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VIEWPOINT: SCOTT OAKEQ
& A
Each week, Sports Online will turn the tables on Scott Oake,
who's used to peppering others with questions.
Michael Campbell outlasted Tiger Woods to win the
2005 U.S. Open, but what was even more surprising to me was that Campbell
finished with an even-par 280 for the tournament. Woods finished a
2-over 282.
This prompts me to ask: Is this U.S. Open too hard to win?
It's really a question of whether Pinehurst was the right
course or if the U.S. Open should have been played on a typical PGA
Tour tract where rounds of 67 and a winning total of minus-15 are
the norm.
A departure from the norm once a year is good.
Yes this U.S. Open was very difficult to win, but I liked it. I liked
it for its unpredictability.
It doesn't always have to be Tiger (although Tiger was very much in
this one) and Vijay making birdies on the back nine to decide the
winner.
At Pinehurst, there was Jason Gore's emergence and final-round collapse,
Retief Goosen's implosion and Michael Campbell's win.
And with all of that a lot of the big names were still on the leaderboard
proving the great ones can adjust.
Maybe the great shots weren't rewarded the way they usually are on
the PGA Tour but one thing didn't change at Pinehurst: the lowest
score still wins and nowhere does it say that it must be sub-par.
Continuing on this topic of the U.S. Open, Canada's Mike Weir
has struggled this season. Before the tournament, he missed four straight
cuts and finished Sunday with a 13-over 293. Is Weir destined to become
a one-major wonder?
To me, a "one-off wonder" is someone who has one magical tournament
and is never heard from again.
This is not Mike Weir.
Weir is a seven-time PGA Tour winner and since his Masters win two
years ago he's had more top ten finishes in majors than anyone else.
Dealing with neck problems and having missed four straight cuts heading
into the Open he wasn't much of a threat to win it, but he did play
the last 43 holes in 4-over.
He's dropped out of the top 10 but he's won more than $1 million US
this year. And don't forget his solid fifth-place finish in this year's
Masters.
Winning a major is incredibly tough and I suppose it's possible Weir
won't win another but I don't think he can be currently viewed as
a "one-off wonder."
What are your impressions of Brian Burke joining the Anaheim
Mighty Ducks as general manager?
After he turned a financial sinkhole into a profitable and highly
entertaining team Brain Burke's dismissal by the Vancouver Canucks
was mystifying.
It was only a matter of time before he was back in the game and I think his hiring by the new owners in Anaheim is a good thing on all fronts.
His commitment to an up-tempo game is good for hockey. I expect he'll have the new CBA figured out faster than anyone else and his personality will help keep the Ducks in the news in a market where hockey doesn't exist by divine right.
Lightning-round questions:
Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney or Christian Bale as Batman?
Haven't seen any of them, so I'm sticking with Adam West
Who is the Darth Vader of the sports world?
Victor Conte (at the centre of the BALCO scandal)
Is Tom Cruise's public affection for Katie Holmes creepy or endearing?
Tom's appearance on Oprah was a bit bizarre but effective. I think I'll try some of that on Hockey Night in Canada.
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Scott began his career by volunteering at the university radio station during three years of pre-med. studies at Memorial University in St. John's, Nfld. After two summers working at CBC-St. John's in radio and television, he was hired full-time in 1974. Since then, Oake has covered the Olympic Winter and Summer Games and the Commonwealth Games as a commentator for wrestling, hockey, alpine skiing, swimming, rowing, diving, boxing and athletics.
FULL
BIO
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