Round 3: Day 90 - P90X Chest & Back

In twenty years, only Graeme MacDowell and his wife will remember that he won the 2010 US Open. The course was playing really hard, and he was the only one able to keep his shit together. The rest of them, except for maybe that French guy I've also never heard of, hit some awful shots. Dustin Johnson, the three-shot leader before the last round started, I think he literally pissed his pants on the first tee. Hey, I can't imagine the pressure he must have been under, but I'd like to think I would do better that start par-triple-double-bogey. It was expected that he would come back to the field, just not in five minutes. What wasn't expected was that the three best players of the last 15 years (apologies to Vijay), Tiger, Mickelson, and Els, could not even mount a challenge. Ernie looked good early, but he fizzled and was not in it at the end. Tiger putted like a spaz again, and Mickelson as usual played without a brain. Still, the US Open is the US Open, the original grind, and this year was no exception. MacDowell is a good player, four wins in Europe, and a Ryder Cup appearance, so not exactly an unknown.
A couple of highlights though.
1. Ryo Ishikawa - It was great to see him up there for a while. I really wanted him to hang on and get into contention, just to see how he would do. He seems to be able to hit the shots that he needs to hit under pressure, a bit like Tiger, but it was really tough this week. He did okay, but an ordinary third round knocked him out, and then an 80 on Sunday didn't do his week justice. I would say that his goal this year has to be to get into final round contention in a PGA tournament. If he can do that, regardless of whether he wins or not, that is an awesome achievement for an 18 year old. The PGA is TOUGH.
2. Tom Watson tearing up on eighteen on Sunday. This guy has being playing quality golf for nearly forty years. So it was sad to see him holding back the tears as he walked up the eighteenth in probably his last US Open. And fittingly he missed a two footer for par, because if it wasn't for his putting he would have won everything since 1970.
3. Tiger on 18 on Saturday. It is seductive. a "fully engaged" Tiger Woods. Awesome shot, 280 out, cuts a 3-wood around a tree to about fifteen foot. I'm sure you all saw it on the news. One of those shots that we were so used to before... before we found out what an asshole scumbag he is. But he does hit the shots, and the only way to appreciate them is to separate the man from the golf. If he's not delving into the odd skank here and there again already I would be surprised. He seems just as aloof and controlling off the course as ever, and nothing appears to have changed. And the journalists have learnt their lesson - don't ever, ever talk about it, because you will be blacklisted. He still can't come from behind... on the golf course. He still can't get it in the hole... on the greens. He still likes it rough... in the rough, I mean. See? You just can't separate the man and the golf. He's not back, like everyone says. He will never be back.
So that's another major down. The British open is in July at St. Andrews, and Tiger is a huge chance to win that one. You don't have to drive the ball any good, just hit solid irons and putt well. Apparently last year's British Open his wife flew in unexpectedly and found out he was screwing someone and hit the roof, and he subsequently played one of the worst tournaments of his life, missed the cut, and was gone. It seems like this is when people in the biz realised what was going on, and Tiger's world began falling apart. He still won four tournaments between then and the car accident in November though.
On Saturday night I went to the bar I sometimes go to in Okazaki to kind of watch the soccer. A guy and his hot wife were there with some friends and buying drinks for all the foreigners, and trying to speak English. It's hard for me to get excited about speaking to Japanese people now. The same questions, same stereotypes about Australia (this guys theory was that swimming is the most popular sport in Australia because we all live on the coast, and we are not good at athletics because we are not on dry land often - I said it sounds like we are basically salamanders, but he didn't understand). I had a couple of beers and left. The bar is owned by a guy who has a son who is retarded/disabled, and is doing it tough. Here's an article about him.
I feel for the guy. A Japanese judge called him a role model father, and he is. But every time I go there he tries to get me to sign up to this multi-level marketing thing, kind of like Amway, but where a fraction of the profits go to children's charities. You know that feeling you get when you realise they have started their pitch, and you don't want to be rude, so you humour them, but you don't know how long it's going to take? I'm getting that from the owner/bartender while I drink a beer in his bar. Meanwhile his disabled kid in the corner is screaming for someone to vacuum the saliva from his throat because he is unable to swallow. Really desperate blood-curdling screams. Like I said, I really feel for the guy, but I just want to have a beer and relax and maybe make some friends in Okazaki where I live, but I'm beginning to suspect that one reason why the bar is always empty is because of him pitching this pyramid scheme to customers, and, to be honest, the intermittent screams of his disabled son that make your hair stand on end. I'll have to look for another place.
On Sunday Will and I went to playgroup organised by a guy I used to work with when I first came here and who found me on Facebook. It's for parents and their half Japanese kids to get together and have a couple of hours a week hanging out and speaking English. It was really good, and Willy did so well. He's probably got the best English of any of the kids, and he easily had the most fun. I was really proud of him, and I hope he keeps enjoying it. It's quite a trek to get there, a train and a bus, but we'll have MacDonald's for lunch when we go as a reward.
Hey! It's day 90! 30 to go. Extended due to the trip to Hawaii, and two sucky weeks at the factory. Workouts are going well. It's getting pretty warm here now, so I'm naturally eating less and losing a bit of wait. I'm at 83 kilos now, much heavier than what I was two years ago (I was about 75 kg), but I've been around this weight for six months or so. I expect to be down to maybe 81 by the end of Summer.