By MONTE DUTTON
What an eventful weekend.
Bryson DeChambeau won the United States Open in a tournament that was close from start to finish. The winner was really Pinehurst No. 2, which may be the greatest golf course in the world. DeChambeau tried to lose it, and Rory McIlroy succeeded.
That ancient course, which opened in 1907, has evolved almost constitutionally with various amendments along the way.
My heart bled for McIlroy, and he left without a word after missing two putts for which you or I would have taken a gimme.
In the U.S. Open, they don’t play one mulligan per nine or establish a friendly maximum of nothing over eight on any hole.
I’ve never met DeChambeau or McIlroy.
I’ve heard that McIlroy is a peach of a fellow. I understand the loss was crushing, nightmarish even. As a writer of sports, though, I hold the utmost respect for all the athletes who share the glory and anguish of a life in the sun.
Daryl Smith earned my enduring respect for the way he handled his last lonely season as Laurens head football coach. It was a long day’s journey into night.
I once participated in a discussion with NASCAR star Tony Stewart in which he complained about the demands on his time.
Stewart, whom, by the way, I really liked, said he was just a race driver and had no use for all the “media obligations” that were taking up his time.
The late David Poole turned into a stern father figure.
“Now, Tony …” David could have been a character actor in an old movie, shaking his head, slumping his shoulders and rolling his eyes.
“Now, Tony, there’s nothing in this world keeping you from driving those sprint cars you love so much five nights a week for the rest of your life. You can do what you love. But, if you’re going to make this kind of money and have this kind of fame, there are certain responsibilities that come with it.”
Many who read this will sympathize with McIlroy. Leave him alone, you vultures!
I sympathize with McIlroy, too. I sympathized with Stewart.
An athlete does not have to talk to anyone.
Dealing with the media is one of the auxiliary reasons why they make the big bucks.
Writers are unimportant now. TV rules. ESPN is talking to outfielders in the middle of the game. As great as Juan Soto is, I’ve never been more impressed than when he made two plays in left field while chatting with the TV guys.
For the first time all season, I watched the Boston Red Sox play consecutive games on TV. They won them both. In fact, the Red Sox won consecutive series against the teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, with the best records in the major leagues.
It really didn’t mean much. The Sox have an outside shot at a wild-card berth in the playoffs. All I have concluded is that Boston is better, and on Saturday and Sunday nights, they were fun to watch.
Most baseball teams have many uniforms. In most cases, one I really like, one I really hate and one will probably grow on me.
For instance, I like Presbyterian College’s solid white uniforms because they make the Blue Hose look like the Dodgers. Second are the garnet tops, third the blue tops and the black ones bring up the rear. The numbers are hard to read.
I have no business evaluating the uniforms baseball teams wear. I make no claims at fashion sense. My opinions are no better than anyone else’s. They are merely mine.
The only golfers who wear long pants are the best in the world.
Well, maybe up north.
The latest baseball cliché is “high leverage.” It denotes pressure. And pretty much anything else.
Presbyterian College’s baseball team has never been more honored.
Daniel Eagen, the Blue Hose’ righthanded starter, made the ABCA Rawlings All-America third team. He was 6-2 with a 2.67 earned run average.
Though PC did not qualify for the NCAA playoffs, it won the Big South regular-season championship for the first time.
The state’s representatives are Cole Messina of South Carolina on the second team, and Eagen and Clemson’s Blake Wright on the third team.
The Blue Hose’ No. 3 starter this season, Fenix DiGiacomo, is reportedly transferring to Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va.
PC put 199 athletes on the Big South Conference’s Presidential Honor Roll for academic success, which was about par for the conference course.
The Blue Hose had 75.6 percent of its athletes on the list, which is composed of those with a grade-point average of 3.0 or better. Conference-wide, 73.98 percent made it.
Golden Strip Post 271 lost for the first time as a frantic comeback fell short, 9-8, to Anderson Post 14 on Friday night in Simpsonville.
Anderson led, 9-1, entering the bottom of the second inning.
Owen Pridgen doubled, but his was the only hit by a Laurens player. Pridgen played first base, Hunter Nabors shortstop and Avery Madden entered the game late in center field.
Chapin-Newberry Post 193/24 (5-2) visits Golden Strip (4-1) on Monday night.
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