Golf, golf and more golf
Golf fans should be in heaven the next
two weekends. First, the men’s U.S. Open
is being contested this weekend at the historic
Pinehurst No. 2. Then the biggest
event in its side of the sport, the U.S.
Women’s Open, comes to Cherry Hills
Country Club next week.
No golf tournament offers more compelling
TV than the U.S. Open, where the
world’s best golfers often come staggering
off the 18th hole.
At a U.S. Open, the course is as much the
story as the players, and Pinehurst No. 2
and Cherry Hills offer a punishing test of
accuracy, imagination and patience. For at
least one week of the golf season, there is
less talk about supercharged clubs and hot
golf balls and more talk about shotmaking.
Not that the USGA doesn’t get carried
away with making its championship courses
punitive, as evidenced by what happened
at Shinnecock a year ago, when it
allowed greens to become too dry and
firm and 80 became a good score.
Now all we need is for Tiger Woods to
win the second leg of the men’s Grand
Slam, which would be a perfect lead-in to
Annika Sorenstam’s bid for the third leg of
the women’s Grand Slam at Cherry Hills.
10-10!
On the couch
You can always watch the Rockies
sprint toward an all-time worst road
record in baseball history, with the horror
show moving to Baltimore today. At
least the Orioles, the surprise leaders of
the American League East, offer compelling
TV. If that’s not your cup of tea,
stick to the U.S. Open. It’s the one golf
tournament of the year that is must-see
TV. If good old Dad wants to lounge
around Sunday and follow Phil and the
boys, let him.
Off the couch
The 33rd annual Vail “King of the
Mountain Open” volleyball tournament
will be held today through Sunday. The
tournament offers 19 divisions of play.
A free juniors doubles clinic will be
held this afternoon, from 12:30-4 p.m. at
the Vail Athletic Field. There is no
charge for the clinic, and it is open to
junior players of all levels. The clinic is
hosted by USA Volleyball’s director of
beach volleyball, John Kessel. The junior
doubles competition, which starts Saturday,
will be a qualifier for the U.S. Junior
Beach National Championships, which
will be held July 22-24 in Hermosa
Beach, Calif.
Admission is free. Preregistration
deadline is today with day-of-event registrations
accepted on a space-available
basis. For more information, check
www.kingofthemountainvolleyball.com.
