2007 Travelers Championship Preview
shlinklincoln June 19th, 2007
Preview
I’ve been looking forward to the Travelers Championship all season long! This is the marquee event on the PGA Tour schedule……………..(can you read the sarcasm?) Now that the U.S. Open is over we can officially welcome summer and the lesser tournaments on the schedule before the next major. But before I start on this week’s Travelers Championship (formerly the Buick Championship that was formerly the Greater Hartford Open) I need to get a few things off my chest about the spectacle that was the 2007 U.S. Open.
There is nothing better then waking up at 7 am to watch golf. I’m serious. I normally take my time to roll out of bed each day, but I was up at 7 am last Thursday and Friday morning to watch all the golf action. I was like a kid at Christmas.
ESPN’s TV coverage was great. Chris Berman needs to do more golf announcing. His insight and golfer nicknames made for pleasant morning golf viewing. What do you say Golf Channel? Can you get this guy to host PGA Primetime every Sunday night?
NBC’s TV coverage was bad, and their announcers worse. I know Tiger is the greatest golfer of our time, and probably of all time. You know that Tiger is the greatest golfer of our time, and probably of all time. My fiance knows that Tiger is the greatest golfer of our time, and probably of all time. I do not need NBC to tell me this every hole. I do not need NBC to defend Tiger’s bad shots, and applaud his mediocre shots.
At one point on Sunday Angel Cabrera (Congrats to you Angel BTW, this was a win for smokers everywhere, myself included) hit a shot into a bunker on the back nine. The homer NBC announcers criticized Cabrera’s game and decision making. Then they cut to Tiger who shoots a similar shot that ends up in the bunker. We then have to hear NBC defend Tiger’s decision and make excuses for him. The greatest golfer of our time, and probably of all time does not need you to make excuses for him.
When Tiger hits the ball on to the green for a 35 foot putt, that is not a GREAT shot. Alright. I won’t hammer the point home any longer NBC. Please just make yourself aware of the problem and try and correct it for next year’s U.S. Open.
Speaking of correcting ones self. I must commend Johnny Miller on mentioning his 73 U.S. Open win and final round 63 less then 10 times. In fact most of the time it was discussed it was not even him that brought it up! Kudos. The inside joke of the U.S. Open broadcast may now very well be how NBC are a bunch of Tiger homers. (A’ight, last shot I promise)
To be fair I would probably be a homer golf announcer myself. I could just imagine doing the Rotoff play by play on a live telecast. “Goosen needs to make this putt, or Shlink Lincoln will be in jeopardy of a 10th place finish.” Or “That’s the 10th birdie for Romig today………………..F-ckin’ Romig!”
Hey, if Angel and Tiger can cuss on the telecast surely I could too. Angel’s cuss word of choice is the powerful “F” word, apparently one of the only English words he knows. Tiger likes to use the much more elegant “God D-mn it!” and drive his club into the ground in disgust. Both cuss words were effective, but in the end the “F” word prevailed. Proving it’s better to “f-ck” it then “d-mn it.”
Whoa, this preview is getting out of hand.
Let’s take a look at this week’s Travelers Championship.
Travelers Championship
TPC at River Highlands - Cromwell, Connecticut
Justin Rose wins by two over VJ.
