Hall of Fame Game, U.S. Open, whatever…

Play-by-play of an unusually busy June Monday from a guy who's been to Cooperstown twice and golfing once.

Rahula Strohl

3:35 PM CDT, June 16, 2008

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I've been real golfing once, but mini-golfing is another story. My best round at Haunted Trails included a 19 on the back nine. That includes a par 4 on No. 10. It's okay to be impressed.

The real golfing, on the other hand, did not go so well. I skipped two holes entirely, actually finished probably only five or six holes, and did not go through a hole without needing to take a drop because I couldn't find my ball in the woods. Didn't help that the folks organizing the trip decided to stick the three beginners together with zero (0) experienced golfers to tell us how not to hit it into the woods every single time. Oh, and the course marshall at Trophy Lake Golf and Casting was on us the entire time, yelling at us to pick up the pace and keep his course from getting backed up.

But I still like watching Tiger Woods be Tiger Woods. He appeared to have some trouble with the whole hitting-the-fairway thing, but I believe he could match—perhaps even exceed—my 19 on the back nine at Haunted Trails. In fact, I'm pretty confident he could finish it in 9 strokes. Maybe 10, there's one hole where you have to hit it into the haunted house and it doesn't always spit it back out right into the hole, even if you hit it right on.

Back to Tiger. His performance on 18 yesterday was cool enough, but the real story was Saturday. That putt on 13? Holy geez.

As for Rocco Mediate, ESPN is showing us why he's worth rooting for. He's witty and seems to enjoy playing the game. But he seems like he's just happy to be there, which is usually a precursor to getting bludgeoned by the favorite. He said he has nothing to lose today. You know, other than the U.S. Open, but he's right, no one will fault him if he loses a 1-on-1 round with Tiger freaking Woods.

On to baseball and the Cubs. I don't know what the deal is with the Hall of Fame Game regarding how much, if at all, real Major Leaguers play. We shall find out. It's the last-ever Hall of Fame Game, and these folks don't like it. The Cubs, meanwhile, are playing like a man-sized baseball team. They haven't lost a series in their past six (5-0-1). They're hitting, pitching, overcoming injuries to their $136-million left fielder, you know, absolutely opposite of what we expected in the sixth month of the year.

Golf soon, baseball a little bit after that. Comment board below, e-mail me at rstrohl@tribune.com, shake off your Father's Day hangover and ignore work on a Monday and follow along.

FIRST HOLE (Par 4, 448 yards)

Mediate nails his drive and is on the left side of the fairway with a straight-on view to the pin. If I lack in golf lingo, forgive me. Tiger appears to have sliced his into the rough but it bounces off a hill and onto the right side of the fairway and Rocco is away. His second goes to the bunker on the right of the green and Tiger's second is on the green, maybe 15-20 feet from the hole. Tiger threw up his arms in celebration when his drive bounced onto the fairway, as he has double-bogeyed this hole three times in four rounds. Not very likely today. Rocco flips it out of the bunker onto the green and Tiger misses the putt about a foot to the left. Rocco needs an up-and-down for bogey and Tiger drops his two-footer for par.

Tiger E, Rocco +1

SECOND HOLE (Par 4, 389 yards)

ESPN shows a montage of four missed short putts by Rocco yesterday, any of which would have resulted in him being the champ yesterday. I think it is the ability to avoid that type of thinking that is the difference between losing golfers and winning ones. Both drives hit the rough. ESPN gives us a taped interview with Rocco from before the round started today, has no audio at all, they come back and don't acknowledge the lack of audio. Maybe it was just my TV but I heard none of that interview and all of everything else. Interesting. To SoccerDad on the board, I'd love to throw in some Euro 2008 updates, but (ready for this?) we don't get ESPN2 in the Tribune Tower. Someone about 10 years ago decided it was a luxury and not necessary. Oh, there, ESPN acknowledges its technical difficulties. Tiger from the left rough goes to the rough just to the right and in front of the green. Rocco's slices and is, according to the announcers, 50 feet to the right. Yikes. To Q on the board, that putt for the free game is rough at Haunted Trails, especially with that metal bridge into the skull's mouth. I've had them roll up the metal bridge, only to slip off the side at the last minute. Such heartbreak. Rocco's chip puts him five or six feet away, Tiger is more like seven or eight after his chip. Tiger is 10-1 in PGA Tour playoffs, Rocco is 2-0. So if we go by winning percentages, it's all Rocco. Tiger drains his putt, Rocco does the same.

Tiger E, Rocco +1

THIRD HOLE (Par 3, 137 yards)

I missed Tiger's drive (grabbing some water, no Gatorade Tiger for me), I will find out when he hits his second. But I'm glad I got back for Rocco's, he missed acing the 137-yard par 3 by about a foot and has a gimme for birdie. Tiger hit the bunker to the left of the green and buried his ball in the sand. He chips it onto the green and has a 12ish-foot putt for par. Tiger's putt goes a little to the right and he buries the two-footer for bogey. Rocco taps his birdie putt in and suddenly he's leading.

Rocco E, Tiger +1

FOURTH HOLE (Par 4, 488 yards)

This one is right along the cliff. I realize the Pacific Ocean isn't technically a water hazard, but I'm sure I'd find the water if I ever played this course. Good thing I probably never will. Rocco hooks it into the left rough, but well shy of the Pacific. Tiger also hooks and is away by not much. Amanda just e-mailed in to let me know that the mini-golf course in Crestwood by the Portillo's is top-notch. I must try it. Tiger avoids a bunker but is still in the rough and still right of the good parts of the course. Rocco's on the green, but his ball rolls backward and he's now pretty far away from the pin, but he's still on the green. Tiger chips it to about two feet from the hole and I thought it was going in for a sec there. To DTY on the board, I think shallow cups are part of the mini-golf game, though it depends on how old your kids are. If they're under 15, go ahead and count the extra stroke, but if they're in their late teens or older, they should defer to you. To the folks requesting bold, I dutifully respond. Rocco makes his up-and-down, though not without a little roll-around-the-lip drama, and Tiger buries his gimme.

Rocco E, Tiger +1

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