Wide Open...

-Tony Bosma

The U.S. Open is known for being a challenging tournament with tight fairways, deep rough, and glassy greens. Add Pebble Beach into the equation and it's a beautiful disaster that captures your attention like a gorgeous woman with severe issues. 

The course is a gem for the eyes, yet a thorn in the side of golfers. One of the delights of seeing the worlds greatest golfers play on such a demanding course is it brings them down to earth a bit - or back to par, if you will. It helps the casual golfer relate due to the struggles and occasional poor shots that can break a good round of golf. We've been there -- it's nice to see PGA Tour players in that situation from time-to-time as well. 

Play will range from miraculous to atrocious, but here's how I see the Top 10 shaking out by the end of the day Sunday:

1. Phil Mickelson - Solid under pressure this year. Rightfully will take over No. 1 ranking from Tiger. Cut-throat and innovative when tough shots need to be made and that can translate well in Majors (or sometimes not.. see Winged Foot 2008). 
2. Lee Westwood - Quality golf week in and week out, but he's just not quite there yet to get a major. Though, I really wouldn't be surprised if he did. 
3. Zach Johnson - Any former U.S. Open winner should be considered a threat. Seems to pop up high on the leader board before anyone realizes he's having a good round. 
4. Padraig Harrington - Always in contention due to solid ball striking and great approach shots that leave him with make-able birdy opportunities. Plays well injured and when he's behind.
5. Rory McIlroy - The year of 2010 is a coming out party for McIlroy. He will finally supplant himself as an elite PGA Tour player this weekend by contending for the championship in very tough conditions. After Sunday, they'll be nothing left to prove.
6. Jim Furyk - Can never trust Furyk's putter on Sunday's. I've seen him miss too many make-able putts in big spots to put him any higher on this list, but if he gets hot on the green, look out.
7. Hunter Mahan - A great ball-striker who leads the PGA in total driving = exactly what a golfer needs to be successful at Pebble Beach. Don't think he can handle the pressure if he's in contention on Sunday though. 
8. K.J. Choi - Always fun to watch and very consistent. He hasn't missed a cut this year and won't this week, but he may not be able to play the kind of golf needed to win this tournament. 
9. Tiger Woods - Until Tiger shows us he can hit a fairway and play consistent, high level golf, I almost have a hard time putting him in my Top 10. But, he's Tiger Woods, and even in his current state I think he could win this tournament - but I'm picking the field. 
10. Steve Elkington - Because he's entertaining and always gives a great interview. As one of my favorite golfers, this is my way of willing him into contention. And I figured you, dear golf fan, stopped reading after Tiger Woods.

-Tony Bosma

Brighter than the sun
Let's make one thing clear - Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods couldn't have made a bigger impact on Sunday if they were playing in the same group and tied going to the 18th hole. If Michelle Wie had qualified at the Memorial and been in contention on Sunday, even that storyline wouldn't have attracted as many eyes to the tournament. 

Golf played second-fiddle to a bright orange road cone swinging a golf club on Sunday. Obnoxiously showing his allegiance to alma mater Oklahoma State, Rickie Fowler dressed head-to-toe in what looked from afar like a prison jump suit. I mentioned last week golf didn't need Woods to dominate every tournament to pull ratings from other shows. However, if the PGA Tour thinks Fowler has a prospering future that will resonate with fans, it may want to consider the fact that the golfer left many fans with partial blindness after the round. 

Having said that, for some reason, I kind of liked it. Then, I realized I couldn't see objects more than 10 feet from me. 

Amateur hour
They say the Masters is a tradition unlike any other. Well, so is the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge. Each year a foursome of celebrities and athletes compete at Pebble Beach under major championship course conditions in an attempt to break 100. Wayne Gretzky, Drew Brees, Mark Wahlberg and Peggy Ference were thrown to the fire on Wednesday. 

If you had to take a guess as to who would break 100, would you take: the greatest hockey player of all time, a Super Bowl winning quarterback, a local woman no ones ever heard of, or a guy who used to call himself Marky Mark?

Let's just say Wahlberg was feeling the good vibrations (buh dun pssh!). Marky Mark (sans the Funky Bunch) shot a 98 and was the only contestant to shoot under 100 in the challenge. Next year, I vote for E, Turtle, Drama, and Vinny to play as the foursome while Wahlberg sits back and collects the paycheck..errr... sunshine?

Ocean views loom
The U.S. Open Championship begins next week which means it's time to prepare yourself for the Tiger or the Field - who you got? - question. Let's be honest though, it's not even a question anymore. Until Tiger wins, you take the field. 

But, as mentioned, the Open isn't for another week and there are more important matters at hand - The St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis Tennessee. Sponsored by a great cause (St. Jude) and played at a beautiful course (TPC Southwind), there is very little about this tournament to complain about... 

...unless the only reason you watch golf is to see Tiger and Phil play. I implore you, dear golf fan reader, to get beyond that. Just check out the lineup. It's like OzzFest without Ozzie and Sharon (you decide who Tiger is and Phil is in that relationship) and that can certainly be a good thing. 

Plus, anytime Steve Elkington is playing a tournament, you should make that appointment TV. And with Rickie Fowler not scheduled to play, you can watch knowing you won't have to go to work Monday morning wearing an eye patch due to fluorescent retina damage. 

-Tony Bosma