Truth & Rumors > Golf

03:22 PM ET 06.04 | What makes the U.S. Open one of the most unique and special championships in all of sports is the fact that literally ANYONE can play in it. It's not just a clever name, the U.S. Open is open to anyone. Sure, you have to have some game. You even need to go through grueling qualifying tournaments to get there. But you can do it. The culmination of the qualifying process played out yesterday at several sites throughout the US. They call it "Golf's Longest Day," but it is so much more than that. For many, it is the ultimate goal. For others, it is chance at redemption. For yet another group, it is a chance to break onto the scene in the game of golf. Whatever group you fall into, qualifying for the U.S. Open is one of the ultimate achievements in golf.

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03:22 PM ET 06.04 | I almost had to laugh, in fact, I think I did during the Back 9 on Wednesday night with Ricky Potts from the Golf Community on Google + when he said, "based on the length of Merion, The U.S. Open scores would probably reach 19 to 20 under par." Did he not watch our National Championship last year when Webb Simpson got a gift from Jim Furyk and lifted the trophy at The Olympic Club with a final score of +1 over par? There have only been two times in modern U.S. Open history that there has been a winning score that reached double digits. Tiger Woods won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach at -12 under par, and Rory McIlroy scored a -16 under par total at Congressional in 2011. That's it. The Merion East Course is only 6996 yards, but is highly packed with excitement for players lucky enough, or maybe unlucky enough to tee it up next Thursday. If it holds true to the majority of U.S. Opens, players will need to hit spots in the fairway with precision if they intend to have a any chance.

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03:22 PM ET 06.04 | If you are like me, I can't wait for the 2013 U.S. Open to start next week, especially after Golf's Longest Day got me stoked up yesterday, but we still have one more tournament. The FedEx St. Jude Classic is always a good tournament, and we will have three of the world's top 10 players in the field still trying to get ready for the U.S. Open. Phil Mickelson opted out of The Memorial this past weekend, and elected to play this week in Memphis at the home of the FedEx Cup sponsors. Lefty will join number five player, Brandt Snedeker, and defending champion, Dustin Johnson in a field that will include five of golf's top 30 players. Ian Poulter, and Peter Hanson will round out the top players fine-tuning their games for next week. Guan Tianlang, 14, will be making his fifth start since coming over to play at The Masters back in April. John Daly will make his 16th consecutive start, and join Memphis native and the 2012 Web.com Player of the Year, Casey Wittenberg who comes back after a three-year absence. The winner will pick up 500 FedEx Points.

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03:22 PM ET 06.04 | ESPN's Bob Harig is reporting today that the world's number one golfer, and his equipment sponsor, Nike, are close to inking a new deal. Tiger Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg is quoting that Nike will "emphatically" keep Woods as golf's top paid endorser. His current contract, which was signed in 2006, was set to expire before the end of the year, and other sources are saying Nike wants to get the deal done around the U.S. Open. Nike didn't do well with their marquee players this past weekend at the Memorial, with Tiger and Rory finishing close to the bottom of the pack, but they did do well with a couple of their lesser known employees on Sunday afternoon. Kevin Chappell proudly wore his swoosh as he nearly unseated a determined Matt Kuchar for the win at Muirfield Village.

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05:32 AM ET 06.03 | Matt Kuchar rolled in a 12-foot putt on the 18th hole to win The Memorial on Sunday afternoon, and got the congratulatory handshake from tournament host Jack Nicklaus. Kuchar held off a hard charge from Kevin Chappell who finished with a birdie at 18 as well, but two strokes back at The infamous Muirfield Village layout in Dublin, Ohio. Chappell, who is not too well-known, but finished tied for second in the past two U.S. Opens, put four birdies on the board down the stretch. He matched Kuchar's -4 under 68, but could not overcome the two-stroke advantage The Kuch had at the start of the round. Matt Kuchar became the only player to win a second PGA Tour event this year except for Tiger Woods. Kuchar began the final round with the lead last Sunday at Colonial, and was beaten by Boo Weekley. Kuchar was not to be denied on this day. He also won The WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain back in February amid a snowstorm,and big winds in the Sunday finale, defeating the defending champ, Hunter Mahan.

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