As you wake up to the 3rd round of the Carnoustie-hosted British Open, the field will already be well in-progress. As Friday’s round came to a close, Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson sat atop the leaderboard at six-under par. Following those two, there’s a crew of players sitting at five-under par and even more just behind that, at four-under:

*scoreboard reflects approx. 6:25AM (CLICK FOR UP-TO-DATE VIEW)

*Picture reflects approx. 7/20 | 6:25AM – To view the full (fluid) leaderboard, click HERE.

While Kisner, Johnson and others (Tiger Woods – Even after Friday) receive the vast majority of the national attention, things have been a little different within the State of Golf Hockey borders.

Ski-U-Par: Former #Gophers golf captain Erik van Rooyen shoots even par 71 in second round, stays in #BritishOpen contention. https://t.co/y1oPZRwh8A pic.twitter.com/FHUUEZa7ut

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) July 20, 2018

van Rooyen, who is 28 years-old now, came to the University of Minnesota via Oudtshoorn High School (South Africa) in 2009. It was during that time (his freshman year) that he solidified himself as a future pillar of the Gopher Men’s golf team, by playing in nine of the team’s 11 tournaments that season.

From there, the now European Tour rookie had a decorated four-year run with Minnesota. Here are some of the main accomplishments from his collegiate career:

In addition to the above, the player who is known for his on-course power, was the 2012 Minnesota State Amateur champion.

Once his time eligibility with the Land of 10K Lakes was up, the smooth-swinging South African turned professional in 2013. His first victory as a pro came in June of 2016, when “he returned to Minnesota and won the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am.”

In regards to van Rooyen’s play as of late, and his thoughts on his impressive first career round of major championship golf, I’ll defer to our good friends at the Agence France-Presse:

Looking ahead to Saturday’s third round, van Rooyen is scheduled to tee off at 9:30 AM CST next to Matt Kuchar. So, grab your coffee and watch the former Gopher try to hack it with the top-dawgs.

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

For those who missed it, the U.S. Open’s reigning champion, Brooks Koepka, closed out this past weekend in “same shit, different day year” fashion.

A champion and his ?

Congrats to Brooks Koepka on another performance to remember! pic.twitter.com/EtyRJf9K7r

— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 17, 2018

Koepka’s victory, this time at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, made him the major tournament’s first back-to-back champion since 1988-89 (Curtis Strange).

In the aftermath of the Florida native’s impressive accomplishment, the buzz surrounding the world of professional golf quickly migrated north:

Minnesota will welcome golf’s greatest players to the Twin Cities in a new 2019 @PGATOUR stop, sponsored by @3M. 100% of the tournament proceeds will be donated to charity. #3MOpen https://t.co/zBArnMPfVr pic.twitter.com/KV2qXNlEOs

— 3M News (@3MNews) June 18, 2018

Less than three months after the Chaska-based Hazeltine National Golf Club’s second Ryder Cup Bid made history, one of their Land of 10K Lakes’ peers has also made national sports news.

Starting next summer, the TPC Twin Cities will host the 3M Open. The competition will mark Minnesota’s first PGA Tour event in nearly half a century. While the Blaine-located course has hosted a (Senior) Championship event for more than twenty-years, that’s child’s play compared to what they’ll be dealing with moving forward:

According Hollis Cavner, the freshly hatched seven-year deal was first “pitched” to the PGA Tour’s “people” eight years ago.

Fast forwarding to the now, Cavner, the 3M Championship and 3M Open Executive Director, is extremely optimistic about the monster development:

As for lay out of the 18 holes themselves, in order to accommodate the top-tier talent, TPC Twin Cities will need to add a total of approximately 500 yards in length, while reducing the width of the fairways, and increasing the scope of their bunkers.

Minnesota’s own Tom Lehman, who co-designed the prestigious layout with the late Arnold Palmer, will be one of the main people involved in helping to “massage the course into shape.”

via GIPHY

In closing, for the get off my lawn types golf purists out there, take a deep breath. This event will have a much more golf clap vibe than what was produced in 2016:

Rest easy, Minnesota. Unruly fans did not ruin our #RyderCup. https://t.co/o4812Zl6BV pic.twitter.com/62M2bJnTMF

— Pioneer Press (@PioneerPress) October 3, 2016

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

However, there are some sports stories, no matter where they come from, that need attention ASAP. This is definitely one of those times.

Tiger Woods is making another comeback. STOP. Don’t click out. I know it’s tempting. We’ve heard this 3328 times, just to see Tiger play below-average, at best; oftentimes dropping out of the tournament all-together either before or during play. But this time seems different. Here’s why:

Let’s quickly look at how we got here, from a place where Tiger Woods was the greatest athlete in the world… as a golfer.

When Tiger was dominating everyone on the golf course, and just a look from him would drop women’s panties and golfers’ confidence, Woods was a KILLER. He was better than you, and he knew it. Also, you knew it, I knew it, your brother/sister in-law knew it, mother, father, …… you get it. Tiger was better than everyone on the planet and it wasn’t even close. You would be checking scores on weekends just to see how far ahead he was.

His attitude back then was also that of a KILLER. In 2006, before his father died and before he was the newest superstar caught up in scandal, Tiger Woods did an interview with Ed Bradley for 60 Minutes. All you need is 30-60 seconds of part 1 to see what I’m talking about. He doesn’t even need to say what he’s saying to give away his confidence. YOU CAN SEE IT IN HIS FACE AND CONSTANTS SMIRK. It says ‘I’m untouchable.’ We all would come to find out that he was not untouchable. not even close. If you are having issues remembering the Tiger I’m talking about, just watch these. I was in love.

When this was the Tiger Woods everyone knew, I was the perfect age for fandom. Life was good back then, as a young Minnesota sports fan. I was 8-15 years old (1998-2005), the Vikings were running “Three Deep” and the Gophers 1997 banner was still hanging. Minnesota hadn’t won anything since ‘91 (which I didn’t remember) but with the teams we put out every year, it was just a matter of time before Minnesota won something again, right? WRONG. My dad was always right. I was just a dumb kid. (Don’t freak out. My dad loved me and we have a great relationship.)

However, golf wasn’t something I was used to watching back then. it was a niche sport. But, all of a sudden, this American 20-something is running EVERYONE on the golf course. And doing it with ease. As they talk about in these interviews, HIS PEERS WERE SCARED OF HIM. People, this isn’t an opinion. It’s fact. I’m so glad I found this interview because it shows everything I am saying in 2 simple videos, right before the spiral occurred. I immediately needed to get me a set of golf clubs so I could fist pump like Tiger. I was glued to the TV, watching golf? EVERY Sunday. I was going to school and talking about Tiger. Look at me right now… This is the first thing I’ve written, outside of Minnesota sports, in months. I was in love. I may still be. And, I wasn’t/am not the only one.

But then, in one bad turn, all of that disappeared. Tiger was human. And we all found that out very quickly.

He never came back. He was never the same. That killer was gone. And injuries piled up fast. The back injuries were the most frustrating. Tiger was changing his swing and swing coaches. He was changing caddies and just about everything else in his life.

We kept on waiting for his comeback… He was so dominant before that once he got things back in order, he would be back right? Other stars had scandals and came back from them.. So we waited. But, it never happened. And, that killer instinct… that confidence… it seemed to be gone.

And then, as everyone is wondering when Tiger will make his next come back, from his latest injury… this happens:

*DISCLAIMER*: What follows is strictly my opinion:

Tiger Woods is likely addicted to opiates. It shouldn’t be that surprising, if we think about it. With the continued back pain, repeated surgeries, and immense pressure Tiger succumbed to what so many other HUMANS have. That search for a fairy-land of no worries and no pain.

The world of prescription medication.

When Tiger was pulled over and arrested for DWI, there was NO alcohol in his system. But… well.. you watched the video. It dawned on me when I watched that video. That killer instinct is hard to rid yourself of but opiates are one thing that will do it (again: my opinion). Afterward, he was admitted into a rehab facility to better deal with the drugs he was taking. It’s a little surprising to me how little coverage this the drugs got. Nice work by he and his spin team.

My thoughts on Tiger’s demise only strengthened when I saw him interacting with the media, as he gets ready for another comeback that starts tomorrow. It’s like the old Tiger mind is slithering back into the now-older Tiger body.

Read/listen to some of the quotes from Tiger over the last couple days. If the first problem was the back pain, which he thinks the most recent surgery fixed, and the possible background problem was the prescription drugs, and he now has that under control…. oh shit… watch out PGA. The short version of this press conference, with some of the best quotes, is first. You can watch the full thing below that.

“I’m loving life now.”@TigerWoods had plenty to say during his press conference on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/aTM3pv9aLW

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 28, 2017

At today’s press conference, @TigerWoods said when asked about the younger generation dominating golf, “I would like them to feel like what some of the past guys had to go against all those years.”

? is ready for his time to be ? again.#HeroWorldChallenge

— Play It Safe (@AlwaysLayUp) November 28, 2017

But hey… words are just words, right? Ha… Here is Tiger through 2 rounds this weekend. This tournament has 18 of the best players in the world. He isn’t even playing that well right now. Obviously plenty of rust to be knocked off.

Do not try this at home.

Results may vary. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/Knl9bAWBTv

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 1, 2017

Golf just became relevant again.

Since we’ve already had 47 videos in this article. Why not one more of the “YouTube Golfer”

MSF Boss Man
Minnesota Sports Fan
MinnesotaSportsFan.com @RealMNSportsFan