1. Phil Mickelson on Oakmont: ‘The hardest golf course we’ve ever played’
Writer: Adam Schupak
Source: GolfWeek.com
Excerpt: MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Phil Mickelson spent the past two days at Oakmont Country Club preparing for next week’s U.S. Open and came away this observation: “I really think it is the hardest golf course we’ve ever played,” he said. That will be a common refrain next week. If ever a golf course caused players to fret, it’s Oakmont. Jim Furyk, a native of Western Pennsylvania, joked he might smash his hand a few times with a hammer. “Because that’s what it feels like to play there,” he said. READ IT
2. PGA Tour takes stats to next level
Writer: Tod Leonard
Source: SanDiegoTribuine.com
Excerpt: Statistics in sports are either something you love or ignore. There are generations of people in the United States – long before rotisserie leagues — who spent each morning combing through the slightest details of the baseball box scores in the paper. They did it for the pleasure. Maybe they felt more connected to their team or the players in that way. Others (this writer included) looked at the overwhelming jumble of digits and turned the page. Too much work for a brain seemingly dyslexic with numbers. READ IT
3. Inbee Park, 27, becomes youngest to qualify for LPGA Hall of Fame
Writer: AP Wire
Source: SFGate.com
Excerpt: Inbee Park completed the final requirement for the LPGA Hall of Fame on Thursday, playing the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Sammamish, Wash. The 27-year-old South Korean player became the youngest women to reach eligibility for the Hall of Fame, accomplishing the feat with her 10th event of her 10th season. She has won seven major titles — including the last three Women’s PGAs — and has 17 LPGA Tour victories. READ IT
4. Jay Don Blake Leads Senior Players Championship
Writer: Rob Sauerhaft
Source: NYTimes.com
Excerpt: FLOURTOWN, Pa. — Jay Don Blake birdied three of the last five holes Thursday at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club for a 2-under 70 and the first-round lead in the Constellation Senior Players Championship. The 57-year-old Blake had five birdies and three bogeys on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed Wissahickon Course. He won the last of his three senior titles in 2012, and won at Torrey Pines in 1991 for his lone PGA Tour victory. READ IT
5. Mark Wahlberg’s backyard golf practice facility will fill you with jealousy
Writer: Joel Beall
Source: GolfDigest.com
Excerpt: All right, so we went 0-for-6 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. At the risk of sounding defensive, if you consider yourself a fantasy gamer, then you and your league have been there. Trophies aren’t handed out just because. It’s why they play. And these are the reminders that help soften the sting. READ IT
6. Brooke Henderson Takes First Round Lead at KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Writer: Amy Rogersn
Source: LPGA.com
Excerpt: SAMMAMISH – There’s something about the Pacific Northwest that brings out the best in Brooke Henderson’s game. The world No.4 ranked player took the early lead in round one of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Thursday with a four-under par, 67 that included her first ace on the LPGA Tour on her fourth hole of the day. Henderson hit a seven iron from 152 yards to record her fourth career hole in one and won a Kia K900 in the process, which she plans to give to her sister and caddie, Brittany. READ IT
7. Jack Nicklaus says U.S. Open was always the ‘No.1’ major for him to win
Writer: Kyle Porter
Source: CBSSports.com
Excerpt: Of all people, Jack Nicklaus would know which of golf’s four majors meant the most to win. Nicklaus won 18 of them and all four at least three times. He told Golf Digest recently that the U.S. Open, not the Masters, was always his pride and joy. “The U.S. Open was always No. 1 for me,” Nicklaus told Golf Digest. “I’m an American, and it’s the championship of my country. Of the majors, the British Open was No. 2 because it entailed the rest of the world. The PGA was No. 3 because I’m a professional, and to be the best of what I do for a living, that stands for a lot.” READ IT
8. Jordan Spieth’s U.S. Open clothes are already ‘scripted’
Writer: Jeff Barker
Source: BaltimoreSun.com
Excerpt: Do you know what you’re going to wear next week? Jordan Spieth knows what he’s wearing. Clothing is not left to chance when you’re an elite Under Armour endorser in a major golf tournament. So the company has released photos of Spieth’s attire — cap, shirt, belt, pants, shoes — for every day of the U.S. Open, beginning June 16. READ IT
9. This year’s US Open broadcast taps into tech like never before
Writer: Michelle Fitzsimmons
Source: TechRadar.com
Excerpt: The 116th US Open golf tournament tees off June 16, and when it does broadcast partner FOX Sports will tap into a host of innovations to bring viewers closer to the high-stakes action than ever before. These enhanced viewing features include multi-camera virtual reality looks at four holes, microphones in all 18, aerial drone coverage, mobile radio-frequency (RF) shot tracking, 4K coverage of three holes and advanced green shading to show off the renowned slopes of the Oakmont Country Club. READ IT
10. Tiger Woods to write book on historic victory at 1997 Masters
Writer: AP Wire
Source: ESPN.com
Excerpt: NEW YORK — Tiger Woods is getting back to work — as an author. Woods is writing his second book, which will look back on his historic victory in the 1997 Masters, when he broke 20 records and became the first black player to win a major championship. The book, which does not yet have a title, will be co-written with Canadian golf writer Lorne Rubenstein and be released in hardcover, as an e-book and in audio editions in March, a month before the 20th anniversary of his first Masters title. READ IT