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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) Garrett Rank is trading skates for spikes on a stage far larger than anything he has experienced.

No one plays Shinnecock Hills on ice.

This week is not about blue lines and high-sticking. It’s about green fairways and lag putting.

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Rank’s day job ended two months ago when he finished working the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That left Rank, an NHL referee for the last three years, enough time to qualify for his first U.S. Open.

”The reaction from the hockey community has been huge,” Rank said Monday. ”I think every official on our staff sent me a text and congratulated me and said they’d be following along and are really proud of me. I even had a few phone calls asking if it was me, like if that was the same Garrett Rank. I don’t know too many other people with the same name. But yeah, that’s me. I’m going to the U.S. Open.”

The fairway isn’t really an escape for the 30-year-old Canadian. Sure, it’s quieter. There is l..

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) Phil Mickelson believes Shinnecock Hills is one of the best setups he’s ever seen for a U.S. Open.

At least for 17 of the holes.

The course where Mickelson twice contended on Sunday has been lengthened by some 450 yards. That doesn’t bother Lefty, especially the 14th hole, which has been stretched by an additional 76 yards from 2004. It now is 519 yards, the longest of the par 4s.

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Mickelson, who also has a golf course design company, likes it when the hard holes are harder and the easy holes are easier.

”So when they take 14, which is a very hard par 4, and they make it harder and move the tee back, I actually like that a lot because it allows for the players that are playing well to make up strokes on the field by making pars,” he said.

He also noted that the front of the green is open, allowing shots to bounce onto the green, which makes it fair for everyone.

”It’s a hard par,” he said. ”But if you make a par there, you’ll mak..

U.S. Mid-Amateur champ Matt Parziale is enjoying his second major at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) Garrett Rank is trading skates for spikes on a stage far larger than anything he has experienced.

No one plays Shinnecock Hills on ice.

This week is not about blue lines and high-sticking. It’s about green fairways and lag putting.

Article continues below …

Rank’s day job ended two months ago when he finished working the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That left Rank, an NHL referee for the last three years, enough time to qualify for his first U.S. Open.

”The reaction from the hockey community has been huge,” Rank said Monday. ”I think every official on our staff sent me a text and congratulated me and said they’d be following along and are really proud of me. I even had a few phone calls asking if it was me, like if that was the same Garrett Rank. I don’t know too many other people with the same name. But yeah, that’s me. I’m going to the U.S. Open.”

The fairway isn’t really an escape for the 30-year-old Canadian. Sure, it’s quieter. There is l..

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) Garrett Rank is trading skates for spikes on a stage far larger than anything he has experienced.

No one plays Shinnecock Hills on ice.

This week is not about blue lines and high-sticking. It’s about green fairways and lag putting.

Article continues below …

Rank’s day job ended two months ago when he finished working the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That left Rank, an NHL referee for the last three years, enough time to qualify for his first U.S. Open.

”The reaction from the hockey community has been huge,” Rank said Monday. ”I think every official on our staff sent me a text and congratulated me and said they’d be following along and are really proud of me. I even had a few phone calls asking if it was me, like if that was the same Garrett Rank. I don’t know too many other people with the same name. But yeah, that’s me. I’m going to the U.S. Open.”

The fairway isn’t really an escape for the 30-year-old Canadian. Sure, it’s quieter. There is l..

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) Phil Mickelson is running out of time.

Mickelson doesn’t need to be reminded that this is his 27th appearance in the U.S. Open, more than any of the 156 players at Shinnecock Hills. He wouldn’t want to be reminded that 65 players – including the last four major champions – were not even born when Mickelson was low amateur in his first U.S. Open in 1990 at Medinah.

”I just can’t believe that time has flown by so fast,” he said Monday.

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The desire hasn’t changed, only the emphasis.

Mickelson didn’t win a major until he was 33 and in his 12th full year on the PGA Tour. Back then, any major would have sufficed. A year after he won the 2004 Masters, he added a PGA Championship. And then in 2013 at Muirfield, he surprised even himself by capturing the British Open.

One to go for the career Grand Slam, the one that has vexed him the most.

He has more runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open than the other three majors combined. So when Micke..

What would you do if you were a high school pitcher who struck out the final hitter to advance your team to the state championship? You most certainly would join the pile-on of your teammates at midfield. You might ascend to the roof of the dugout to confirm official conquering hero status.
What you would not do, we're pretty sure, is take into consideration the feelings of the guy you struck out, because that's someone else's problem, and what are you, soft?
Actually, here's where Minnesota pitcher Ty Koehn is different, because in the aftermath of striking out Totino-Grace's Jack Kocon to clinch his Mounds View team's berth in states, Koehn inexplicably walked toward Kocon and did this:
https://twitter.com/sportingnews/status/1006228604563394560
Turns out the two players are friends dating back to Little League, and as Kocon told Minnesota outlet BringMeTheNews.com, their relationship took precedence over the game's final score.
RELATED: Plane flies..

Did you wait until the last minute to find a place to stay while attending this week's U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills? Well, you're in luck, because there's a stunning rental house in the Hamptons that's still available. And it'll only cost you $500,000.
RELATED: The Hamptons house Kevin Durant rented to change NBA history
That's right, $500K! Not to buy, but to rent. For TWO weeks. That's about $37,000 per day, or the cost of a brand-new Benz. Anyway, as you can imagine, the house (9,000 square feet with a pool, putting green, fitness center and just about every other luxury you can think of) is spectacular — and located just a mile from Shinnecock's clubhouse. Check out some photos from the Sotheby's listing:
FacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestAnd look how close you could be to the course at this week's U.S. Open!
FacebookPinterestBut yeah, that's a pretty steep price tag for the property. And pro..