SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2010 GOLF
U.S. OPEN NOTEBOOK
Watson tries his luck with the kids
by Barry Svrluga
pebble beach, calif. — It’s possible Sunday will be Tom Watson’s final round in a U.S. Open. At 60, Watson — who won the tournament right here at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 1982 — received a special exemption to play in this year’s event, based largely on the strength of his per- formance in recent major championships, particularly last year’s British Open, which he nearly won. “Obviously, right now, I
can’t hit the ball nearly as long or as far as necessary to win on a lot of golf courses out with the kids,” Watson said. “But there are just a few that I can still get around with them.” Pebble Beach might be one of them. After opening with a disappointing 78, Watson shot rounds of 71 and 70 in the second and third rounds, respectively, to stand at a re- spectable 6 over for the tour- nament. His round Saturday included four birdies. “The putter started work- ing today,” he said, “unlike the first day, where it didn’t work at all.” Watson’s first Open came in
1972 at Pebble Beach, and he is the only player to appear in all five Opens staged here. This is his 31st appearance in the Open but his first since 2003. He is planning on playing the British Open at St. An- drews, and he said he would play in a future U.S. Open if he qualified by winning the U.S. Senior Open, which he has never done. Saturday, when finished his round with a par on 18, he re- ceived an ovation from the galleries, which were clearly happy to have him back. “It warms me,” he said. “Simply said, it warms me.”
Virginian grinds it out Before this week, Fairfax
native Steve Marino had nev- er played the weekend in a U.S. Open. He made the cut by a shot and had it going on the front side Saturday — two- putting for birdie at the par-5 sixth, chipping in for birdie from deep grass on the diffi- cult ninth and burying a 10- footer for another birdie at the 10th. That got him to 1 un- der for his round and 5 over for the tournament. But it didn’t make him think he was rolling. “It’s hard, man,” Marino said. “I’m just grinding out there. I haven’t made a single putt. I’m just trying to get my- self in position where I can limit my mistakes and not make anything too big.” Marino’s finish — he bo-
geyed three of his final six holes, and missed an eight- foot birdie putt at 18 — was, as he said, “frustrating.” He shot 73 and stands at 8 over head- ed into the final round. “You have to be so patient,” he said. “I’m going to be ex- tremely exhausted when it’s over.”
Scouting for next year
A crew from Bethesda’s Congressional Country Club, which hosts the Open next year, spent much of the week here working with both USGA officials and their counter- parts from Pebble Beach to help prepare for the 2011 event. Paul Klinedinst and Ben Brundred, the co-chair- men of Congressional’s U.S. Open committee, have visited the Open every year since 2001 — first pursuing the event and then, after the US- GA awarded Congressional the tournament in 2004, scouting things out. “Each year, we’ve done more and more detailed site visits,” Klinedinst said. This year, Mike Giuffre, the
director of greens and grounds maintenance, has worked with Pebble Beach’s staff on maintaining the golf course. . . . Thongchai Jaidee made the tournament’s first hole-in-one when he aced the 181-yard fifth hole. It was the first ace at an Open since 2006, when Peter Hedblom had one on the third hole at Winged Foot.
svrlugab@washpost.com
KLMNO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL Haynesworth’s intractability is no surprise
meantime, it’s in your best interest to find a way to contribute to Shanahan on the field.”
But instead of talking, SALLY JENKINS
he Redskins were crazy to hire Albert Haynesworth at an exorbitant price and wrong to give him the impression that he could dictate the defense he played in. But they did, and now they have to deal with it. They are probably going to eat a large part of his contract, and it’s going to taste like dog food. Whoever thought
T
Haynesworth was a great locker room guy? And why shouldn’t he be “selfish” when the people who signed him acted out of self-interest? Everyone is piling on Haynesworth, but they’re vilifying him simply for mirroring the culture in which he was hired. Please don’t tell me that
Haynesworth is obliged to live up to his contract with the Redskins. People breach their contracts all the time in labor disagreements. It’s called a work stoppage. Haynesworth wants to be traded to a team that won’t use him as a human snowplow in a 3-4 defense, and if he gets to keep the millions the Redskins lavished on him while they were laying off employees in the name of “belt-tightening” and suing their own ticket buyers, there’s a term for that, too. It’s called karma. This week the former personnel wizard Vinny Cerrato gave us a glimpse into the organizational logic that brought Haynesworth to the Redskins last year: “When he signed, he said he wanted to show everybody it’s not about the money,” Cerrato said. Let’s think about that for a moment: Cerrato and owner Dan Snyder awarded Haynesworth, a player with a rep for mercenary detachment, the richest defensive contract in NFL history because he said he didn’t care about the money, and now they’re shocked that he cares about the money? Obviously,
they ignored the danger signs, blinded by a big-name star and his potential for jersey sales. Let’s say you have your choice of job offers. You accept the one that promises you the most money and the most freedom, right? That’s what Haynesworth did. But let’s say your boss changes your job description into something you don’t want to do, and never would have agreed to. You might sulk, then balk, and try to find another job. That’s what Haynesworth is doing. Is he out for himself? Sure. And the front office isn’t? The Redskins have made real progress and are finally on professional footing under Coach Mike Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen, but they aren’t yet free of the team’s previous managerial mistakes. Haynesworth is a lingering vestige of the old way of doing business, of free-agent binges, giving favored players direct lines to the owner and circumventing chain of command. Much as they would like to start fresh, they can’t do it
Redskins make deal for two-time Pro Bowl tackle
redskins from D1
offer for next season on Friday, ac- cording to an announcement on the Saints’ Web site, formally clearing the way for a trade. The deal also hinged on Brown pass- ing a physical, which was admin- istered Saturday, shortly after he arrived in the Washington area. Brown, a first-round draft pick in 2005 who appeared in the 2006 and 2008 Pro Bowls, had been on the Redskins’ radar for much of the spring. The 6-foot-6, 313- pounder became expendable for New Orleans after missing all of last season with a sports hernia and hip injury that required sur- gery. In his absence, the Saints didn’t miss a step, starting Jer- mon Bushrod at left tackle on a unit that allowed only 20 sacks and led the Saints’ pass-heavy at- tack to the Super Bowl title. It was not immediately clear how the addition of Brown might change the Redskins’ plans on of- fense. Trent Williams, the team’s first-round draft pick in April, has practiced at left tackle with the Redskins starters throughout the offseason workouts and has re- ceived favorable reviews from teammates and coaches. But he played only his senior season at Oklahoma on the left side and coaches could opt to start him at right tackle to ease him into his professional career. Perhaps the more likely sce- nario is to keep Williams at left tackle, protecting Donovan McNabb’s blind side, and start Brown at right tackle, a position he played his rookie season in New Orleans. In offseason work- outs, Artis Hicks has been lining up at right tackle with the start- ers. Hicks is a versatile lineman, though, and could find himself moving to right guard, a spot oc- cupied by Mike Williams in off- season workouts. “It’s always a great thing when you can get one of the best left tackles in the game over the last few years on your roster,” Hicks said in a phone interview. “The bottom line is it’s all about getting the best 53 guys. It’s not about one guy. So when you’ve been in the league as long as I have, and something like this transpires, you can see the positives as well as the negatives. Overall, this is very positive for the Redskins, so I think it’s a great move for us.” A season ago, the Redskins al- lowed more sacks than all but two
KEVIN C. COX/GETTY IMAGES
Jammal Brown appeared in the 2006 and 2008 Pro Bowls.
NFL teams and adding new bod- ies to the offensive line was an off- season priority for the team. Be- fore Saturday’s acquisition of Brown, Williams was brought in during the draft, and Hicks was added via free agency. Three of the five starters look to be differ- ent than last season’s ever-chang- ing cast of linemen. Though his health might be a concern, Brown will be the most proven of the additions. In 2005, he was selected 13th overall out of Oklahoma. The Saints were coached at the time by Jim Has- lett, the Redskins’ defensive coor- dinator. After being named to the NFL all-rookie team at right tackle, Brown moved to left tackle in his second season. To acquire Brown, the Redskins essentially swapped picks in the 2011 draft, though the details are a bit complex. The Redskins al- ready owed Philadelphia a pick as part of the McNabb trade. Accord- ing to the ESPN report, the Eagles will receive Washington’s third- round pick and New Orleans the fourth if the Redskins win nine games, make the playoffs or McNabb is selected to the Pro Bowl. If none of those things hap- pen, the Saints will receive the third-round pick and the Eagles will get the fourth.
If the Saints end up with the Redskins’ fourth-rounder, they’ll send Washington a sixth- or sev- enth-round pick. And if New Or- leans gets the Redskins’ fourth- round pick, the Redskins will re- ceive the Saints’ fifth-round selec- tion. A conditional 2012 pick is also
involved in the Brown deal, ac- cording to ESPN. If the tackle plays 90 percent of the plays this season or is selected to the Pro Bowl, the Redskins must also send their sixth-round pick in 2012 to New Orleans.
maeser@washpost.com
Staff writer Jason Reid contributed to this report.
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completely yet, at least not without a mop. The irony here is that, for once, this is a situation in which Snyder should get involved. It was wrong to bring in Haynesworth and frontload him with cash. But it’s wrong now to let the situation fester and let team officials and teammates unload on him in the media, if indeed he was given personal assurances about how he would be used. Snyder should mediate the
conflict between Haynesworth and the new coach and GM, because each feels he was given assurances that are in conflict with each other. Ideally, Snyder might say to Shanahan, “Coach, I know you want a 3-4 defense, and I promised I wouldn’t tell you what to run, that I would defer to Bruce Allen on personnel issues. But before you got here, Albert was told that he would be used in a certain way. That’s not your fault, but I need your help. Albert turned down a lot of other good opportunities to come here. You
Haynesworth and the Redskins are playing a game of chicken. It’s upsetting for fans, because of the size of Haynesworth’s talent and apparent ingratitude. But it’s not an uncommon standoff in the NFL. In 1983, remember, John Elway used a similar ploy when he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts, a team he refused to play for because he didn’t trust them to use him right. He threatened to sit out and play baseball, and his bluff forced a trade to the Broncos. You could call that selfish, or you could call it savvy and self-protective. Haynesworth’s endgame is
JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST The Albert Haynesworth saga is a lingering vestige of the Redskins’ old way of doing business.
of all people can understand that; you spent a year looking for the ‘perfect’ job while you collected $20 million in severance from the Denver Broncos. So what can we do to make Albert more comfortable? Is there a compromise in how to use him?” Next, Snyder should find a way
to get this message to Haynesworth: “Albert, everyone in this building wants to see you succeed, but nobody wants to go 4-12 again, and another season like that won’t help your career either. What are your apprehensions about the 3-4? Is it risk of injury? Do you fear it will cut your career short? Are you worried it’s the wrong defense for the team? Is it that you’ve never played in it and will have trouble adjusting? Are you concerned that your stats will decrease and damage your free agent value? “Before I call you selfish, I’d
like to hear your side of it. If you still are adamant about leaving, you may have to wait a year so we can get good value for you. In the
this: He’s seeking a team that will let him chase the quarterback instead of engage blockers. If there is no interest in him, at some point Haynesworth will have to appear at Redskins Park or not get paid. He will wait until he’s on the verge of suspension before he finally shows up. On the other hand, a team out there may have interest. If so, it will bide its time until the Redskins are desperate to resolve the situation before making a deal. Haynesworth can afford to wait, because the fines for missing minicamp aren’t making a dent in his financial situation. At some point there will be a
negotiation and a trade, and somebody else will get Haynesworth while the Redskins still pay heavily. He’ll get a check, and the role he wants elsewhere. All he will have lost is some fan goodwill and reputation as a team player, an exchange he is obviously willing to accept. The Redskins are making huffy
statements about trying to recoup some of the $21million bonus they paid him in April, but Haynesworth has it on good advice from the NFLPA that his money is safe. He’s not the first player to have stung the Redskins for their star-struck profligacy. The Redskins have to eat that dog food — and the worst part is that it’s their own recipe.
jenkinss@washpost.com
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