3:01am: Ive got to be honest with you, it's too early. I just turned the TV on and see that Tiger shot four over for his opening round. I also am working later today for a guy on his yard, so I'm making the decision to head back to bed. I'll give it another shot in a few hours. Who watches the first two rounds anyway?
7:00am: This is more like it! I'm happy I went to bed around 8:30 so that I could have some energy this morning. I'm sitting here with my cereal and fruit, ready to enjoy a bit of golf.
7:15am: Boomer, Chris Berman is on TV. It's always amusing to see him do non baseball or football broadcasts. I read that he recently was awarded with a star on the walk of fame.
7:18am: There are nine Australians playing in this year's U.S. Open. The ones you've probably heard of are Stuart Appleby and Geoff Ogilvy.
7:27: Having my coffee now. Wishing the weather here would turn for the better like it has in New York.
7:28: Regarding me skipping the first four hours of today's broadcast, isn't there a saying out there about the difference between crazy and stupid? I think it would have been dumb to watch six hours of golf before I had to work.
7:33: I forgot to mention the other day I won my fourth meat tray since arriving in Oz. It is full of lamb chops and a couple other meats I'm not sure of. Had a great barbie for one yesterday afternoon. I'm like Kobe Bryant: 4 titles and hanging by myself.
7:36: Ernie Els at the tee. He's won this thing twice. As a casual fan, I don't know much about these South African players. Well, all players really. Phil Mickelson is paired with Els. I will be keeping an eye on him. Hope he can stay in the running.
7:42: The Aussie commentators just popped in as they do from time to time, interrupting ESPN's broadcast. They let me know that it is approaching 6pm local time in NY. For those of you wondering how many hours we're apart, those on the east coast of the USA are fourteen hours behind me.
7:44: I imagine this will become more interesting on day 3 and 4. Much like the tournament itself.
7:46: You probably forget, but Australia is experiencing winter right now. My house is almost always in the shade, therefor it is always freezing. I have a space heater by my feet right now, and am bundled up in a sweatshirt and blanket.
7:47: The crowd is really behind Mickelson. I guess there's nothing not to like, I've just never been his number one fan. Mike Weir is the leader at -6.
7:49: Berman just said "We'll be right back from Bethpage, at happy hour." Funny.
7:51: I wish we'd get the same commercials you do. This might be my US bias, but it seems like companies here have ONE commercial and just run with it over and over again. I want to see 12 different versions of the Bud Clydesdale's.
7:54: This is so relaxing, and rather luxurious watching a second round of golf. Most people are working during the second round. My best memories of tournaments are obviously in the last 10-12 years watching Tiger on Sundays. I do love golf on Sundays. One problem I've found is that it is so relaxing that I fall asleep to it. You might substitute the word relaxing with something else.
7:56: Adam Scott, Phil Mck are both rocking the hockey hair. Not a bad look, it's been years since I sported that. Those days should be behind me for good.
7:58: Watching this reminds me a lot of my Bretwood golf course days, both working and playing. Interesting that later this morning I will be weed whacking. I think the last day I held one of those machines was back at Bretwood. The guy here called it a whipper snapper. Of course he did.
8:01: Mike Tirico and Curtis Strange are also commentating. Tirico is another guy, like Boomer who can do so many different sports. I've read a bit that they are similar in their off camera personalities.
8:04: Mike Weir, Canadian. I didn't know that. Good for him.
8:08: Finally seeing Sergio for the first time. He must not be making much noise. He's fun to root against, and one that I want to see more of. No outbursts or inappropriate behavior so far.
8:11: The seventh hole is a par four, 525 yards. Can you imagine that for a second? I'm sure in my lifetime I've only played a handful of holes that were that long and obvioulsy I had five shots to get there.
8:12: Coffee refill
8:20: Raining here again. I might not be working today. I shall see very soon.
8:26: While I have time, I watched a great baseball game the other day between the Indians and Brewers. Well I watched part of it. Going into the bottom of the ninth, it was 8-4 Milwaukee, so I went for a run thinking it was over. When I returned, the game was in the 11th inning! Milwaukee ended up winning, but how many times in sports have I changed the station only to find out later that something pretty great happened?
8:30: Who is Gary Woodland? A lot of players I've never heard of. Funny as I wrote that, they said "25 year old from Kansas, now from Florida." Thanks! But the leaderboard is filled with unknowns to casual fans like myself.
8:38: I wonder how my perception of coffee will have changed once I return. As far as Australian standards go, I do drink the Maxwell house of Australia, so hopefully they won't have changed much. Anyway, I've always thought that half the appeal to a Dunkin' Donuts isn't just the coffee, but holding the DD cup. Something about it feels like home.
8:44: Ricky Barnes, another name I don't know. Birdie at 11. Nice. Just got the call that I will not be working until next weekend now. That's fine. The guy, Peter, says there's lots of work to be done and I will probably have a good couple weeks worth of work there. That is the best news I've had in awhile. The day is wide open now...Saturday! Will do my weekly grocery shopping and maybe have a workout.
8:46: The weather in NY today looks amazing. Warm, summer day. I'm not jealous, just envious.
8:49: What are your thoughts on me getting up for Day 3? As I said earlier, 3am is about as fun as golfing in the rain. The final round I definitely will, but we'll see how I feel tomorrow. The past two days have been a bit boring with Tiger finishing his rounds by the time the broadcast starts. That takes 80% of the fun out of it right there.
8:51: A lot of golf enthusiasts do not like Chris Berman doing the commentating. Too much slang and too many cliches. I think he does a good job.
8:53: Rocko! Rocko Mediate. He seems like the most likeable guy out there. I would want to play 18 holes with him. Bet he's a riot.
9:00am: The broadcast just switched channels on me. There's a new all sports channel here so I must now tune in there. Roger Maltby is the other commentator with Boomer. Great voice. His look does not match his voice.
9:02: I'm just thinking that Tiger is 10 shots behind the leader after one day. I would find it hard to believe anyone coming back from that. But ya never know. Weir (the leader) is on his second round already.
9:05: David Toms just had a triple bogey. Now we're talking my type of golf. He did get a six though. My triple bogeys are usually 7's and 8's. I enjoy the quadruple bogey from time to time.
9:08: I cannot wait to get back on the golf course. One of these days I am going to get a membership somewhere and actually begin to improve. I went one time last year with my dad and even though I think I shot something in the 50's for a round of 9 (Maybe 60's, memory is foggy), I remember hitting a couple of memorable shots. The potential is there to put up a decent round. Just need to practice...more than twice a year.
9:15: I'll start rooting for this Aussie Adam Scott. He's a younger guy. Is also rocking the Camaro-Cut.
9:24: Alright, I'm throwing in the towel. Tomorrow's broadcast doesn't start until 4am. Mike Weir is leading. Adam Scott is the leading Australian player right now at -1. Not a bad morning of golf. I thought I'd feel drained, but after a great breakfast and a couple cups of coffee, I have a ton of energy and feel like doing something. Check back in tomorrow for day three.
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