Rory stretches his US Open lead to six shots

Rory McIlroy broke all sorts of US Open records on the second day’s play at Congressional Country Club and dominated the rest of the field by turning in a round of 66 to extend his lead to 6-shots.

But it could have been more for Rory, whose double-bogey at the last after finding water with his approach gave a glimmer of hope to those in behind. However, most didn’t take it as Congressional proved once again for many that it was no pushover – except for the man from Northern Ireland.

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R&A, USGA revise incorrect scorecard disqualification ruling

Golf’s governing bodies – the USGA and R&A – have approved a change in the interpretation of the rules of golf, meaning that players will no longer be automatically be disqualified because of rule violations discovered by television viewers.

The move comes after high profile social media and mainstream media furore over the disqualifications of Padraig Harrington in the Abu Dhabi Championship and Camilo Vilegas in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii back in January this year.

The decision means that players who are unaware of a rules breach before signing their score card won’t now be automatically disqualified. However, players will still receive the statutory penalty for the rules breach.

The change covers the Rules of Golf ruling 33-7/4.5 – Competitor Unaware of Penalty Returns Wrong Score – and addresses the situation where a player is unawares that he has breached a rule because of facts that he did not know and could not have discovered prior to returning his scorecard. The amendment comes into immediate effect.

“For some time we have been concerned that, in certain limited circumstances, disproportionate disqualification penalties have been required by the Rules,” said R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson.
“This carefully considered decision reflects our desire to ensure that the Rules of Golf remain fair and relevant in the changing environment in which the game is played today.”

Paul Casey shares US Open lead over ‘tough’ Pebble Beach

156 golfers went to post for the start of the 2010 US Open and after the first round of the season’s second major at Pebble Beach, only 13 golfers had achieved a score of par or better as the iconic California golf course showed just how tough it could be.

Despite many golfers describing the course layout as ‘fair’, Pebble Beach played horrendously tough for all, with the leaders – United States’ Shaun Micheel, Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge and England’s Paul Casey – posting the day’s lowest score of 69 to share the first round honours at just 2-under par.

And the top two golfers in the field – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – couldn’t find a solitary birdie between them as they – like the rest of the field – struggled with the conditions. Woods, who had shot 65 in his opening round in 2000 when he romped to a 15 shot victory was critical of the Pebble Beach greens following his opening 74, which left him five shots off the lead.

“It was just tough,” Woods said. “I hit the ball well enough to shoot a good score, but these greens are just awful. They’re moving every which way.”

Mickelson, who twice found the ocean was much more pragmatic about the state of the putting surface and put his failure down to a ghastly putting game which he would hope to sort out on the practice green.

“I gave myself plenty of opportunities and just couldn’t get the ball in the hole,” Mickelson said.

Six players share a tie for fourth place, one shot behind the leading trio – including tipster pick Mike Weir, who bogeyed the last two holes to slip back from 3-under par and England’s Ian Poulter. The only other players to break par and join the pair in the sextet are Germany’s Alex Cejka, young Japanese player Ryo Ishikawa, Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello and South Korea’s KJ Choi.

With the wind expected to blow throughout the tournament, Woods’ 2000 US Open score of 12-under is unlikely to be threatened if the opening round is any guide to the rest of the week and it could even be the case that anything under par could be enough to seal a win as Pebble Beach continues to bare teeth.

Phil Mickelson disagrees.

“There’s no way under par is going to win here, I don’t believe,” Mickelson said. “I think over par will win. Because of that, I’m right there.”

Open invitation for Singh

Fijian golfer Vijay Singh won’t now have to go through qualifying for the US Open at Pebble Beach after the USGA handed the 3-time Major winner an exemption for the tournament.

Singh recently fell out of the world’s top 50 for the first time since 1992 and felt he was too old to go through qualifying for the tournament. But with the US Golf Association giving exemptions to the players ranked in the top-50 just prior to the cut-off date, Singh will now make the line-up for the season’s second major title after all.

Singh started the season in 26th place in the Golf World Rankings, but injury has forced the Fijian to limit the number of tournaments he competes in, and as a result has dropped down the world rankings to 63rd in the world.

And Singh is looking forward to the event, now that he has been given a clean bill of health.

“I’m finally back to good health and really looking forward to competing at Pebble Beach,’’ Singh said. “It’s a fantastic event at a legendary venue. I appreciate the invitation from the USGA and can’t wait to tee it up.’’

The exemption means that Singh – competing in this week’s Memorial – will now extend his streak of competitive majors appearances to 64. Singh last missed a major tournament appearance back in 1994, ironically for the US Open.

Singh had been scheduled to compete in qualifying in Monday’s 36-hole sectional qualifier but stated he wasn’t going to play.

Ping and USGA reach agreement over Ping Eye2 wedges

The running battle between Phil Mickelson and the USGA regarding the legality of grooves appears to have come to an end.

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