Up there somewhere: Tiger Woods watches his shot from the fairway on the second hole in the second round of The Players Championship on Friday. Woods shot a 68 and is six strokes off the pace. APThe Players Championship featured Matt Kuchar, Zach John and Kevin Na atop the leaderboard Friday.What it lacked was some of the golf's biggest names.Rory McIlroy stumbled to a 76 and became the first player at No. 1 in the world ranking to miss the cut at Sawgrass since Greg Norman in 1996.Steve Stricker had made a PGA Tour-leading 49 cuts in a row until he shot 74 and ended a streak that began in August 2009.And with 11 holes left in his round, Woods was two shots over the cut line and in jeopardy of missing back-to-back cuts for the first time in his career.The thought never crossed his mind.Instead, he blistered a 5-wood into the breeze on the eighth hole — the toughest par 3 on the course — and watched it catch a slope on the edge of the green and roll 8 feet away from the cup. That was the first of four straight birdies for Woods, who wound up with a 68.He said he was only thinking about a 66 to get momentum going into the weekend, and he missed by two."I was trying to shoot my number today," Woods said. "Sixty-six was my number today. I figured that would have been a good way to go into the weekend, being probably four or five back. But I'm still with a good chance."Everyone has a chance going into the weekend, including Woods and Phil Mickelson, the Hall of Fame's newest member. They were six shots behind. But they are chasing the gang from Sea Island — home of Kuchar and Johnson, along with PGA Tour rookie Harris English, who was one shot out of the lead.Johnson made five birdies on the back nine until a bogey on the 18th hole, though he matched the best score of the second round with a 66.
Showing posts with label misses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label misses. Show all posts
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Johnson leads TPC; McIlroy misses cut
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida — After breaking 70 for the first time in seven weeks, Tiger Woods headed to the back of the practice range at the TPC Sawgrass to fine-tune his swing. That was much better than going to the clubhouse to clean out his locker.Up there somewhere: Tiger Woods watches his shot from the fairway on the second hole in the second round of The Players Championship on Friday. Woods shot a 68 and is six strokes off the pace. APThe Players Championship featured Matt Kuchar, Zach John and Kevin Na atop the leaderboard Friday.What it lacked was some of the golf's biggest names.Rory McIlroy stumbled to a 76 and became the first player at No. 1 in the world ranking to miss the cut at Sawgrass since Greg Norman in 1996.Steve Stricker had made a PGA Tour-leading 49 cuts in a row until he shot 74 and ended a streak that began in August 2009.And with 11 holes left in his round, Woods was two shots over the cut line and in jeopardy of missing back-to-back cuts for the first time in his career.The thought never crossed his mind.Instead, he blistered a 5-wood into the breeze on the eighth hole — the toughest par 3 on the course — and watched it catch a slope on the edge of the green and roll 8 feet away from the cup. That was the first of four straight birdies for Woods, who wound up with a 68.He said he was only thinking about a 66 to get momentum going into the weekend, and he missed by two."I was trying to shoot my number today," Woods said. "Sixty-six was my number today. I figured that would have been a good way to go into the weekend, being probably four or five back. But I'm still with a good chance."Everyone has a chance going into the weekend, including Woods and Phil Mickelson, the Hall of Fame's newest member. They were six shots behind. But they are chasing the gang from Sea Island — home of Kuchar and Johnson, along with PGA Tour rookie Harris English, who was one shot out of the lead.Johnson made five birdies on the back nine until a bogey on the 18th hole, though he matched the best score of the second round with a 66.
Up there somewhere: Tiger Woods watches his shot from the fairway on the second hole in the second round of The Players Championship on Friday. Woods shot a 68 and is six strokes off the pace. APThe Players Championship featured Matt Kuchar, Zach John and Kevin Na atop the leaderboard Friday.What it lacked was some of the golf's biggest names.Rory McIlroy stumbled to a 76 and became the first player at No. 1 in the world ranking to miss the cut at Sawgrass since Greg Norman in 1996.Steve Stricker had made a PGA Tour-leading 49 cuts in a row until he shot 74 and ended a streak that began in August 2009.And with 11 holes left in his round, Woods was two shots over the cut line and in jeopardy of missing back-to-back cuts for the first time in his career.The thought never crossed his mind.Instead, he blistered a 5-wood into the breeze on the eighth hole — the toughest par 3 on the course — and watched it catch a slope on the edge of the green and roll 8 feet away from the cup. That was the first of four straight birdies for Woods, who wound up with a 68.He said he was only thinking about a 66 to get momentum going into the weekend, and he missed by two."I was trying to shoot my number today," Woods said. "Sixty-six was my number today. I figured that would have been a good way to go into the weekend, being probably four or five back. But I'm still with a good chance."Everyone has a chance going into the weekend, including Woods and Phil Mickelson, the Hall of Fame's newest member. They were six shots behind. But they are chasing the gang from Sea Island — home of Kuchar and Johnson, along with PGA Tour rookie Harris English, who was one shot out of the lead.Johnson made five birdies on the back nine until a bogey on the 18th hole, though he matched the best score of the second round with a 66.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Larkin elected to Hall of Fame; Morris misses out once again
NEW YORK — Barry Larkin had no idea back in 1982 that he would become a baseball Hall of Famer thanks to Bo Schembechler.
Smooth as silk: Former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday in his third year on the ballot. APA two-sport standout in his senior year of high school, Larkin went to the University of Michigan on a scholarship to play defensive back for Schembechler's Wolverines. When he arrived in Ann Arbor, Larkin learned he was being redshirted."I was a better football player than a baseball player at the time," Larkin recalled. "And that was influential because I just worked on my baseball talent, just that alone. And that was an eye-opener because I got so much better."So much better that he was elected to the Hall of Fame on Monday with plenty of room to spare. The former Cincinnati Reds shortstop was chosen on 495 of 573 ballots (86 percent) in voting announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, well above the necessary 75 percent. Larkin was on the ballot for the third time after falling 75 votes short last year.He will be inducted July 22 in Cooperstown along with the late Ron Santo, elected last month by the Veterans Committee."I'm just incredibly, incredibly moved by this whole experience and so humbled by the experience and so excited about being the newest member of the Hall of Fame," Larkin said on a conference call.His election came in the final year before the Steroids Era becomes the main focus in balloting.Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio and Curt Schilling are eligible for the first time next year.Jack Morris followed Larkin with 382 votes (67 percent), missing by 48 votes on his 13th try but up sharply from 54 percent last year. Morris, the ace of three World Series winners, finished with 254 victories and was the winningest pitcher of the 1980s. His 3.90 ERA, however, is higher than that of any Hall of Famer.He has two chances left on the BBWAA ballot. Gil Hodges (63.4 percent in 1983) has the highest percentage among players who never gained election.Playing from 1986-04 — all with his hometown Reds — Larkin hit .295 with 198 home runs, 960 RBIs, 2,340 hits and 379 stolen bases. A 12-time All-Star, he won the 1995 NL MVP award, nine Silver Slugger trophies and three Gold Gloves.He helped the Reds win the 1990 World Series and in 1996 became the first shortstop to have 30 homers and 30 steals in a season.Larkin's brother Mike, who was a year older, was recruited by Schembechler but decided to follow coach Gerry Faust from Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati to Notre Dame."So Bo told my mother that he was going to get her next son," Larkin said.Larkin became a baseball star at Michigan, which retired his No. 16 two years ago. He developed under coach Bud Middaugh and assistant Danny Hall, who is now Georgia Tech's coach."Those two guys really beat it in my head the correct way to play the game," Larkin said. "Because neither was a home run hitter, neither one was one of the most gifted, if you will, they were both very good at the Xs and Os, at the hitting behind the runner, at the mental part of the game."Cincinnati, which drafted Larkin in the second round in 1982, took him with the fourth overall pick in 1985. Schembechler, who became president of the Detroit Tigers, used to kid Larkin about his career path."Bo always told me he would strike me out, anyway. That was Bo's way of saying, 'Congratulations kid, you did it,' " Larkin remembered. "He would always tell me: 'You'll be back. You'll miss football. Nobody comes to the University of Michigan to play baseball,' is what he used to say."
Smooth as silk: Former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday in his third year on the ballot. APA two-sport standout in his senior year of high school, Larkin went to the University of Michigan on a scholarship to play defensive back for Schembechler's Wolverines. When he arrived in Ann Arbor, Larkin learned he was being redshirted."I was a better football player than a baseball player at the time," Larkin recalled. "And that was influential because I just worked on my baseball talent, just that alone. And that was an eye-opener because I got so much better."So much better that he was elected to the Hall of Fame on Monday with plenty of room to spare. The former Cincinnati Reds shortstop was chosen on 495 of 573 ballots (86 percent) in voting announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, well above the necessary 75 percent. Larkin was on the ballot for the third time after falling 75 votes short last year.He will be inducted July 22 in Cooperstown along with the late Ron Santo, elected last month by the Veterans Committee."I'm just incredibly, incredibly moved by this whole experience and so humbled by the experience and so excited about being the newest member of the Hall of Fame," Larkin said on a conference call.His election came in the final year before the Steroids Era becomes the main focus in balloting.Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio and Curt Schilling are eligible for the first time next year.Jack Morris followed Larkin with 382 votes (67 percent), missing by 48 votes on his 13th try but up sharply from 54 percent last year. Morris, the ace of three World Series winners, finished with 254 victories and was the winningest pitcher of the 1980s. His 3.90 ERA, however, is higher than that of any Hall of Famer.He has two chances left on the BBWAA ballot. Gil Hodges (63.4 percent in 1983) has the highest percentage among players who never gained election.Playing from 1986-04 — all with his hometown Reds — Larkin hit .295 with 198 home runs, 960 RBIs, 2,340 hits and 379 stolen bases. A 12-time All-Star, he won the 1995 NL MVP award, nine Silver Slugger trophies and three Gold Gloves.He helped the Reds win the 1990 World Series and in 1996 became the first shortstop to have 30 homers and 30 steals in a season.Larkin's brother Mike, who was a year older, was recruited by Schembechler but decided to follow coach Gerry Faust from Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati to Notre Dame."So Bo told my mother that he was going to get her next son," Larkin said.Larkin became a baseball star at Michigan, which retired his No. 16 two years ago. He developed under coach Bud Middaugh and assistant Danny Hall, who is now Georgia Tech's coach."Those two guys really beat it in my head the correct way to play the game," Larkin said. "Because neither was a home run hitter, neither one was one of the most gifted, if you will, they were both very good at the Xs and Os, at the hitting behind the runner, at the mental part of the game."Cincinnati, which drafted Larkin in the second round in 1982, took him with the fourth overall pick in 1985. Schembechler, who became president of the Detroit Tigers, used to kid Larkin about his career path."Bo always told me he would strike me out, anyway. That was Bo's way of saying, 'Congratulations kid, you did it,' " Larkin remembered. "He would always tell me: 'You'll be back. You'll miss football. Nobody comes to the University of Michigan to play baseball,' is what he used to say."
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