The Orioles suck. Danys Baez is the worst reliever ever (or at least since Kline)...blah blah blah.
Now onto something EXCITING!
On Sunday, Sean O'Hair and Phil Mickelson approach the famous island 17th at The Players' Championship at Sawgrass. O'Hair was two strokes off the lead with two to play, basically meaning he either had to play 17 safe and eagle 18 (or hope for a Phil at Wingfoot moment) or try to end the tourney birdie-birdie.
Mickleson set the tone by hitting his shot just about in the geographical center of the green. That mean Phil was scoring par. O'Hair went for the pin on the island green. He thought he had struck his 9-iron perfectly, but the ball carried the pin and bounced over the bulkhead and into the water. After finding the wet from the relief area, he posted a 7 on the 17th and plummeted from 2nd to 11th, a loss of approximately $750,000.
And so the debate began. Is the guy an idiot or a competitor? They say the TPC Sawgrass is like the 5th major, but winning it does not provide the accoutrement of winning a major (exemptions, sponsorships, etc.)
TheManInTheGreenShoForget Hulk Hogan, this is a real American.I, personally, don't know anything about Sean O'Hair's financial situation. I do know that he has been very confident about Sawgrass, even last year. If he was not jeopardizing his future (i.e., not gambling with the lives of others) then he made the right choice. If you are still kicking, try to win the damn thing. You wouldn't punt on 4th and 1 from midfield down 10. As Herm Edwards said, "YOU PLAY......TO WIN...........THE GAME!"
I think that O'Hair really believes he is going to be big shit on the tour. I think he felt like Sawgrass was just another early step on his way to being a top-tier golfer in the PGA. For those reasons, he made the right choice. If Corey Pavin or Tom Kite or Olazabel or even Vijay were in the same spot tomorrow, I'd condemn them for not taking 2nd place. This guy apprently has a big career ahead of him, in a year where the no-names are outperforming the big-names. He played to win, and he fell short. To me, it's no different from pressing to make up 10 pts late in an NFL game only to throw a pick-six. Yeah, you lost badly, but you lost trying to be a winner.
[And for the record, Brien would have laid up on the hill to the left and then tried his signature loft wedge to plop it within par distance]
2 Responses:
I think the appropriate response to that is scoreboard.
As for O'Hair, I agree that you have to go for it. If he hadn't gone in the drink a second time from the relief area, he probably could have posted a 5. I respect anyone going for the win in that position, but I can certainly understand why you might not want to.
Yeah, it really all depends on how badly he needs $750K. If he's just barely scraping by on the tour, it was really irresponsible to himself and his family.
It's funny how nobody every criticizes NASCAR drivers for wrecking out while desperately trying to win late in a race. When a golfer does the equivalent, it's the talk of sports radio.
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