STROKE OF THE DAY

"A good golf course makes you want to play so badly that you hardly have the time to change your shoes. "

It’s getting pretty exciting out here at Torrey Pines, even if the sun refuses to come out. Here are my thoughts on the day thus far:

--There could be a new Southland star on the scene by the time the U.S. Open concludes tomorrow evening: his name is John Merrick. After posting a steady 73-72 in the first two rounds of the championship, the Long Beach native and UCLA graduate is putting together one of the strongest rounds today and is threatening to position himself in one of the last pairings for the final round. Merrick, also a pupil of Virginia Country Club PGA professional and chief operating officer Jamie Mulligan, has one of the smoothest swings on the PGA Tour and the length to compete with the big boys, ranking 13^th on Tour in driving distance (296.2 yards). I’ll be following him closely, and so should you.

--I was out on the range early this afternoon watching Tiger Woods. His session began with a lob wedge, and he hit everything from flop shots and short pitches to full shots of what appeared to be at least three different trajectories. Then, after a short stint with his pitching wedge, he pulled out one of his short irons – probably a 7 or an 8 – and hit about 10 full shots before he began making swings of decreasing tempo. He would employ a three-quarter length backswing every time, but he got so deliberate that the ball would only travel about 40 yards in the air. But he was still hitting it pure every time.

If he makes putts today like he did on the back nine yesterday, he will post a score under par and unquestionably be the man to beat in tomorrow’s final round. As I’ve said before, bet against him at your own risk.

--Phil Mickelson managed to take himself out of contention for the 2008 U.S. Open title with a quadruple-bogey nine on the par-5 13^th. Earlier in the week, Lefty said the new tee box on that hole was one of the “biggest wastes of money” he’d ever seen, but what’s ironic about his blunder there today was that the most forward tee was used since a difficult front hole location was in play. Any way you slice it, the Rancho Santa Fe resident won’t be holding the national championship trophy at a course he holds so dear. Maybe he’ll have another chance in 2016.

That’s all for now. I’ll chime in again once the leaders have played a few holes, especially that Tiger guy.