Careful with that US Open Trophy, Justin!

Here's a photo of new U.S. Open champ Justin Rose walking through the streets of Manhattan, U.S. Open trophy in tow:

Seems a little casual, no? You might want to be a little more careful with that trophy, Justin. Don't want something like this to happen:

Top 10 Golfers with Good Porn Names

Let's say you're a professional golfer and decide you want to go into porn. First: Try not to think about Tim Herron, Charley Hoffman, Tom Kite or Laura Davies doing porn. Second: Ask yourself, which pro golfers in history could go into porn without needing to change their names?

Because if there's one thing porn is known for, it's for ridiculously double-entendre-ish names.

Top 10 Golfers Who Could Go Into Porn Without Needing to Change Their Names
10. John Ball
9. Wiffy Cox
8. Jamie Lovemark
7. Dicky Pride
6. Pearl Sinn
5. Gay Brewer
4. Johnny Golden
3. Scott Laycock
2. Dick Lotz
1. Paula Creamer

And the golfer with the worst porn name:
1. Patrick Cantlay

The New Dufnering: Throw Your Wedge In the Water

Hey everyone, there's a new form of Dufnering! All together now, let's throw our wedges into the water hazard!

Dufner's wedge toss happened on the fourth hole of his second round at the U.S. Open.

How Merion Messed Up Its Memorial Plaques

There are two plaques at Merion Golf Club commemorating famous things that happened there. You probably know about the Ben Hogan plaque - it's in the 18th fairway at the site of Hogan's famous 1-iron shot in the fourth round in 1950. There's also a plaque on the 11th hole memorializing Bobby Jones' victory at the 1930 U.S. Amateur - the win that completed his Grand Slam.

But did you know that Merion originally screwed up both plaques?

The original Hogan plaque had the wrong date of Hogan's 1-iron shot. The shot happened on June 10, 1950. But the plaque Merion installed had the date as June 11. The erroneous plaque was replaced by a new one in 2000.

And the mistake on the Jones plaque was a real whopper. That plaque identifies Jones by his full name - Robert Tyre Jones Jr. Except that the original plaque gave his names as "Robert Trent Jones Jr." Trent Jones is the architect, not the golfer. Oops! Merion corrected that one by placing the correct name over the incorrect one through the use of a narrow metal strip.

You can see the errors pretty clearly by doing a photo search and comparing.

Let's hope if Merion ever installs a new plaque to commemorate another important event in the club's history that it does a little proofreading first.

Remembering Ouimet - and Why Isn't the 2013 Open at Brookline?

The 2013 U.S. Open is the 100th anniversary of amateur Francis Ouimet's victory that stunned the golf world in 1913, when the local boy beat British legends Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a playoff at Brookline. Ouimet grew up across the street from The Country Club, he was 20 years old, and his caddie was a 10-year-old named Eddie Lowery.

Ouimet's story is told in the book by Mark Frost, The Greatest Game Ever Played, and in the movie of the same name starring Shia LaBeuf.

In 1963, Brookline was the site of another U.S. Open to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ouimet's win. So in 2013, naturally, the Open returned to Brookline on the 100th anniversary. Except that it didn't, of course: the U.S. Open is at Merion this year, not Brookline. Why not?

Former USGA executive director David Fay explained in a Golf Digest article:

That's a sensitive subject. Some members of The Country Club regarded the 2013 Open as a foregone conclusion, a birthright. I like The Country Club, but I think the composite course is the most overrated of America's great courses, if that makes any sense. I love the members' course, and I think the drive up to the clubhouse is one of the most charming in the world, but I didn't--and don't--see it as a good U.S. Open site. My views were formed during the 1988 Open and the 1999 Ryder Cup. I thought there were too many weak and indifferent holes on the course and too many spectator bottlenecks.

... But now came the tough part: convincing The Country Club to consider hosting the 2013 Amateur as a fitting tribute to Ouimet, a two-time Amateur champion. It was not easy, but eventually the club agreed to invite us. We accepted, with alacrity. It will be a terrific U.S. Amateur, but there remain some hurt feelings and anger toward me. That's understandable.

What became of Ouimet? He continued playing great golf, mostly at the U.S. Amateur which he won twice in the years after the 1913 U.S. Open. He also contended again at the Open, but never won it. He became a major figure in amateur golf internationally, working with the USGA, becoming the first non-Brit to captain the R&A. (His 10-year-old caddie Eddie Lowery because a wealthy businessman and major benefactor to amateur golf, and had a role in another event covered by a Mark Frost book, The Match.)

Ouimet also founded a scholarship fund, The Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund. Ouimet died in 1967, but the scholarship fund is still going strong, helping "deserving young men and women who have worked at golf courses in Massachusetts obtain a college education. We provide need-based undergraduate scholarships which are renewable and can be worth up to $10,000 – $40,000 (or more) for four years. The Ouimet Fund is the largest independent scholarship fund in New England."

The Ouimet Fund has posted multiple videos on YouTube, many of them having to do with the 1913 U.S. Open. Here is a recap that includes a few scenes from the movie:

Here is another video showing a reunion among Ouimet and Lowery on the 50th anniversary:

And here's a history of the Ouimet Fund:

Top 10 Ways for Tiger, Sergio to Settle their Differences

Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia don't like each other. Their decade-long spat devolved into public insults just a few weeks ago.

Can they get over it? The two stars took a step to putting the controversy (if not the dislike) to rest by shaking hands and talking on the driving range at Merion on Monday prior to the 2013 U.S. Open.

But we think they can do more. We have 10 foolproof ways that Sergio and Tiger can put their problems behind them and move on to a better, healthier relationship.

Top 10 Ways for Tiger, Sergio to Settle their Differences
10. Two words: hot tub
9. Agree to stop hating each other and start hating Matt Kuchar
8. Flamenco dance-off
7. 3-irons at 30 paces
6. Exchange flowers and chocolates
5. Call a moratorium on tricking one another with the ol' pull-my-finger routine
4. Acknowledge the homoerotic tension and agree to "take it slow and see where this leads"
3. Slap fight
2. Oil each other up, pump each other up for ultimate pose-off
1. Girlfriend swapping

Does the 'Prick Pairing' at the US Open Still Exist?

There's a legend about the U.S. Open pairings that says the USGA, each year, groups together three golfers who are known for being ... difficult. Prickly, you might say. Jerks, others might say. The infamous "prick pairing."

Well, it's not a legend, it's fact. At least it was the last time any USGA official was willing to go on the record to confirm its existence.

John Feinstein wrote about the U.S. Open Prick Pairing in his book The Majors: In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail, getting then-executive director of the USGA David Fay to fess up to its existence. The prick pairing was a USGA "tradition" started by Frank Hannigan.

From Feinstein:

"(Fay) had not, however, given up on one of Hannigan's more hallowed traditions: the prick pairing. Hannigan swears he did not give the pairing its name, but he admits that each year he would put three players together he didn't like or who were generally disliked in the golf world. Insiders loved guessing the prick pairing each year, although more often than not it wasn't that difficult."

But Fay retired at the end of the 2010 year. Does the USGA still do this? Fay's successors have certainly maintained the USGA's sense of humor in setting the first- and second-round groupings post-Fay. For example, in 2011 they grouped three guys with rhyming last names: Thomas Levet, Brian Gay and Gregory Havret (and perhaps that was a sly homage to David Fay).

But what about the prick pairing? Look at the 2011 pairings and see if you can spot it. I think I can. Now look at the 2012 pairings. Do you see it? I don't.

The 2012 groupings come out on Friday. Let us know if you think you spot a prick pairing.

Modano, Micheletti Get Engaged

We told you early this year about the romance between hockey legend (and avid golfer) Mike Modano, and onetime Big Break contestant (and pro golf aspirant) Allison Micheletti.

Now these two crazy kids in love have taken it up a notch: They're engaged. Modano made the announcement on his Facebook page in early June. Here's a screen grab:

 

 If you can't read the text (and you probably can't), Modano wrote, "It's official- we're engaged! #couldn'tbehappier".

Allison hasn't said anything directly on point yet on her social media outlets, but she did provide this career update on her own Facebook page: "Quick update! It's been a long road back to recovery after a torn shoulder and nerve issues in my left hand/wrist. Next week I leave for Montreal to start off my summer with a Canadian Tour event. Thank you for all of the support, its been a great year off the course and looking forward to adding to it on the course."

Congratulations to Mike and Allison, best of luck in the future.

Major League Baseball-LPGA Husband-Wife Both Have Triples on Same Day

There's an LPGA Tour player who is married to a Major League Baseball player, and on Saturday they both had triples! Alas, that's only a good thing in baseball. It was the LPGA player who pointed it out:

Nate had a RBI triple yesterday!!! Unfortunately, so did I:( stupid wind. But today is another day!

— Amanda Blumenherst (@Blumenherst) June 2, 2013

Amanda Blumenherst is married to Nate Freiman, who plays for the Oakland Athletics. Nate, who is a 6-foot-8 3B/1B/DH, tripled to deep centerfield in the fifth inning of Oakland's 4-3 win over the White Sox on Saturday, driving in one run.

Meanwhile, at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, Blumenherst - who briefly had the second-round lead - was trying to play through very strong winds on a very tough golf course. And on the second hole, she scored a triple-bogey 7.

Two triples in one sporting family on the same day, one of them good, one of them bad. Well, for better or for worse, you know?

Adorbs! Annika's 3-Year-Old Golfing

Here is a video posted on Annika.com (and YouTube) by parents Annika Sorenstam and Mike McGee of their adorable 3-year-old Ava golfing:

All together now: Awwwwwwwwwwwww!