For Theegala, strange question but great golf

NAPA — The question wasn’t what, say, Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy would’ve been asked. It also seemed to have Sahith Theegala, the third-year PGA Tour pro, as distressed as it did perplexed.

Here was Theegala Friday after moving into a share of the halfway lead in the season’s opening event, the Fortinet, and one reporter asks, “Why are you playing this week?”

Yes, you read that correctly. After a headshake, Theegala responded diplomatically.

“Yeah,” said Theegala, “I actually don’t think that’s a great question.”

Especially after a great round, an 8-under 64 at Silverado which put Theegala at 12-under for 36 holes and tied for the lead with S.H. Kim. 

Sheepishly, the reporter restructured his previous query and wondered: “Is it a decent question?”

Theegala, now accepting the repartee, said, “I’d put it in the lower tier.”

As opposed to the golfer who has been in the upper tier basically since his prep days in Southern California. An All-America at Pepperdine, Theegala has been competitive from the start as a pro and was a hot shot out of the playoffs in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in 2022, his rookie season.

But he’s yet to finish first, and failed to qualify for the most recent Tour Championship, giving him unwanted time off and probably the reason he was unable to laugh away the question of why he was entered in the Fortinet. 

He was entered because as a golfer he wants to play golf. He definitely played it Friday with an eagle, seven birdies, and only one bogey. 

“It was a really good round,” was his understatement.

As reminded, Silverado isn’t a course for major championships. It was created with 18 holes by Johnny Dawson in the 1950s, then expanded and improved to two 18s by Robert Trent Jones II in the 1960s. Still, it’s where there’s enough water and out-of-bounds holes to cause trouble if a golfer is botching shots.

Set amongst vineyards in the Napa Valley, Silverado can be rewarding if a golfer keeps the ball online and off the tee and Theegala did exactly that on Friday.

“I was off to a good start,” he said. “Birdied all the par-fives. I started on the back nine. You kind of ease into the round versus starting on a couple of hard holes out of the gate.”

“I really like the course, it’s just good vibes. I think I’ve said a lot in the last couple of years. If I could get my tee shots in play and get my tee shots under control, I feel good about the rest of my game and I did that today.”

With two rounds remaining, and people such as Kim, Justin Thomas, and back-to-back Fortinet winner Max Homa very much in the picture, the only question to be asked now of Theegala is whether he can win.

Away from golf, Herbert found himself — and maybe his game

NAPA — So you’re a broker or a butcher or whatever and feel you need a break, maybe a day on the links to refresh. But how do you escape if you earn your pay as a touring professional golfer?

If you’re Lucas Herbert, instead of throwing caution to the winds you figuratively throw your clubs in the closet, put away your pitching wedge, and pick up a guitar.

And in the process pick up your spirits.

“Yeah, golf’s been getting me down,” said Herbert. “I missed the cut in the (British) Open Championship and then I didn’t want to think about golf, talk about golf. It was a tough stretch. I had a lot going on, in my life and on the course.”

What went on Thursday at the Fortinet Championship at Silverado when both Herbert and the PGA Tour returned after their respective breaks, Herbert’s a couple of months and the Tour a couple of weeks, was exciting. Particularly for Herbert, the 27-year-old from Australia.

He took the first-round lead, a 9-under par 63, which was two shots lower than S.H Kim. Max Homa, the Cal guy who’s won the Fortinet the past two years, was at 70.

If some of those scores seem fanciful, well Silverado where there have been Tour events since the 1960s, while a fine country club layout, isn’t Augusta National or Royal Liverpool. The latter, also known as Hoylake, is where a frustrated Herbert played his last round prior to Thursday.

He actually was doing decently there in the first 16 holes. But on the remodeled par-3, the 17th, Herbert couldn’t get out of a bunker. He lost a ton of strokes, taking a triple-bogey, and his cool. Right then, his shoes in the sand, Herbert knew enough was enough.

“I went and spent some time around people where I wasn't the main focus of everyone's life for the day,” Herbert explained. “I was able to go and be a part of other people's lives, which is something we don't get to do as golfers. I feel like coming here this week I was ready to play again.”

His game reflected that idea. He had six birdies in succession, 12 through 17 which enabled him to shoot 33-30. He came in with 10 birdies and a bogey, that on the par-4 sixth.

Herbert said he wasn’t thinking about a score, just trying to build momentum, going for the pin, knocking in the putt, and recalling how enjoyable golf can be when everything is going well. Which it wasn’t in July.

“I didn’t think it was much when I came back, very low. The break was a chance for me to reset. I think I’d become a bitter and spiteful person. I didn’t like that version of myself, I look back at the Open Championship. I was wound up pretty tight and lashed out at people. I feel now I can be a better person.”

After a 9-under par return, he must believe he could similarly be a better golfer.

At Fortinet, Justin Thomas seeking what he had

NAPA — Such a simple game, golf. A ball sitting there on the tee or the fairway that you keep hitting in the right direction. Until inexplicably it goes in the wrong direction. 

Like the career of Justin Thomas.

It isn’t baseball, where a pitcher keeps you off balance. Or football where an opponent may knock you off balance. 

But golf certainly can throw you off balance. Even if you’ve twice finished first in the PGA Championship, one of the majors, as Thomas has.

Now as the PGA Tour has its annual restart with the Fortinet Championship at Silverado, Thomas is looking for a personal restart. He had, well, a very bad year.

For a while, he was 71st on the money list. He missed the cut in three of the four majors. He had to sweat out being chosen as a captain’s pick — “like trying to call an ex-girlfriend” — for the Ryder Cup (He was selected).

You’re trying to figure out yourself while at the same time, others are trying to figure you out. And maybe at the same time they are worried it could happen to them.

But at age 29, Thomas, the son and grandson of golf pros, appears to have conquered his demons, if not specifically the cures to what ails him.

When the great Ben Hogan was asked by other players how to improve he had a terse answer: “It’s in the dirt.”

Meaning, just hit practice shot after practice shot, until there were divots from the repetitive digging into the grass and get turf. Thomas plans to continue his digging, literally and as a byproduct, emotionally until he’s content with signs of progress.

”Anytime you’re going forward,” said Thomas, “or moving forward — I don’t want to say moving on — but grow and get better I’m excited. I definitely am hard on myself but I kind of reminded some of the stuff Max Homa said.”

Homa, who’s going for a third consecutive Fortinet title pointed out he and the other golfers knew well Thomas was far too superior to languish so far down in the Tour rankings, even briefly.

Thomas has been both defending and explaining himself on social media, the outlet of choice for the 20 and 30 somethings. He has split with former putting coach John Graham. 

“Everything, fundamentally or mechanically, or on the putting green was as good as it could get. Basically what I told (Graham) is you can’t go out and make the putts for me. That’s something only I can do.” 

Whether he accomplishes the task might be evident at the Fortinet. Silverado’s greens can be difficult. 

“I’ve been practicing getting the ball in the hole,” said Thomas. “I don’t care how it looked. All that mattered was getting the ball in the hole.”  

And along with that getting his game out of the hole. As we’ve been told forever, in golf “it ain’t how it’s how many.”

At the Open Harman takes his major step

HOYLAKE, England — The champion golfer of the year. That’s the historical and wonderful phrase used annually to introduce the winner of the Open Championship, a phrase both of exclusivity — as if no other event matters — and confirmation.

That’s the phrase Martin Slumbers, secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, called out for Brian Harman.

Not that anyone should be surprised after the last two days when he stormed into a lead any sporting realist would have agreed was insurmountable.

Ahead by — dare we say — a whopping 5 shots before a final round at Royal Liverpool that would offer constant (and occasionally heavy) rain but no drama even when briefly at the fifth hole the margin was reduced to three shots.

By the time the 151st Open came to the soggy end, Harman shooting a 1-under 70 for a 72-hole score of 13-under 271, was six shots clear from a group that changed as often as the leader didn’t. Second place at 277 was shared by Tom Kim, Sepp Straka, Jason Day and the man who shot 63 Saturday (and won the Masters in April) Jon Rahm. Predictions were that Rory McIlroy, who won the Open here in 2014 and took the Scottish Open a week ago, would come in first. However, he putted poorly and was sixth.

It is a media belief a major is not a major — especially from a television standpoint — without marquee players such as McIlroy in the mix. The 36-year-old Harman hadn’t won a Tour event since 2017. He did lead the 2017 U.S. Open, but he hardly could be called a star. In fact, the non-golf crowd, despite the spelling of their names, would confuse him with Butch Harmon, who worked with various pros including Tiger Woods.

No more. If Harman isn’t marquee, he’s at the top of the heap in his profession. Bobby Jones won the Open. Ben Hogan won the Open. Arnold Palmer won the Open. Jack Nicklaus won the Open. Now 5-foot-7 Brian Harman has won the Open.

In the second round Harman, contrary to the spirit of golf, was heckled by a few boisterous spectators who presumingly were trying to improve the chances of local favorite Tommy Fleetwood. Harman shrugged this off. He knows now. All Sunday the crowd was universally cheering.  

”I’ve always had a self-belief that I could do something like this,” said Harman. “It’s just when it takes so much time it’s hard not to let your mind falter, like maybe I’m not winning again. I’m 36 years old. The game is getting younger.  All these young guys coming out, hit it a mile, and they’re all ready to win. Like when is it going to be my turn again?”

He knows now. We all know. The man who wasn’t marquee is a major champion.

Harman has Open lead — and distance to go

HOYLAKE, England — The problem in any sport, particularly golf, where you have no control of your opponents, and often little control of yourself, is to make presumptions. 

It’s a game where a three-stroke lead can be snatched away even before you get to the first tee, a game where it’s as much a danger of planning too far as remembering the past.

At the halfway mark of this 2023 British Open, a somewhat famous guy named Brian Harman has what could be called a comfortable lead.

Harman in Friday’s second round shot a 6-under 65. That gave him a 36-hole score of 10-under 132, a record low for Opens at Royal Liverpool, where the last two champions were Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.

It also gave him a five-shot lead over local hero Tommy Fleetwood, who had a semi-disappointing 71. That’s even par, or as they choose to say in Britain, level par.

But as delighted — a word he used — by a round highlighted and enhanced by an eagle on the par-five finishing hole, he knows so many things can happen.

And in a career prior to his hot-shot days in high school and the University of Georgia, not infrequently had happened to him.

Harman, 36, does have four wins on tour, but he also has a lost loss after carrying a one-shot lead into the fourth round of the 2017 U.S. Open.

“I have a very active mind,’ said Harman, asked about getting ahead of myself. “It's hard for me — I've always struggled with trying to predict the future and trying to forecast what's going to happen. I've just tried to get really comfortable just not knowing.”

Despite the ignorance-is-bliss attitude, Harman has to know at this 151st edition of the oldest of all championships, major or minor, he’ll never be in a better position to take a trophy — or at the Open, the claret jug.

Still 36 holes — and bewildering possibilities like Jordan Spieth shanking a ball out of the high grass on Thursday — remain in the way.

As others from the States, Harman needed to adjust to links golf after struggling his first several appearances at the Open, when he missed the cut.

“Now I like links golf,” he said. “I like the challenges, the strategies.”

He also likes the way he played.

The Open: Rain and Rory?

HOYLAKE, England — The Open, two magic words. They stand alone, without the designation, “British,” but with decades of history and memories of bad weather and enthralling golf.

We’re at Royal Liverpool, across the River Mersey from the city where the Beatles started so many years ago. Recent generations probably don’t know Penny Lane from Abbey Road — but probably do know the past two winners here were Tiger Woods (2006) and Rory McIlroy (2014).

Tiger will be absent from the 2023 Open, which begins Thursday, but Rory is not only present and accounted for, but after a bang-bang ending to win last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, certainly is among the favorites.

Mcllroy won the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool, a course also known as Hoylake, the town across the River Mersey where it is located. So yes, he knows the place, American pros and he knows open weather — which can be anything any minute. 

There was a steady rain Tuesday morning, but that didn’t keep any of the golfers from getting in their shots. There’s something captivating about these famous, talented pros standing in a bunker hitting practice shots during a downpour.

Good weather, which Hoylake had in 2006 when Tiger used a driver off the tee only once and never hit out of the sand.

American pros in particular seem to enjoy poor conditions here at least, if not in the States. It’s part of the appeal, sort of. Hey, who says we’re softies? 

During one Open at Royal St. Georges down on the English Channel, Phil Mickelson kept saying he wanted rain and wind if only to show that he, a southern Californian, was as tough as anyone anywhere. He never got the chance, but a few years later at Muirfield in Scotland, where the days ranged from nice to nasty, Mickelson got his Open win.

Basically, when you cross the Atlantic, you take on the whims and wildness of ol’ Ma Nature, who can turn a 300-yard hole into an unreachable par-5 or turn a seemingly easy hole into a disaster.

McIlroy, now 34, grew up playing in that stuff in Northern Ireland. He understands the days are not all sunny and bright, but he also understands how to win Opens. He has four of them, including in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.

That is part of the reason he’s a tournament pick, along with people such as Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler.

“I think regardless of whether I won or not,” said McIlroy, referring to the victory a few days ago. “I would have come in here confident with the way I've played overhand the last sort of month and a half.”

“My game feels like it's in good shape, but I think seeing the way I played last week and being able to control my ball in pretty difficult conditions… and I feel good about that coming into this week.”

OK, but keep that rain jacket handy.

Women’s Open: Great golf (Corpuz) on a great course (Pebble)

It was about the timing, and the place, as much as it was about the person. Great sporting achievements require great venues as much as they require a great performance.

Allisen Corpuz gave us and her sport all three.

Is there a more important event in women’s golf than the U.S. Open? Is there a more magnificent course on which to hold it than Pebble Beach?

Especially since in 77 previous years it never ever had been until this historic week at Pebble.

Corpuz, a 25-year-old from Hawaii who Sunday became the first American in seven years to take the Open, played as consistently as possible and as impressively as imagined. In winning her first pro victory of any kind, she closed with a 2-under par 69 and was the only person in the field to break par every day.

Her 72-hole total of 9-under 279 was three shots in front of England’s Charley Hull (66) and Korea’s Jiyai Shin ( 68). And worth a $2 million prize, the richest prize ever for an LPGA major champion.

“Just a totally awesome experience,” she said, and if the words sounded like those of a college kid, it was not that long ago Corpuz was in classes at USC. That is when she wasn’t on the practice tee.

Michelle Wie West, also from Hawaii, also went to Punahou High in Honolulu and, of course, also won a Women’s Open. Wie West announced before this Open that she was stepping away to raise her family and unfortunately, at age 37, missed the cut.

But the golfing gods, those astute individuals, were not about to leave the American women’s game without a new heroine.

Enter Allisen Corpuz, who while others said her goal was to win numerous, including a major, now they seemed taken back by her success.

One moment she was struggling to make birdies and save pars, the next moment they were handing her a trophy practically as tall as she is, 5-foot 9 inches.

There have been comparisons between the first US Open at Pebble in 1972, and this first Women’s Open at Pebble, which is understandable. But that was taken by Jack Nicklaus who at the time not only was he the most famous golfer on the globe but he also had won a few times at Pebble.

There were differences, certainly women’s golf not receiving the same attention as the men’s, but both were groundbreaking. And to coin a phrase the ground where the breaking occurred is in a forest guarded in part by the breakers of Carmel Bay.

There’s only one Pebble Beach and right now there’s only one woman who won a U.S. Open there.

Golf’s Nasa is trying to head to the stars

PEBBLE BEACH — Yes, she’s Japanese, perhaps not a surprise in women’s golf. But her first name is, well not quite American, but something out of the U.S. space program. 

Nasa Hataoka’s mother, according to the story, wanted her to aim for the stars. A location seemingly not too far from Pebble Beach, where Saturday  Hataoka (sorry) rocketed into first place at the third round of the U.S. Women’s Open.

You talk about your near-perfect situations, first after days of fog and low clouds (yes the classic marine layer) the sun came out, then Hataoka went around one of the world’s most famous courses without a bogey — shooting a 6-under par 66.  

“It was a bit windier,” was Hataoka’s opening observation. To which anyone who’s ever spent more than a moment at Pebble would have said, “Of course.”
For the clouds to roll by as the lyrics go in an old song, you’ve got to have something to push them, like a breeze.

Not that the 24-year-old Hataoka had any truly harsh words about California’s traditional summer conditions or much else.

“The temperatures were higher today, thank goodness,” she said. “So I think my body participated with the higher temperatures.”

 No, Sam Snead might not have phrased it so delicately, but who cares.

Hataoka was at 7-under par 16 for 54 holes, one shot ahead of Allison Corpuz, the Hawaii resident who, as the words on her golf bag advise, represents a Saudi firm.

Tied for third at 212 are Hyo Joo Kim and Bailey Tardy, the Georgian who was ahead after two rounds but Saturday shot a 1-over 73.  This coming after telling us how Pebble was a golfing version of heaven on earth.

But everyone, female or male, understands how quickly things can go wrong in golf. One errant swing, one irregular bounce or one unexpended gust of wind can change dreams and fortunes.

Especially at Pebble, with those small greens, big bunkers and memories of past agonies.

It isn’t so much what you deserve in golf, it’s what you can achieve. Annika Sorenstam should have had better luck in her first — and only — opportunity to play an Open at Pebble.

When after the dreariness of the early rounds at last the sky was blue on Saturday morning you thought how sad it was that Sörenstam, after missing the Friday cut, would be no more than a spectator.

 Still, all class, she was delightful.

 “I just want to thank everybody,” she said, “it was a great week.”

 Nasa Hataoka, the space lady, very well could have a better one.

At Women’s Open, Bailey Tardy has a Tiger day

PEBBLE BEACH — So again there’s an unrequested but not unneeded reference to Tiger Woods during the U.S. Women’s Open. What else should you expect about a spectacular shot on the 6th hole at Pebble Beach? 

Only the other day Shannon Rouillard, the U.S. Golf Association executive, in telling us how thrilled she was to have the ladies match their games against Pebble, alluded to that Woods gem in 2000.

He drove wildly into the right rough but then, as he could do in those wonderful rounds when he — and we — were younger, Woods powered it out the long grass against long odds, landed onto the green in the next shot from the long grass and made birdie four as he was marching into victory.  

This is not to equate Bailey Tardy with Woods, but Friday, in the second round of the U.S. Women’s Open, on the same sixth hole where Tiger made jaws drop in the process of making history, Tardy hit a Woodsian type of ball.

It came on the second of that sixth hole, listed at 490 yards, led to an eagle 3 for a second straight day, and when play finally concluded, for the lead for the first day.

Tardy was called “The Bomber” when she played at the school in her home state, Georgia, and since graduation several years ago, she’s lost none of her distance — or confidence.

“I’ve always believed in myself to win any tournament that I enter,” said Bailey, and yes another Woods comparison.

Remember Tiger repeatedly telling us he didn’t enter any tournament, major or minor, unless he thought he would win? And, of course, he has won 82, second all-time to Sam Snead.

Tardy, 26, doesn’t have victories on the LPGA Tour, and going into Saturday’s third round of an Open for which she qualified when another competitor three-putted the last hole, is only one shot ahead. 

Still, Tardy says she’s playing relaxed on a Pebble Beach course which elicited these comments, which had emotional meaning.

“I love this place,” she said. “It’s heaven on earth. I think every hole is incredible. The views are incredible.”

Hard to disagree with that last observation. Pebble is a gift of nature, with the surf and the hills. Yet a missed putt or two can alter an opinion. Bogeys under pressure have a way of distorting what we see.

Tardy, however, is young enough and seems as strong mentally as any golfer nicknamed “The Bomber” might hope to be.

"It feels great. I haven't performed great in the previous majors this year,” said Tardy. "So it's finally coming together and meshing well, and it just happens at the right time."

It usually does when you play well enough to win.

Women finally get an Open Test at Pebble

PEBBLE BEACH — The women finally get their shots at Pebble Beach, yet the first name mentioned in a discussion was that of a man, Jack Nicklaus — understandably. And maybe realistically. And probably sadly.

In many ways, women were second-class citizens in golf (and did you say so much else?) In Great Britain, women are restricted in some places to their own 18. Other locations allow them only on “ladies day.”

Now at a course of fame, the ladies have the opportunity to be noticed. 

The 78th U.S. Women’s Open, which began Thursday, may be the game changer if only because of the location and what through the years has happened there

Shannon Rouillard is the senior director of women’s open championships for the U.S. Golf Association and is well aware of Pebble’s crashing surf and inspiring history. 

 “What do we think about when we think about Pebble Beach?,” asked Rouillard. “I know I think about Jack Nicklaus and the 1-iron he hit on 17; Tom Watson's chip on 17, as well; Tiger Woods' second shot on 6 and winning by 15 shots; and Gary Woodland's long birdie putt on 18. While he didn't need it to win the championship, boy, did the crowd go wild.”

The ladies don’t yet have any Tigers or Nicklaus’s, although, maybe Rose Zhang, the Stanford grad, someday may win the role. For certain if the timing were better, Juli Simpson Inkster would have done it.  

Juli had it all, if in an era before women’s golf had it all. She was born and raised in Santa Cruz, literally across Monterey Bay from Pebble; was a star at San Jose State, won a couple of Opens herself (and lost another in a playoff), and was as adept at using a microphone as she was with a 5-iron. Her dad pitched in the minors, and one of her great joys was throwing out the first ball before a Giants game as a reward for her success.

Juli (if you prefer, Mrs. Inkster) was one of the former U.S. Open winners who appeared Wednesday and she was as full of opinions as always, also remembering her time had slipped before a Women’s Open came to a course she relishes.

“I think this is what's great about Pebble, is from the first tee to the 18th tee you can get a lot of different weather changes,” said Juli, a — get out in the ocean and the wind is blowing and then you come in and it's not blowing.

“I think it challenges you, all aspects of your game, chipping, putting driving. You use all the clubs in your bag, which I think is a great representation of a championship. You're going to have a lot of 3- and 4- and 5-footers on these poa greens that can grow rapidly. I think a good iron player — and I do think, once again, you've got to play the par-5s — you've got to get to No. 2 and No. 6. Those are birdie holes.”

“You've got to be ready to play when you start on 1, because 1 through 4 you need to make some birdies because you've got to just hang on that backside.”

There you are ladies, a great course for a great tournament.

For Dustin, Open 2nd hole troubles a 2nd time

LOS ANGELES — Another U.S. Open in California. Another second-hole meltdown for Dustin Johnson. Please refrain from any references to a golden state.

Thirteen years ago, in 2010, the Open was at Pebble Beach, and going into the final round Johnson was in first. Then he was in a funk, taking a seven on hole No. 2, normally a par-5 but played as a par-4 for the Open. 

You could say his game figuratively went south. He ended up with an 82 and tied for eighth.

Now the Open literally has gone south, to Los Angeles Country Club. In the intervening years, Johnson won a U.S. Open and a Masters. He’s a major champion--and still tormented by a second hole at a U.S. Open.

This time it was Friday in the June gloom of a southern Cal summer. This time he took an 8, a snowman, and a dreaded quadruple bogey on a 497-yard par-4.

This time, despite instantly dropping from a cumulative 6-under to 2-under, he didn’t blow a U.S. Open. Not with 36 holes to play and the course toughened after those record-low 62s Thursday. Not with potential disasters awaiting in the fiendishly prepared rough or the barranca that is the course landmark.

“To battle back,” said Johnson, whose birdie at the 18th enabled him to shoot an even-par 70. “I’m proud of that.”

Open courses are supposed to be difficult. The USGA probably had a few apoplectic officials after round one of the tournament, when not just one person broke the single-round scoring record, but two.

Usually, even the winner has one round of his four that requires a fortunate putt or a holed bunker shot. The idea at the majors is to play as well as you are able to for as long as you are able to. 

There’s an off-handed comment that growing old is not for sissies. Well, even though the issue certainly is different, neither are major golf championships.

The reluctant need not try. The conditions are testing, and the results are frequently frustrating, if not downright disappointing. It’s a work of persistence. You’re up against players as good as you. Rickie Fowler might do it at last. Or might never do it.

We used to say the same about Dustin Johnson. Now he’s one of the very best. And yet once again in California there he was at a U.S. Open making a mess of things.

“I was just trying to make a five,” said Johnson. “Didn’t hit that bad of a drive. I just hit it a little on the top so it didn’t quite cut enough. Caught the corner of the bunker and then chunked my bunker shot. Everything that you could do wrong I did wrong.”

Not really. He had a rotten hole, but at the halfway point he was only four shots behind.

“It could have gone the other way after the second hole,” said Johnson.

But it went the right way. Unlike after the second hole in the other Open in California.

Johnny Miller: No fear holding a 5 Iron or a microphone

LOS ANGELES — He never was afraid to go for the flagstick or the jugular.  When Johnny Miller was holding a 5 iron you knew he would be on target. As he could be holding a microphone.

It’s mid-June, the start of another U.S. Open, the tournament that meant everything to Miller.   

The tournament he thought he could win as an amateur. The tournament he did win as a young pro.

How quickly the years pass. How slowly the memories fade.

How wonderful Miller’s contributions have been to the sport where he gained fame as a hell-bent champion and later recognition as a forthright TV commentator has given him a prestigious honor.  

Miller on Tuesday night, in a ceremony that caused him to tear up, was presented the Bobby Jones Award for sportsmanship, character and integrity.

Miller is 76, many years and shots distant from that 1966 Open on his home course, the Olympic Club in San Francisco.  

It’s the US. Open that was best known for Arnold Palmer squandering a 7-shot lead with nine holes to play and then losing an 18-hole playoff to Billy Casper.  

It’s also the Open a novice golf writer for the San Francisco Chronicle was assigned to cover Miller, a hometown kid, 19 and attending (and playing for) BYU.   

Miller had learned the game by hitting balls into a canvas backstop his father, Larry, hung in the garage of their home in the Sunset District.

Seems old-fashioned decades later. Seems brilliant. 

Johnny won the U.S. Junior. Johnny won on Tour. Johnny won the 1974 U.S. Open at Oakmont, closing with a 63 that for so long was the single-round low in an Open.

What I recall about that final round was how John’s wife, Linda, figuring he had no chance after three rounds, stayed with their young children at the motel. It was Birdies in his first four holes that brought her to the course.

Miller never was one for excuses. One year being locked-in competition at the Crosby with Jack Nicklaus at Pebble Beach, Miller whacked his approach into the bushes on 16.

“A perfect shank,” he affirmed later in the press room. 

Nor was he one for false modesty.

Consider his words about that ’73 Open, the one Sports Illustrated headlined as “Miller’s Miracle.”

“It sort of made…,” he began, then halted. “It was one of those finishes that you just almost don't forget. Every guy that was any good at all from Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, Trevino, all the guys who were in front of me. It wasn't like it was a bunch of guys you didn't know who they were. It was just all the who's who in golf were vying for that U.S. Open at Oakmont. I had to go through all those guys to win it outright.”

“I knew after four holes — I was six strokes back and I birdied the first four holes and I knew that I was in the running. The hair on the back of my neck sort of stood up when I said that to myself: You've got a chance to win. That made the adrenaline just start pumping.” 

He had been preparing to win a U.S. Open virtually from the first time he banged a shot against that canvas in the garage. His time had come.

“In my career, I didn't let pressure affect me tee to green. Tee to green I was sort of bulletproof. But it affected my putting, and I left a couple of short putts short of the hole.”

No matter. He wasn’t short of his goal. He was a U.S. Open champion.

From giving lessons to getting a hug from Rory

Not too long ago Michael Block was giving lessons. On Sunday afternoon, Rory McIlroy was giving Block hugs. Only in golf?  Probably.

Block is a golf professional, as opposed to being a professional golfer.

One makes club members and public course players do what’s possible, to enjoy the sport. The other may make millions, as did Brooks Koepka,  Sunday at Oak Hill Country Club in upstate New York.

Sometimes the twain do meet.

Sometimes we end up with a story that seems more fantasy than is imaginable. That’s what happened for Block. And for golf.

Those guys and ladies who give lessons, whether at some fancy club or resort or a “stop-and-sock” driving range at the muni, very much can play the game.

Perhaps not as well as Arnie, Jack, or Tiger — or Brooks Koepka, who with the victory at Oak Hill now has five major titles — but better than millions of others. 

Some, such as Block, have tried to qualify for one of the pro tours. Others, maybe an ex-caddy, were content to remain teachers.

Block has been around. He’s 46, has a family, grew up in St. Louis, and played college golf at Mississippi State and Missouri. Later on, he came west and had work as an assistant at Palm Desert for a couple of years, then became head pro at Trabuco Golf Club in Orange County, where he took care of the normal responsibilities, including lessons at $150 each.

Yet, he never gave up the dream, and he entered the PGA Tour qualifying school. He reached the second stage, which is good although not quite good enough. Still, there were tournaments to enter and succeed. He’s the reigning PGA of America Professional Player of the Year.

Every year players such as Block get into the PGA Championship. Usually, they miss the cut. Not only did Block make the cut, but he also made a splash. More than that he made himself weep when introduced on TV and made America cheer.

Down the stretch Block not only made a hole-in-one, but he made par-saving putts, long ones, the final two holes which enabled him to tie for 5 and earn an automatic place in next year’s PGA Championship in Louisville.

And not exactly incidental, Block, with a final-round even-par 70 and a four-day total of one-over 281, won $288,000.

Yes, the world and finances and inflation and everything are different now, but in his entire career, Ben Hogan won just $230,000.

As they say, timing is everything.

Block came along at the right time, helping create the right tale, the underdog who catches fire and because it’s on ESPN and CBS on a weekend, it keeps us tuned in and emotionally involved.

That Block, by luck of the draw, had the wonderfully popular McIlroy paired as his playing partner for the final round and it was almost surrealistic. After the last putts at 18, Rory wrapped his arms around Block.

He seemed as thrilled as everyone. And why wouldn’t he be?

Lights, camera, action: it’s Hollywood golf

The movie industry figured long ago what golf has always recognized: there’s more to being famous than just being talented, although that certainly is an advantage. You need some flash, or a background that puts you in the neighborhood at least.

When club pros from the chill and snow of the East Coast came to California as their courses closed down for the winter, they began playing in the West.

This week’s Tour event, the Genesis, began in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open, and with victories by Ben Hogan — whose statue is alongside the practice putting green — and Sam Snead, it was both an anchor and a prime draw for competitive golf.

In what will be the best field of any tournament this winter are Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and the hottest guy the last 15 months and world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, who as you know won again last Sunday in Phoenix.

There was a movie about Hogan, “Follow the Sun,” but the main role was portrayed by Glenn Ford. To the contrary, the Netflix series “Full Swing” uses the actual players and their families.

Yes, reality TV with a 3-putt. You might say the pros, sometimes wary of what the media will say, are fascinated and fearless. Tony Finau’s tale is a bit of a fairy tale. Son of a baggage handler at San Francisco International, Finau, a prep basketball star after the family resettled in Salt Lake City, quickly became great at golf.

Asked if he were excited fans would learn his beginnings, Finau said, “Yeah, just going back to the storytelling, my upbringing I think is quite different than most, and I take you back to Salt Lake City a little bit, to where it started. I think with the humble beginnings that I have, that was really a cool part of the story.

“I wanted to be a part of it. I think early, I was one of the first guys to commit to doing this, and I was really just honored that Netflix wanted to do a show on golf. I thought that that was an avenue that needed to be shown and I thought that there were going to be a lot of great stories and I was just happy that they looked at me and said that I could be a part of it.

“Honestly, early on I was just honored that I could be one of the guys, so I committed early. Again, I didn't really know what to expect, but I was more than happy to kind of open my doors to Netflix to just allow them some access to off-course stuff. the storytelling. I think they've done a great job. Time will tell if everyone agrees.”

Everyone does agree that in individual sports, golf and tennis, it’s the names that keep us involved. Max Homa, who grew up in L.A., graduated from Cal and has won six tournaments including the Fortinet at Silverado, pointed out that the names on top change weekly.

He then was asked, “Are you more of a (Rory) McIlroy or more of a (Jon) Rahm guy?”

“You can't pick on me for that,” said Homa. “There's too many good players. I don't know, I just played with Rahm last week and he's pretty fun to watch.”

Which we may find out on Netflix, if not in the galleries. Around here, everyone’s ready for lights, camera and action.

Tiger talks about winning and LeBron

PACIFIC PALISADES — He said he is grateful to be here, surrounded by memories, facing possibilities a sporting hero recalling his own heroes and reminding us that his only reason in playing the game is to win.

That so many of us doubt it’s still possible doesn’t deter Tiger Woods. It’s the way he was raised. It’s the way he always will believe.

The way so many people, especially those captivated by his fist-pumping success at the end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st, believe nobody else in the sport is quite his equal.

Or draws the same attention.

Woods, beginning Thursday will be in the Genesis Open, at Riviera Country Club, where in 1992, an amateur, he first was accepted to play at PGA Tour events.

He was 16, loaded with talent. He would be awed by the number of unstriped balls available on the practice range. We were awed by potential to be realized in 82 Tour wins, record stretches as world No. 1 and in becoming along with Ben Hogan the only man to win three majors in a calendar year.

You are familiar with the subsequent details, the headline grabbing affairs, the back surgery and most significantly the accident two years ago when the car Woods was driving probably too fast, overturned on a hillside road maybe 15 miles from Riviera.

An LA County Sheriff said Tiger was lucky to be alive. A severed foot was reattached. Months of rehab — still ongoing — have enabled him to play. Walking is difficult, however, and to play in a tournament, a golfer must walk.

Still, at age 47, while being asked about LeBron James and Tom Brady, one man who at 37 remains a force in the NBA having just overtaken Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time points leader, the other at 45 hanging up the cleats after hanging up the all-time mark of quarterbacking seven Super Bowl victories.

They kept going. Tiger keeps going.

“As far as the LeBron record,” said Woods, “what he accomplished is absolutely incredible of just the durability, the consistency and the longevity.

“I never thought — I grew up watching Kareem here, never saw him play in Milwaukee, but he was the Cat, that's all I remember, the Showtime Lakers and watching Cat run down there with goggles and hit the sky hook That record we never thought it would be surpassed. But what LeBron is doing — but also the amount of minutes he's playing, no one's ever done that at that age, to be able to play all five positions, that's never been done before at this level for this long. As far as our equivalent to that, I don't know, maybe you look at maybe me and Sam (Snead) at 82? It takes a career to get to those numbers. That's how I think probably best how you look at it.”

To look at Tiger Woods, one must put aside any thoughts of being a ceremonial golfer, content to be in the field when he’s no longer in contention.

“I have not come around to the idea of being — if I'm playing, I play to win. I know that players have played and they are ambassadors of the game and try to grow the game. I can't wrap my mind around that as a competitor. If I'm playing in the event I'm going to try and beat you. I'm there to get a W, OK?

OK. Who are we to disagree with Tiger Woods?

A pebble from Pebble was the key for Rose

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — He had arrived too late for a practice round, so to get the feel for the course, Justin Rose climbed down the bluff to the sand, reached down and picked up — what else could it be at Pebble Beach — a pebble, a gift for his son.

That was a week ago Monday, and then after the nasty weather and his great golf, eight days later on the most recent Monday, Justin Rose grabbed the first-place trophy for the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The man has a sense of theater. And as we know, of financial promotion.

For a while, there he was, the spokesman for Morgan Stanley, appearing in commercials while he was struggling to reappear in the winner’s circle.

But the struggle has ended, in a tournament that because of weather delays -- rain hail and high wind, if not all at once -- the sun shined brightly over the final 18 holes.

Pebble looked spectacular. Rose played effectively.

A last round that began Sunday, for him and the others who went the full 72 holes — and you’d be amazed that some who made the 54-hole cut decided to skip out and head to Phoenix — concluded with Rose shooting a 66 for a total of 269, and three shots ahead of Brendan Todd and Brandon Wu 

Rose, 42, has had a career that’s lacked very little. Born in South Africa and moving to England at age 5, Rose was not quite 18 when, still an amateur, he holed out a shot on the 18th at Royal Birkdale and finished fourth in the 1998 British Open, two shots a playoff.

In a land seeking heroes, he became one instantly. It was the best thing to happen, and also the worst. Rose immediately turned pro — and missed 21 straight cuts. But the talent was there. As was the persistence.

“It was something that I felt like I was going to be remembered for, forever more,” Rose said once. “That one shot that I hit there, that’s the one shot that I have had to try to live up to. For a long time that shot became a little bit of a burden to me, because I did have a tough start to my professional career, and you never quite know where things are going to go from there.”

After a time, from a learning period on the British Tour, they went quite well. Rose won the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion, a gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics and was the leading money winner. Still no matter what’s been accomplished, a golfer in his 40s has his doubts.

Especially the way things were going, or really not going, whether he would be back at the Masters, where in 2017 he lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia.

“I've been one of the players that's very fortunate to have done very well at the game of golf,” Rose said, reflecting. “Hope to win. Hope to put myself in the situation. My game hasn't produced many of those opportunities of late. But I still have had that belief that it's possible”

A pebble for his thoughts.

Aaron Rodgers grabs the “Am” in Pro-Am

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — It is called a Pro-Am, isn’t it? The people who pay to play, the amateurs, have been as important as the ones who play to get paid.

Maybe considering the tournament grew on the backs of Bing Crosby’s pals from the entertainment industry, at the end of the Great Depression before there was a PGA Tour, made it more important.

So there was something positive about a guy who is famous for what he has accomplished in another endeavor — if pro football could be so listed — as a partner on the successful team.

That would be the quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who grew up about 250 miles north, went to Cal, won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers and once was overlooked by the 49ers, who now wouldn’t dare sign him. Or would they?

Because of weather that, seemingly as tradition dictates, gave us (and the tournament) hail for a few minutes Sunday morning, rain for a few hours Saturday night and strong wind all day Saturday, the pro part is uncompleted, leading to yet another Monday finish. 

Through 63 holes of the scheduled 72, Justin Rose was in front, 15 under par and two ahead of Peter Malnati, who also had played 63; Brandon Todd and Denny McCarthy were also tied for second. Kurt Kitiyama, who is also from Chico as is Rodgers, had a bad front nine and fell out of contention.

Perhaps it is fitting, if unfortunate, that for a few hours at least the biggest name in the tournament is Rodgers. After he watched the AT&T before in his acquired celebrity status, he was invited to play.

Now a 10-handicap, Rodgers was partnered with Ben Silverman, who until a couple weeks ago was as little known as Rodgers is well known. A 35-year-old from Canada, Silverman missed the pro cut by a shot, but that almost was secondary.

“Well, Silverman just happened to land one of the headliners as a playing partner — Green Bay Packers (for now, at least) quarterback Aaron Rodgers,” reported a story on SportsNet Canada. “Not bad for a guy who lost his PGA Tour card in 2020 and then relinquished full status on the Korn Ferry Tour over the last year.”

No matter what happens this week, Silverman is in great shape to retain his PGA Tour card next year as the top 30 Korn Ferry players at the end of the season graduate.

Rodgers, who has said winning the AT&T was on his bucket list, offered appreciation to Silverman.

“I felt good about the partnership this week,” said Rodgers. “Ben's such a great guy. I knew we were going to have fun. Playing with Darius Rucker, I've known (Ben) for over a decade. He's a fantastic guy. You know it's going to be a great week.

“Then we put together a couple good rounds. The first two (Sunday), especially the last 10 holes, I was in my pocket and my partner picked me up.”

So he could pick up the victory.

At the AT&T, Mother Nature laughs away

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — That howling down by the ninth hole? You think it was the wind? Nah, it was that feisty lady, Mother Nature, cackling away.

“Think you’re going to hold a golf tournament here in February? Won’t you ever learn?”

It’s dog-bites-man stuff. Ancient history. Yes, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am went, shall we say, head to head against the best (or worst) of climatological conditions

And as so often happens, the tournament was the loser on Saturday. So, in a way, was CBS, which in this dead-of-winter situation, a week before the Super Bowl, gets a ratings boost from celebrities such as Bill Murray and other amateurs who remind us the game still is fun, even if not played well.

It was difficult. That was the Goodyear blimp up there, however, not the Chinese weather satellite. Play was suspended around midday until finally, after a three-hour plus delay, it was stopped.

Peter Malnati, at 12 under par, was two shots ahead of Joseph Bramlett and Keith Mitchell, with Kurt Kitiyama, the one-time basketball star from Chico, both at 9 under.

There’s nothing certain about what should have been the 54-hole mark except the AT&T will not finish until Monday, something that has taken place many times when storms and darkness combine to take a toll.

The amateurs who choose will be allowed Sunday to finish their completed rounds, so whether they make the cut or not they’ll be done. That may not be fair, but who said golf is fair?

What Bramlett said was, “It was just one of those days. You take it as it comes. We got to play Pebble Beach, so it was a blessing in that regard. But the weather was wild. It was fairly calm for maybe our first seven, eight holes. Then when we got to 9 it started blowing and then it's survival mode.”

You have to like a golfer with a movie director’s perspective.
“It's just trying to predict what the ball's going to do. I had 136 yards to the pin on No. 9 and I hit a full 8-iron short of the green. I had 210 yards up the hill on 14 and I airmailed the green with an 8-iron. So it's a guessing game. We're just doing our best.”

Mitchell likes challenges, and he and the others here definitely have one.

“Definitely pleased with how I played,” he said. “We definitely — first couple holes were very benign. Then right when we got on the 6th green is when the wind started picking up. Playing 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, pretty much straight into the wind, 8 was a little off the right, but everything else was straight into the wind.

“We knew going into (Saturday) that those were going to be the tough holes. That was going to be the hardest stretch potentially all week. If I could make it through that stretch in a relatively good score, I would be set up for the weekend.”

And he was. Take that, Mother Nature.

A windy reminder it’s Pebble Beach, not Palm Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — So the wind was up and the temperature down, but that was just a friendly reminder it’s February and we’re in Pebble Beach, not Palm Beach.

Yes, there are golf courses and mansions at both locations, but for this week at least, this is the only one that matters on the PGA Tour.

Where else would you be getting the speed of the wind as well as the speed of the greens, which as tales of poa annua grass remind us are both bumpy and quick? Just joking; the beach out here along Carmel Bay is famed for little rocks. What the golf property is famed for is being a place that produces champions.

Maybe one of those will emerge from a field filled with people other than major winners. Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Danny Willett still are trying to break through. The day’s low Monterey’s round was by Seamus Power, a 64. Naturally it was at MPCC, where par is 71, a stroke lower than the other two courses. 

“I grew up in Northern California,” said Kurt Kitiyama, “so I got to play Spyglass quite a bit. Not so much here and Monterey. But I’ve seen it before and definitely feeling a lot more comfortable this time around.´

“It's always nice playing here. It's nice being here. The plan is take what the course and conditions allow.

“I know it's playing a lot tougher there than the other two courses. So I think just kind of staying patient all around and get what is possible.”

The third round, the Saturday round, often is the biggest for TV, and for the fans in attendance when most of celebrities get their chance before missing the cut. They come up with songs and acts and stunts for the non-golfing public, the last remnants of the old Bing Crosby event.

Sport is supposed to be enjoyable, and the Saturday round at the AT&T inevitably is, no matter what the weather is. One year Bill Murray, who’s become the main non-pro attraction, reached into an ice cream cooler near the 18th tee and pulled out a frozen fish.

Maybe the pros attempting to get a victory won’t appreciate something like that, but most everyone else certainly will.

So who's really leading the Pebble Beach AT&T?

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The game is the same, hitting a little white ball as few times as possible, but the courses are different. Which makes the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am perhaps as much mystery as history.

Day one of this event — where thanks to Bill Murray there may be as many laughs as putts — gave us a leaderboard with a man named Hank Lebioda ahead of everybody else.

As they say, we will find out in a matter of days, or at least by Sunday evening when every one of the 156, or at least those who have made the cut after three rounds, finish their cycles.

So you are not familiar with any of the names. Well, be patient and persistent. Somewhere a few clicks down are a U.S. Open winner (Justin Rose, 69 at Pebble Beach), a Masters winner (Danny Willett, 71 at Spyglass Hill) and a winner of the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open (Jordan Spieth, 71 at Spyglass Hill).

The weather, often the deciding factor in wintertime on the Monterey Peninsula, wasn’t bad most of Thursday. Then it got semi-brutal, the wind so strong you’re surprised they didn’t post small golfer warnings.

Monterey Peninsula’s Shore Course is mostly tucked in among the pine trees until it swings out toward Monterey Bay.

Coming down the last two hole, said Harry Hall, another of the newer names who shot 64 at MPCC (par is 71), “It started to blow 45 miles an hour. It was crazy. Happy to get in a 7-under.”

Spieth has won this tournament, and last year he missed by a shot. He knows the courses and the conditions, which doesn’t necessarily mean he loves them. Golf is a test of making the best of the worst,

“Spyglass is hard,” said Spieth. “It’s a tough test. Would have liked to have done better on my front nine. That was really forgettable.

“Then I thought I played the back nine really well. It was really bizarre the last four holes or so with the wind. It went from nothing to flipping and then blowing about 25 out of nowhere the other direction than the forecast. That throws us through a big loop when you're prepping for something and you got to make the adjustment.

“But I had a good last three holes and that always kind of puts a smile on your face. I wish I would have shot a few under today. Just a couple early iron shots I hung right.”

Bill Murray has been hanging in at the AT&T seemingly forever. Thursday was the 20th anniversary of the movie “Groundhog Day,” which helped make him the tournament’s primary attraction. Others may come and go, but almost always he’s in the field.

We know his name and his game.