It's a U.S. Open After All

Obviously someone snuck in Friday night and stole our FedEx St. Jude Classic and replaced it with a...what's the word for it...a U.S. Open.

Amidst the carnage, Martin Kaymer managed to summon sufficient heroics to hold onto the largest part of his lead, and I'll shimmy way out on a limb and guess that he'll do much the same this afternoon.  I wasn't sure whether the bogey on No. 4 or the eagle on No. 5 was the more amazing, but quite the back-to-back sequence. 

The 67's by Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton to get themselves into second place were quite amazing given the conditions, and were the only two sub-par rounds of the day.

Just a quick skim of the web, but Gary Van Sickle had some astute observations, such as this on the leader:

What’s different about the weekend in the U.S. Open? Everything. Martin Kaymer missed three fairways in the first 36 holes. Saturday, he missed three fairways in the first five holes. That’s what the U.S. Open does to you on a weekend. In six holes, he had one eagle, one unplayable lie penalty and one putt that rolled off a green. In other words, just another day at a U.S. Open…

And on scoring in general:

Toru, Toru, Toru!

You knew Saturday was going to be the traditionally wicked U.S. Open Saturday when Toru Taniguchi posted 88. The man has his name on his bag, he played well enough to make the U.S. Open cut and suddenly, he shoots 88 and not because of one hellacious hole, just four doubles and a triple that turned into a pair of Hank Aarons—44s. He was the tournament’s Early Warning System…

As for everyone's hero: 

Phil Mickelson shot 72 and is at five over par through 54 holes. I’m starting to think this might not be his week… 

One thing about Phil, he can be a funny guy. After the third round, Phil said, “If I hit it better and make some putts, I think I can shoot four or five under par, end around even par and finish second again.” …

I'm actually not sure if Van Sickle is pulling our leg here... did Phil actually say that?

And on the important issues of the day:

Give Colin Montgomerie credit for calling out Pinehurst’s storied Putter Boy character (originally known as Sundial Boy, since it was used to tell time) on Golf Channel the other evening. Monty noted that the club was far too long and Putter Boy’s stance and setup were all wrong for him to be using a putter and that Monty guessed he was actually holding a 3-wood. A kid named 3-Wood Boy isn’t going to inspire several generations of golfers or move merchandise, though. Well bowled, Monty…

 Shack has the video of the shot of the day here, Kenny Perry holing out from 220 yards from the scrub.  

My favorite bit was the exchange between Kaymer and Brendon Todd in the early going.  On No. 2 Kaymer putted from short of the green and left it woefully short.  On virtually the same line, Todd over-compensated and putted the ball off the green.  On No. 6 they reversed roles, with Kaymer jacking his ball off the green.  And these are the guys playing well enough to be in the final group.

Enjoy the golf and a Happy Father's Day to all.