Quincy’s Emily Powers finish at the U.S. Women’s Open was a rough one on Saturday morning. After a rain delay caused play to be suspended around 9 p.m. on Friday, Powers was left with four holes to play.

She dropped three more shots in those four holes this morning to finish her second round at 11-over 84. During Thursday’s opening round Powers carded an 8-over 81. Before leaving the course, Powers’ main goal for today was to get a birdie coming in and finish with a round under 80. That didn’t happen and she finished in a tie for 152nd place with a 19-over 165 total.

Emily Powers wanted to play the weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open, and she’ll have a 7 a.m. tee time on Saturday. Not that she taking any pats on the back for her accomplishment. "Yeah, (I) sort of (made the weekend)," she said. Powers and the other golfers who will finish their rounds today and are on the wrong side of the cut line have a summer thunderstorm to thank for their early tee time today.

PLAYING LATE
The northern sun helped play after the weather delay last until nearly 9 p.m., something that could never happen around Quincy. Had clouds not moved in again, Powers’ group probably could have played another hole or two.

FUTURE PLANS
After making the U.S. Open field, Powers is exempt from qualifying from the U.S Women’s Amateur and will play in that championship in Eugene, Ore., in early August.  She is planning on playing in an event in Texas next month — the Transnation. Powers also plans to defend her Quincy Women’s City Tournament title the last weekend in July. She has won five city titles in her career, including four straight crowns.

DOBservations
Jean Powers must have a gift for gab. Emily’s grandmother found a tournament employee to drive her around in a cart on Friday. That was the good news. The bad news was that she got stuck in the cart shed for part of the rain delay as her chauffeur took her there instead of to the clubhouse. … The Powers family was ready to head home after the second round — their rental van was all packed — but the rain changed those plans. … The mosquitos in Minnesota are HUGE. They were out in full force after the rains hit. … This is the last post as I’m heading home. A thanks to the Powers family for letting me bug them all week … Another big thanks to former QND girls golf coach Chris Hogge for tagging along for the ride and helping drive and pass time during the 14-hour round trip.

63rd Annual U.S. Women’s Open
at Interlachen Country Club, Edina, Minn.

Quincyan Emily Powers shot an 8-over par 81 on Thursday, and will probably need to shoot in the mid-60s today in order to have a chance at making the cut. Just like yesterday, hole-by-hole scores will be updated live
throughout Powers’ round. Click refresh to keep up with her progress
and check back often for some blog posts from the course. The lowest 60 scores (and ties) and anybody within 10 strokes of the lead makes it to the weekend. 

Live Update — 4:38 p.m.

Severe weather in the Minneapolis area has interrupted Emily Powers’
second round at the U.S. Women’s Open in Edina, Minn. Powers started
her day on the back nine that she tamed on Thursday to the tune of
even-par. She found the going a lot tougher on Friday.

Through six
holes before the delay, Powers was 4-over par. She made bogey on No. 10
and No. 12. She was a little wild off the tee on both holes. Powers
took a double-bogey on the par-4 15th hole after her tee shot glanced
off a tree near the fairway. Her second shot landed in a bunker and it
took her two shots to get out of the bunker.

It’s looking more and more
likely that Powers will not make the cut, which is projected to be at
4-over right now. Check back later for another update to see if she’ll
get to finish her round today.

Live Update — 9:57 p.m.

When the rains finally cleared from Interlachen Country Club on
Friday, there was about two hours of daylight left.

Unfortunately,
Quincy’s Emily Powers couldn’t take advantage of the softer playing
conditions. It actually hurt her a bit as she three-putted the first
two greens after the delay was over. She made it through 14 holes and
is 8-over on her round and 16-over for the event. She’ll finish her
round at 7 a.m. on Saturday. "It wasn’t like I had a ton of bad holes
today," Powers said.

Check back later for some tidbits from a looooong
day at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Additional Coverage

Saturday, June 28

Powers to miss cut, forced to finish second round today

O’Brien: Lessons, not scores, to be remembered

Web Extra: Wrapping things up

Friday, June 27

After slow start, Powers ends first round strong

O’Brien: Family behind Powers at every step

Thursday, June 26

Powers a long shot, but so is the course

Web Extra: First round liveblog

Web Extra: Thoughts from round one

Wednesday, June 25

Powers, 20, gets chance of lifetime at U.S. Open 

O’Brien: U.S. Open latest line in Powers’ resume

Just because I’m on location, it doesn’t mean there isn’t time for a Slap of the Week. This one’s a slam dunk.

Earlier this week, I hammered Pacman Adam Jones for wanting to change his name. Today, we’ll hand Slap honors to a man who should never be heard from again, Don Imus. How he has a job after the whole Rutgers women’s basketball fiasco is unbelievable.

Yet, the new, more-sensitive Imus let loose earlier this week on Pacman. Excuse me, Adam Jones.

From the Associated Press:

Don Imus has once again injected race into his radio show. During an
on-air conversation Monday about the arrests of suspended Dallas
Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, Imus asked, "What color is he?"

Told by sports announcer Warner Wolf that Jones is "African-American," Imus responded: "There you go. Now we know."

Civil
rights leader Al Sharpton issued a statement calling the exchange
disturbing "because it plays into stereotypes." He says his National
Action Network was still deciding how to respond.

Imus tried to clear the air the next day.

"Obviously I already knew what color he was. The point was to make a sarcastic point.
   

"What people should be outraged about is they arrest blacks for no
reason," he said. "There’s no reason to arrest this kid six times,
maybe he did something once, but I mean everybody does something once."

Imus should skip the sarcasm as well as any color commentary.

After a rough day on the course, one little bit of news brought a smile to Emily Powers’ face. Powers is tied with former prodigy Michelle Wie.

"That’s a big deal," Powers said of her pre-tournament goal of beating Wie.

Before coming to Interlachen, Powers said she didn’t care if she finished last as long as Wie finished last. Wie tumbled down the scoreboard thanks to a quintuple bogey 9 on the par-4 ninth hole.

"I had trouble counting how many strokes I had, that’s how many I had on that hole," Wie said.

Like many who follow golf, Powers isn’t happy that Wie was handed many exemptions to pro tournaments. Like Powers, Wie qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open.

KEEPING TRACK

One of the things Laura Powers does when she follows her daughters on the golf course is keep track of their hole-by-hole scores. During the practice rounds, Laura Powers didn’t have a scorecard and was worried she might not get one. Fortunately, Emily Powers made sure Mom was taken care of by snagging her a few scorecards in the clubhouse.

FIRST TEE TO U.S. OPEN

The First Tee put out a press release saying Powers is the believed to be the first student of The First Tee program to qualify for a major championship. While in high school, Powers was a member of The First Tee of Great River.

FOLLOWING IN HER FOOTSTEPS

Rachel Powers, a junior-to-be at Quincy Notre Dame, is an excellent golfer in her older sister’s mold. Rachel Powers will next month try to duplicate one of her sister’s feats. In late July, she will travel to New Hampshire to play in a qualifier for The Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. She has already cleared one of the three qualifying steps with her essay writing skills. Emily Powers and Ryan Franks represented The First Tee of Great River at the 2005 event.

POWERS PACK GROWS

The Powers Pack, the group folllowing Emily Powers this week grew with the additions of her grandparents, Francis and Jean Powers.

DOBservations

The crowds were much better for the first day of play than they were for the practice rounds. Powers’ group was hitting into No. 17 when the star grouping of Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer were teeing off nearby on No.11. It was a mass of humanity. … With no rain in these parts for a few days, the course played firm and fast with the greens set to 12 on the Stimpmeter (or really fast for you non-golfers out there). … The cut likely will be around 2-over, meaning Powers will have to shoot a 66 on Friday to make the weekend.

63rd Annual U.S. Women’s Open
at Interlachen Country Club, Edina, Minn.

Quincyan Emily Powers teed off at the first hole at 9:01 a.m. on Thursday, and will start on the tenth hole at 2:37 p.m. on Friday. Her hole-by-hole scores will be updated live throughout her rounds, and check back often for some blog posts from the course. Click refresh on your web browser to keep up with Powers’ progress. The lowest 60 scores (and ties) and anybody within 10 strokes of the lead after the second round makes the weekend cut.

Live Update: 2:36 p.m.

BOUNCING BACK

Emily Powers was down but not out after her opening nine holes at the
U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday. After making the turn at 8-over, Powers
shot an even-par 37 on the back nine for an 8-over 81 total.

"At least
I ended good," Powers said.

She saved her best for last, chipping in
for birdie on the par-5 18th hole. She’ll have about 24 hours to rest
before starting her second round.

Check back here later for some
DOBservations from today’s round. We’ll also be live blogging again
tomorrow.

Live Update: 11:48 a.m.

A ROUGH START

Quincy’s Emily Powers found her front nine at the U.S. Women’s Open to be a struggle.

Powers made the turn at Interlachen Country Club at 8-over 44. A lot
of little things did the former Quincy Notre Dame standout in. She hit
just 4 of 7 fairways, and 5 of 9 greens in regulation. Powers used 19
putts, including 3-putts on Nos. 6 and 8 after playing those holes
perfectly from tee to green. Powers made a bogey on No. 9 after her
approach shot went wide right of the green and rolled back down a cart
path in front of the No. 1 tee box.

Be back after she’s done with 18.

Additional Coverage

Thursday, June 26

Powers a long shot, but so is the course

Wednesday, June 25

Powers, 20, gets chance of lifetime at U.S. Open 

O’Brien: U.S. Open latest line in Powers’ resume

She still has two years left at the University of Kansas, but Quincy’s Emily Powers is getting taste of life as a golf pro this week at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Part of pro life includes getting courtesy cars everywhere you travel. Because Powers traveled to the event in suburban Minneapolis, she had trouble getting access to the player’s parking lot.

"We didn’t have a parking pass, so I talked to (tournament officials) and got a car," she said.

As a result of Powers’ gift of gab, she rolled away from Interlachen Country Club in a brand new Lexus.

"It’s not like my little (Honda) Civic," she said with a smile, "but the little Civic is good."

Powers also had a chance to sign plenty of autographs for the fans the lined the fairways on Tuesday and Wednesday, something she normally doesn’t get to do.

The Powers Pack

In addition to her family, Powers had two extra people along for her practice rounds. Quincy golf pro Mark Christensen, who has coached Powers since she took up the game 10 years ago, walked with Powers. So did Powers’ coach at Kansas, Erin O’Neill.

"I’m extremely proud of her," said O’Neill, who just finished her fourth season at Kansas. "She’s worked really hard the last couple of years. It’s nice to see that pay off. This is the ultimate payoff."

O’Neill spent four years on the Futures Tour. She hopes she can impart some wisdom on her protege.

"I just want to get her mind set in the right place and let her know that she belongs here and it’s not an accident.

Powers is the first player O’Neill has coached to reach the Open.

"I just can’t stop smiling," she said. "I’m happy to be here and be a part of it."

DOBservations

Other than Annika Sorenstam, who was wearing a sherbet-like outfit, and Michelle Wie, it was hard to tell who was who. Guess I ought to watch more LPGA golf. … Welcome to the U.S. Women’s Open, home to the $6 caesar chicken sandwhich and the $3 Dairy Queen Dilly Bar. … There are more South Koreans in the field (32) than there are amateurs (27). … Eight players have the last name of Kim (including Birdie), seven players named Park, and seven players named Lee.

Josh Rabe just couldn’t take the pain any longer. The 29-year-old Rabe announced his retirement on Thursday after nine years in professional baseball that saw him spend parts of two seasons with the Minnesota Twins. Click here for the full story.

The big red-head is sunning himself in Big Neck this week, and I’m on the road to Minneapolis to cover Emily Powers’ appearance in the U.S. Women’s Open. That doesn’t mean I can’t turn in my grades for the week. You can play along on the radio during the "WGEM SportsCenter presented by Hardee’s" program around 7:15 Wednesday on ESPN 1440 to listen in. A couple of rookies — Mike G. and Intern Lance — will be in our seats.

A — Pat Venditte. (Note the shameless plug to buy tickets in the link.) The nation found out last week what folks in the Gem City already knew — that Venditte’s special talent of being able to throw with both hands is pretty sweet. Since his big national story, which you can read on Gemology, Venditte has picked up a save. How cool would it be for him to reach the bigs?

B — Fresno State baseball.
Remember how big a deal it was a few years back when George Mason
reached the Final Four? Well, the school best known for its time with
renegade hoops coach Jerry Tarkanian, has made a Mason-like run during
the NCAA baseball tournament. The WonderDogs were a No. 4 seed going
into the regionals — just like Eastern Illinois — but used some magic
to become the first No. 4 seed to ever reach the College World Series.

C — The Quincy Gems. We’re still kind of waiting for the team to get on a roll. The Gems had a nice four-game winning streak earlier this month, but they’ve been all over the map. They will certainly learn a lot about themselves this week when facing league-leading Springfield. I’m no Josh Houchins, who sees them on a nightly basis, but I’ve been most impressed with Jon Myers, who has hit all three of his home runs with the O’Brien family in attendance, and Devin Van Brooker in the few times I’ve been out to QU-Stadium.

D — Pacman Adam Jones. No, he didn’t get arrested this week. He doesn’t want to be called Pacman Jones any longer. "There’s really just a lot of negativity behind it," Jones said. "It’s
just time for a change, man. I’m doing everything to make sure that I’m
all right as a person, mentally and emotionally." No matter what he’s called, Jones will still be seen as a thug by many. What’s next? Tank Johnson asking to be called Terry Johnson?

F — Atlanta Dream. Don’t get too much WNBA talk around here, but when a team is this bad you have to take notice. The expansion Dream’s first season has been nothing but a nightmare (easiest, cheesiest pun ever.) Atlanta is 0-13 and can set a WNBA record for losses to start a season if they can manage to loss their next outing Friday at Phoenix (4-7). In case you were wondering, the WNBA season is only 34 games long. Maybe the Dream can replace Josh Houchins’ 1972-73 76ers (9-73) as the worst team ever in pro basketball history.

I — U.S. men’s basketball. It certainly sounds good on paper — LeBron and Kobe. Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Dwight Howard and (well, there are no other centers). We’ll see in August just how well this latest U.S. men’s national team fares. (And don’t call them a Dream Team. There was just one Dream Team — the 1992 edition.) Would it be wrong for me to root for my favorite Bull, Andres Nocioni, and Argentina, the defending Olympic champs?

This one’s a bit surprising for anyone who follows golf. You think of knuckleheads in golf and you think about guys like Rory Sabbatini who spout off for no good reason.

So it came as a shock that it was Retief Goosen who called out Tiger Woods after his U.S. Open win earlier this week.

Here is what Goosen told the London Times after the 19-hole playoff on Monday about Woods’ injury:

"It just
seemed that when he hit a bad shot his knee was in pain and on his good
shots he wasn’t in pain. You see when he made the putts and he went
down on his knees and was shouting, ‘Yeah,’ his knee wasn’t sore.

"Nobody really knows if he was just showing off or if he was
really injured. I believe if he was really injured, he would not have
played."

Unlike Sabbatini, who has called out Woods in the past, Goosen has a bit of pedigree having won the U.S. Open twice. Still, it’s not very gentlemanly for Goosen to pop off like that. He should have know better.

I can only imagine what will happen the next time he and Tiger are in the same field. I bet Tiger slaps him around a little bit, letting his clubs do the talking.