Golf Top Stories & Leaderboard

GOLF SCORING ZONE

Leaderboard - The Open Championship

Add	Pos	Start	Player Name		Overall	Today	Thru	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
	1.	1	Oosthuizen, Louis		-16	-1	18	65	67	69	71	272
	2.	4	Westwood, Lee		-9	-2	18	67	71	71	70	279
	3.	2	Casey, Paul		-8	+3	18	69	69	67	75	280
	3.	12	McIlroy, Rory		-8	-4	18	63	80	69	68	280
	3.	4	Stenson, Henrik		-8	-1	18	68	74	67	71	280
	6.	8	Goosen, Retief		-7	-2	18	69	70	72	70	281
	7.	3	Kaymer, Martin		-6	+2	18	69	71	68	74	282
	7.	8	O’Hair, Sean		-6	-1	18	67	72	72	71	282
	7.	18	Rock, Robert		-6	-3	18	68	78	67	69	282
	7.	8	Watney, Nick		-6	-1	18	67	73	71	71	282
	11.	26	Donald, Luke		-5	-3	18	73	72	69	69	283
	11.	26	Overton, Jeff		-5	-3	18	73	69	72	69	283
	11.	41	Quiros, Alvaro		-5	-5	18	72	70	74	67	283
	14.	52	Fowler, Rickie		-4	-5	18	79	67	71	67	284
	14.	12	Garcia, Sergio		-4	E	18	71	71	70	72	284
	14.	18	Garrido, Ignacio		-4	-1	18	69	71	73	71	284
	14.	12	Holmes, Jb		-4	E	18	70	72	70	72	284
	14.	12	Jeong, Jin		-4	E	18	68	70	74	72	284
	14.	7	Johnson, Dustin		-4	+2	18	69	72	69	74	284
	14.	12	Karlsson, Robert		-4	E	18	69	71	72	72	284
	14.	26	Lehman, Tom		-4	-2	18	71	68	75	70	284
	14.	26	Schwartzel, Charl		-4	-2	18	71	75	68	70	284
	23.	26	Gallacher, Stephen		-3	-1	18	71	73	70	71	285
	23.	52	Immelman, Trevor		-3	-4	18	68	74	75	68	285
	23.	38	McDowell, Graeme		-3	-2	18	71	68	76	70	285
	23.	18	Woods, Tiger		-3	E	18	67	73	73	72	285
	27.	38	Allenby, Robert		-2	-1	18	69	75	71	71	286
	27.	4	Canizares, Alejandro		-2	+5	18	67	71	71	77	286
	27.	41	Dredge, Bradley		-2	-2	18	66	76	74	70	286
	27.	41	Ishikawa, Ryo		-2	-2	18	68	73	75	70	286
	27.	18	Jimenez, Miguel Angel		-2	+1	18	72	67	74	73	286
	27.	52	Kuchar, Matt		-2	-3	18	72	74	71	69	286
	27.	65	Molinari, Edoardo		-2	-4	18	69	76	73	68	286
	27.	26	Na, Kevin		-2	E	18	70	74	70	72	286
	27.	26	Scott, Adam		-2	E	18	72	70	72	72	286
	27.	41	Siem, Marcel		-2	-2	18	67	75	74	70	286
	37.	18	Fisher, Ross		-1	+2	18	68	77	68	74	287
	37.	18	Hanson, Peter		-1	+2	18	66	73	74	74	287
	37.	41	Kjeldsen, Soren		-1	-1	18	72	74	70	71	287
	37.	12	Lowry, Shane		-1	+3	18	68	73	71	75	287
	37.	41	Mahan, Hunter		-1	-1	18	69	76	71	71	287
	37.	52	Moriarty, Colm		-1	-2	18	72	73	72	70	287
	37.	52	Singh, Vijay		-1	-2	18	68	73	76	70	287
	44.	8	Barnes, Ricky		E	+5	18	68	71	72	77	288
	44.	52	Clarke, Darren		E	-1	18	70	70	77	71	288
	44.	26	Van Pelt, Bo		E	+2	18	69	72	73	74	288
	44.	18	Villegas, Camilo		E	+3	18	68	75	70	75	288
	48.	38	Cink, Stewart		+1	+2	18	70	74	71	74	289
	48.	41	Daly, John		+1	+1	18	66	76	74	73	289
	48.	52	Dyson, Simon		+1	E	18	69	75	73	72	289
	48.	18	Glover, Lucas		+1	+4	18	67	76	70	76	289
	48.	52	Kim, Kyung-Tae		+1	E	18	70	74	73	72	289
	48.	26	Mickelson, Phil		+1	+3	18	73	71	70	75	289
	48.	52	Senden, John		+1	E	18	68	76	73	72	289
	55.	72	Chia, Danny		+2	-2	18	69	77	74	70	290
	55.	41	Khan, Simon		+2	+2	18	74	69	73	74	290
	55.	26	Marino, Steve		+2	+4	18	69	76	69	76	290
	55.	41	Scotland, Zane		+2	+2	18	70	74	72	74	290
	55.	41	Stricker, Steve		+2	+2	18	71	74	71	74	290
	60.	72	Day, Jason		+3	-1	18	71	74	75	71	291
	60.	41	Leishman, Marc		+3	+3	18	73	71	72	75	291
	60.	52	Pernice Jr, Tom		+3	+2	18	72	74	71	74	291
	60.	72	Poulter, Ian		+3	-1	18	71	73	76	71	291
	60.	65	Senior, Peter		+3	+1	18	73	71	74	73	291
	60.	65	Slocum, Heath		+3	+1	18	71	74	73	73	291
	60.	52	Taniguchi, Toru		+3	+2	18	70	70	77	74	291
	60.	52	Yang, Y.E.		+3	+2	18	67	74	76	74	291
	68.	26	Andersson Hed, Fredrik		+4	+6	18	67	74	73	78	292
	68.	69	Miyase, Hirofumi		+4	+1	18	71	75	73	73	292
	68.	69	Montgomerie, Colin		+4	+1	18	74	71	74	73	292
	68.	65	Tiley, Steven		+4	+2	18	66	79	73	74	292
	72.	52	Coltart, Andrew		+5	+4	18	66	77	74	76	293
	73.	26	Calcavecchia, Mark		+6	+8	18	70	67	77	80	294
	74.	76	Aiken, Thomas		+7	+2	18	71	73	77	74	295
	74.	77	S Johnson, Richard		+7	+1	18	73	73	76	73	295
	76.	72	Johnson, Zach		+8	+4	18	72	74	74	76	296
	76.	69	Verplank, Scott		+8	+5	18	72	73	74	77	296

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – You could almost see tendrils of smoke coming out Ernie Els’ ears as he marched out of the scoring trailer and through assembled media at the end of Sunday’s U.S. Open.

Witnesses testifying against the mob don’t make more determined exits from courthouses.

“He wants [a major championship] really badly,” said Chubby Chandler, his agent. “That’s his 31st top 10 in a major. Pretty amazing.”

And immensely aggravating.

Tiger Woods stopped to face the inquisition in the media bullpen behind the 18th green at Pebble Beach, but there was frustration of his own. Woods recounted bad decisions at the sixth, 10th and 12th holes that he believes cost him a chance to win his 15th major championship.

“You take away those three mental errors, and I’m right there, I’m tied for the lead,” Woods said.

Phil Mickelson staggered away lamenting his chance to win his first U.S. Open.

“Obviously, I wanted to win,” Mickelson said. “I had opportunities.”

Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell winning the U.S. Open to become the first European to win the title in 40 years wasn’t the stunning upset here on the craggy shores of Carmel Bay. It was that three of the titans of this era failed to capitalize on terrific opportunities.

McDowell finished a shot ahead of France’s Gregory Havret to win.

Mickelson failed to record his first U.S. Open victory. (Getty Images)

History will note that the three most decorated players of this era kept backing up when circumstances begged them to step forward.

Elsfinished third two shots back with Mickelson and Woods tied for fourth three back.

If you wondered if all those twentysomethings winning is a sign that a new era is dawning, this U.S. Open adds to your suspicions.

Without Woods at his best, the game seems as wide open as this U.S. Open was going to the back nine.

That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re entering an exciting new era of golf.

If the back nine is where the Masters begins, it’s where the U.S. Open ends, at least at Pebble Beach on this gray and dreary ending.

McDowell didn’t win this title so much as everyone else lost it.

Apologies to McDowell, because that’s immensely unfair to him, but that’s how this crazy Sunday felt with so many of the game’s best players squandering chances.

There was a terrific moment at the fourth tee box early in the day.

That’s where Woods set up to play under the large leaderboard there. It’s where he first got to see that Dustin Johnson was falling apart and turning this championship into a free-for-all.

With Johnson making triple bogey behind him, Woods could see he was now within three shots of the lead. So were Els and Mickelson.

Pebble Beach crackled with spectacular possibilities, but that’s what made this finish so unsatisfying.

The disappointment wasn’t in seeing McDowell win. It was in seeing three players as gifted as Woods, Mickelson and Els fail to challenge him. The three of them combined to make two birdies on the back nine.

Mickelson birdied the first hole, but he seemed to lose momentum failing to capitalize after smashing his tee shot to the fringe of the fourth green, a 325-yard par 4. He three putted for par.

“That was frustrating,” Mickelson said.

Almost as frustrating as failing to make a single birdie on the back nine.

“All I had to do was shoot even par in the back, and I’m in a playoff,” Mickelson said.

Woods was paired with Havret, where we saw the strongest evidence yet that Woods no longer intimidates opponents. Havret schooled Woods on the front nine, playing precision and almost error-free golf, making the turn in 1 under for the day. Woods bogeyed four of his first eight holes.

“This course baits you into being aggressive,” Woods said.

Woods took the bait too often. His swing was too loose under Sunday pressure.

Els’ putting continues to be a problem under pressure. His stroke’s tentative and short and unreliable and that doesn’t bode well for his dream of adding to his two U.S. Open titles and British Open title.

Was the setup too difficult? Tom Watson said it was difficult but fair.

Even McDowell was surprised he wasn’t pushed by this era’s proven stars.

“I was surprised that Gregory Havret was the guy closest to me,” McDowell said. “No disrespect to Gregory, he’s a great player, but when you have Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els obviously there, you’re not expecting Gregory Havret to be the guy you’ve got to fend off.”

That pretty much summed up this Sunday at Pebble Beach.

THE OPEN:  Louis Oosthuizen WINS the OPEN GOLF Championship

Get Out Of Greenside bunkers

Bump and Run:  Bunker Basices

By DAVID ALLEN
Equipment and Instruction Editor, GolfChannel.com
Posted: November 6, 2009

We know it’s difficult to find time to practice during the week. When a Saturday or Sunday tee time rolls around, you’re hoping to find some spark or productive swing thought that will help you break 100, 90, 80 or whatever your scoring goal may be.
 
With the weekend warrior in mind we created Bump and Run, a weekly Q&A with some of the game’s top instructors. Each Friday, a teaching professional will occupy this space and answer questions directed at improving your game. This week it’s Josh Zander, a teaching professional at Stanford University Golf Course and the Presidio Golf Club in Northern California.

JOSH ZANDER Teaching professional, Stanford University Golf Course, Palo Alto, Calif., and Presidio Golf Club, San Francisco Accomplishments: - Golf Digest’s Top-20 Teachers Under 40 (2007) - Golf Digest’s Top Teachers by State (2002-’09) - 2003 Northern California PGA Section Teacher of the Year Web Site: zandergolf.comContact: Stanford: 650-323-0944, Ext. 17; Presidio: 415-561-4661, Ext. 300

Zander, a former member of the Stanford University golf team, competed in the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links. He can frequently be found on the practice range at Stanford alongside one of the school’s most famous pupils, Michelle Wie, or in the practice bunker trying to help one of his students escape the sand. Zander says amateurs would have a much easier time getting out of the bunker if they understood what the club, specifically the bounce, was designed to do.

“Every bunker shot is the not the same,” said Zander. “Sometimes the sand is hard-packed, sometimes it’s real fluffy or the ball is buried. You can’t go about them all the same way.”

To submit a question to Zander or one of our teachers, please e-mail bumpandrun@thegolfchannel.com and check back every Friday to see if your question got answered. 

You made reference to the word bounce earlier. Just what exactly is bounce, and what is it designed to do?

Bounce is the angle between the clubhead’s leading edge and trailing edge. If you hold the club up to eye level, so the shaft is straight up and down, you’ll be able to see how much lower the trailing edge is to the leading edge.

Understanding the bounce of the club is huge because if you know how the bounce works, and how it moves through the sand, then you can look at any lie and adjust accordingly. From a tight lie, you want to use less bounce so the club will dig; from a fluffy lie, you need more bounce because you want it to skid.

If you open the face more that will create even more bounce on the club than you currently have. A lot of clubs will have the degree of bounce written on them. For every degree you open the face you’re adding one more degree of bounce.

Every degree you lean the shaft forward, you’re decreasing the bounce by one degree. If the sand is really hard-packed – which is the case at many municipal courses – and you have a 60-degree club with seven degrees of bounce on it, what you want to do is lean the shaft forward at least seven degrees in order to get the bounce and leading edge on the same level. This way, the club will not skip across the hard-packed sand into the middle of the ball and skull it.

What is one of the biggest mistakes you see from amateurs out of the greenside bunker?

They get in the bunker and they open their stance 45 degrees, and then they open the clubface. Opening your stance causes an outside-to-in swing, creating a glancing blow. Opening the clubface increases the bounce, so if you’re in hard-packed sand you’re very likely to skull one, even if you make a good swing.

If you have a standard 56-degree sand wedge with 12 degrees of bounce on it, and you set up dead square with a square clubface, you’ll have 12 degrees of bounce. If you use the club the way it’s designed, it’s going to work pretty well for you. It’s when you start to get too fancy with it, opening the face way up and opening your stance, that you make it a lot more challenging than it has to be.

What causes the dreaded skulled shot?

Two things: No. 1, you have too much bounce on the club, which makes it skip off the sand into the middle of the ball; No. 2, the club is actually entering the sand too far behind the ball. If you take a divot out of the sand it’s usually six to eight inches long. After those six to eight inches the clubhead exits the sand, so if you hit a bunker shot that’s eight inches fat, the club is going to catch the ball on the way up. You’re actually skulling it by having hit too much sand before the ball.

Could you recommend a drill or tip to help amateurs overcome their fear of skulling the ball?

A great idea is to imagine a dollar bill under the ball. Let’s call it six inches long. Imagine the ball is in the middle of the dollar bill – you can draw the bill in the sand when practicing – and make the club enter two to three inches behind the ball, and exit two to three inches past it. If you can do this consistently, you’ll be in good shape.

One other thing people don’t understand is how much speed you need to hit good bunker shots. My formula is if you have a 10-yard bunker shot, you need to create enough speed to allow the ball to go 30 yards if you were hitting it from the grass. It’s about a 3 to 1 ratio. If I’ve got a 45-foot bunker shot, I look at it like, ‘Okay, that’s 15 yards. How much do I want to fly the ball in the air? Okay, I want to fly it 10 of those yards. What’s my 30-yard swing from the grass?’ I make a couple of practice swings through the air and that’s my swing. This formula is based on a decent lie in the sand. If you’re buried, you might have to swing a little harder; if the sand is firm, you don’t have to swing as hard.

Too often you see golfers leaving the club in the sand, out of fear of skulling the ball over the green. How does one stop this?

I always want my students to feel like their follow-through is longer than their backswing. It also goes back to how much you open the clubface. If you have 12 degrees of bounce on the club and you open the face another 15 degrees, that’s a ton of bounce. You could skull the ball or go right under it and hit it about a foot. If you squared up your stance, squared the face a bit, and swung in to in like a regular golf swing, you’d have a better chance of getting the ball out safely.

Let’s get off the beach for one question. One of our readers writes in that he’s starting to look up on his shots from time to time. He says it’s causing him to lose 10 or more shots per round. How can he stop?

Almost always when people say they’re looking up on a shot, it’s not so much that their head pops up, it’s that they’re changing their spine angle. If you look at any Tour player, their eyes are always following the ball; they don’t keep their head down past the shot. It may be down at impact, but then it releases with the shot.

If you keep your head down past impact, it locks your body up so you can’t turn and accelerate through the shot. Allow your head to release but maintain your spine angle

Here’s a drill that will help you on your full-swing shots. Take your normal address position and place another ball down about two feet from the ball you’re hitting, or two feet outside of your target line. Make your normal swing, trying to get your left shoulder to point at the second ball on the backswing, and your right shoulder to point to it on the follow-through. You can do this without a club, too: Stick your arms out like an airplane, bend forward into your golf posture, and then point your left arm at the ball on your backswing, and your right arm at the ball in the follow-through. Stay in this imaginary two-foot zone and you’ll maintain your spine angle and make solid contact.