OPENing Salvo

For those who regularly read We Make It Rain, you know that we are tremendous fans of all types of athletic competition, and that definitely includes golf. As you should know, one of the four majors, The British Open, or as the British like to call it "The Open Championship", began yesterday at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. Even though the tourney is without its most glamorous star, Eldrick, the tournament is lining up to be a spectacular event.

The first round ended with a three way tie at 1 under 69. The only three players to shoot in the red on Thursday were Australia's Robert Allenby, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, of the Queens McDowells, and America's (now) favorite son, Rocco Mediate.

Everybody knows about Rocco and his near victory at the U.S. Open, losing to Eldrick by 1 shot after playing 91 holes. However, Rocco and his fun-loving personality should have been fan favorites well before this year. Now, I may be a little biased toward Rocco because, well his name, but also because Racecar's father tells great stories about Rocco from Mediate's time in Jacksonville. In addition, I witnessed what I thought was a great act by Rocco back in the day.

During the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I had the opportunity to attend the second and third rounds via my friend Alex, who happens to live in Tulsa and who also happened to commandeer some tickets (for free even - yeah Alex). We walked the course with a couple of groups in the second round to get a feel for the course, and let me tell you, just walking the course was exhausting. The elevation changes were so much more dramatic than you can ever envision from television.

For the third round, we decided to get to the course early and snag a seat behind the 13th green. We chose this spot because it had great views of both the 13th and 15th greens, but also because the 13th hole was the only hole in which every player had a legitimate shot at birdie, and most could entertain thougths of an eagle.

So, about halfway through the afternoon, short driving Mediate's group is in the fairway, and he looks like he is sitting pretty good. He takes a fairway metal and is going to try to hit the green in two. And boy does he ever. The ball lands on the green hot, hops through the green and hits a kid in the chest. Lucky for Rocco, the kid stopped his ball, which most likely would have ended up in the grandstand. Rocco pitches and putts for a birdie. As he and his playing partner exit the green to move toward the 14th tee, Mediate walks straight towards the kid, signs his ball and gives it to the kid. I always liked this gesture by Rocco, and have since followed his career, rooting for him and hoping that he does well.

Now, I understand that this is one of the unwritten rules of golf and that many players may have done the same thing, but I always find it amazing how many people either (1) don't know the unwritten rules of courtesy; or (2) just don't care about being courteous.

Mediate shot a 3 over 73 today, and is now in a tie for third at +2. The winner in that 2001 U.S. Open was Retief Goosen, who midway through the second round is also tied for third at +2.

Now, back to the first round. A Brit is tied for first. I don't know if McDowell and his Golden Arc of a swing can stand up to the pressure of trying to be only the third Brit since 1964 to win the Open, and the first since Scotsman Paul Lawrie in 1999, but it certainly makes for a very interesting tournament. He has shot a second round 3 over 73 as well, and is currently tied for third at +2.

The story right now is Greg Norman, who after two consecutive rounds at even par is in the lead. Before I comment on Norman, let's see if he is still in the neighborhood on Sunday.

Although Mediate, Norman, McDowell, Englishman Ian Poulter or any of a number of players would make for a great story, I myself would love to see Camillo Villegas win. He has a lot of flair and attitude on the course, and it comes through in his game and his wardrobe. Yesterday he shot a 6 over 76, then started today bogey-bogey, before closing with 5 consecutive birdies for a 5 under 65, one shot behind Norman. The only problem with Villegas is that he is a Florida Gator, and after their run in football and basketball the last few years, Gator fans don't need anything else to cheer, believe me.

However, sometimes the volatile (players and scores) are too erratic to win a major golf championship in weather conditions like those at Royal Birkdale. It is often slow and steady that wins the race. My pick is Jim Furyk, who after two consecutive 71s, is tied for third at +2.