Darren Clarke, Open Championship, Northern Ireland

I was delighted to see Darren Clarke win the Open Championship yesterday. He’s a great player and a fine man. For a golfer from Northern Ireland, the Open is the greatest victory one can have.

I’m starting to think that I want to move to or at least visit Northern Ireland. There are really only a few people I know of from there, but they are all very nice and very funny.

David Feherty, the former Ryder Cup player and current golf commentator is the funniest man in sports broadcasting and maybe on all of TV.

Graeme McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open Champion, is as funny and charming as well as being a threat to win any tournament he plays in.

Rory McIlroy, until this week the newest sensation in golf, seems like a delightful young man who will, as he ages, be able to keep up with the wit of his golfing countrymen.

And now we have Clarke, who went head to head with Tiger Woods years ago to defeat him in the Match Play, and who charms as well as he hits a golf ball.

Thanks to the Northern Irish, who remind me that the game of golf is exactly that – a game.

Aronimink, Nick Watney, Rickie Fowler

It was another great day at Aronimink Country Club in Newtown Square. The weather was nearly perfect, the crowd was enjoying themselves, and there was some superb golf played.

Judging from the number of fans following the players, Rickie Fowler was the most popular player out there. Fowler proved again that he was more than just a flamboyant dresser by firing a wonderful 64. Fowler enters the last round ties with Nick Watney at 9 under par.

Before this week, the course record at this great Donald Ross designed course was 64. Today alone, 2 guys shot 64 – Fowler and Webb Simpson. 2 more, Chris Kirk and Steve Marino shot 63. One player, Nick Watney, shot an unbelievable 62, including a preposterous 27, that’s right, 27, on the back nine. Watney’s record score sets him up as tied for the lead with Fowler entering the last round on Sunday.

I played Aronimink once, a few years ago, on a rainy day. It was really long, very difficult, and very impressive. Earlier this week, Tiger called the course “shortish”. I suppose it does play much easier when you are bombing drives in the 300 yard plus range. But for that many players to go this low, all on the same day, is astonishing to me. I didn’t think the conditions were easy by any stretch, with little rain recently to soften the course. Indeed, some great players struggled. But 62? That is amazing.

Golf fans, be advised. Tomorrow may be one of the last times you have a chance to see PGA Tour golf in the area for quite a while. True, the U.S. Open will be played at the venerable Merion Golf Club in 2013, but don’t expect tickets to be widely available. The USGA usually sells out Open tickets, and I doubt if there will be many left for the general public to get their hands on.

Great Day at Aronimink!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day Friday at Aronimink County Club for the second
round of AT&T National. For a field without Tiger Woods, the crowd was good
and enthusiastic. With great weather and good fan support, it's a bit of a
mystery why the PGA Tour was absent from the area for most of 2 decades.

I thought I'd share some tips with the readers about how best to enjoy the
tournament. Close observers of the tournament may have noticed that no
walk-ups were permitted to enter. Only those who arrived on shuttle busses
or taxis or limos were allowed to come in.

It turned out that this was a good idea, as the entrance road was rather
narrow, and could not safely accommodate passing shuttle busses plus
pedestrians. I doubt if the police would actually try to enforce this rule,
but not too many people tried to challenge it.

Aronimink is one of the many older courses in the region whose designers
probably did not give one single thought to how spectators or golf carts
would fit on the course. Donald Ross just concentrated on designing a great
test of golf, and he produced a great work of art here.

There are a lot of spots out there where it is very difficult to get a good
view of the players as they hit a shot and to follow the ball until it
stops.

We did find a great spot behind the 5th green, where you could see the
players hot off that hole's tee, watch them chip and putt, and see the tee
shots on the 6th hole. As a bonus, you easily turn to your left and see
players hit their approach shots into the 12th green.

Another great spot was behind the 3rd green, where you could watch the
approach shots, and then walk over to the 4th tee to watch players hit their
drives.

No matter where you went on the course today, you got to see great players,
a beautiful course, and tough shots.