JohnMallinger Posts -- FanHouse

Posted: May 7th 2009 7:41PM by Shane Bacon (author feed)
Filed under: PGA

TPC Sawgrass is supposed to be brutal. It's supposed to be nasty. For heaven's sake, it's supposed to be the fifth major! Well, unless the fairways and greens are soft and the wind doesn't blow.

Ben Crane, who started on the back nine in the first round of the Players Championship, turned at 3-under 33, but went on a tear from there, making five birdies in six holes on his way to a 7-under 65 and the first-round lead. Crane, who hasn't won on tour since 2005, noted after his round that the greens were perfect, "like putting on the hood of your car," and the low scores the first day indicated that.

More Coverage: TPC Leaderboard

Tiger's Thursday Nothing Special

Posted: May 7th 2009 1:25PM by Shane Bacon (author feed)
Filed under: PGA

Tiger Woods has played in The Players Championship 12 times, and has never broken 70 in any of his first rounds. On a calm Thursday that gave up some very red numbers, Woods continued his trend of taking a mild approach, carding a 1-under 71 on an up-and-down day.

Woods' round was highlighted with an approach shot on the par-5 16th hole that ended up three feet away for a kick-in eagle. Tiger followed that up with a solid 9-iron on the 17th hole's island green to just outside 10 feet, but a nasty horseshoe left Woods with just another par.

More Coverage: TPC Leaderboard

FanHouse U.S. Open Media Guide, Page 10

Posted: Jun 11th 2008 3:09PM by Shane Bacon (author feed)
Filed under: Golf, PGA

Finally to double digits, it's the FanHouse Media Guide.

Jarrod Lyle -- DNP -- A win already under his belt this year on the Nationwide Tour, Lyle has struggled lately, missing the cut in four of his last five tournaments. At age 17, Lyle was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukiemia, taking nearly two years off from golf to treat the disease.

Hunter Mahan -- t-13 -- Mahan is kind of a badass. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1999, runner-up at the U.S. Amateur in 2002, blistered college golf at Oklahoma State and has since won the 2007 Travelers Championship. I might be stretching here, but I have a feeling he could win a major one day.

John Mallinger -- t-67 -- Mallinger is 61st on the FedEx Cup point standings, with three top-10s highlighted by a third place in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Steve Marino -- CUT -- Marino, in just his second full year on the PGA Tour, has won over a million dollars and unless Tiger Woods does this to him, he will be back in 2009. Marino shot a 59 in the 2006 Gateway-Grey Goose Tour Championship, winning the tournament by ten shots.

Ross McGowan -- DNP -- Englishman McGowan has four top-10s on the European Tour and is currently 122 in the World Golf Rankings. Also, went to the American university where the student newspaper is called The Daily Beacon.

Rocco Mediate -- 4 -- Seriously, is there a person in the world that doesn't get giddy when they see Rocco Mediate? He's like a soft puppy or Starbursts, they're just good for the world. Went from the PGA Tour to a reporter on The Golf Channel back to the links this year, where he had his best finish two weeks ago at the Memorial (t-6).

John Merrick -- CUT -- The UCLA graduate missed out on retaining his PGA Tour card by four spots last year, so he just decided to go back to Q-School and, well, school it. Now in perfect position to keep his card for '09, Merrick will be looking for his first cut made in a major.

Shaun Micheel -- t-28 -- OUCH, that hurt like hell, damn lightening striking. Micheel won the 2003 PGA Championship with an approach shot on 18 that nearly holed for an eagle. After a rather impressive 2004 (20 of 27 cuts made) Micheel has struggled, making just 52.4 percent of his cuts in the past four seasons.

Phil Mickelson -- 2 -- What more is there to say about Lefty? He's finished in second or a tie for second four times, tie for fourth once and two other top-10s. If there is ever a year for Phil to win one of these things it's now.

Jon Mills -- CUT -- Canadian Mills isn't having an amazing year (133 on FedEx Cup points) but he does have some things to hang his hat on. He helped launch a "Learn to Golf Program for Kids" in his hometown of Belleville to help underprivileged kids learn the game.

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** FILE ** In this April 26, 2008 file photo, Brad Bryant watches his teammate Lonnie Nielsen, not shown, line up a putt during the second round of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf tournament in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton, File)

** FILE ** In this April 5, 2007 file photo, Bart Bryant hits to the first green in the first round of the 2007 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Morry Gash., File)

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - JUNE 08: Jee Young Lee of South Korea plays her third shot at the 11th hole during the final round of the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship held at Bulle Rock Golf Course, on June 8, 2008 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - JUNE 08: Maria Hjorth of Sweden hits her second shot at the 18th hole during the final round of the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship held at Bulle Rock Golf Course, on June 8, 2008 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - JUNE 08: Maria Hjorth of Sweden prepares to play her third shot as Annika Sorenstam of Sweden finishes repairung her divot during the final round of the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship held at Bulle Rock Golf Course, on June 8, 2008 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - JUNE 08: Annika Sorenstam of Sweden hits her third shot at the 11th hole during the final round of the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship held at Bulle Rock Golf Course, on June 8, 2008 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - JUNE 08: Annika Sorenstam of Sweden hits her second shot at the 11th hole during the final round of the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship held at Bulle Rock Golf Course, on June 8, 2008 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - JUNE 08: Lorena Ochoa of Mexico misses for birdie at the 15th hole during the final round of the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship held at Bulle Rock Golf Course, on June 8, 2008 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - JUNE 08: Lorena Ochoa of Mexico watches her second shot to the 18th hole during the final round of the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship held at Bulle Rock Golf Course, on June 8, 2008 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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HAVRE DE GRACE, MD - JUNE 08: Yani Tseng of Taiwan hits her second shot at the 13th hole during the final round of the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship held at Bulle Rock Golf Course, on June 8, 2008 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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