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The Back Nine comes at you after a humid weekend where we saw train wrecks at the Open and bad breaks for the Gator baseball team.
10. It wasn’t that great a catch. It was more that when Cade Kurland hit it, you thought it might be the game-winner. But the game was played in a spacious stadium instead of a college one and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Today may well be Florida’s last game of the season, but the truth is that you have to have some breaks in Omaha. Even the 2017 national champs had some luck (like the ball bouncing off the first base bag). No matter what happens, this was a wild season and we will always be appreciative of a trip to Omaha, because we know how difficult it is to get there. Just ask LSU.
11. It didn’t help that two moronic Texas A&M fans – who obviously fell for the Rocco’s Jello shots ruse during the rain delay – were heckling Kevin O’Sullivan in the most offensive way possible before they were dragged away by the Omaha police. I would hope they are banned for life from the stadium.
12. It seems pretty clear though that the eight best teams were at the College World Series. Three walk-offs and a one-run game in the first four? That’s incredibly competitive. Unfortunately, I think Tennessee is going to win it all. Talk about breaks, that non-call of the checked swing against FSU THAT WOULD HAVE ENDED THE GAME was brutal. So, the Semis get screwed again. And – like football – it’s OK with me. Both things are possible.
13. I did watch a lot of the U.S. Olympic Trials for swimming, and it will be going on for another week. I’m still trying to figure out if someone who is wearing a Gator cap and is a volunteer coach at Florida (Katie Ledecky) is a Gator or not. Let’s look at it this way – Robert Gillespie coaches for Alabama. Is he a Bammer?
14. I’m still trying to figure out how to react to Bryson DeChambeau’s win at the U.S. Open. The guy is weird, but it works. He was more engaging with the fans than anyone on the golf course and was running around the grounds letting fans touch the trophy. But he was wearing his LIV uniform and I was rooting for Rory McIlroy so I was definitely not in favor of him winning. At the same time, I love the game and Bryson’s bunker shot on 18 was not only the best shot of his life, but maybe one of the 10 best in the history of the majors.
15. Simmer down now, Pat, because Rory Mac lost it as much as anything. Two missed putts inside four feet on the last three holes? That is, unfortunately, a choke. No other way to put it. The gremlins were in his head. Now that would not include those idiots who were chanting U-S-A Saturday and Sunday. This was not the Ryder Cup.
16. The course received a lot of criticism, because it didn’t always reward good shots. My wife, Karen, said she grew tired of good shots rolling off the greens. I will only tell you this – I got so frustrated playing Pinehurst No. 2 on my phone I had to delete the app. Now that the USGA is all in on Pinehurst with the Hall of Fame and museum there, there are going to be a lot more events at the course. Deal with it better than I did.
17. I was looking at college football spreads that Circa put out this weekend and realized Florida is a double-digit underdog in four games and a six-point underdog at home against LSU. People are either going to get rich enough to buy Billy Napier’s house betting on Florida or have to move in with their parents. It’s 50-50.
18. Too hot for the golf course this weekend. Too hot to do yard work. Not too hot to lay in the pool listening to this playlist:
- “The One That I Know” by The Charlatans.
- “Monsters and Angels” by Voice of the Beehive.
- And for a really old one, we were talking about our first concert the other day and this old man had to admit that it was not an indie band. Instead, it was the Kingston Trio at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. Since then, I have performed on that stage in Cross and Sword and seen Weezer, Head and the Heart and the Avett Brothers there. But the first concert? My Dad took me in 1965 (I think) and reminiscing about it makes me miss him even more. So, indulge me with “Tom Dooley” by The Kingston Trio.
WRUF.com sports columnist Pat Dooley can be heard on “The Tailgate” along with Jeff Cardozo from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday on 98.1-FM/AM-850 WRUF.
