Did anyone notice that Stewart Cink put several of his choking performances this season behind him to capture a one shot victory at the Travelers Championship? I hope so. It was a compelling win for a nice guy that is very talented. He held off a bid from Hunter Mahan for a repeat performance and a successful title defense. Among the players that did not win, there were some other stories of note. Heath Slocum, who had some well earned momentum with a Sunday 65 at Torrey Pines, fell just shy of victory. US Open first round leader Kevin Streelman made a serious paycheck that went a long way to guaranteeing his Tour future. And, not least of all, Vijay Singh finished in the top 5 after he complained that the Brits are lazy and content to lose. Singh somewhat backed up those remarks despite not winning the tournament.

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The US Open begins on Thursday at Torrey Pines and there is no shortage of storylines leading into the championship. The most obvious is the return of Tiger Woods from knee surgery after a failed bid at a fifth Masters title. Admittedly, he may not be at 100% after rehabilitation, but he has said that may very well not matter. Given his record at Torrey Pines and that he is going for his fifth consecutive win at that facility, he may very well be right. A win would put him within another Tiger Slam of tying Jack Nicklaus’ impossible mark of 18 professional majors. Lest we forget, though, it is important to mention of the other player of significance in the field – world #2 Phil Mickelson. Mickelson is a San Diego native and claims to have played Torrey Pines over 1000 times in his life. Needless to say, he will be the hometown hero in addition to being the usual rooting interest of the crowd.

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