse Retief Goosen 33
Hanse Padraig Harrington 31
Hanse Tom Lehman 43
Hanse Colin Montgomerie 38
Hanse Nick Price 45
Hanse E. Romero 48
Hanse Tiger Woods 26
Kid Rock Darren Clarke 33
Kid Rock Bernhard Langer 44
Kid Rock Phil Mickelson 32
Kid Rock Colin Montgomerie 38
Kid Rock Jose-Maria Olazabal 36
Kid Rock Justin Rose 21
Kid Rock David Toms 35
Kid Rock Tiger Woods 26
Kitten Nick Faldo 45
Kitten Sergio Garcia 22
Kitten Phil Mickelson 32
Kitten Jose-Maria Olazabal 36
Kitten Nick Price 45
Kitten Vijay Singh 39
Kitten David Toms 35
Kitten Tiger Woods 26
masters debater David Duval 31
masters debater Ernie Els 32
masters debater Bob Estes 36
masters debater Retief Goosen 33
masters debater Rocco Mediate 39
masters debater Jose-Maria Olazabal 36
masters debater David Toms 35
masters debater Tiger Woods 26
Patience Darren Clarke 33
Patience David Duval 31
Patience Ernie Els 32
Patience Davis Love III 38
Patience Greg Norman 47
Patience Jesper Parnevik 37
Patience Vijay Singh 39
Patience Tiger Woods 26
sb_jim Jon Daly 36
sb_jim Ernie Els 32
sb_jim Retief Goosen 33
sb_jim Davis Love III 38
sb_jim Phil Mickelson 32
sb_jim Vijay Singh 39
sb_jim David Toms 35
sb_jim Tiger Woods 26
Tom Servo David Duval 31
Tom Servo Retief Goosen 33
Tom Servo Miguel Angel Jimenez 38
Tom Servo Justin Leonard 30
Tom Servo Jesper Parnevik 37
Tom Servo Vijay Singh 39
Tom Servo David Toms 35
Tom Servo Tiger Woods 26

[Franchise]

Well, I'm sorry if I misled her in anyway. My post up there seems to clearly state 4 above and 4 below. I don't have the PM I sent her with the rules, so I may have been more ambiguous there. Sorry kitty.

[Patience]

Toms is 35, should be an over

[sb_jim]

My advice to get things done, You better not mess with Major Toms.

(David Bowie)

[Masters Debater]

Our field of players (30 of them) are all within 7 shots of the lead.
It will spread out later.
rank. name, total average placement
1. Brain, 221
2. Franchise, 290.5
3. sb_jim, 326
4. masters debater, 346
5. Kitten, 363
6. Kid Rock, 363.5
7. Hanse, 367
8. Tom Servo, 412.5
9. Patience, 447
10. Big D, 457
11. Ducky, 517

Kitten, I'll need your replacement today, or I'll be forced to disqualify you. Take one of your old guys, find his score, and replace him with a younger guy with the same score. And tell me about it.

[Kitten]

Oops! :oops: Apparently I suck at math. ;) Anyway check your PMs, pls and tx. :)

[Kid Rock]

Easy Ernie 6 under after 8 holes today!

[Franchise]

Monty with a very nice 64 today. ;)

Poor Phil. Finally has a decent round in the British, and then blows up on Friday. :sigh:

[treyso]

Easy Ernie 6 under after 8 holes today!

A 29 on the front nine. Geez, will that be enough to keep ahead of Tiger?

[Franchise]

Ernie bogeyed 11, but still a great round going.

Harrington is -3 through 4.

[Masters Debater]

Who lit the fire under Monty? 64 today, tied with El Tigre.

Also, Kitten replaced Olathhhabel with Weir.

[Franchise]

I think I heard it was a course record. Maybe he'll finally contend in a British. Sure hope so.

Who did Kitten end up replacing?

[Masters Debater]

After second round:
1. H, 258.5
2. MD, 313.5
3. Brain, 327.5
4. F, 339.5
5. Kitten, 381.5
6. Ducky, 385
7. P, 400
8. KR, 416
9. sb_jim, 454.5
10. BigD, 465
11. TS, 491.5

Hanse has two rocks (just coined: cut players who anchor a participant's total) to my one. Brain only has one as well. Cut is two over, meaning any golfer worse than two-over is out.
Our pool of players:
Cabrera, Daly, Jiminez, Lehman, Olazabel, Romero, Singh.

Good luck on the weekend, everyone. I'm not likely to post tomorrow's results, as it's not possible to get 3rd round placements once the 4th round begins.

[Franchise]

Holy cow!!

The third round is history, and what a round. That's just an example of what can happen in a British Open. The weather can make the best players in the world look like chumps.

I never thought I'd see the number 81 next to Tiger's name in a competitive round of golf. This Grand Slam thing must be pretty tough. ;)

It's a whole new game tomorrow now.

Go Ernie!

[Franchise]

Congrats to the Big Easy on his third major championship. It really was his to win most of today, but I'm glad he gave us a little excitement.

There were no losers in that playoff today. Great, great tv.

What is it with Frenchmen hitting drivers on the last hole? :P

[Kitten]

What a great ending! :D

[Franchise]

I was happy to see Ernie come out on top in the playoff after that double on 16. I would have hated to see him lose it there.

Appleby would have been a great story too though. :)

[Kitten]

I agree with you on all counts, Franchise. :)

[Franchise]

I agree with you on all counts, Franchise. :)

Great minds think alike. :P

[Masters Debater]

I'm going to check all the formulas, but talk about your comebacks: Patience is the winner! From 7th to 1st in two rounds! If Toms hadn't tanked...
Patience got a 40-point improvement from LoveIII, 34 from Duval, 39 from Norman, and 43 from Parnivik. Take away a total 38 from Woods and Clarke and that's a 122 point improvement.

1. P, 278
2. MD, 301.5
3. F, 309.5
4. Brain, 331
5. Ducky, 331.5
6. H, 368.5
7. BigD, 389
8. TS, 423.5
9. K, 454.5
10. sb_j, 455
11. KR, 527
12. Sorry, KR, you're the last one.

[Masters Debater]

Great ending to The Open! The iron hitters were at a great advantage over the long-ballers. Also, extreme consequences for minor mistakes is what hurts Tiger, unlike The Masters in its forgiving form.

Say, anyone know how "links" courses differ from other courses? Is it the lack of trees or something?

[Patience]

I thought I had lost my touch on these. I won 1 or 2 last year (under a different name). When looking at the comeback you also can eliminate Tiger since he was on everyone's list.

all beers can be mailed to:

Patience
A Kindler, Gentler Place
NY, 12345

not sure of the true definition of links.

[Dr T Non-Fan]

from some glossary:
links -- Originally meaning a seaside course, it is now used to mean any golf course

[Franchise]

Links golf is not just the absence of trees. Many American courses are carved through trees and precision is required to avoid bunkers, water hazards, etc. It is really "target golf". Also, lots of things are man-made. They're made to look exactly like a designer's vision.

A true Links course is very natural. You don't move a ton of dirt to create it. It just follows the natural lay of the land. Just mow the fairways and the greens, and you have a course. There are generally no water hazards. The lack of trees really just has to do with where the courses are (along the coastline in the UK).

Target golf is impossible on a course of this type because it's biggest weapon is the weather. If you've ever watched a British Open on a week where the weather was perfect and the wind didn't blow, the field went extraordinarily low. There is just no defense. The key is when the wind blows. Then target golf is out the window because you have to keep the ball along the ground. You can't force somebody to fly the ball 210 yards in the air and stop it on a hard green if there is a 30 mph cross wind. The scores would all be in the 80s.

When people create a "links" course in the US, it generally just has rolling hills, lots of bunkers, and no trees. But you can't get the true effect of links golf without contending with the weather. Go out and play one of these courses in October when the wind is blowing, and you'll get closer to links golf. :)

[Kid Rock]

Forgetting the original definition, I would say these are the characteristics of courses labeled as "links":

- rolling terrain - no steep hills
- windy - usually caused by wind from the ocean/sea
- placement and depth of bunkers
- firm ground
- higher, weed-like rough - not regular grass grown slightly higher

Shinnecock is a US course noted for being a links layout. The Links at Kuilima (Turtle Bay on the North Shore, Oahu, HI) is a links layout (with some trees) where they play a Senior tournament. The Mercer County course in NJ has a links layout (but not near the ocean).

[Pseudolus]

http://espn.go.com/i/page2/comics/020723_wwn.gif

[Kitten]

:rofl:

See Golf fun facts (re: definition of links)
http://www.angusglen.com/golf/AGCore.cfm

[Franchise]

Everybody fired up to catch that star-studded John Deere Classic this week? ;)

[Fiveagain]

Franchise, can you get a different picture. It is creepy.

[Franchise]

It's a "Princess Bride" picture. Not intended to be creepy.

[Dr T Non-Fan]

"I missed on purpose. I didn't have to miss."
"I could kill you now."
"Or, we can settle this the way God intended."
"I think you'll have a slight advantage."
"It's not my fault I'm the biggest and strongest. I don't even exercise."

[Patience]

Man in black: Look, are you just fiddling around with me or what?
Fezzik: I just want you to feel you are doing well. I hate for people to die
embarrassed. You're quick!
Man in black: Good thing too.
Fezzik: Why are you wearing a mask? Were you
burned by acid or something like that?
Man in black: Oh no, it's just they're terribly comfortable. I think everyone
will be wearing them in the future.

[Dr T Non-Fan]

(I'm cheating)
Fezzik: I just feared you would give me so much trouble.
Man in black: Why is that, do you think?
Fezzik: Well, I haven't fought just one person for so long...[struggles more with the man in black]...I've been specializing in groups, fighting
gangs for local charities...that kind of thing.
Man in black: Why should that make such a [crash! pause] difference?
Fezzik: [slowing down] You see, you use different moves when your fighting half a dozen people, then when you only have to worry about one.[Fezzik falls to the ground, unconscious. The man in black checks to see if he]
[Is still alive.]
Man in black: I do not envy you the headache you will have when you awake. But in the meantime, rest well and dream of large women.

[Patience]

(I'm cheating)


I hope you don't think I have the whole thing memorized

[Dr T Non-Fan]

http://pb.combatwombat.com/

Has an interesting picture of Wesley and Fezzig fighting. No idea how to put that image here to join the PB folks.

[Patience]

I have the script in word.

I tried to get the picture of Inigo with the red background, but couldn't get it to work.

[Patience]

Cool, I got it. Have to get the size down before it will work, though I thought I had some that were bigger by a little

[Mick Fan]

I haven't been around for a while, but wanted to make the following observation -- Nothing against Tiger, but the final round was much more entertaining to watch than watch Tiger play fairways & greens golf trying to protect a four-stroke lead.

This is the way the Masters used to be. At Murifield, a player could string a couple of birdies together, but players were also penalized for mistakes. There was a lot of moving up and down the leader board. Now with these mammonth layouts, only a few players are in contention on Sunday and it's usually dull, conservative fairways & greens golf. Murifield was one of the best major layouts in a long time!

[Dr T Non-Fan]

How to really Tiger-proof a course:
1. Take driver out of hands on par-5's. Make fairway landing area more like a proper triangle than an inverted one.
2. Make green small and dangerous to miss.
3. Lots of bad weather.

What this does is makes the course more about luck than skill. If that's what people want, then fine.

[Franchise]

I don't think that's what Mick Fan was saying. This course took the driver out of everyone's hands. Even the shortest hitters only hit it 5 or 6 times in the round.

I think the worst thing they can do is make courses like Bethpage where only 5 guys in the world have a chance. When a professional golfer can't hit a drive long enough to reach the fairway, something has gone horribly wrong in the course design.

[Dr T Non-Fan]

It was especially apparent at 18, where the Frenchman took out a driver to lose the playoff. Yes, not the driver was the choice.

I can understand playing for birdie to hold off someone who will make birdie, but this was one of the most difficult holes on the course. If par will win, shoot for par. If a guy makes an improbable birdie to force an extra hole, then fine. Nothing you can do about it. The whole "playing the course" should go out the window when it's match play.

[Franchise]

I agree completely. He's ahead by one playing the last hole. If you offer me par on the tee, I'm taking it and running 100% of the time.

[Mick Fan]

I agree as well. Levet should have played it safe. Make someone get a birdie on a really tough hole to beat you.