Thomas Henry “Tommy” Bolt, a 2002 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, passed away at his home in Batesville, Akansas on Saturday, August 30. He was 92. Bolt is best known for his 1958 US Open win and his explosive on-the-course temper. He was frequently known to throw clubs and use abusive language.
There was no denying that he could play golf, however. Bolt had one of the best swings of his era and ranked up 15 PGA Tour wins, despite not joining the Tour until he was in his 30s. Think what he could have accomplished in …read more

You may not remember Orville “Champ” Moody, but in his day, he was regarded as one of the best ball-strikers in the game. He is best known for winning the 1969 US Open, the last winner to go through the local and regional qualifying rounds.
Moody joined the PGA tour in 1967 after a career in the military. He played 250 tournaments, but the Open was his only tour win. He had more success on the Senior Tour (now the Champions Tour). He won 11 Senior Tour events. Moody died today at age 74. No details on his death were …read more

OWN YOUR WORDS, PEOPLE!
In another in an all too frequent trend, NBC golf commentator, Johnny Miller apologized today for his rude remarks about Rocco Mediate during the network’s coverage of the US Open. Miller, winner of the 1973 Open and the first golfer to be inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame, said something to the effect that “guys named Rocco don’t win the US Open” and a few other choice remarks. This despite Mediate’s superlative performance in the tournament and his toughness in matching Tiger Woods almost stroke for stroke in the last 19 holes.
Last winter, there was a …read more

Following his dramatic win yesterday in the 108th US Open, his 3rd Open win, Tiger Woods told reporters that he was “going to shut it down for a while,” meaning that he was going to give his knee a chance to heal properly following his surgery on April 15.
Woods also admitted that he had been advised by his doctors to skip the US Open. He declined to say whether he’ll be playing in the British Open, which begins July 17.
(photo © Newscom)

WOW! In what Tiger Woods called the “greatest tournament I’ve ever had,” the number one player in the world defeated the unlikely, but worthy challenger, Rocco Mediate to win the 108th US Open Championship. It is his 14th win in a major tournament and his third US Open title.
The win was not an easy one, however. Mediate stayed with Woods through 18 holes, sinking birdies at 13, 14, and 15, eventually watching Tiger sink a 10-foot putt at 18 to send the tournament into a sudden death playoff.
They returned to the 7th hole, a hole that has favored Woods …read more

If you’re like me, you’ve been vaguely aware of Rocco Mediate for years, but never really knew much about him…until this week. Now that he’s in a playoff for the 2008 US Open Championship with Tiger Woods, all eyes are on him. But who is this veteran player that’s challenging the best in the world? Here are a few facts about Rocco:

He’s 45 years old. (If he wins the US Open, he will be the oldest player to have ever won the tournament.)
Prior to this week, his best finish in the US Open was fourth in 2001.
He was nine …read more

I hope you didn’t have anything to do this afternoon, because the US Open’s not over yet. Rocco Mediate, a 45-year old tour veteran from Greensburg, PA is facing the best player in the world, Tiger Woods, in an 18-hole one-to-one playoff match to determine the winner of the 2008 US Open. Tee-off is at 9am PDT (noon EDT). The coverage starts on ESPN and continues on NBC at 2pm.
Yesterday’s round was almost as compelling as Saturday’s. Woods started the day with a double-bogey at hole #1 (again), leaving viewers to wonder about the state of his injured knee. …read more

When his knee hurting so badly that he sometimes grimaced in pain and used his clubs as a crutch to make his way down the fairways, Tiger Woods gave a master class in guts, concentration, and skill at Torrey Pines yesterday during round three of the US Open.
Five strokes off of the lead coming into the 13th hole, Woods eagled 13 and began a rally that would turn that five-stroke deficit into a one-stroke lead before the round was finished. In addition to the eagle at 13, he lucked into a birdey at 17th when his chip shot one-hopped into …read more

Golf fashion is known for being colorful and flamboyant and the players’ outfits at the US Open don’t disappoint. Among the most interesting are:
British golfer, Ian Poulter is known for his outlandish fashion. Not every golfer could pull off the pink shirt and plaid pants, but somehow it works on him.
Rocco Mediate is looking good to lead the open (he’s just one stroke behind Appleby going into round three), but not so good in the sweater vest. Best to leave the vests to the under-25 crowd.

Round two of the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines did not disappoint. Kevin Streelman and Justin Hicks learned that carding two good consecutive rounds in the US Open is not an easy feat. They both carded a +6 for the day, leaving them at +3 for the tournament and well behind the leader, Australian Stuart Appleby (pictured above). Appleby grabbed sole possession of the lead with a birdie on 18.
Tiger Woods, playing with a slight limp, showed why he’s the best player in the world. After a rough first hole, he carded a near-record 30 on the back nine …read more