Hilfestellungen » Friday at the Sharks Leagues Club.dddddd

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Phil Mickelson knew it was going to be close, so he made sure his group could finish the second round of the U.S. Open on Friday. The rule when a round is halted because of darkness is that players have the option to complete a hole. Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley were on the 17th with the sun falling fast when Lefty spoke to Dustin Johnson in the group ahead of them. "We told DJ and his caddie, Keith Sbarbaro, we may hit one shot and they looked out for it," Mickelson said. Mickelson and Stricker were still on the 17th green when Bradley went over to the 18th green. The Johnson group, still in the fairway, moved to the side so Bradley could hit his tee shot. If the horn were to sound, Mickelsons group would be able to play the final hole because at least one player (Bradley) had teed off on the 18th. "They moved out of the way, and Keegan hit a tee shot, and they went back and finished the hole," Mickelson said. "It was nice of them so we could finish." It turned out they didnt need to rush. The horn didnt sound until everyone in Mickelsons group was on the 18th hole. Mickelson made a 20-foot birdie for a 72 to share the clubhouse lead. Stricker got up-and-down from 40 yards short of the green for a par. He shot 69 and was one shot behind. Bradley had no chance of making the cut. Thats why it didnt matter that he rushed over to play his tee shot on the 18th. It was critical for the top players to finish, and that included the group behind -- Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker. Rose made par for a 69 and joined Stricker at one shot behind. Because the second round wont finish until Saturday morning, the last few groups of the third round likely wont tee off until mid-afternoon. The last thing anyone wanted to do -- particularly Mickelson, Stricker, Rose -- was to return to Merion at the crack of dawn to play one hole, and then come back some eight hours later. "We had to wait about two or three minutes on the tee," Rose said. "And I was getting nervous. Kuch ... suddenly grabbed the club and he was ready. That was definitely taking one for the team." ------ Graeme McDowell has already moved on to other majors. He may as well. McDowells is out of the hunt for a second career U.S. Open championship. McDowell, the 2010 champ, was 7 over after a 77 on Friday in the second round at Merion Golf Club. "Im temporarily dejected," he said. "This game is not about your bad weeks. Of course, its about the major championships, and youre trying to prepare yourself as well as you can coming into weeks like this. "Ill shake it off and Ill get ready for The Open Championship in a few weeks time. Thats my next target. The Irish Open and the French Open between then. Ill be competitively sharp going into Muirfield and Ill continue to draw on this season." McDowell had double bogeys on the 10th, 11th, 17th and 18th holes. He posted just three birdies in the second round. "Its not the way I wanted to play the last couple of days," he said. "But this place is very hard." ------ PANS MOVE: The surprise of Fridays play at the U.S. Open were a pair of amateurs -- Michael Kim of Cal and Cheng-Tsung Pan of Taiwan. They were 2 under for their round and among those who didnt finish. Pan must finish his round Saturday morning. He had two birdies and no bogeys to zip into a tie for third place at even par. Kim is 1-over so far and tied for eighth. Pan, a 21-year-old from Taiwan, is a junior at the University of Washington. He missed the cut in his other Open appearance in 2011, saying he was too excited and had too many distractions to play his best game. This time, Pan said he embraced the pressure that comes along with a major. "I feel I belong to that kind of place," he said. "Im not saying Im good enough, but I love this kind of feeling and the competition is great. I just want to be here always." -------- DONALDS DAY: Luke Donald holed out a chip for birdie on the short par-3 13th to reach 4 under and top the leaderboard in the U.S. Open. Not for long. He bogeyed Nos. 4-7 to totally spoil his round Friday. Donald was at 4 under Thursday before play was suspended, and finished with a 2-under 68 on Friday. He added a 72 in the second round to leave him even par for the tournament. The English star had a run of five bogeys in six holes on his back nine in the second round. "The greens have been tricky to read all week," he said. "They seem to be breaking a little bit more than Im seeing, hence a couple of lip outs. But you try not to panic in U.S. Opens." Donald, playing in his 10th U.S., has never won a major. The former world No. 1 played a pair of practice rounds last week at Merion to get used to the course. He even posed for a photo with David Graham, winner of the 1981 U.S. Open at Merion. "I asked him, Whats the secret?" Donald said. "And he said, Keep it in the short stuff. Obviously, I think most of us know that and its all about doing it." The 35-year-old Donald failed to make the cut last year in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco because of putting failures. He has never finished better than 12th in an Open (2006) and missed the cut three times since his 2002 debut. He was 45th in 2011 and 47th in 2010. Donald and Lee Westwood are the only players to be No. 1 without having won a major. Hes glad to at least be in the hunt this year. "I havent played very well, but when I saw this place last week, I thought it was a good fit for my game," he said. "Its nice to come here and feel like Im swinging pretty well and Ive got a chance. So, hopefully, I can throw a good one in tomorrow and really be in the mix come Sunday." ---------- DOUBLE DIP: Carl Pettersson saw double on No. 5. Pettersson had to check his backswing after an errant shot from No. 2 rolled his way and smacked his ball off its spot. Pettersson stopped his swing and backed off the ball, chuckling at the truly bizarre shot. The wayward ball came from Brandon Crick. He had to hit from where the ball landed. Pettersson placed the ball at its original spot. He probably wished his ball was whacked into the cup -- he had a bogey on the par-5 hole. "Luckily, I wasnt in my downswing, because if I would have missed the ball, it would have been, I dont know what the ruling would have been on that," he said. "But it might not have been good. I regripped and hit a decent shot after that." ---------- LAWRIE Honour: Paul Lawrie fought back with a 71 and feared he would miss the cut. The day wasnt a total loss. Hours later, the former British Open champion was among those selected for the Order of the British Empire in the Queens Birthday Honors. More that his performance on the course, the Scot was recognized for his foundation that helps pay for kids to get into sport. It started with golf and now includes soccer, rugby and some tennis. "I wanted to do it before I won the Open, but I didnt think I was a big enough name and didnt think sponsors would be interested or the kids would want to participate in the events," Lawrie said. "All of a sudden, I win the Open. Its getting pretty big and growing every year, but I have to say a lot of people do a lot of good work." Lawrie holds the major championship record for the largest comeback in the final round, making up 10 shots in the final round at Carnoustie in 1999, and beating Jean Van de Velde and Justin Leonard in a playoff. "Its a huge honour," Lawrie said. ---------- LOCAL FAVORITE: Jim Furyk had the home crowd on his side. He just failed to deliver a performance worth cheering for Friday. Furyk, born in the nearby Philly suburb of West Chester and raised in Lancaster, shot a 9-over 79. Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, wont be adding a second one to the collection. He hadnt played Merion Golf Club since the 1989 U.S. Amateur. "It showed," he said. "I didnt do a great job with my prep. I felt like I was ready coming here but I obviously played very poorly. It was probably my last putting performance in the last three or four years." For years, Furyk hosted the one-day Exelon Invitational at various stops throughout the state. His event was the only professional golf even that the Philadelphia area had on a yearly basis. He hasnt held the informal exhibition since 2009 and doesnt expect it to return. And he doesnt know when hell play again in the area. "I never really played well at the tournaments here," he said. "Its a bummer. I crossed the state at Oakmont for a couple of championships. At 43, theres not going to be another tournament here at Merion." ---------- DIVOTS: Stuck in the mud: Tiger Woods ski-champion girlfriend Lindsey Vonn had to trek through the mud at Merion like any other fan. "Sums up my day on the golf course... . muddy . usopen2013," she wrote on Twitter. The tweet went along with a photo of her from the knees down standing ankle-deep in the soupy muck. She later posted a Vine video of various muddy shoes and boots around the course. "Muddy shoes... Best and worst so far. . whatweretheythinking."Lenny Randle Rangers Jersey . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. John Wetteland Jersey . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/392h-hunter-pence-jersey-rangers.html . 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Fake Rangers Jerseys . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship.Cronulla have refused to rule out making a play for a big-name hooker despite confirming the signing of Manaia Cherrington from Wests Tigers.Cherrington appears to be in the box seat to take Michael Ennis No.9 jumper next NRL season however coach Shane Flanagan cannot guarantee him first crack.The club signed Cherrington on Friday for one year with the intention of him spending a season being groomed by Ennis, however that plan was thrown into disarray when the former NSW rake last month announced he would retire at the end of this campaign.Were a bit of in a holding pattern with our No.9, Flanagan said.Like the rest of rugby league, were in a bit of shock when Michael retired.Manaia was coming here to be Michaels understudy and learn from him.You need three hookers at least in your club. Michael plays 80 (minutes), which is a luxury.Where we move with our hookers? Weve got some really good young ones coming up but theyre probably not ready next year to be the No.1 hooker.With Ennis to depart, the Sharks have room to play within their salary cap next year.Flanagan said he had no intention of trying to sign out-of-favour Tigers rake Robbie Farah, however he was seen having a meeting with the NSW No.9s manager Sam Ayooub on Friday at the Sharks Leagues Club.ddddddddddddFlanagan said they had several options including utility Nu Brown, who was touted as the next big thing before suffering a devastating ankle injury at last years Auckland Nines which set him back a long way.Cherrington had been previously linked with Penrith.The boys here at the Sharks are going really well, its exciting times and I cant wait to be a part of it, Cherrington said.His move to the Sharks will also have major consequences for the Tigers, whose once-burgeoning hooking stocks suddenly look thin.After being dumped to NSW Cup, Farah is expected to sign a two-year deal soon with South Sydney.Dene Halatau, who has worn the No.9 since Farahs axing, has announced he will retire at the end of this season while it remains to be seen if Matt Ballin, who will be 33 in January, will play again after undergoing two knee reconstructions in two years.The club had hoped to use the back half of the season to give game time to highly rated 19-year-old Jacob Liddle, however that plan was scuppered because of second-tier salary cap restraints. 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