“TRACKING THE U.S. OPEN”
The 114th United States Open Championship is in full swing as of 3:30 pm for the 3rd round at Pinehurst. Martin Kaymer and Brendon Todd just teed off on hole No.1. They,re playing in the final group today and in another 5 hours or so, we,ll find out who,ll be playing in the final group on Sunday for the finale. So far today nobody seems to be challenging Kaymer, or even threatning his lead. Hold on a minute, I take that back, Kaymer looks like he,s challenging his own lead.
He just bogeyed No.2. His 5 on the par 4 2nd hole seemed to show a little chick in his armour. The only drawback with that is that his playing partner and nearest rival also bogeyed the very same hole. So his lead remains at 6. There,s still a lot of golf left and one never knows, does one? At the moment Kaymer is -9 and +1 for todays round thru 7 holes, with a 5 stroke lead. Currently in second place is Kelvin Na at -4. We,ll see what happens tomorrow.
DAY 1:
The 2014 U.S. OPEN got underway today at Pinehurst #2 with the young guns serving notice that they are ready, willing, and able to compete on this Donald Ross masterpiece
Even with Ben Crenshaw & Co. tweaking and modifying many of the holes at Pinehurst, it
was still able to show that it had plenty of teeth left to take a big bite out of anyone who did not
respect its reputation. Ricky Fowler, Rory Mcllroy, Jason Day, and Jordan Spieth are right in the thick of things as round one concluded on Thursday. Phil Mickleson, Graham McDowell, Henry Stenson, and last year,s U.S. Open champion Justin Rose is also lurking in the pack.
With this year’s Masters champion Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, Lee Westwood, Dustin Johnson and a host of others in this strong, star studded field, we should be in for a spectacular finish on Sunday afternoon. There are a couple tied at -2 for the opening lead.
Chester Cheek (above, left) is my homeboy and childhood friend, so I can’t even begin to tell you what a surprise it was for me to run into him down at Pinehurst. Talk about a small world. Let me put it like this, Cheek and I caddied together as kids growing up in my hometown of Henderson, N.C. Henderson is a 2 hour drive north of Pinehurst. So I’m pretty familiar with these Carolina Pines. This was a super treat for me. My childhood friend from way, way back. He was a pallbearer at my father’s funeral and my mother’s. Shall I say anymore. Cheek and I started playing this great game at a very, very, young age.
We are both proud of the fact that we started so young, even if it was as caddys. A forgotten art form among african americans, I may add. Cheek, like myself, is married with children. He’s a private contractor who builds houses, schools, churches, etc. You name it, he can build it. I’m proud of our lifelong friendship and believe me, I’m thankful to God Almighty for letting our paths cross at this year’s U.S.Open Championship. It was Cheek’s first major tournament. He had previously attended the Greater Greensboro Open some years ago. So in closing I’ll put it like this, Tiger wasn’t here, but Cheek was.
Day 2:
Day 2 went a lot like day 1. Martin Kaymer is still your U.S. Open leader, and not only is he leading the tournament, he,s actually blowing the field away. With back to back 65’s he has a comfortable 6 stroke lead on his closest pursuer. Brendon Todd is currently in second place at -4, while Kaymer sits at the top of the leaderboard at -10. It seems to be turning into a race to see who finishes 2nd. kelvin Na, Brandt Snedeker, and 20 year old Jordan Spieth are all bunched up at -3, seven shots back. If Kaymer comes out tomorrow and have anything in the 60s– this thing is gonna be pretty much over. You can bet that the home folks back in Germany will be keeping their fingers crossed.
The patrons here at Pinehurst No. 2 have seen a lot of great finishes over the years, and if this one is to rank among one of the best, the rest of the field better start shifting gears, and real soon.
Above, L-R: Archie Person and Vincent Bright enjoying the U.S. Open.
Archie Person is originally from Gary, Indiana, but now resides in Chapel Hill, N.C. He works at Duke University as a Registered Nurse in Cardio Thoracic (ICU) and earned his R.N. degree at Darton State College (Albany, GA). He started playing golf in 1992 and plays to a 12 handicap. This was his first U.S.Open Championship. He did attend the “Masters” in 2000 at Augusta National. Person’s favorite courses– that he’s actually played– are the President’s Course and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Montgomery, AL. His favorite golfers are Tiger Woods and Freddy Couples. Person is a ‘Big time’ Indiana Pacers fan, but is rooting for San Antonio Spurs to beat Miami Heat in NBA finals. He’s been married for 8 years and is an Auburn University graduate.
Vincent Bright is originally from Kinston, N.C. and now lives in Sanford, N.C. He’s been married for 28 years and has two lovely children. As a 20 handicapper, he takes occasional lessons and golf tips from his good friend
Archie. Bright’s Favorite course that he’s played is Little River Golf Club in Pinehurst, N.C. He was an all-around athlete in High School and has always had a passion for competing. He attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA as a Business Major. Bright ‘s also a 22-year U.S. Army retiree he spent a lot of time at a Fort Bragg, army base in Fayetteville, N.C. Bright is most notably, a juge Carolina Panther’s fan. Also says “Go Spurs, Beat Miami”.
While out on patrol I also ran into Marcus Freeman and his adorable 5-year old son Zachary (below). They were in attendance at Pinehurst, taking in the competition for Sunday’s final round. Marcus is the father of two kids. Zachary, the oldest, and a daughter Evelyn, who’s 18 months. The Freeman’s live in Durham, N.C.
Marcus was born and raised in Senatobia, Ms. He went to a HBCU in Tougaloo, MS and graduated in 1996 from college. This was his first U.S. Open Championship. He introduced Zachary to the game of golf when he was just a toddler, at 18 months old. Plans to do the same with Evelyn. Marcus has played at TPC in Scottsdale, AZ. and also Greystone Country Club in Birmingham, AL.– just down the road from the famed Shoal Creek Golf Club. Marcus has worked in the Utilities Industry for 17 years. He’s a Compliance & Risk Management Engineer. Little Zachary says his favorite golfers are Tiger and Phil. Not bad choices for a 5-year old, or 75-year old.
What better way to spend “Father’s Day”, than walking the fairways of Pinehurst No. 2 with your No 1 son!
Day 3:
Here we go again. The early morning rounds on Saturday will start at 9:22. At +4 Matthew Fitzpatrick was the only amateur in the field to survive the cut. He tees off today at 10:17am alongside Russell Henley, also at +4. Some other notable Major winners who will be teeing off before noon are Zach Johnson, Paul Casey, Justin Leonard, Retief Goosen, and Louis Oosthuizen. All at +5 & +4. If you,re a gambler, you can place a bet that Pinehurst No. 2 will be waiting for them with open arms and a broad smile. Simply saying to each and everyone of them, you better have your “A Game”.
To no one’s surprise round 4 at the U.S.Open Championship ended the same way round 1 ended, with Martin Kaymer as your clubhouse leader. He set a 36 hole record at 130 and -10,
due to back to back 65’s. A smoking hot putter, an accurate driver, perfect weather conditions, and a U.S. Open trophy that he obviously laid claim to after the first tee shot on Thursday and never looked took his eyes off of it, all the way thru Sunday afternoon. He was never really seriously threatened for four rounds of golf. He seemed to have had his own private tournament And the rest of the field had theirs. We congratulate Martin Kaymer on a marvelous display of some extraordinary golf. You deserved it and we thank you for the memories.
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John H. Perry
Email: johnpgolf@icloud.com
John Perry is a freelance writer, poet and active golfer with a passion for calling shots like he sees them and, then, telling it like it is. He resides in Vauxhall, NJ.
