Bernhard Langer Still Miffed By The Anchoring Ban

As he heads into the U.S. Senior Open final round tied with Jeff Maggert for the lead, Bernhard Langer nears the end of his ability to anchor the long blade against his torso. And he's still unsure why it's happening.

The Sacramento Bee's Mark Billingsley reports.

“I just don’t understand,” said Bernhard Langer, who shot a 4-under-par 66 in Friday’s second round at the Del Paso Country Club and is 3 under for the tournament. “I’ve been using (the long putter) for 18 years, and it’s a real issue. If it’s easier, then why are we not seeing more players use it? I don’t see anyone using persimmon woods. And who is using hybrids now? Everyone.”

Jordan Spieth's Winning Moment, In Sepia

As noted in this item for The Loop, the moment we've sometimes come to know at the U.S. Open where a player realizes he's won and is embraced by family, appeared lost behind a scoring trailer door at Chambers Bay.

But Darren Carroll was working for the USGA and explains in this item how he decided to slide in just in case Spieth's moment happened. The rest is history, as this excellent slideshow reveals.

Under Armour CEO Is Really Liking His Jordan Spieth Deal

The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg sums up the post-U.S. Open comments of Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, executive Ryan Kuehl and Spieth in the wake of a second straight major.

Spieth's rise is only encouraging the company to expand their golf offerings as the industry shrinks.

“He’s a special guy,” Plank said. “He’s going to win a lot of golf tournaments, and that’s going to end up costing us a lot of money at some level, but I’d say it’ll probably be some of the best money we ever spent.”

Plank, in the interview with WJLA, also says this. Translations welcomed.

“Look, culture eats strategy for breakfast,” he said. “Culture isn’t something you just wake up and decide you’re going to be one day. It’s like trust; it’s built in drops and it’s lost in buckets. And you know the kind of people that will help add to that, that will add drops. And Jordan was one of those special, unique people who was a team sport athlete.

“When him and his father came up…two or three years ago, and we sat there having a conversation about how would you like to turn pro and be an Under Armour guy, he just said look I am an Under Armour guy. I am an athlete. He goes, ‘I’m your golfer.’ “

Spieth is the cover boy and center of Golf Digest's July issue, with a pre-U.S. Open profile by Jaime Diaz worth a look. Especially now.

Like all game-changers, Spieth benefits from timing. Just as Palmer was a welcome change from the grim excellence of Ben Hogan, so is Spieth a respite from the distant reign of Woods.

"Tiger's time of domination was overall great for golf but difficult in terms of interaction with fans, sponsors and media," says Seth Waugh, former CEO of Deutsche Bank, sponsor of the Deutsche Bank Championship. "In his defense, as the biggest guy on the planet, he felt he needed a shield to protect himself from an invasive world. Everybody assumed that because he was winning everything, the model of focusing only on your game and not really engaging with people was necessary to be a champion. From a player's perspective, it was the perfect excuse not to do the harder stuff, like stick around to sign autographs. But then the financial crisis hit, and it became clear that the harder stuff was a big part of why a corporation would spend $10 million to put on a week of golf. When Tiger and the notion of universal entitlement simultaneously fell from grace, players realized another model might work better, not just for themselves, but for the game."

Billy Horschel Apologizes For His U.S. Open Antics

Still a big post-U.S. Open topic of conversation was Billy Horschel's on-course antics even as he was torching the place with a strong final round.

While Horschel calmed down to make some more eloquent post-round comments about the U.S. Open greens, most took notice of his on-course boiling over.

At the Travelers Championship, Horschel apologized and also revealed that he had a long chat with Mike Davis to explain his views.

ESPN.com's Jason Sobel reports.

"We talked about my comments; he totally understood them," Horschel said of the conversation. "He admitted that the greens weren't what they wanted and he was sorry for that. He knew the greens were at a level that the USGA wasn't happy with and said that if they ever go back there, they know what to do."

Their conversation lasted "about 15-20 minutes" and never got contentious. In fact, Horschel suggested that it was just the opposite, two men having a respectful discussion with each understanding the other's viewpoint a little better afterward.

Here's the viewpoint: Mike thought Billy acted like a jerk, Billy thought the greens stunk. All better now!

Shark To Gary Player: I'll Take That Lie Detector Test

In the wake of Gary Player's anti-Chambers Bay, anti-USGA golf ball rant last Saturday in which he inferred that the Fox announcers touting the course couldn't pass a lie detector test, The Great White Shark has finally seen the Player comments (quick on the hip take our Shark is) and he says he'd be happy to take a lie detector test.

Great to know Norman is a big fan of Robert Trent Jones' work, even if he thinks it's heather-light.

The rebuttal Tweet...about four days too late:

538: Jordan Spieth Has A 1% Chance Of Winning Grand Slam

Neil Paine at fivethirtyeight.com has studied the numbers behind Jordan Spieth becoming just the fourth since 1958 to win the first two majors and only the 13th time to win back-to-back majors.

Using that and some other numbers, Payne concludes Spieth's chances are not great.

No matter how you cut it, the odds of Spieth finishing off the Grand Slam are still fairly low — about 1 percent, if the probabilities above are any kind of guide.

Especially if he insists on rolling in Monday afternoon.