TALKING GOLF....

This was a great golf weekend, so much to watch, so much to like, so much to remember from and so much that reminds us of so many other things... and of course, this leads to the 116th U.S. Open, at Oakmont C.C., but let's start with the PGA Women's Championship.

This was the first step of the  LPGA to get more visible. There is no question that partnering with the PGA of America is a great step (LPGA had a chance to partner with the PGA Tour a few years ago, but the board in the LPGA refused). But, that is for the future to judge, what it is not for the future to judge is the great tournament at Sahalee, where Vujay Singh won his first PGA Championship. I admit, that I had not watched much LPGA golf since the end of 2014, but this weekend, I was glued to the TV and had to record three different final rounds: PGA Tour (I was interested in checking if Phil was going to do it...), Senior Tour (Senior Players Championship is a major and I was cheering for Jose Angel Jimenez)

PGA Tour: Phil Mickelson wants to win so bad!!! He is going to a venue where driving in the fairway is a most. Oakmont is where Jack Nicklaus won his first professional title ever, which happened to be the U.S. Open, which happened to be in an 18 hole playoff against Arnold Palmer himself. Oakmost is also where Johnny Miller had a miraculous 63 (with a three-putt bogey) in 1973 to edge... Palmer, Nicklaus and Trevino, all of whom tied for fourth, 3 shots back (good trivia question: "Which multiple major winners tied for 4th in the 1973 U.S. Open?"). But let's talk about Oakmont, which, with this U.S. Open it will have hosted 19 major championships, including nine U.S. Opens, two U.S. Women's Opens, five U.S. Amateurs, and three PGA Championships. Champions in U.S. Opens at Oakmost include Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Ernie Els, Larry Nelson and Angel Cabrera, ALL OF WHOM ARE MULTIPLE MAJOR WINNERS! So, my pick for this week: Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Martin Kymer, Web Simpson or Rori McIlroy. I know, not rocket science.

Senior Tour: I like the Senior Tour because from my youth to my 30's, I watched all of these guys, many of whom are within 10 years of my age, one way or the other. In fact, I have watched every weekend in major championships since 1973! So, I am very familiar with many of the ones in their late 50's to mid 60's (though these older guys are not as sharp as the younger ones. We saw Bernhard Langer win his third straight Sr. Players Championship, with yet, a new putting stroke. Langer always sufferhreed from the "yips" (who can forget the five foot putt he missed in the 1991 Ryder Cup to hand the Americans a 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 win, instead of a 14-14 tie?), yet, he won two Masters Tournaments with different putting strokes, several tour events, many European and international events, and the last 10 years, he has been the best senior player of all... he is is great shape! Anyway, watching the Senior Tour gives you a glimpse of great shot-making and less of power-golf, and of course, some nostalgia.

LPGA. I have very personal reasons to like the LPGA, and very personal reasons for not being as enthusiastic for watching, but this weekend, I could not resist: three of my favorite players were in contention: Ariya Yutanogarn (don't ask me to pronounce it, I just call her Ariya), Lydia Ko and Gerina Piller... and now, I have a new favorite, Brooke Henderson, the new champion, and a new "super-favorite" Lydia Ko, who showed why people like her so much by her demeanor in winning or losing, which is exemplary of a great player and a very nice person, who recognizes that golf is just something you do, it is a game, and yes, you want to win and do your best, but no matter what, it is still a game. In the case of Ariya, she is a young woman who loves golf, and someone who knows who she is and someone who never gives up (at one point last year, she missed 10 straight cuts and kept playing! This is something that has demoralized more than one professional golfer along the way). The way she finished was great, and only because she misread the last putt, she was not in the playoff with Brooke and Lydia. The future of the LPGA is pretty optimistic.

In closing, this is U.S. Open week, which always ends on Father's Day Sunday. This is probably the toughest championship to win. In fact, it is the toughest championship to qualify for. This is the gem of all majors. Only one player has won the U.S. Open, and never won another tournament (Orville Moody, who won the 1969 U.S. Open.

I love the way people criticize the USGA for the way they set up the course, but, as they say, "we are trying to identify the best golfer", which, in their language it means, "we are going to set up a golf course where, if you hit your tee shots in play, if you can control the distance with your irons, if you are not afraid of putting on surfaces that resemble glass rather than grass (they just change an "l" for an "r"), and if you can control your sanity, then, you can become our champion.

The USGA hates low scores. Who can forget the way they set up Winged Foot in 1974 after Johnny Miller had his closing 63 in 1973... the winning score was 7 over par in 1974! In fact, it was called the "Massacre of 1974". Sure, there have been some really low scores in the U.S. Open, but I don't see anyone shooting a 63 this week, nor winning with a score of better than 5 under par. We'll just have to wait and see.

Answer to Trivia Question in Facebook: Andy North. He won two U.S. Open Championships (1978, 1985) and one regular tour event, the Westchester Classic in 1977. To his credit, Andy had a number of injuries during his regular tour career.