O'Reilly Factor guest host Monica Crowley fawned over guest Scooter Libby and expressed her outrage over how he was treated during the Valerie Plame trial.
Hard-luck streak ends with hard-fought 70 By Jesse Smithey Saturday, June 13, 2009
Dave Schultz sank a 40-foot birdie putt on his final hole Friday and then did everything but shed a tear.
He gave high-fives. He hugged his caddie. Hugged a playing competitor.
And then while his partners polished off their rounds, he leaned over and placed his hands on his knees to drink in the moment. Schultz's grind in professional golf finally had produced a long-awaited fruit.
He finished with a second-round, 2-under-par 70 at Fox Den Country Club and moved to 5-under 139 on the Knoxville Open leaderboard. More importantly for his bank account, he made a cut.
"Yeah, the reaction was definitely genuine," he said. "I feel confident in my game, that I deserve and belong out here. I just haven't been getting any chances this year."
Schultz played 26 events last season on the Nationwide Tour but finished 85th on the money list. With conditional status for this season, he's made it into only one event prior to this week.
He shot rounds of 72, 69 and 68 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in May, but he missed the cut in the five-round event. He qualified for the PGA Tour's Byron Nelson Classic, but his second-round 67 wasn't enough to erase the penalty of an opening 75.
He played well Monday in U.S. Open sectional qualifying but missed out by three shots.
"I felt like I was just playing well enough to not make any money," said Schultz.
He was 6-under for the tournament Friday at Fox Den and ready to crack the top 10 when he turned for his final nine holes. Then he bogeyed the par-5 first, the course's easiest hole. He double-bogeyed the par-4 third. Then, after responding with birdies at Nos. 4 and 5, he bogeyed the par-4 eighth, despite having a 9-iron approach shot from the fairway.
He hit the same club on No. 9 to 40 feet. Once he reached the green, he saw a leaderboard flash that 64 players were at 4-under or better. Schultz was 4-under and felt that he needed a birdie for some assurance. He was right.
"So I'm sitting there at 40 feet, and I was like, 'Please let something good happen this year,' " he said.
His prayer was answered. Schultz's putt rammed the back lip of the cup. The ball popped up and then plopped into the cup.
Five hours later, he made the cut right on the number.
"That's golf," he said. "It's crazy. It can turn in an instant, either way."
Case of the Mondays: Just two of the 14 Monday qualifiers made the cut. That's one fewer than last year.
Zoran Zorkic (Humble, Texas) was tied for 23rd at 7-under 137 after a second-round 65. Justin Smith (St. Paul, Minn.) birdied the par-5 18th to finish with a 68 and on the 139 cut line.
On Smith's Tab: Smith's birdie at the last hole wasn't the only reason he reached the weekend.
He holed a 6-iron from 190 yards on the par-3 16th for an ace. He then walked to the nearest concession stand and forked over $40 to buy drinks for the spectators
Since he was in the last group through, those fans followed him loyally to No. 18 and roared when he made his cut-clinching 5-footer for birdie.
Sisk's Story: At No. 23 on this year's Nationwide Tour money list, Geoffrey Sisk is in position to possibly make a return trip to the PGA Tour.
But he's not taking his status for granted. With just the top 25 at year's end earning their Tour cards for 2010, he's grinding for every last dollar. Sisk carded a second-round 68 to move to a 5-under 139, guaranteeing himself more earnings.
A birdie at No. 9 - his final hole - did the trick.
"Every little bit helps," said Sisk, a member of the PGA Tour in 1999. "You never know. It could be a $100. It could be a $1,000 from getting your Tour card."
David Branshaw was No. 26 last year, missing out on his PGA Tour card by roughly $3,500.
Holy Toledo: Esteban Toledo extended his tour-best, made-cut streak to eight Friday. The 46-year-old and one-time professional boxer shot 69 to land at 7-under 137.
