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5. Remembering a departed friend
Our Michael Williams penned a touching remembrance of his friend Mark Parsinen.
- “Golf has always elevated course architects to exalted status. From Mackenzie, Ross and Tillinghast to Fazio, Jones (Robert Jr. and Rees), Hanse and Coore-Crenshaw, golf’s version of rock stars make their name in the dirt and are lauded by writers and players worldwide.”
- “Similarly, patrons of the game like Johnny Morris have ascended in the industry as they have translated their financial fortunes and love of golf to facilitate the creation of destinations like Big Cedar Lodge; they are the Medicis of golf’s new Golden Age. But I can only think of only a few who combine the skill and sensibility of a great designer with the vision and passion of a great patron. One who is well-known is Mike Keiser. Although lesser-known, Mark Parsinen was another.”
- “I was introduced to Mark Parsinen by another good friend, Robert Trent Jones Jr. Bobby had worked with Mark at Granite Bay; he knew that Mark was in Washington, DC for a family event and thought that we should meet. I met Mark in the lobby of his hotel along with his wife Dede, his daughter Jenny and a bunch of their friends, including the actor Taye Diggs. Someone wanted to get a picture of the family and I moved over to the side to make way. As they were forming up, Mark called to me, “Hey Michael, come join the picture!”
- “I had known him for all of five minutes and he insisted that I be a part of a shared memory. That was our friendship. That was Mark Parsinen.”
Full piece.
6. U.S. Open tee times
CBS Sports Kyle Porter…
“Big Cat gets Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose as his group for the first two rounds of this year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. That group will tee off at 5:09 p.m. ET on Thursday before going to a more reasonable 11:24 a.m. on Friday morning.”
“Jon Rahm, Marc Leishman and Rory McIlroy will play together over the first two days. So will Si Woo Kim, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day. Phil Mickelson gets two golfers who were at the heart of the last U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2010 — Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell — while last year’s champion Brooks Koepka will play with Francesco Molinari and U.S. Amateur champ, Viktor Hovland.”
7. 57!
Alex Ross of Davidson carded a 50-freaking-7 at the Dogwood Invitational…
- Golfweek’s Brenley Romine…”The Davidson junior turned in the incredible round on Druid Hills Golf Club, carding 13 birdies and an eagle. He shot 9-under 27 on the back nine. The par-72 layout was played at 6,836 yards.”
- “A native of Atlanta played in all 11 tournaments for the Wildcats as a sophomore, recording four top-10s and a 73.03 scoring average. He was a first-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference selection.”
Full piece.
8. Keegan’s changes
Steve Dimeglio for Golfweek…
“Keegan Bradley started working with a sports psychologist the week before the PGA Championship, put an old putter back in his golf bag ahead of last week’s Memorial and decided at the last minute to play this week’s RBC Canadian Open.”
Full piece.
9. PSA: Skin cancer for golfers (read it!)
Digest’s David Owen mixes his personal skin cancer with science and shocking statistics. Read it!
“Skin cancer is the commonest type of cancer: There are more new cases each year than there are of all other cancers combined. The principal cause is exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, with the usual contributions from genetic bad luck. Basal cell carcinoma is the most widespread and least-frightening variety. It almost never metastasizes, and, if the tumor is superficial and small, it can sometimes even be obliterated non-surgically, with repeated applications of a topical cream or with a particular kind of light therapy. Next in severity is squamous cell carcinoma, the treatment for which is trickier but usually also straightforward unless the cancer has spread. The worst kind-and, fortunately, a relatively uncommon one, although its incidence is increasing-is melanoma. If melanoma isn’t caught early, it can metastasize rapidly to distant parts of the body, and once that happens it’s often fatal. Invasive melanoma accounts for a tiny percentage of all skin-cancer cases but for the majority of skin-cancer deaths.”
“Golfers have always been at greater risk of developing skin cancer than people who never go outside or visit tanning parlors, but even among nongolfers the incidence has been rising for years, worldwide. Studies cited by the Skin Cancer Foundation have shown that, in the United States, cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer increased by 77 percent from 1994 to 2014, and that there will be 7.7 percent more melanoma cases this year than there were in 2018. (Whales are also affected. They’re exposed to the sun when they surface, and the skin damage they suffer appears similar to the skin damage suffered by humans.) The main cause for the increases is the depletion of the earth’s ozone layer, which is a part of the stratosphere that begins about nine miles up and absorbs ultraviolet radiation that would otherwise broil us. It’s like sunscreen for the entire planet.”
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19th Hole2 weeks ago
19th Hole2 weeks ago
