Mike Report Day Two of The US Open

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:52:12

"Friday was a better day for me on the golf course as I put together a good round that probably could have been a great one with a break here or there and a few extra cashed-in opportunities. I ended up with a 67 and if you'd told me at the start of the day that I was going to shoot three under, I'd have taken it, but I sort of feel that I left a couple out there.

My goal was to get back into red number, which I didn't quite do but even par is pretty good. And I played eight and nine a little better today (than yesterday when I went double-double - hey I saved myself five shots!).

My first nine holes, which was the back nine here at Olympia Fields, I was playing extremely well, although I was feeling a little indifferent when I started out. I stiffed it a lot and just missed a couple of birdies early. I got on a good roll, making birdies at 13, 14 and 15. I actually hit the flag at 15, which wasn't great as it kicked my ball off line. I guess I should have listened to George Knudson who said he always used to aim a little right or left of the flag so that didn't happen.

I got a bit of a bad break on the sixth hole (my 15th) when my approach shot to the par 5 hit the seam between the green and the fairway and kicked right to the back of the green up against the collar. An inch either way and it would have been a lot better. But that's golf - there's nothing you can do about those breaks except try to play the next shot as well as possible.

In any case, my iron play was really solid on that side and everything was working well until I came to the first hole (my 10th), where I made a double. For some reason, I don't feel comfortable with my alignment on that hole and then I sort of double-crossed myself there. I was trying to hit a little draw and I blocked it. It hit the trees and dropped down and I had to take an unplayable. In hindsight, it would have been better had it gone out of bounds as my fifth shot was a five iron, which I hit pretty well but missed the putt for bogey.
But after that hiccup, I played the rest of the course well; I think I had a birdie chance on every hole.

The good news is that I think it's possible to shoot a low round out here, which is something you don't usually see at a U.S. Open course - that means it's possible to come back.

If I keep putting it in the spots I did today, and if I can heat the putter up a little bit, I think I can post a good one. After the round, while I was practicing, I think I found something in my putting that may unlock some of those birdies so I'm excited about putting it into play tomorrow.

Really, my goal was that I wanted to get back in the thick of it today and I accomplished that. Hopefully tomorrow I can give myself some more opportunities and capitalize on that.

As always, thanks for your support."