Interesting Observations from Yesterday's Pairing

You know which one I am talking about, right? Anyway, I noticed this on TV and I'm glad that Lorne Rubenstein could verify it for me on the ground.

It was so special that the United States Golf Association put Woods's and Mickelson's names on the top of the leaderboards on the course throughout their round, although they were nowhere near posting the lowest scores. Woods did get back to one under par after nine holes, overcoming a double bogey on the first hole, but he “three-whipped” the last green, as he put it, to get in at his one-over-par score. Three-whipped for par, to be sure.

Courtesy USGA. All rights reserved.


Also, I found this to be very interesting:

Scott was on a [press] podium answering a question. But Woods then moved in and a USGA official abruptly said the Scott interview was over. It hadn't lasted more than a couple of minutes.

What else was new? This day was more about Woods than anybody or anything. It remains to be seen whether the entire championship will be about him.

Can you exactly blame the USGA for trying to capitalize on the second time in which their championship served as the return for Tiger back to competitive golf? Then when you consider that it would have been in incredibly bad taste to do so last time - Winged Foot in 2006 after Earl Woods' passing - it was bound to happen.