[TEPaul]

Angel Cabrera deserves a lot more on here than some bizarro thread on the fact that he was smoking out there coming down the stretch (and not "field stripping" his butts).

Although the guy was a few groups ahead he sure knew where he stood and he basically stared down two US Open Champions hot on his trail.

Angel sure does have that "Every Man" aura about him and I love that.

Obviously he was as wired as a cato out there in the end but I saw a lot of him during the tournament and generally speaking he's a guy who just steps up there and hits it seemingly not willing to complicte the issue as do so many of the other tour pros these days.

And to me the defining moment of the Open with Cabrera came on the 18th tee.

Most players probably would have stood up there sucking wind for about three minutes before trying to hit that ultra demanding tee shot but Angel just grabbed his driver and quite quickly stood up there and whacked the shit out of it right down the middle AND LONG with that entertainlng free wheeling swing of his.

Going on simultaneous in his head may've been "Por favor Godo, let me rip just ONE MORE down the middle like I have thousands of times before", but at least he didn't complicate the issue first.

His beautiful 3 wood on #8 followed by his birdie putt (the USGA should look into paying him for a major league skin on that hole) and his great shots on #11, #13 and particularly #15 sealed the deal.

You took it right at all of them with that final round 69 Angel.

Congratulations Champ!  

[Jerry Kluger]

TEP: I have Cabrera in a pool so it was hard rooting against Tiger, but bucks and bragging rights are critical.  Anyway, I do think that in watching and not rooting for Tiger, that there is clearly a Tiger bias with the TV coverage.  I can understand why TV concentrates on Tiger but it gets pretty obvious after a while.  I was watching Cabrera for all 4 rounds and believe me, he had his share of near miss putts - all the players do, it's just that Tiger is the game and anything that works against him is a far greater tragedy than any other player.  

Cabarera played great and wasn't afraid to take up the challenge when the situation presented itself.  He made the clutch plays and he has to be given so much credit for coming back from losing the lead on Saturday to such a great round on Sunday.  

[John Kavanaugh]

I think Shackelford needs to let some of you guys start topics on his site so it cuts down the OT threads over here.  That being said...

Did Nicklaus ever blow two majors in one year as Woods already has in 2007?  Someone told me that Watson stole two championships where Nicklaus had the lead in 77.

[TEPaul]

Jerry:

I'm just waiting for one of our automatically ultra negative Monday Morning Quarterbacks to point out that the fact Cabrera (not a known champion type) won the Open proves there's something wrong with Oakmont or the US Open.  

Most of those MMQs don't seem to understand it's about the quality of the golf, not the reputation of the player who plays it best.

[TEPaul]

You see that Jerry? Here's our first and best idiotic and negative MMQ----eg Barney, JakaB, JK, John Kavanaugh.

Now it's Woods blowing it, not Cabrera winning it.  

[John Kavanaugh]

TE,

I seriously have to wonder if Woods is the greatest of all time after watching him finish yesterday...Did Nicklaus ever let someone bogey the last two of three and then not make a run at the end himself?  

I wonder if Jack even watches golf at home...How much fun would have it been to get his running commentary and predictions.

[TEPaul]

"TE,
I seriously have to wonder if Woods is the greatest of all time after watching him finish yesterday..."

JK:

Of course you do, that's what all good MMQs do.

Yep, I guess we'd have to conclude that since Woods finished second yesterday he's in a major slump, probably washed up and history now.

Do I need to point out to you that Nicklaus finished second in about as many majors as he won?  

[Jerry Kluger]

Cabrera has done well is previous Opens and is in the top 50 in world rankings.  When Johnny Miller shot his 63, I believe he passed Nicklaus and Palmer, among others, on his way to the lead - it was recognized as a great round and not that the others blew it. Cabrera's round was not in the category of Miller's, but still, it was really a great, clutch round.  I also think that he was well received by the crowd - a smile here and there and a willingness to take a chance.

[John Kavanaugh]

"TE,
I seriously have to wonder if Woods is the greatest of all time after watching him finish yesterday..."

JK:

Of course you do, that's what all good MMQs do.

Yep, I guess we'd have to conclude that since Woods finished second yesterday he's in a major slump, probably washed up and history now.

Do I need to point out to you that Nicklaus finished second in about as many majors as he won?  

I like that the debate is still a debate about who is the greatest of all time.  We all sat at the bar yesterday hoping to see an event like the 86 Masters and was just a bit dissapointed.  I thought Tiger might even make eagle on 17 or at least sniff the hole on one or the other.  I'm curious if Tiger layed up short on purpose on 16 instead of challenging the bunker and pin...The architecture was there for a misty eyed moment and it just didn't come through.  I just want to hear of a time when Nicklaus had a lead in a major and then came in second when the winner bogied two out of the last three.  Even given Jacks fight with obesity did he ever have sweat rolling down his chin like Tiger did yesterday?

[John Kirk]

Another thing great about Cabrera is how animated he was coming down the stretch.  He destroyed the stereotype that a player must be calm, and must be in complete control of his emotions.  Fiddling with his equipment, looking at his caddie, bouncing around, firing up a smoke, taking a sip of water - the guy couldn't stop moving.  As opposed to faking it, and trying to maintain some sort of false, frozen stoicism, Angel was INTO it, like a linebacker on a Sunday afternoon.

On the 15th green, after Angel stuck an iron to 3 feet on #15, Johnny Miller is trying to get inside the player's head, saying Angel must be thinking about every 3 footer he has ever missed in his life.  I dislike when the announcers try to get inside the players' heads, so I said to the TV and my wife, "He's not thinking that!  He's saying, "Oh, boy.  Come on.  Wow!  Come on.  Make it.  Make it.  Come on.  Oh, boy.  Come on."  Birdie.

I didn't find anything wrong with Oakmont.  I thought the course was set up well for a left to right flight off the tee on key holes such as #4, #9, #12, #15, and #18.  Although Cabrera missed a lot of fairways, he drove the ball pretty damn well when it counted.

Great tournament.  I had a couple reservations about it.  There weren't enough made putts for my liking; those must be the most difficult greens to putt in major tournament golf.  Cabrera won because he hit it tight the most times.  Other than that, I just hate how NBC holds you captive during the last 90 minutes of the broadcast, shows only the leaders, and forces you to watch 30-40 minutes of advertisements during the finish.  Really awful, so much so I'm considering the TiVo alternative.

I doubt I'll repeat these comments on Ran's setup thread.

[John Kirk]

John K.,

I thought Tiger stuck his club in the ground on #16, trying to hit a big cut 4-iron back there, and his miss was in the right spot.

The ending was kind of like seeing Superman fail to save the world.  "Superman, say it isn't so!"

John K.

[Jerry Kluger]

Tiger is the best today - there is no one close, but sometimes, he says things that are a little hard to accept.  In the press conference afterwards he said that a stone got between his clubface and the ball on 17, which caused a lack of spin and the ball ran over the green.  This is a tough one to accept.  

[John Kavanaugh]

The only way Tiger buries anybody is to get them in the hole first.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

More on Cabrera: He is not fond of practicing a la TW or Vijay. Good for him!!!

[Rick Shefchik]

In 1976 I stayed with some friends in Montreal during the Olympics. We went to a few events (women's volleyball in the Forum was really entertaining) but mostly we watched on TV. We got the ABC feed from the U.S., but there were two other channels available from the CBC, one in English and one in French. They were as close to raw feeds as you could get -- kayaking, equestrian, team handball, whatever was going on, with little in the way of set-up stories, graphics and "up close and personal" interviews.

Maybe it's time for a similar approach to covering major golf tournaments. If the Golf Channel showed nothing but golf shots from as many players as possible, it appears that 90 percent of the contributors to this site would watch that coverage exclusively. And I doubt a GC raw feed would take more than 1 percent of NBC's audience away.

The major networks are in the business of attracting ratings. Tiger means ratings. Maybe the rest of us are interested in seeing way more of Paul Casey or Scott Verplank or Nick Daugherty, but as long as Tiger is in contention, NBC is going to give the mass audience Tiger Woods. They paid a bundle for him, the purses reflect that, and it's not going to change.

Personal disclosure: I'd stick with NBC. I want to watch Tiger make history, or at least try. Like Jerry, I had Cabrera in an office pool, too, so I was very pleased with his win. But his win was made far more electric in the context of the best player who ever lived breathing down his neck.

[Steve Kline]

Tiger is the best today - there is no one close, but sometimes, he says things that are a little hard to accept.  In the press conference afterwards he said that a stone got between his clubface and the ball on 17, which caused a lack of spin and the ball ran over the green.  This is a tough one to accept.  

I distinctly heard a anoticeable clicking sound on Tiger's bunker shot on 17. He either hit a rock or hit it a little thin because there wasn't the usual bunker sound. I thought he just hit it thin. But Tiger saying that is no different than Nicklaus saying he never missed a putt. The greatest golfers never make a mistake - it's always something or someone else. That way their confidence stays higher.

[Rick Shefchik]

Tiger didn't blame a rock or a bad lie for his two miserable chips on the third hole. He called them lousy shots. He's perfectly capable of brutally honest self-assessment. Why would he then make up a story about a rock in the bunker?

[Jim Colton]

I originally thought Tiger skulled it on 17 after hearing his bunker shot.  I wouldn't be surprised if there was a rock, but he has no right to complain about it.  It is a hazard, isn't it?

Cabrera hit some great shots. He was able to get enough spin on the ball to get it to hold near the hole.  The only hole that Tiger stuffed one in there was #13, and he still missed the birdie putt.

[Jerry Kluger]

Rick: I'm not saying that Tiger made it up but come on, he just had to say that he thought he could spin it but it released.  He didn't have to imply that he hit the perfect shot but a bad break caused it to release.  He hit it into the bunker - a sand trap - a hazard - things happen when you miss the fairway or the green.  We've discussed before the issue of whether bunkers today are questionable hazards because they are so perfect and better players choose to aim for them.  

[Rick Shefchik]

It all depends on how you interpret his comments, I guess. I didn't hear an excuse or a complaint -- I heard an explanation, when the writers wanted to know why he didn't stop the ball close to the hole. Sounded reasonable to me.

Of course bunkers should be hazards. Tiger wasn't whining that the bunker wasn't perfect. He answered a technical question with a technical answer.

[Brent Hutto]

Either that or he was making a very subtle joke at the expense of Johnny Miller from a few weeks back. I'm sure Johnny would believe Tiger's shot hit a rock but Nick Faldo probably would not...

[George Pazin]

We all sat at the bar yesterday hoping to see an event like the 86 Masters and was just a bit dissapointed.  I thought Tiger might even make eagle on 17 or at least sniff the hole on one or the other.  I'm curious if Tiger layed up short on purpose on 16 instead of challenging the bunker and pin...The architecture was there for a misty eyed moment and it just didn't come through.  I just want to hear of a time when Nicklaus had a lead in a major and then came in second when the winner bogied two out of the last three.  Even given Jacks fight with obesity did he ever have sweat rolling down his chin like Tiger did yesterday?

Can you really compare charging at Augusta with the US Open at Oakmont? Did Jack charge in '62? '73? If you were expecting anyone to charge yesterday, you need to refresh yourself on the history of the event and the course.

And if you think Jack didn't sweat in 85-90 degree weather with high humidity, you are bordering on delusional.

I can't remember the specifics of each of Jack's victories and losses, but regardless, it's apples to oranges. Different players, different leads, different course setups, just so many different variables it would never be a straight comparison.

As for everyone else and Tiger's comments, you complain when he gives vague, politically correct answers, and you complain if he offers you his actual thoughts. Explain to me how is he supposed to answer in a manner you find suitable.

And then explain to me what the point of an interview is.

[David Stamm]

I've watched Cabrera for a long time on the Euro Tour, which I watch at least as much as the PGA Tour, and this win does not surprise me at all. He has done well in quite a few majors and has always been capable of doing this. He is a very talented player and is self taught. Well done to the Duck!


As a side note, I'm surprised no one talking more about Furyk's decision on the tee on 17. I think that was a total lapse of concentration. He says he didn't think it would go that far, but even if it had gone the distance he wanted, he was bringing 5 or worse into play. I just can't believe he didn't hit a 5 iron up the fw and have a wedge in and let his stength, his putter have a chance. He had been missing shots badly coming down the stretch and was dodging bullets, so the decision was questionable in my book.

[David Stamm]

BTW, I believe Tiger stated in the post tourney conference that he thinks he hit a rock in the bunker on 17 because of the sound that it made.

[TEPaul]

I don't think Woods stuck the club in the ground on #16, at least not in the sense of hitting it fat.

One of the things I noticed about a number of those players this week and particularly Woods is that on tee shots with irons, particularly tee shots with irons on non-par 3 holes is that they were coming down real hard on the ball and taking some pretty interesting divots---eg basically just slamming the club into the ground. Many of those shots and swings looked to spectators like they may've hit the ball fat but I never saw a single fat one.

What those shots are, from Woods anyway, are basically hard hitting trapping type shots. I saw him hit a few of those irons that way on #10 tee and it seemed like they were fat until you realized he hit them over 310 yards down that fairway.  

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