U.S. Open Day 3

4:04am: And I'm back! For those of you not up to date, I'm trying to blog the entire U.S. Open. The first day was rained out thankfully. Day 2, I made it through the second three hours of a six plus hour broadcast. And today, I'm finally giving this a shot from the start. I feel good. I can make it. I'm not sure when to have my first cup of coffee.

4:09am: A few minutes ago they showed Bob Costas. A couple years back, a man I worked with showed me an old Up with People video with a young Bob Costas talking about Up with People during the 86 Super Bowl.

4:11am: Finally, the first LIVE shot I get to see Tiger make...let's watch... He hit the fairway. No kidding. He is at +2.

4:15am: It rained all day yesterday here and should rain again today. Let's hope the rain holds off in NY. Tiger just hits the green with ease. Is he going to make a comeback? To answer my question earlier, I think 5:00am is a good time to have my first coffee. It's just that I don't want to have too many this morning and figure three will be fine without over doing it.

4:20am: This is so early really. I'll try not to say that again.

4:25am: I've never been to a pro golfing event. My good friend Ken Macie works down at TPC Boston and would surely be able to get me into the next event there. Wonder if I'll be around for the next one there. It looks like a fun day, lots of walking.

4:28am: Tiger just hit another remarkable shot on the par three 8th. Some golfers might describe it as "sick." Within 10 feet I'd say.

4:33am: They continue to show how the nine Aussie players are doing. Adam Scott is currently the leading Australian at even par. Yesterday I mentioned that I'd root for Adam Scott because he's Australian.

4:39am: Tiger missed the fairway on nine. He always lets us know by his reaction right away whether or not it will be a good shot.

4:43am: My roommate was telling me last night that he'd like me to send him some Red SOLO cups. He says that he loves that Americans only use red cups at parties. Even in some news story we saw last night, some American was holding a red party cup.

4:48am: Aussie Geoff Ogilvy having a good round. Some other names you'd expect to hear are making noise out there today.

4:52am: It just dawned on me that they are going to be playing until the sun goes down today. That could be around 10am...I might need to do some stretches during the commercials if I'm going to be here six hours.

4:55am: And Tiger with a second round 69, including a Bogie to end the round. Dang. He is 11 shots off the lead. Off to get my coffee. Back around 5am. (It's instant coffee)

5:03: Just exchanged an email with my brother, Jon. He is golfing this minute in Mass. Lucky fella. Gotta love those Blackberries. Jon, hope you're holding up out there.

5:06: Yes they just confirmed they'd be here until 8pm Eastern time, which is 10am my time. I hope my roommates don't mind golf. On a couple of weekends I've woken up to them watching some real crappy programming, so this should even the score. I mean from an Australian point of view, the US Open isn't that newsworthy. Not to these guys anyway.

5:11: The putting is up and down right now. Sometimes when watching golf, you see many puts go in. Today, nothing to write home about (But I'm writing home about it right now!) The wet greens might have something to do with it. Come on NY, where's the sun?

5:17: It's probably old news now, but I'm just reading A-Rod was pulled from the Yankees lineup due to fatigue. A-Rod's tired. Back to golf, seeing a lot of Lee Westwood. He must be someone I should be following closer.

5:21:


5:27: 2nd round isn't over yet?? Very close now. I'm interested to hear what they'll do and if there's any chance of them wrapping this thing up on your Sunday, my Monday.

5:30: There's a guy named Edfors who just made the cut. With his haircut, he looks like Happy Gilmore's Caddy. In other words, lots of hair! Well, this first 90 minutes has gone by fast. Did you know tomorrow is the shortest day of the year in Australia? I could be wrong, it is either tomorrow or Monday.

5:35: As the 2nd round wraps up, they're showing a lot of short puts that decide whether people make or miss the cut. Can you imagine missing a three footer to miss the cut? Well yes, I can. But I mean imagine being a pro, and missing the cut because of a three footer. You're talking a big difference in pay at the end of the weekend.

5:39: You know how at the Masters on the final day, you pretty much know what the holes look like? I guess I should know what they look like anyway because it is the same course year in and year out. But here, I still have no idea where they are. I think I've memorized what the 8th looks like. Only 17 other holes to learn. By Monday I'll have it down. If I'm still here.

5:42: Only three Australians made the cut. Bummer! Ogilvy, Scott and Sim.

5:47: I'm looking at the gallery. Nobody is eating or drinking. Because I've never been to one of these events, I don't know what it's like, but if it's anything like baseball, hockey or basketball, I would want a beer and some peanuts! I imagine the USGA is pretty strict on alcohol and where you throw your peanut shells.

5:54: Just reminding myself it is Jack Bauer night here. 24 comes on at 11pm on a Sunday! Can you say, "nobody is watching?" Yeah that show is downright terrible. We still have four episodes left here even though the US is done. I'd say "no spoilers please," but the season is already a spoiler.

5:55: Back to golf related news. To quote George Carlin. There's a guy "hitting a ball with a crooked stick, then walking after it...and then...hitting it again." George had a pretty funny bit on golf on his Jammin' in New York HBO special.

6:00am Sunday Morning: (4pm Eastern Time, Saturday) My stomach is starting to ask me when breakfast is. I'd say 6:30-6:45. Be patient. Tiger will have to make the biggest comeback in US Open history to win. I would say, pick a new favorite.

6:05: It is fun to watch the amateurs play. One just finished +22, but the announcers mentioned how amazing it must be to gain national exposure at the US Open. I'm just watching Phil Mickelson for the first time today. He's still in the hunt, I'm sure we'll see him later. Players are shooting well, scores are low.

6:12: We get some interesting celebrities here in Oz. Martin Short was here recently. I see Frankie Valley will be here this week. It seems a lot of times that if your career isn't really on fire in the states, you can always come to Australia and do well. Pink is really famous here, well she's famous worldwide, but is doing 50 shows in Australia this year. I was saddened to hear that the New Kids on the Block have cancelled their Oz tour dates. Just kidding.

6:17: Jack Nicklaus started in 146 consecutive majors...Phil Mickelson is holds the active players record with 61. think about that one for a few minutes.

6:27: It's hard to believe how much golf is left really. There are guys still as far back as the....wait a sec. Just noticing that everyone has played the 2nd round already and I'm obviously watching taped coverage. Grrr. haha. Oh well, So what now? I'm guessing round three will start shortly OR they will decide to play the final round on your Monday. Don't worry though, I'm here for the long haul.

6:30: Just hopping over to ESPN's blog. I'm guessing they have a few more readers than I do. If they have more than 2 or 3, then yes, they do. But they say "Still no official word from the USGA as to when Round 3 will start, but there are rumblings that it could be earlier than that original 5:30pm estimation." Good to know...I will return when play resumes. Going to find some breakfast.

7:30am: Back! Round 3 is underway! I spent the last hour preparing and eating breakfast, and also talking with my friend Andy Neumeister about our Twinkle Town Mini Golf Course memories. I've been reading some comments over on ESPN. People are wondering why they needed over an hour to get round 3 started and also why they aren't matching three players per hole to speed things up. It looks like this thing will definitely be played on Monday.

7:36: The 1st hole has that ugly maintenance path right in the middle of the fairway. It is the muddiest path I've ever seen. You wouldn't see that at Augusta. Next up on the tee, Michael Sim, from Perth Australia. You wouldn't believe how many Australians I've met who have never been to Perth. It is one of the major cities here.

7:44: The most frustrating thing about golfing in New England in the Fall is losing a ball in the leaves. I always get so angry because I'm going to lose balls anyway. It makes no sense to lose a ball that is dry.

7:52: Even with two cups of coffee consumed and a great breakfast, I am rather tired. I have the space heater going and a down comforter on my lap. I'm warm, and comfortable.

8:00am: I've reached the four hour mark! There was an hour break in there, but I was awake. Bob Costas is now commenting on how wild the NY crowd is. They are rooting for everyone and going nuts on every sunk putt. Al Roker just said, "Boom goes the dynamite!" Nice. He's doing a little weather update. We're looking at more showers, but most likely playable golf.

8:07: You would think they would update me on the New Zealand golfers, especially Michael Campbell who won this thing in 2005 I believe. But the Aussies don't really ever promote anything New Zealand it seems.

8:11: Rory McIlroy looks about 15. Also a fan of the "business in the front, party in the rear" haircut.

8:18: I probably sound like a broken record, but to the casual fan, golf without Tiger Woods is approaching boring. There is some great stuff going on out there, but everything is different when Tiger hits the ball. You know there's a chance you are going to see an amazing shot. More amazing than the ones these other guys are making.

8:23: NBC just said that they would start broadcasting at 11am tomorrow morning, Eastern Time of course. If Australia airs it live, then that means my day four blog would have to begin at 1am Monday morning. Wow, this is one of the more challenging tasks I've taken on. I'm in so deep now, it would be a shame to quit. I will press on. It's not like I'm working Monday morning either.

8:29: The golf hat, or golf visor is a style that a lot of people, I imagine, are thankful has passed. Every golfer I see out there today has a fitted baseball style cap on.

8:34: They just mentioned tomorrow was the longest day of the year for you in the States and Canada. So yep, tomorrow is the shortest day of the year for us down under.

8:40: I like how on the first hole you can see cars passing by in the background. If it were anything like Twinkle Town, each one of them would be honking their horn.

8:43: Tiger is back on the course. Sergio, Phil, Rocko, most of the guys I want to see are out there. My eyelids are officially getting heavy. I feel like those days when I was a kid after a sleep over birthday party where the sun was coming up, yet I had not slept a wink.

8:53: Tiger just hit a chip shot from the rough within a foot of the hole, and I prepared my 3rd and final cup of coffee. As I sat down, it started pouring down in NY. I'm guessing this thing is going to be suspended any minute. Perhaps the coffee will not be needed.

8:55am: And there are the horns! Play is suspended after a few holes into the 3rd round. That pretty much wraps up this Day 3 blog. Check back in again tomorrow for Day 4. As Walter said in The Big Lebowski, "I'm finishing my coffee." Goodnight/morning.