What is going on the world of golf, pro and not, that's got your attention these past months? Let me know, and we'll talk about it  -  golfbythecup1405@verizon.net.

Here are a few things that have grabbed my attention of late - in no particular order. Feel free to elaborate on any or all of these thoughts. Here goes  . . .

• I thought this past week Morgan Pressel would bring home the bacon by winning the 2008 Wegmans LPGA. She started off great, but ended up tied for 10th place with Paula Creamer. They both ended their tournament at -8, while the winner, JI Eun Hee, finished at -16; quite a stretch.
• Is it just my opinion, or is Michelle Wie finally, after all this time, on the right track - career-wise? She has taken some horrible press over the last couple years, and quite frankly, it was all well deserved. Whoever was pulling the strings at Wie, Inc. in the past made all the wrong decisions for her. Hopefully, Michelle will focus on playing the best golf she can competing with women, now that she has realized playing with the big BOYS, competitively, just ain't gonna happen.
• Love her or hate her, Christina Kim is always fun to watch, in my book. Even up at Kingsmill this year when Christina was playing with Annika, she maintained her usual demeanor. And, I might mention that Annika went right along with her and seemed to be having a great time. Sometimes 'prim and proper' needs to take a vacation and when it does - Ms. Kim gives us just what we need - a reminder that just because thousands of $$$ are on the table, golf is still a game. Have some fun.
• Hasn't Dottie Pepper turned into a very good announcer? She's knowledgeable and she's not full of sappy, sweetness, such as Jim Nance. And, while we're talking about the folks in the booth, wasn't it a pleasant surprise seeing Curtis Strange? I confess to not being Curtis's biggest fan when he was announcing, but he brought something to the table during the U.S. Open that was fun and interesting. Thanks, CS.

. . . and, a few more thoughts on PGA's U.S. Open -

• It seemed like this year's Open was played by two people, Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate, but in reality, the final scores of the players following the leaders weren't at all shabby. Tiger and Rocco both finished at -1 and we all know how that tie ended - whew! But, right behind them were Westwood at even par, Trahan and Karlsson at +2, and Jimenez, Merrick and Pettersson at +3. No one really ran away with the tournament - it just seemed that way.
• After reading several discussion boards about the Open, it appears many, many people really and truly don't like Tiger Woods. More than a few posters and bloggers thought that he was faking the pain in his knee, They thought 'the grimace' was a new attention getter, purely for dramatics. Yeah - like Tiger Woods needs to make ugly faces, bend over double and limp with the use of a club/cain to get attention.
• Could we have asked for more polar opposites to play in the Monday 18-hole playoff? Tiger - trying to outrun the pain and stay focused; and Rocco, chatting with the gallery, smiling the entire way and enjoying the great adventure and opportunity in the lime light.
• Rocco Mediate's great golf, great personality and terrific sense of fun will never be overlooked in the future, when U.S. Opens are discussed.
• Rocco was classy and sincere from start to finish - and throughout the post-tourney chit-chat, as well. As big of a Tiger fan as I am, I never once found myself rooting for Rocco to miss a shot, be it a drive, pitch, chip or putt. In all honesty - I would have been happy regardless of which player hoisted the Championship Cup.
• It was nice not to have many (if any) super ridiculous statements and actions before and during the tournament. (Which makes me wonder if Boo and Rory even showed up  . . . )
• I spent way, way too much time watching this Open, and I DON'T REGRET A SINGLE MOMENT OF MY COUCH-POTATOE 5-DAY EXISTANCE.
• Tiger Woods. What can be said that hasn't already been said? Nothing, really. I'll just say he took us to a place we rarely get to see, close up and personal. That place is called determination and pure will. It also gave us a 1st hand look at what 'mind of matter' really requires.
• It remains to be determined how Tiger's absence during the rest of the year will affect the PGA Tour, and the TV ratings for broadcast golf. My opinion - golfers will continue to tune in to see what's happening with the pro's, but overall ratings will drop, maybe even drop a lot. I hope I'm wrong, but without the level of excitement Tiger brings to any event, I don't see golfers being all that anxious to sit and watch golf, rather than play golf, themselves. And, non-golfers - hmmm - I think moderately interested people will go back to their Saturday and Sunday gardening and other activities BT (Before Tiger).
• Much has been written and said about Tiger being arrogant and foolish in his desire to win this year's Championship. They point to actions that could very well lead to an end to his golf domination, possibly even an end to his competitive career. I can only disagree with one part of that opinion - and, that is the inclusion of the word 'arrogant'. Tiger may have been foolish to ignore his doctors' advice. But, I don't believe that arrogance played a part. One definition of arrogance states: "... an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions ..." Well, the 'presumptuous claims' part might apply, but I think that's all. I think Tiger - pure and simple - really wanted to win this tournament. He wanted to close in on Jack Niclaus's record of majors. I think he believed he could do it (and he was right); and, I think he believed he could mentally block out the pain when necessary, if it became a factor, as it did. He was right with that one, also, to the extent that he could pull off the necessary shots when needed. Also, once he'd invested so much time into the tournament, and knowing something was wrong with the knee's healing, he most likely knew he was going to miss the other majors (British and PGA) this year.
• One last thought about Tiger's Open and his decision to play. I love this guy and I don't think we'll ever see the likes of his expertise in the sport of golf again, in our life time. However, the one thing Tiger seems to have overlooked is the control of the body. He owns the most focused mind we have ever seen. He can block out all the side actions and see only what HE needs to see and do. He cannot, however, treat the body and own the performance of the body in the same way. No amount of focus, in-the-moment drills or other training skills can allow him to force body parts but so far beyond their ability. As much as we may want him to work toward attaining it, and as much as he may try to attain it, Tiger does not have the body of The Terminator. He can't self-heal in minutes, and he cannot grow another knee, himself. With the use of metal re-placements, pins, screws and clamps he can keep using 'a' knee. But, it won't be that original knee that has served him so well; the one that made that wondrous power-swing so BIG. All Tiger can hope for in the future (unless I'm missing something) is some parts that will serve him with the least amount of pain, resistance, squeak and friction.
• Needless to say - I hope I have to eat those last words I just wrote. I hope I AM missing something, and I hope Tiger comes back as good, if not better, than ever. I'm no doctor and I certainly have no insight into the future - so, in this case I want to be totally, completely and stupidly off base. That's the world I live in, most the time anyway - I can only hope it holds true regarding Tiger Woods.Also, I'm saying all that with the sincere hope that medical science will make it possible for Tiger and all the rest of us with bad knees, hips and rotator cuffs to grow 'new ones' made of real cartilage and tissue attachments, while we are still young enough to get some use out of them.

Please feel free to jump in and reply to any of this that you want. My correct, new e-mail address is  golfbythecupful1405@verizon.net  . I look forward to hearing from you.

/Golf by the Cupful