The consensus among the Monday afternoon foursome at Balboa--Mssrs. Deems, Diller, Sauthier and the author--was that the just concluded PGA Championship unveiled a changing of the guard in professional golf. The young guns, as the media likes to call them, players such as Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer, have arrived to replace Woods, Mickelson and Furyk, all of whom never looked so old as they did on television Saturday afternoon.
If things had gone right for Johnson, he could have won two majors this year, the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and last week's PGA at Whistling Straits. The upshot of this season is who would have thought that Tiger Woods might be left off the U.S. Ryder Cup squad?
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add Johnson: He claimed that he didn't know he was in a bunker when grounded his club that resulted in a two-stroke penalty and cost him a chance at either at winning the Wanamaker Trophy or at least getting into the playoff with Kaymer and Watson. Maybe he didn't know but his caddy should have. It was a weak excuse for players such as Nick Whatny and Johnson to say they weren't aware because no player reads the rules sheets before the tournament starts. At the very least it's a caddy's job to know.
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2nd add Johnson: The PGA official who informed him that he had been assessed a two-stroke penalty did him a big favor. If Johnson had played out the hole and had signed his scorecard with the wrong score, he would have been disqualified, and would not have earned nearly a half-million dollars in prize money.
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Dodgers woes get worse: With the club almost hopelessly out of the NL West race (11 games behind first place San Diego with the Giants and Rockies in front of L.A.), what will happen with their attendance in the remaining six weeks of the season? The PR department claims it can draw 2-million fans with giveaway nights and special promotions but the team has to draw the other million to reach the club's cherished 3-million mark. With so many negatives such as the McCourts' divorce, Joe Torre not managing next season, a weak hitting attack and a bullpen that blows ball games, who is going to buy season tickets to watch this club?
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and finally: I planted iris in our backyard on Sunday. The bulbs were separated from purple and yellow iris that once grew in my grandmother's garden over 40 years ago. Since then the iris have taken root in my parents yard and in my sister's garden. It's amazing how one can stick a plant in Valley soil, which is like cement when it is dry, and it not only grows but flourishes.
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