"The Stack" 7-23-18

Tiger Woods flirted with first on Sunday at the Open Championship, but ultimately finished at five under (-5) and three strokes off of Francesco Molinari's winning score of eight under (-8).

The Stack is back on this Monday fresh off of vacation and we don’t have very much for you today, but that’s what happens when it’s summer and there is only baseball going on. Training camps are starting or will start this week in the NFL which means football is right around the corner which is great, but we’ll get to that later. Let’s get right to “the stack” for today, Monday, July 23rd:

Francesco Molinari wins The Open Championship

Tiger Woods teased us all on Sunday, holding the lead on Sunday of The Open Championship, but in the end he could not hang on to win. A double bogey on the 12th and a bogey on the 13th pretty much doomed Tiger. Speaking of doomed, what happened to Jordan Spieth? After playing a sensational third round and holding a share of the lead on Saturday, Spieth didn’t have a single birdie on Sunday. Instead he shot five over (+5) with five bogeys to finish at four under (-4). Rory McIlroy couldn’t get it done. That left the door open for Francesco Molinari who played a steady final round and a steady tournament overall to win The Open Championship. Molinari finished his final round at two under (-2) to finish the tournament at eight under (-8) and become the first Italian to ever win a major. He played really well.

In the end though, Sunday was in large part about Tiger with Spieth and Molinari being second and third. For Woods to hold the lead, albeit for a hole or two, on a Sunday at a major championship is a signal that he may very well be back and can compete for first and win these tournaments. Was this the best he will ever do though? That is a fair question to ask. We need to see how he plays here going forward in the next few tournaments and leading up to the PGA Championship, but this weekend was great for Tiger fans. We saw glimpses of the old Tiger. Hopefully we can see more of this going forward and hopefully we can see him win a tournament here soon, specifically another major.

Tony Sparano passes away

Minnesota Vikings offensive line coach Tony Sparano was found dead at his home by his wife on Sunday. He could not be revived and has died at the age of 56. There are reports that he went to the hospital with chest pains earlier in the week so this may have been a heart attack though an autopsy will determine the official cause of death. Sparano was the head coach of the Dolphins and also an interim head coach with the Oakland Raiders a few years ago. He was entering his third year with the Vikings as offensive line coach. Certainly, our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and the Vikings organization.

On a football related note, this is not good for the Vikings who head to training camp this week (I believe tomorrow). Hopefully the offensive linemen take it upon themselves to practice and play extra hard for Sparano all year long. We’ll see what the Vikings do going forward, but of course all of that is secondary to the fact that Sparano has lost his life far earlier than he should have. Rest in peace Tony Sparano.

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