MCCOLLUM'S COLUMN: From 'Young Guns' to rain checks to CWS drama

Mixing a little golf, football and baseball, here's another batch of "David's Appetizers," assorting musings and observations on the sports scene:

THOSE COMEBACK GOLFERS

It's interesting to see upstarts and comeback guys Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover making some noise at the U.S. Open.

Both were college golf rivals for Conway's Bryce Molder Barnes, the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion, at the University of Arizona and Glover, a former star at ACC rival Clemson.

All were part of what was considered one of the most talented group of young golfers to arrive on the PGA Tour within a two-year period. That awfully talented group of "Young Guns" also represented one of the earliest generations to labor fully under the giant shadow of Tiger Woods.

Others in that tidal wave of great college players include Charles Howell III, Luke Donald, Ben Crane, Matt Kuchar, Brett Quigley, D.J. Traham, Jeff Quinney, Johnathan Byrd, David Gossett, Paul Casey, Ryuji Imada, James Driscoll and Ben Curtis. All have had their moments as pros; all have had their struggles. Some have had to restructure their games or mental approach to it or both. Casey, Donald, Howell, Glover, Crane, Quigley, Byrd, Kuchar, Driscoll, Trahan, Molder, Imada, Curtis were all among the top 125 on this week's PGA Tour money list and Barnes, who began in a tie for 197 last week, should enter that group this weekend.

Tiger Woods indeed casts a treacherous shadow.

THOSE RAIN CHECKS

U.S. Open spectators, many of whom traveled long distances, endured awful weather and spent big money to view Thursday's washed-out first round got a good-news, bad-news situation as the United States Golf Association worked out a compromise.

Initially, the USGA had denied Thursday's spectators rain checks, citing tickets are issued for a day, not a round. Now, those with Thursday tickets will be able to watch Monday's final round if there is a Monday final round.

That means that there would have to be another major weather delay or cancellation for that to happen meaning the final round could not be completed today.

Rainouts at major golf tournaments are very problematic. There is a lot of wiggle room for rainouts at baseball games, which have plenty of playing dates during a summer. A U.S. Open only returns to a site once every several years.

There's no easy way to settle the situation.

Outdoor sports can be dicey in a major weather front. And you can't put a dome over a golf course.

THOSE HEROICS

The College World Series had back-to-back amazing developments. The Arkansas-Virginia 12-inning game has already been rated one of the greatest to be played, particularly from the ninth inning on.

Then Friday night, Texas eliminated Arizona State, tying the game and then winning it with two home runs within two batters in the bottom of the ninth.

There's electricity in Omaha.

THOSE TIGERS

In that CWC, LSU looks like a Class A or AA Minor League team. The rest of the field looks like a good college baseball team. The Tigers seem to be at another level.

Those UA FANS

It'll be interesting to see who most fans in Arkansas will root for in the CWS finals: LSU, which has beaten the Hogs four times (most decisively) but is an SEC team or Texas, a traditional rival from Southwest Conference days. The guess here is most Hog fans will root for LSU.

(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)