By Tony Leodora

Finally, I looked like I knew what I was doing on a golf course – under windy conditions and on what might have been one of the more difficult courses of the four our flight played this week.

Despite a balky start, I managed to post a round of 81, with a 37 on the back nine.

The key to success? Easy, do everything wrong in preparation for the final round of the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship in Myrtle Beach.

For starters, wake up to discover that your iPhone is locked up and you cannot make or receive any calls. That meant about an hour of fooling with the phone, trying to read through the Help section of the phone website (that was a joke) and then resorting to cursing and hitting every button on the phone in random blasts of anger.

Of course, the final measures worked. But it left no time for my usual morning ritual of stretching and eating a healthy breakfast. Instead I had to rush out of the hotel and stop at the PGA Tour Superstore to pick up my driver. After Round 3, I noticed that the head was about to come off the shaft. I brought it in right before closing for emergency repairs and was told to pick it up in the morning.

Only problem – the store did not open at 8, as I thought. It opened at 9.

Now I was forced to rush to the course without a driver, stop for an egg biscuit at Bojangles (immediate heartburn) and arrive at the course with a plea to borrow a driver – anybody’s spare driver. I got one, but there was no time left for practice.

Instead, it was time to challenge the Black Bear GC, one of the northernmost courses along the Grand Strand, situated way out in the country on Route 9.

To my delight, I found the course to be in excellent shape (hats off again to the Classic Golf management group) and the bermuda greens were the fastest and smoothest we putted all week.

Unfortunately, without practice, I immediately three-putted one of the slick greens, and soon thereafter four-putted another. What a way to ruin a day of solid ball-striking. My 81 put me squarely in 25^th place in my flight of 53 players – another testimonial to mediocrity. The Flight was won by Denny Burch of New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, a Villanova grad who posted rounds of 81-82-80-74. His winning final round was low for the day by four shots.

For the fourth day in a row, the weather was delightful. The steady-to-brisk breezes made it quite comfortable. And the 4 hour and 45 minute round, although slow by normal standards, was very bearable under tournament conditions.

Adding to the day was a couple of interesting fellow competitors in my group.

Rocky was a good ol’ boy from Galveston, Texas, who was playing in his 6^th World Am. He used a conservative approach and a very steady short game to fashion an impressive 79. He putted well, despite an embroidered panel on his golf bag that read: Rocky Three-Putt Walker.

The explanation was that he rarely three-putted, so his normal playing group made a bet to see how long he could go without a three-putt. Amazingly, he lasted almost three months, at which time his friends presented him with the sarcastically emblazoned golf bag.

The other player in our threesome, Arnold, hailed from the thriving metropolis of Yellow Knife. It is in Canada, but not in the normal provinces we know from our neighbor to the north. Yellow Knife is in the Northwest Territories, east of Alaska. The North Pole is part of the Northwest Territories.

He and three friends from his town travelled for an entire day, taking three flights, to get to their first World Am. I didn’t have the heart to ask if there was anyone left in the town.

Because they live so far north and growing grass is nearly impossible, their home course sports sand fairways and artificial turf greens. They hit their shots off little artificial mats that they carry with them.

Arnold had a rough day, shooting a 92, and blamed it on the unfamiliar grasses. He said, “If I had my little mat with me all week, I would have kicked some butt.”

For the record, Arnold is not a big ice hockey fan and no longer hunts and fishes. He might be the only person in Canada with that description.

Instead, he admits to be a total golfaholic. All spare time is spent either playing or watching golf. Obviously, the man is addicted to golf – he took a dog sled and three flights to travel halfway around the world to Myrtle Beach to play in a golf tournament with strangers.

Only at the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship.

By Tony Leodora

There is no need for me to go to the golf course every day. All I have to do is pick up a copy of the Myrtle Beach newspaper, check the weather box at the top of the front page, and put the number on my scorecard.

Sunny and 89. Sounds about right.

Yes, it was another sunny day in Myrtle Beach, as the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship rolled into Day Three. And it was another miserable day on the golf course – as far as trying to post a decent score is concerned.

It seems, no matter what I do, I am destined to post a score of 89. In Round Three, at the famous Arnold Palmer-designed King’s North course at Myrtle Beach National, I managed to finish with that score. Even though it seemed impossible, judging by my play.

I was driving the ball long and straight. Rolling putts deftly toward the demonic hole locations of the day – and even making one birdie putt, on the No. 1 handicap hole on the course.

But, a series of tragic moments (some self-inflicted) awaited me.

Most of the problems were caused by pace of play. We were one of the lone foursomes on the course and, even though we didn’t hold anyone up, it still took us 5 hours and 10 minutes to play.

I had pleasant companions for the journey.

Bo, from Hickory, North Carolina, was a mountain of a man who chewed tobacco and recently retired at age 58 from his factory superintendent job. He was getting ready to realize a life dream and travel the country with his wife in his motor home. He finished with an 83.

Eric, from just outside Trenton, New Jersey, probably hit the ball best but putting woes bumped his score up to an 82.

Will from Scottsdale, Arizona is a transplant from Chicago. His undying allegiance to Da Bears was obvious by his Chicago Bears golf bag. He rode a hot putter to a round of 77. Nice guy, but we soon learned that Will was short for “Will he ever hit the ball, or will he ever stoke that putt, or will he ever be ready to hit when it is his turn?”

When he was finally prodded about his slow play, he politely answered, “I just believe everyone has the right to play golf at their own preferred speed.”

No, Will. You have to play faster than 5 hours and 10 minutes – especially when you are never forced to wait to hit a shot all day by the group in front of you.

Therefore, my woes for the day became obvious as soon as someone read my scorecard. My final four holes were four straight double-bogeys. After about four hours of playing golf, an alarm clock goes off in my head and all of the other thoughts and worries of the world come rushing back in.

Do you remember seeing Miguel Angel Jimenez miss a five-inch putt in the European Tour event last Sunday, because he was trying to maneuver around the marked balls of his fellow competitors and carelessly stretched and jabbed at the ball? I did the same thing in Round Three – twice! Too impatient to get the hole finished and move on to the next impending disaster.

I am going to have to gain some patience, if I am ever going to score well again in this World Am Championship. Or, a late summer cold wave is going to have to hit Myrtle Beach.

We’re not asking for hell to freeze over. Just a little — cloudy and a high of 75. Do you think there is a chance of that for Round Four? There is a better shot of that happening than me gaining a bit of patience.

P.S. – My lone birdie of the day, on the No. 1 handicap hole, stood up as a skin, and what would have been a $160 payoff … until the final scorecard was turned in. Last player of the day canceled my skin. Call it the final indignity.

By Tony Leodora

Ok. So much for that wonderfully comfortable 4 hour and 30 minute round of golf that we experienced on Day 1 at Indian Wells. The 5 hour and 10 minute death march on Day 2 at Heather Glen was more like the norm for the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship.

The organizers have done all they can to cut down the time. They have gone to threesomes. They have cut down the number of players on each course. They have begged for competitors to play ready golf. But there is no way to overcome a lack of talent.

At Heather Glen, under ideal weather conditions and with a fair course setup and wonderful conditions, the long round was unavoidable.

That’s because one group struggled through the entire round – consistently hitting shots that went farther to the left than Nancy Pelosi and farther to the right than Rush Limbaugh. They spent most of the day wandering in the woods, like the long-lost Heckawi Indian tribe – who have never found their way and still yell, “Where the Heckawi.”

Unfortunately, we were two groups behind the lost tribe of golfers. We got to watch their misadventures all day, as we waited on every shot.

Fortunately, the weather could not have been nicer, the golf course was enjoyable and the company was entertaining.

I played in the all-Pennsylvania threesome – along with Jim Davis of Ambler (Cedarbrook CC) and Jim Ray of Tyrone (Sinking Valley CC). By the end of the round we knew everything about everybody in our group … and most of their relatives.

And we also got to meet the guys in the group in front of us – at every tee. There I met my first international player of this year – Guillermo from Argentina. We told jokes, made fun of each others’ golf outfits and cursed the group that was holding us up. In other words, we did what guys usually do every day of the year on golf courses.

And after the round we rehashed the day in the clubhouse, washing down the stories with fair amounts of cold beer. That’s where two more Pennsylvanians  – Jim Cataldi from Warrington and Art Caldwell from Port Richmond – came up to me. They both admitted to being big fans of the Inside Golf television show and also admitted that the show’s constant coverage of the Myrtle Beach area played a big factor in them coming to Myrtle Beach and playing in the World Am.

Well, let’s get the gory details of Round Two out of the way. I played much better than in Round 1 – for 16 holes – but a pair of triple bogeys doomed me to a final score of 89, net 79. That was the same score shot by Jim Davis, while Jim Rey led our group with an 86. My first triple was a result of a couple of bad breaks on a long par five. The second triple came on the last hole of the day – after hitting 13 of 13 fairways off the tee. Unfortunately, the cart girl selected the top of my backswing as the perfect time to slam the door on her refrigerated section and pull off in a roar. The result, a bullet off the tee, dead right, into a jungle of bushes.  I finally emerged – scarred, bloodied but still ready to take on the world.

The second straight day of utter mediocrity left me in 31st place in my 53-man flight.  

By Tony Leodora

By now, anyone who plays golf knows the basic premise of Murphy’s Law: whatever can happen that is bad, will happen. In other words, whenever you drop a slice of bread with peanut butter on it, it always lands face down.

That was the story of Day One of the 27^th annual Golf.Com World Amateur Championship in Myrtle Beach. At least it was the story for me … and I’m sure plenty of other people among the 3,200 who are competing in the world’s largest golf tournament. Because that’s the way golf is – more often than not, unfair.

First, let me explain, there was nothing unfair about the setup of the Indian Wells club that hosted us. This 1984 Gene Hamm design has been buffed into magnificent shape by the Classic Group that owns and manages it (along with Black Bear, the Founders Club and Burning Ridge). Monday’s setup made for an incredibly speedy (by World Am standards) 4 hour and 30 minute round of golf.

I may have played Indian Wells many years ago but I don’t remember it to be the gem that it is now. It has 16 very good holes, one bad one (No. 1 – a difficult opening par five that wiggles through too much stuff and leaves you feeling there is nowhere to hit the ball), and one great hole, No. 18, that is completely ruined by a huge tree that blocks a great second shot over water into a well-designed green.

One of the greatest untruths in golf happens when somebody says, “They can never take out that tree, or trees, because they make the hole.”

Trees don’t make a good golf hole. A good hole is well-designed on its own merits – with or without trees. The only thing trees can do is ruin a hole – and No. 18 at Indian Wells is a prime example.

P.S. – I parred the No. 1 handicap 18^th hole in Monday’s opening round, so don’t chalk up my criticisms to a case of sour grapes.

Now, for the Murphy’s Law part. I came to Myrtle Beach intent on working on my short game and especially my putting.  I brought three putters and spent much of Friday, Saturday and Sunday practicing. Or, at least as much as my incredibly sore back would allow. Somewhere between Atlantic City and Myrtle Beach, on that early morning flight, I managed to send my back into spasms. We are getting through it with a series of massages, balms, drugs and stretches. We are playing at about 85 percent.

The practice would have been helpful except all of it was done on bentgrass greens that have suffered through this incredibly hot, humid summer. As a result, the superintendents are unwilling to cut the greens close and they are running at a speed of about 8.

When I arrived, late, for my first round, I found a crowded putting green that was hardly the same speed as what we would see on course. A few quick putts and it was off to battle.

My first green, using a new putter that emerged from my weekend of practice, was a large one and I was faced with a 40-foot putt, after shortsiding myself on the approach and being unable to get the chip close. My second putt was a 20-footer, from past the hole. My third putt was a 10-footer, from past the hole again. I finally managed to make my fourth putt, from five feet past the hole – but I was spooked for the rest of the round.

The final result was 37 putts, en route to a round of 90, net 80 – that put me in 27th place in my flight of 53 players. Mediocrity is my middle name.

My main triumph, aside from making par on the hardest hole on the course, was finishing second in my foursome. Another accomplishment was finishing with the same net score as Roger Clemens, the newly arraigned former pitcher. His arraignment hearing ended in Washington early in the afternoon, then he flew by private jet to Myrtle Beach to play the first round. A 4-handicap, he shot 84 on the Pearl course. He is staying in a private house on Pawleys Island with guitarist Dave Mason and country singer Vince Gill. Neither is playing in the tournament, but Clemens wife is.

Now, back to the regular people in my foursome. Mike Neely from Richmond, carded an incredibly steady round of 78 that put him in first place in the flight. Tim from Outer Banks, North Carolina – a transplant from Mt. Holly, New Jersey – cursed and grumbled his way to a round of 99. Mike from Highland, Maryland, was a quiet gentleman, even though he had a disastrous round of 107.

I should report that this was my first time competing in the Senior Division of the World Am. Everyone in my flight was between an 8.0 and 8.8 handicap.

The biggest difference between the Regular Flights and the Senior Flights is that the conversation changes from what bars and clubs the players frequented the night before, to what aches and pains the players had to overcome that day. And you have to talk louder, because a lot of the players can’t hear well.

But they can still play. Joe Crocker shot a 78, net 68 to lead my flight after the first day.

Wow, 12 strokes, that’s a lot of strokes to make up. Better go practice my putting.

By Tony Leodora

Ok, the odds are about 3,500 to one against you. Some of the toughest courses in Myrtle Beach’s arsenal stand in your path. The extent of your real competitive golf has been in the annual family bragging rights match on the miniature golf course. And your confidence level can be seen in the fact that you got off the airplane with three putters in your bag.

That is the scene as I prepare to compete in the 27^th Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship in Myrtle Beach. To make matters worse, I have agreed to chronicle each of the four rounds of play (five, if a miracle happens and I win my flight and compete on the final day at the TPC of Myrtle Beach). That’s right – a bare-my-soul, tell-all, expose of what it’s like to play in the world’s largest golf tournament.

I did the same thing last year – en route to finishing exactly 20^th among the 40 players in my flight. The details were not pretty – but they were pretty amusing. There were some interesting anecdotes about the other players I met during the week – a varied slice of Americana from mostly small towns in Delaware, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and elsewhere.

In another year, my experience had a much more international flavor. A few years ago I played in a foursome with a player from Mexico, one from Argentina and one from Italy.

In another year, back before my game developed rust, I finished third in one of the more elite flights. I have the plaque hanging on the wall to prove it.

Don’t expect anything like that this year. For one thing, I have graduated to the Senior Division – still flighted according to handicap. I’m still playing with single-digit handicap players – but they are all closer to Social Security days than the days when they played in scratch championships.

With all of these staggering odds against me, it quickly became obvious that I needed a bit of help if I was going to avoid total embarrassment – in public, on my website, in front of the golf world.

This year’s plan (last year’s was a misadventure with hypnosis) entails enlisting the help of some of the greatest minds I know in the game of golf. Being involved in the industry, I come across some people who know a bit about playing the game of golf. I also run into a few who know a bit about winning championships.

Therefore, I called on a few friends for some help. All I wanted was one key thought to carry with me throughout the week.

Here are some of the words of wisdom I gleaned from the experts:

Lou Guzzi – director of instruction for GolfTalk Live and Talamore CC, Philadelphia PGA Teacher of the Year – “You are a person who learns better visually than you do verbally. So remember the visual pictures that I showed you of Ben Hogan going through that little swing drill when he was on the Ed Sullivan Show. It’s simple, but it always seems to work for you.”

Brad Redding – Top 100 instructor at Grande Dunes Resort in Myrtle Beach, formerly from Hartefeld National – “The key is a conservative game plan that is executed aggressively.”

Rick Sessinghaus – Known as “Golf’s Mental Coach and author of the book, “Golf, the Ultimate Mind Game.” – “Remember that you are out here playing golf. Have fun playing a game, just as you did when you were a kid. Concentrate mentally, but play emotionally.”

Charlie Rymer – Golf Channel analyst – “In a pressure-packed stroke play competition, the best advice is always to grow a huge pair of nuts. All of that laying up, not taking any chances, swinging easy stuff is a bunch of crap. You’re going to screw up. You might as well go down like a man.”

Mitch Laurance – ESPN women’s professional billiards commentator and Myrtle Beach resident – “Don’t listen to Charlie Rymer.”

Armed with all of those words of wisdom, how can this week be anything less than a success.

By Tony Leodora

It is one of my favorite Sunday mornings of the year … and it doesn’t include playing golf. Go figure.

But we will be watching plenty of golf.

It is British Open Sunday and that means plenty of golf on the television and plenty of food and drink on the table.

And, when it comes to food, GolfTalk Live turns to its Official Gastronome, Nicky G.

In real life, Nick Giovanangelo is the owner of Inside Jewelers on West Chester Pike in Broomall. While his is a wizard with the diamonds and other precious gems, he’s also pretty close to scratch with the pots and pans. Therefore, he usually takes care of our culinary needs when it comes time to plot out a long viewing session for one of the Major Championships.

Since the British Open starts early on a Sunday, the brunch venue comes into play. And since this year’s Open Championship is being played at St. Andrews, a Scottish theme might come to mind for some. But not Nicky G.

“I’ll tell you what you can do with all those kippers, and blood pudding and fish and chips, you can throw them in the trash,” says Nick G, in his inimitable style. “If you are going to make it through a long British Open, and there could always be a four-hole playoff, you need a good base. You need something substantial.

“We’re going to make a huge frittata for the British Open. We are paying tribute to the past accomplishments of Costantino Rocca and the accomplishments that might lie ahead for Francesco Molinari. And, you get to clean out your refrigerator”

Nicky G’s 12-Egg Frittata

Necessary items:

·         Large cast iron or metal-handled frying pan

·         Television in the kitchen for early part of telecast

Ingredients:

·         Just about any vegetables in the refrigerator. For this dish – asparagus, leeks, potatoes, peppers and spinach

·         Dozen eggs

·         Extra virgin olive oil

·         Salt

·         Pepper

·         Italian sausage, skin removed and crumbled

·         Grated Reggiano parmigiano cheese

·         Mozzarella cheese

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil and fry uniformly sliced potatoes and leeks. Use a mandolin or other slicing device that will produce uniform slices for even cooking.

In a separate pan, sauté asparagus, spinach, peppers and sausage. After cooked, combine with the potatoes and leeks.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs well, until frothy, along with the grated cheese. Then pour the eggs into the frying pan over all of the other ingredients.

Cook on medium heat until the eggs set.

Then take the cast iron or metal-handled pan and place it in a pre-heated 350-degree over. Bake off the top of the frittata until uniformly cooked.

Take the pan out of the oven and cover the top with a mixture of cheeses – most recommended are grated reggiano parmigiano and mozzarella.

Put the oven on broil and replace the pan under the flame until the top browns. After removing from the oven, allow the frittata to settle for 5 minutes before cutting into slices, like a pie.

Suggested accompaniment – Prosecco, which is the Italian version of champagne but without the bite in the finish. For those who want to dress it up, they can add a splash of orange juice to make an Italian Mimosa, or even a spash of cranberry juice.

By Tony Leodora

At the risk of being called an incurable “homer”, I am going to award straight ‘A’s to the AT & T Tournament and Aronimink Golf Club for their joint performance over the weekend.

Yes, I admit, I pull for all things Philadelphian. I am a lifelong Philadelphia area resident. I tried to move away three times, but got stopped by a variety of issues each time. And twice the truck was packed!

I think the Philadelphia restaurants are great. I think the Philadelphia sports scene is great. And I especially like the incredible assortment of great private and public courses in the area – the greatest in the country.

But, I honestly intended to view this past weekend’s tournament with a most discerning eye.

For one thing, the people who were putting on the tournament were not native Philadelphians. Nor did they have any ties to Philadelphia – except to come in for two years, use Aronimink while their Congressional course was being renovated, then take their tournament back to the Washington area.

For another thing, there was a lot of chest-thumping talk from Aronimink members leading up to the tournament. They have always lived in the shadow of their Main Line neighbor to the east, Merion, and they were taking the opportunity to air their boasts.

And they have every right to be proud, but at least wait until the first shot of the tournament before proclaiming Aronimink ready for any and all future competitions – including majors.

Well, let me be the first to say that both the tournament and Aronimink deserve any and all compliments that were tossed around this weekend.

And they were tossed from every corner of the golf world.

The fans who flocked to the course in record numbers raved about the setting. The announcers on Golf Channel and CBS could hardly get the words out of their mouths, because of all the drooling they were doing.

Throughout the week, while doing dual duties as radio reporter and website columnist, I was interrupted by e-mails, text messages and phone calls from across the country. Everyone, many in the golf industry, wanted to comment on just how magnificent Aronimink looked and how well it stood up as an exciting venue.

From an organizational point of view, there could hardly be an improvement on the job that was done by the AT & T National people and the Tiger Woods Foundation. Everything from traffic flow, to parking to convenience items, to merchandise to hospitality was excellent.

The only minor complaint that could be voiced involved tight quarters between the 9^th and 18^th greens. That made for a couple of gridlock situations when the Tiger Woods circus parade came through the area. And will somebody please taser the idiots who yell, “Get in the hole” every time he hits a shot.

Other than the most minor items, there was nothing bad that could be said about the event.

And, finally, the highest of A-plus ratings go to two people.

Justin Rose, the tournament champ, not only played four fine rounds of golf, but he showed total class in every interview session. He was a shining example of why golf is such an honorable sport.

The other A-plus has to go to Aronimink superintendent John Gosselin and his staff. The course was in pristine condition. Every year, Muirfield Village – Jack Nicklaus’ personal agronomy lab – gets voted the highest mark for conditioning of a golf course by the players on the PGA Tour. This year, it might get pushed by Aronimink.

Bottom line: the event was a huge plus for Aronimink and the entire city of Philadelphia. Can’t wait for next year.

By Tony Leodora

Justin Rose won a tournament this week in Philadelphia. In addition, he won a cool $1 million and change. But he also won a few of Philly’s tough sports fans and really won big when it came to the media.

Coming off his disastrous collapse last week in the Travelers Championship in Connecticut, it would have been easy for Rose to sweep the residue of the disaster under the rug and tell the media that he wasn’t going to talk about last week. Instead, he patiently answered questions all week long, insisting that he learned from his mistakes.

“I felt like I was a better player Monday after Hartford than going into Sunday because I felt like I learned a couple of things,” explained Rose. “I had been in contention again and, even though I didn’t win, it helps. The more times you are in contention, the easier it does become.”

And, with that, the barrage of questions began. Media members were poking and probing and there was a similar feeling of embarrassment as the one that occurs during a prostate exam.

Finally, one writer – Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer — who sensed the uneasiness in the air, asked, “Some players we’ve had in (these interviews) wouldn’t talk about what happened last week or might be short with their answers. What makes it okay for you to talk about it? It obviously doesn’t seem to worry you at all.”

“No I think it’s because I don’t regret it, because I feel like I’m better for it,” replied Rose.

He went on to explain but a golf writer’s thoughts had already drifted back in time. Way back to a very famous story about Arnold Palmer, that has been held up as a shining example of media relations for many years.

It was 1976 and Palmer was certainly past his prime. However, he seemed to gear up his game every year for the Masters. After four wins – the last in 1964 – Palmer grew to regard Augusta as one of his most beloved places on earth. He could always find a little extra for that special week in April.

Indeed, in 1974 and 1975 he turned in very respectable performances, finishing 11^th and 13^th respectively.

But ’76 was another story and after a miserable second round in the low 80s, Palmer had missed the cut at Augusta for only the second time in his career. To make it worse, the dismal showing had him wondering about the overall state of his game.

When a small group of reporters shuffled into the locker room, they found a despondent Palmer, head down, sitting in front of his locker. After a few uneasy moments of shuffling feet and summoning nerve, Marino Parascenzo of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette finally managed a soft whisper.

“Arnold, I’m sorry to bother you at a time like this but can we ask a few questions,” said Parascenzo, who had a long, strong relationship with the hometown hero.

Palmer looked up and there was no hiding the redness in his eyes. He drew a deep breath and said, “Boys, we talked in good times; we’ll talk in bad times.”

Then, flashing that million-dollar smile that has been his trademark throughout his career, he said, “Let’s have at it.”

And so, the legend gained another saga. Palmer has been the most accessible, classiest athlete in the world for more than five decades. It’s nice to see that some of it has rubbed off on a new generation of golfers.

For the better part of 20 minutes, Rose continued to answer questions about every little bit of his meltdown in Hartford – this on the eve of trying to go out and protect another four-shot lead. It was a most admirable effort, one that did not go unnoticed by Philadelphia’s grizzled media.

Finally, Rose was asked to be more specific on his mental approach to handling the disaster of his collapse and turning it into a positive.

“Well, I think it’s just about not brushing stuff under the carpet, facing up to it, what did I do well, what did I do badly, how can I do something better going forward,” Rose explained.

The response was so refreshing that it knocked the stifling heat out of a scorching Fourth of July weekend. And it probably was the main reason Rose rebounded from back-to-back three putts on holes 10 and 11 Sunday, then steadied himself to notch his second career victory in the AT & T National. He learned a lesson worth $1 million and change.

It was a lesson that should be transferred to the youth of America.

For that matter, it should be played over and over again for those serving in American government. Until they get it.

Imagine the irony of a loyal British subject providing a crystal-clear lesson in character-building to the American public on the Fourth of July. It was better than all of the hot dogs, apple pie and fireworks in the USA.

By Tony Leodora

On the Fourth of July, America’s most patriotic holiday, another invasion is taking place — just a few miles away from where our most sacred document, the Declaration of Independence, was signed.

The invasion is taking place at Aronimink Golf Club, just a short march south of General George Washington’s winter encampment at Valley Forge, and the Americans seem to be in full retreat.

Despite being outnumbered greatly in the field by the home forces, foreign-born players are dominating the leaderboard in the AT & T National. Unless one of the Yankees makes a valiant Sunday charge, the first place prize of $1,118,000 will be headed overseas.

Britain’s Justin Rose, seemingly exacting revenge for Washington’s Christmas Eve raid in Trenton, is the most dangerous invader. He followed a sizzling 64 on Friday with 67 on Saturday and has a four-shot lead over Korea’s Charlie Wi and Sweden’s Carl Petterson. Australia’s Jason Day, the first round leader, is also close behind at 4-under.

The only Americans within sniffing distance are Jeff Overton at 5-under and Ryan Moore 4-under, and neither seem to be striking fear in the hearts of any of the invaders.

And why should they be afraid? Non-Americans have won seven of the last nine PGA Tour events, including the once-American owned U.S. Open.

“I hate to say it, but the American players are soft,” said Aronimink legend and Champions Tour player Jay Sigel, who is providing commentary for Comcast SportsNet this week. “I don’t see any killer instinct.”

Whether it is being soft or apathetic, the Americans don’t seem impressed by the foreign dominance.

“I never really think about it,” said Moore, part of the young wave of Americans. “If I don’t win, then it’s just somebody else. I don’t think about what they are.”

That seems to be a common theme among the Americans. On the other side of the coin, it would be doubtful that the recent dominance has gone unnoticed by the foreign players.

Maybe what the locals need is another midnight ride by Paul Revere.

“The British are coming. The British are coming. And they’re taking all of your purse money back across the pond.”

By Tony Leodora

As disasters in America’s Mid-Atlantic region go, it might not quite rank up there with the crash of the Hindenburg or the Johnstown Flood, but …

By the narrowest of margins Tiger Woods survived the two-round cut in the AT & T National at Aronimink and the sigh of relief could be heard as far away as Conshohocken.

That sigh came from the AT & T people, the Tiger Woods Foundation, CBS, the thousands of fans who had weekend tickets, the concession people, the neighbors who are parking cars on their lawns for $25 a pop, and the Aronimink members. But mostly the Aronimink members.

“Nobody wants to see Tiger Woods out of this event,” said tournament chairman and former Aronimink president Mike Higgins. “We would still have a great tournament but it certainly would have let a lot of air out of it, had he missed the cut.”

For a while yesterday, it looked as if Woods had no worries about making the cut. He started on Aronimink’s treacherous back nine and finished one-under-par, sandwiching birdies around a bogey on No. 12.

He held at one-under-par for the day — making him two-over for the tournament and safely inside the cut line – until the eighth hole, his next-to-last of the day. He then missed a short putt, giving him an unexpected bogey and bringing the cut line into sight.

The ninth hole is a par 5 and regarded by all as a birdie hole. Inexplicably, Woods continued his failure on par 5 holes (he is one-over for the tournament) and made a par that put him at 3-over-par after 36 holes.

“I don’t know what it is with the par 5s this week,” Woods said. “I played them awful, absolutely awful. This last one, nine, was a perfect example. I drove it absolutely perfect and couldn’t take advantage of it.”

At least he didn’t make a bogey, which would have sent him packing, and sent a few people leaping.

Now they can call the Aronimink members down off the ledges. Tiger will be around for the weekend … and so will most of the fans. Now all they need is a pair of 66s from him and things could actually get interesting.