- 19th
- June
- 2010
Life’s A Beach: U.S. Open Halfway Report
A quick look at happenings from Pebble Beach thus far, just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days. Saying that, I wouldn’t blame you if you had, because it’s hardly been the most exciting of affairs…
Return Of The Mac - Top of the pile is Graeme McDowell (-3). Surprised he’s leading? Yes, but after the win in Wales, maybe it shouldn’t come as that big a shock. The Ulsterman has a two-shot lead after rounds of 71 and 68.
Following The Leader - Starting with Phil Mickelson (-1) who, despite an opening 75, bounced back with an awesome 66 on Friday to put the pressure on McDowell. As predicted, Dustin Johnson is going along good guns, with Ernie Els and the ever-impressive Ryo Ishikawa (all -1) also lurking.
Still In With A Shout - Jerry Kelly, Paul Casey, Brendon de Jong and Alex Cjeka are all three of the pace (E), with K.J Choi and Ian Poulter one behind that Motley Crew. One good round is all it takes, so you never know.
Crouching Tiger - Don’t want to concentrate on the big man too much, but Tiger Woods (+4) hasn’t really got it going yet. Other big names off the pace include Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington (both +4) and Jim Furyk (+5).
And It’s Goodbye From Them - Players we sadly won’t be seeing over the weekend? Rory McIlroy (shock, horror!) Rocco Mediate, Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy to name a few. The cut line was +7 just to let you know.
Odds And Sods - Looking at the betting, Lefty is, inevitably, now the big fave to hoist the trophy at 2/1, with McDowell 11/2. Worth getting on both of them, as well as Ishikawa (25/1) and Jerry Kelly (50/1) for a tidy bit of value.
Even Flow - Most overused phrase from commentators and players? ‘Even par is a great score around here.’ Yeah, but under par is better though.
His Name Is Ryo - And, judging by the photo below, he dresses in the dark before hitting the course. Johnny Miller described Ishikawa’s pink number as looking similar to ‘Elton John on steroids.’ Hard to disagree.
