c finished with the No. 2 year-end ranking w | Forum
love520
Dec 28 '17
Wednesday Notebook: GULLANE, Scotland - In the last few days, Ive done about 10 radio shows back home and the consistent questions are: 1. New Balance 999 Elite Edition . How will Tiger play? 2. Whats up with Rory? 3. Can Phil really win this? 4. How is the course playing? And 5. How will Graham DeLaet play? In order, my responses: 1. I think I still have a few question marks surrounding the state of his game at the moment. He says his elbow is fine and it didnt show any signs of hurting him during practice but hes been off for a month so while I think hell play well, Im not betting on him. 2. Who knows? I dont even think Rory knows and it appears as if its starting to frustrate him, all these mediocre scores and all. He keeps saying hes close, and that hes had good rounds but not good consistency, but until he starts playing like he did at this time last summer, the questions about his clubs, his dedication, his girlfriend et al will continue, even if all of them are unfair and probably have no effect on his game, good or bad. Sometimes guys just dont play well. 3. Phil won on a links course, which is a good thing, an impressive thing, a surprising thing. But Phil winning at the Open to me is still a bit of a long shot. I do think he will be heard from at some point this week, but Im not sold yet that hes figured out how to mesh his immense talent with a links course. 4. Hard and fast. Think Hoylake in 2006. This is as hard and fast as weve seen an Open Championship in some time and I think the players are excited about the prospect. The weather is unseasonably warm (I packed three turtle necks and zero shorts) and the sun is shining. The wind is blowing but not hard which all adds up to tough pin placements or low scores. 5. Graham DeLaet looks confident. He looks relaxed and he seems prepared. I watched him on the range this week stinging three irons about 280 yards without getting six feet off the ground. I saw him bounce shots in from 160 and have them stop right by the pin. I also think he understands the mental test that awaits him but this is his first major and his first British Open so lets not put too much in the way of expectations on the guy (we can save that for next week). ------- It was predictable, of course. Not long after Peter Dawson, head of the R&A, and his pals sat down in front of the press, the questions about gender equality came spewing forth. Why, it was asked many times in many ways, was the R&A okay with holding the grandest of its championships at a facility that doesnt allow women to be members? Dawson bobbed and weaved, even seemed to get a little irritated, but in the end had to absorb countless body blows. There is no way for the R&A to win this one and Dawson probably knows it. After Augusta National admitted women members this past year, it left the R&A standing naked in a field. Of course the question isnt - or shouldnt be - whether or not clubs can be male or female only. Thats up to the club. Its whether or not the Open Championship should be held at such a facility. My answer is no. It will be a long, slow change if it happens, but the questions are going to keep coming until something changes. ------ My top five picks in no particular order: Graeme McDowell, Tiger Woods, Luke Donald, Brandt Snedeker and Sergio Garcia. My two darkhorses: Henrik Stenson and Brandon Grace. ------ Random thoughts: I watched David Duval hit a few shots today. He still looked pretty darn good with the club in his hands ... The golf course continues to get harder and faster with each day. One marshal told me that they watered an area where he was standing but the water they put on "wasnt enough to make a cup of tea." ... I ran into the amazing Judy Rankin on the course today. In my book, theres no one better as a walking reporter. Looking forward to working with her in Edmonton next month ... In the bet shops on Wednesday, Graham DeLaet was at 100/1. Tiger was still the favourite at 8/1. Nike Uptempo Pippen .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. Air Max 97 Undefeated España . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). http://www.outletnewbalancebaratas.es/ .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In the cat-and-mouse game of postmatch interviews in London, Novak Djokovic has been driven to testiness on several occasions when questioned closely. After defeating Milos Raonic in a round-robin match earlier this week, he was asked if there were times in the past when he felt unbeatable -- and if he now felt more vulnerable.Well, I never felt unbeatable, and I never will, Djokovic said. First of all, its not my mindset. Second, I dont think its fair to say youre unbeatable. There are few athletes ever in their career that have retired unbeatable.I did have certain periods of my career, especially in the last five years, when I really felt very confident on the court, and I was dominating the play.What about vulnerable?I dont feel vulnerable, Djokovic snapped.Heading into the last mens ATP match of the year, he looks like something approaching unbeatable. As difficult as it is to fathom given his second-half results, the No. 2-ranked Djokovic is a single victory from regaining the No. 1 ranking.He meets old friend and recent nemesis Andy Murray in the championship final of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2 & WatchESPN. For the first-time in year-end history, the seasons No.1 ranking will be decided in a winner-take-all final.It would be an unprecedented fifth consecutive year-end title for the 29-year-old Serb in a year when he won at least seven titles for the fourth consecutive year and two of the four majors this year.Does this sound like a vulnerable man?Djokovic obliterated Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1 in Saturdays second semifinal. The match was over in a blazing 66 minutes and couldnt have been more different than the first semifinal.That exquisite piece of performance art was a 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9) Murray victory against Milos Raonic.Very glad, obviously, that I get to experience that [dominance] the last couple matches, Djokovic said in his on-court interview. Pretty much flawless.Murray, meanwhile, looked world-weary at times and saved a match point in that extraordinary third-set tiebreaker. The question must be asked: Does Murray have anything left for Djokovic?Three days earlier, Murray and Nishikori played a 3-hour, 20-minute match -- the longest three-set match in the history of the year-end event. Saturdays epic ran a scintillating 3 hours, 38 minutes, which turns out to be the longest three-set match of the 2016 season.Thats a lot of mileage this close to the finish line.I dont know how Ill feel tomorrow, Murray said after the match. Obviously, tired just now because it was a really hard match. It wasnt just that it was physically hard, itt was mentally a tough match, too. New Balance 530 Encap España. It was pretty stressful.Murray, who made the one-hour commute to his suburban home when he played day matches, will be staying at a Thames-side hotel. After the match, he immersed himself in an ice bath, stretched and had a massage from his physio. Murray said hed go through another round of recovery and try to sleep in as late as possible. Hes scheduled to practice at 2:30 local time, 3? hours before the final.Murray, riding an enormous wave of momentum, has won 22 consecutive matches, matching his career high set earlier this year.But his personal on-court history with Djokovic -- they first met 18 years ago in junior tennis -- is not terribly pleasant. Djokovic has a commanding 24-10 record in their head-to-head matches, and upon closer examination, its even more lopsided in recent years.After Murray broke through with his first Grand slam singles title at the 2012 US Open, Djokovic held an 8-7 advantage. Since then, the Serb has won 16 of 19, including the finals of the two majors hes won this year, the Australian Open and French Open.And theres this delicious symmetry: After beating Murray in four sets to win the long-sought-after career Grand Slam in Paris, Djokovic lost his way. Here, he has a chance to beat Murray again, finish the season on a breathtaking high and set himself up for the 2017 season.Since the beginning of 2011, Djokovic has dominated mens tennis, winning 11 of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. For context, consider the other 13 major winners over the past half-dozen years: Rafael Nadal (5), Stan Wawrinka and Murray (3 each), and Roger Federer and Marin Cilic (1 each).In that span, the only time Djokovic finished with the No. 2 year-end ranking was 2013, when Nadal won two Slams. Djokovic regained the top spot the following summer after winning Wimbledon, and for 122 weeks, he did not relinquish it. That glorious run ended two weeks ago in Paris, when Murray -- after slowly reeling Djokovic in following Roland Garros -- took the No. 1 ranking for the very first time.In this year-end event that is without Federer and Nadal, its appropriate these two are in the final with so much at stake. They are the best in mens tennis, and it seems likely they could continue their dominance for a few more years.Hopefully, we can have a good final, Djokovic told the pro-Murray crowd. Its really a privilege to be part of this history with Andy. There are two of us on the court.Lets try to enjoy the occasion. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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