Golf

STEVE STRICKER IS A GOOD SPORT. We know that. Now there's another example. Stricker was a good sport in the above Avis "I'm a savage" commercial. Fun stuff. Asked about the spot last week at the U.S. Open, Stricker said, "I hear that a lot from the galleries. And I'm not a savage by any means. I guess that's the funny part of the commmercial. I felt like a dork making it, but it was all good, all in good fun." Starting one stroke behind Phil Mickelson's lead going into the final round at Merion Golf Club, Stricker got off to a rocky start and faded to a T8 finish. The tour veteran shot a 6-over 76 on Sunday after rounds of 71, 69 and 70. Despite going 4 over on his first three holes, Stricker said he was in a good place when he teed off. "I didn't feel that nervous," Stricker said. "I had a good warmup session. I felt good. I felt relaxed. I was excited for the day. Just the nature of the game, I guess. It puts you in place rather quickly at times. But still a good week. I competed well this week. I did a lot of good things. Surely not what I was looking for today, but still things I can build on." Too bad about the missed opportunity. Along with Mickelson, Stricker, at age 46 and without a major, was a sentimental favorite. He knows he's running out of chances to break through.

Here’s a look at some of the key junctures at Merion Golf Club and how those who played all 72 holes handled things at the 2013 U.S. Open.

Since Rory joined Team Tiger Nike Golf earlier this year, his friendship with Tiger, unlike his golf game, has blossomed into something special.

Evan Harmeling won his first pro tournament -- the Massachusetts Open -- but didn't keep the $15,000 check for himself, instead choosing to donate it to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Tiger Woods certainly has been active on “moving day” in each of the last six major championships. Unfortunately for him, the direction in which he has moved has been backward.

Not doing my own write up on this one.  No, not because we lost.  I’m not a sore loser.  Well, mostly.  Just have a busy day today and tomorrow so I’ll leave it to the guys who actually get paid for it. But of course we did lose.  Now we move on. Thursday, 8pm, ESPN.  [...]

As the newly crowned U.S. Open champion, Justin Rose made a special appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman" yesterday.

I'd like to know what other people think of the USGA's new series of commercials discouraging slow play? I'm not quite sure how to interpret them. In two of them, it appears to me like the dawdler in question (Tiger Woods in one, and Clint Eastwood…

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will play in the Dubai Desert Classic in 2014 when the tournament marks its 25th year.

Back when I used to play golf, I would play roughly 30 to 40 times a year. That’s not too shabby considering I was married; owned a home; wasn’t retired; and lived in a state that was covered in snow a good portion of the winter. Every spring (from roughly 2001 – 2009), I would create a schedule that would be passed around to my foursome (and one or two subs that would fill in from time to time). The schedule would include dates and locations of each course we would play. And we would play a lot: 18 holes every other weekend and 9 holes on the weekends that we didn’t play 18. From April through most of November, my Saturdays (or Sundays) were spent on a different golf course within 1-2 hours driving distance from my house. Since 2009 though, things have changed. That year, I played 15 times. 2011 was just 8 times. Last year, 14 times. And so far this year, I have yet to step foot on a tee-box (yes, I realize it’s already well into June). So what happened? Well, the wife and I (a kid-free couple of 10 years) decided to, well…have kids. My son was born in 2010 and my daughter this past March…and I love them both to the moon and back. But adding just one kid cuts into a good chunk of your leisure time. Adding a second (as I’m finding out) seems to cut into a much larger chunk than the first did! The funny thing is I didn’t even really think about not playing until now. Seriously – so far this spring and summer we’ve been to an amusement park; a baseball game; two strawberry festivals; the zoo; the beach (twice); and the local natural history museum (twice). Golf? Not one thought. Actually I take that back. I did text a buddy to play 9 one Sunday morning about a month ago. What happened? Woke up that Sunday to rain…go figure. But I guess I really didn’t realize until now that I hadn’t played yet this season, which is strange considering I write for a golf blog. You would think it would always be in the back of my mind. But having kids has a way of changing you. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m itching to get out on the links. This is the longest I’ve gone into a season without playing. Yes, back when I used to play golf, I loved every minute of it. And the next time I play, I will love every minute of that too. It might be next weekend, or next April – who knows? But the bottom line is you never stop loving this game – whether you play once or 100 times a year, golf has a way of endearing itself to you. In the meantime, I’ll settle for swinging at a practice golf ball with a plastic 7-iron a foot too short for me. Though it’s not too short for my 2 year old – it seems golf has already endeared itself on him. And that my friends, is the light at the end of the tunnel – soon enough (probably too soon), spending time with my kids will include spending time on the golf course. How great is that?