Soon to be 60 year old Tom Watson stood one short putt away from being the oldest major champion winner in history. One eight foot putt, would have given Watson his 6th Open Championship and first in more than two decades. Watson never gave the putt a chance and was forced to play a four hole tie-breaker with Stewart Cink.

Cink drained a twelve foot birdie put on the 72nd hole to finish the championship at two under par and the clubhouse lead. When Watson missed his par putt for the win on his 72nd hole of the championship, Cink knew it was his time to take his first major championship.

Cink won the four hole playoff by six shots. Watson gave it a run all the way until the end of regulation, giving The 2009 Open Championship a desperately needed story line since Tiger Woods did not make the cut.
“Well, it would’ve been a hell of a story, wouldn’t it?” Watson said. “Would’ve been a hell of a story. It wasn’t to be.”

Stewart Cink’s best finish in a major prior to The 2009 Open Championship was tied for third in The 2008 Masters, The 2001 US Open, and The 1999 PGA Championship. He has twelve career professional wins including three on The Nationwide Tour and five on The PGA Tour. Cink also won The PGA Tour Rookie Of The Year award in 1997.

Amateur Matt Bassler, a native of Catonsville, MD, won the 88th Maryland Open at Hillendale Country Club today.  Bassler, a 23 year old graduate from Loyola College edged out Brett Martin, Jim Estes and Dirk Schultz to win by two strokes.   The final two holes were close as Brent Martin pulled within a stroke at 17, but Bassler finished off 18 with a birdie to end the round with a 71.  Bressler shot  a 70, 69, and 71 over the three rounds to win the tournament at 3 under.

The Maryland Open is a 54 hole stroke play competition, with all players playing 36 holes and then the field is cut to the low 40 scores.  120 players from all over Maryland must qualify for this event at one of the four qualifying tournaments run by the Maryland State Golf Association.

Here are some of my golf pet peeves, I hope you enjoy!

1.  Slow Play  -  I am a rhythm golfer, and find myself during a round getting better as the holes go by.  One of my major gripes while playing the game of golf is slow players.  There is nothing worse than having a great hole, whether you saved par from a bad spot, or birdied the hole, then having to wait on the next tee box for the group in front of you.
I have no problem if the course is very crowded, because then my pet peeve is directed toward the management of the course playing too many golfers with not enough time between foursomes, but if there is no reason to be held up then I start to have a problem.

2. Unrepaired Ball Marks on Green  -  Walking up to the green after you hit a nice lofted shot on to it, it is golf etiquette to be ready with a ball repair tool to fix the divot that your ball created.  I do not understand how golfers cannot repair their marks on the green, because to hit the green with a nice shot, you are most likely an experienced golfer and you should know better.

3. Unkempt Tee Boxes  -  This pet peeve falls on other players and also the golf course itself.  I am turned off very quickly if the tee boxes to do not allow for players to find a nice flat grassy area to tee their ball.  The tee box should be a representation of the entire course, and should be treated that way accordingly.

4. No Practice Area  -  I realize that this is not always possible because of the cost of land and the layout of the course, but courses that do not offer any type of practice facility, should create some area where golfers can really warm up for their round.  I find myself at courses without a range, that I do not really hit a rhythm until the 3rd or 4th hole.

5. Cell Phones  -  This does not have to be elaborated on, or at least I do not think it does.  I understand we all think that we are the most important people in this world, but unless you are waiting for your baby to be born, you should not need your cell phone turned on while you are playing.

6. Too Many Practice Swings  -  I can’t stand the high handicap players that will take 10 sometimes 20 practice swings to eventually chunk the ball and go through the process again just 20 yards down the hole.

7. Physically Able Golfers Riding Carts  -  The game was meant to be played carrying your own bag on your shoulder, not strapping it to the back of a motorized car to get around the course.  I understand the need for carts when it comes to older or disabled golfers, but I really get irritated when I see younger players riding in golf carts.  The funny thing is, a round of golf takes almost the same amount of time whether you walk or ride, so get some exercise and enjoy the walk.

8. Not Enough Yardage Markers  -  Being a decent golfer, it is important to be able to calculate yardages to the green from inside 200 yards.  Most courses do offer yardages at 100, 150, and 200 yards, but not much more than that. To speed up play and offer golfers the most enjoyable experience, courses should have more markers placed on sprinkler heads.  This would not cost much to do this to the course and I find the results to be worth the initial cost and man hours.

9. Angry Golf Employees  -  I have good and bad days on the golf course, and when I arrive at the course there is no way to know what my game will be like.  I find nothing worse than being greeted by an angry golf course employee with a chip on their shoulder.  I understand that everyone has bad days, but working in the service industry, you must leave all that bad stuff in your car or on the public transit you took to get to work.  I am paying to play a game that I sometimes hate, and I do not need to be given an attitude while I am doing this also.

10. Mulligan Golfer  -  Don’t get me wrong, if I am not playing in a tournament or for money, I occasionally take a mulligan, but I would never take a mulligan when the course is busy.  Also, the golfer that brags about shooting an 83, when you clearly saw them take at least mulligans during their round.

Let me know what your golf pet peeves are by leaving a comment at my blog: www.thecommutinggolfer.blogspot.com