Daily Madden: John Recalls His First U.S. Open
DALY CITY (KCBS) - Practice rounds are underway at the Olympic Club in San Francisco in preparation for the start of the U.S. Open on Thursday. As a kid in nearby Daly City, John Madden witnessed Jack Fleck's upset victory over Ben Hogan in the 1955 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club.
"I sneaked in through a fence -- those were the days when I could go through a fence -- and I swear right at my foot was a season pass," John Madden told the KCBS morning crew. "Boy did I feel big... When you have that season pass you walk right up there like you own the joint."
Rory McIlroy, the defending U.S. Open champion from Northern Ireland, threw out the first pitch at the Giants game at AT&T Park Tuesday night. He lofted it over the plate, but didn't look like he had thrown many baseballs in his life.
"The guy's from Ireland," Madden said. "A golfer from Ireland is going to throw out (the first pitch.) What do you expect? Do you expect some heat? Do you expect him to throw a heater in there?" (6:50)
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.
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