I Feel For Phil

     I know how you feel, Phil.  I have been there before, maybe not with the U.S. Open on the line but I have been there and feel your pain. I am with you, and you are my brother.
     I couldn't watch the final round of the U.S. Open this year as I was at a Father's day gathering with family.  I was curious as to what was happening, but didn't want to know because my wife was recording the tourney so that we could watch it later when we got home.  I was pulling for "Lefty".  There had to be a first Open for him. But alas, this was not to be this day.  Also, we wound up not watching the tourney because we found out the results while we were eating hamburgers at Red Robin and the basketball game was on.  Unfortunately, as Ricky Bobby would say, second place is first looser. Second place hurts, especially when you are so close.  That is part of the game, I suppose but it still hurts.
     As many of my friends know, I play tournament golf.  It is not at the caliber of  "Lefty" as my challenges are of the local club variety, but they are tournaments nevertheless. When I play these tourneys I am subject to the same emotions and pressures as a professional, maybe not as intense but still the same. Lee Trevino said it best when he said, "Pressure is when you are playing for five dollars and you only have three dollars in your pocket."
     I have won many times, as has Phil. I have also felt the hurt of coming in second or of finishing "out of the money" as well. If you look at it though, that is the beauty of the game.  There is always a "next time" and we always come back. Tomorrow is another day. We play because we enjoy the game and competition.  Winning is great and we play to win but don't always.  The bottom line is that we play a fun game,sometimes a strange and funny game but we don't give up because it is so much fun.
     In a tournament, I blew an eleven stroke lead with four holes to play.  Another tournament saw my partner and I needing a three putt to win and wound up six putting to finish out of the money.  I have been beaten 6-5 in match play, but I still keep coming back to play. One tournament saw me playing with a pulled hamstring which was healthy at the beginning of the round and hurting badly on the last seven holes.  I finished the tournament and my team was only one stroke out of the money. Yes, it is only a game, but a game that is addictive and I will be back for more.
     Happy 43rd birthday Phil!  I am with you and you will get your Open.

We just keep soldiering on.