No Shame! When It Comes to Clubs

By BILL PENNINGTON
Published: June 28, 2009
If you are feeling embarrassed that a shot-saving club like a 7-wood has crept into your bag, or maybe a hybrid has replaced your 5-iron, you should know that Tiger Woods has faced the same situation and is not ashamed.
“I now have a senior club in my bag,” Woods said at a clinic recently. “It’s a 5-wood. I’m O.K. with my senior club.”
Woods did not win the United States Open last week, but he came close. All around him at Bethpage Black, other top professionals were using hybrids, 5-woods and even the occasional 7-wood. From the rough, these clubs are a godsend. And who is in the rough more than anyone? The average player, that’s who. So if you haven’t already, add one of these user-friendly weapons to your arsenal.As Woods said: “When I was a teenager, I hit a 1-iron. Then I moved down to a 2-iron. So now that I’m in my 30s, I’ve got the 5-wood. When I’m in my 40s, it will probably be a 7-wood. A decade later, it’ll be a 9-wood. And in my 60s, I’ll probably be playing an 11-wood. I have no shame; this game is too hard.”

WSU's Spears Leads US Open

by Bryan Holmgren

Day One of the US Open was mostly a wash - unless you're Wichita State alum Ryan Spears.
The 23-year old has never even played in a PGA event, let alone on one of golf's biggest stages, yet finds himself tied with three others at one-under par.
The catch: He only actually played three holes to get there. Spears birdied the second hole on a long putt from the fringe, shortly before the rains forced a stoppage of play Thursday morning at Bethpage Black. Over half of the field had yet to tee off, and even the earliest groups has only just made the turn.
None of that matters for Spears, a second team All-American for WSU, who snuck into the field as a qualifier and is a long shot just to make the cut. He's two shots ahead of Tiger Woods and a host of other world-class golfers.
Woods double-bogied his fifth hole but came back immediately with a birdie on the sixth to put himself in a 12th place tie at one-over.
Play is scheduled to resume early Friday morning. Officials were hoping to have the second round completed by the end of Saturday with the goal of playing 36 holes on Sunday. That may be overly optimistic with more rain expected over the weekend.