June 13, 2008--Torrey Pines--10:30 PM PST--Tiger Woods (pictured), at 2-under par, is lurking at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, just one shot behind the second-round leader Stuart Appleby. And that's after two double bogeys in the first round and four bogeys during an 8-hole stretch in round two. But the reason it appears he is well on his way to the winner's circle is that little 30 he threw down on his back nine of round two (the course's front nine). Woods appeared to shake off the rust from his layoff on the walk between the 18th and 1st tees, and went on a birdie binge with four on the first five holes. He finished with another birdie on the 9th hole, his 18th, and with a round of 68. Former UNLV golfer Adam Scott again played with Tiger and Phil Mickelson, but ended the second round at +4 and in a tie for 35th with Mickelson and others. "This golf course is only going to get harder and more difficult," said Woods. "Adam and Phil were playing pretty good. But it doesn't take much, just make a couple of mistakes here and there. This golf course will bite you quick. And you just have to hang in there and stay patient." Three Las Vegas golfers made the cut, while three didn't. Photo courtesy USGA.org

June 12, 2008, 11:15 AM PST--Torrey Pines--Butch Harmon, who operates the Butch Harmon School of Golf in Las Vegas, needs to clone himself, especially when his "clients" are either paired together (Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson), or tee off within minutes of each other (as Nick Watney did, just after the featured Scott, Phil, Tiger pairing went off). Harmon, with assistance from son Claude, was working the range this morning before the first round of the U.S. Open as three of his players were all pounding golf balls on the range at the same time, just a few feet apart. And then just a few more stalls away was former Harmon golfer Tiger Woods (pictured, hitting in round one), with new instructor Hank Haney keeping a close eye on him. "I've got five players here and they're all playing well, that's a scary thought, huh?" Harmon joked as he walked to the putting green. Harmon had a "break" until the afternoon when Stewart Cink and Ernie Els would be teeing off. LIVE SCORING ... now. Photo courtesy of Courtesy of USGA.ORG

June 10, 2008--It was evident that Las Vegas golfer Craig Barlow wasn't sure he should be saying what he was saying. But Barlow, who has played the PGA Tour since 1998, is a straight-shooter and it's his nature to say what he feels. So he said it, even though while he said it, he basically begged forgiveness from the Golf and U.S. Open Gods. "Torrey Pines seems very, very fair, a lot more fair than I thought it would be," Barlow said, an hour or so after playing a practice round. "It's early in the week, I know, and I hope I don't put my foot in my mouth for saying it, but it doesn't have nearly as intimidating of a look as other US Open courses that I have played." Barlow went on to say that he thinks that barring any wind, the winner could come in at about 8-under par. Barlow grew up in Las Vegas and holds several course records at Las Vegas golf courses, including a tidy 62 at Cascata, a Rees Jones design. His home course is Reflection Bay Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas Resort.

June 3, 2008--Adam Scott, one of the best players in the world and a former UNLV golfer, was already exempt for of the US Open, to be played June 12-15 at Torrey Pines in San Diego, but he was the only golfer with ties to Las Vegas golf who was in the field. Any other Las Vegas golfer who wanted to tee it up at America's national championship would have to survive local or sectional qualifying to get in, and fortunately for us Las Vegas golf fans, several have, including Henderson native Craig Barlow (pictured), who finished 26th at the 2006 US Open. The US Open is a special tournament for Barlow because he realized he might be able to play the game at the highest levels when he qualified for the 1994 US Open as an amateur. Others qualifying for the '08 event were Henderson resident Nick Watney and Summerlin resident Dean Wilson, former UNLV golfer Chad Campbell, and Scott Piercy, who grew up in Las Vegas and won a million bucks at the 2007 Ultimate Game at Wynn Las Vegas. Tommy Armour III, who grew up in Las Vegas but now lives in Texas, is an alternate. We will be covering the US Open live from Torrey Pines and will bring you the stories of these Las Vegas golfers.

May 21, 2008--What will Natalie Gulbis (pictured) do now that her BFF (best friend forever for you non-texters out there) Annika Sorenstam has announced her retirement? Natalie, who makes her home on a fairway of the Reflection Bay Golf Club in Lake Las Vegas Resort, says she is both sad and excited for Annika Sorenstam, but will no doubt miss seeing her on the fairways. "Annika is my closest friend on tour, so I'm obviously very excited and sad for her decision," said Gulbis before the Sybase Classic last week in Clifton, N.J., where she played with Annika during the first two rounds. "Sad because she's arguably the best player to play our sport, so even the thought of her not being out here is tough."

April 28, 2008--Ryan Moore was what Adam Scott could've been had he elected to finish out his entire collegiate golf career at UNLV instead of only playing for 1.5 seasons under Hall-of-Fame coach Dwaine Knight. But Scott (pictured) is what Moore aspires to be now that both are PGA Tour players. Scott--so far--has accomplished much more as a professional. Over the weekend, Scott held on in a playoff at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in Texas to prevent Moore from earning his first professional victory. For Scott, it was win number six on the PGA Tour, and increased his career earnings to $17.9 million. Moore has earned "just" $4.2 million. But in college, Moore won every tournament that mattered in 2004 (the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Public Links, NCAA Championship, Western Amateur and Sahalee Players Championship, etc) and left UNLV the following year as the best Rebel ever, and as one of the best college golfers in history. But now he plays for cash and wants to reach Scott's pro level. Read on for complete post-round quotes from both Scott and Moore. Each played and practiced at many of the best Las Vegas golf courses while at UNLV.

April 13, 2008--The cup runneth over for the World's Number One golf instructor, as voted recently by Golf Digest. Butch Harmon, who operates the Butch Harmon School of Golf at Las Vegas' Rio Secco Golf Club, has landed another world-class golfer as multiple major champion Ernie Els has left David Leadbetter and is seeking advice from Harmon. The list is long of pro golfers who already spend much time at the Harmon facility that rests on the back of the Rio Secco driving range. Other pros that currently work with Harmon--or other high qualified teachers on his staff--include Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Natalie Gulbis, Fred Couples, Nick Watney, Tom Purtzer, Charley Hoffman, In-Bee Park, and several others, so many that it is tough to keep track of them all. And Harmon is also said to be working with Chris Dimarco as well. For more ...