This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

As we anticipate the start of “The Open” – yes, “THE OPEN”, not the “British Open” – it is a good time for me to reflect on highlights from a tournament I fully enjoy watching.

To underline, all Brits think of their event as “The Open.”  And, if you happen to be over in Europe and use the term “The British Open,” you will be disregarded or perhaps even fined by the purists there.

But, “The Open” is a great event, one I have watched over the years with interest and excitement.  Part of that is that The Open is often played on “links-style” courses that require a different kind of golf – playing the ball closer to the ground in contrast to most courses in America which require playing to a series of targets, often with high shots.

In the U. S., it’s called “parkland golf.”  [There are some links-style courses in the U.S. notably at Bandon Dunes, as well as Tetherow in Bend, Oregon, but, most of the time, you play here on parkland courses.]

Back in 2013, my family and I were in Scotland and my daughter was kind of enough to acquire Open tickets for all of us – my wife and myself, my daughter, and my daughter’s two kids – to watch the final round which was held at Muirfield.

It was – and is – a great course in Scotland.  Several years previously, it had hosted the British Mid-Am and our son, Eric, played in that event.  We were on hand as part of his gallery for a first-rate experience in Scottish golf.

At any rate, in 2013, we watched Phil Mickelson win The Open, his first triumph on a kind of course he had to learn to play after growing up in America.  I still remember when we were in a relatively small grandstand on the 13^th hole, a par 3 where Mickelson hit a 200-yard shot to a small green.  It landed 10-feet from the hole.  He made the putt and went on play well from then on to win his first and only Open title.

There was no room for us in the 18^th hole grandstands; plus, you had to pay extra to get a seat there, so we didn’t mind not doing so.

So, we watched on a big screen about 100 yards from the 18^th green as Mickelson won and hugged his caddie, Jim “Bones” MacKay, who has family roots in Scotland.  A great scene, even on a screen as we listened top the roars of approval.

Frankly, Mickelson has gone down in my estimation as he bolted recently to join the new LIV Tour, but his past accomplishments, including The Open victory in 2013, are worthy of respect, including mine.

In my current on-line edition of Links Magazine, writer Joe Passov captured some of the style of The Open as the event heads to the iconic Old Course in St. Andrews.

“Many Yanks still call it ‘the British Open.’  The rest of the world properly refers to golf’s oldest major as ‘The Open Championship.’

“Whatever your preference, this storied tournament will contest its 150th edition this July, when St. Andrews plays host for the 30th time.  Firm, fast-running seaside links courses pair with wind, rain, insidious pot bunkers, and rough dotted with heather and gorse bushes to offer a supreme challenge year after year.

“Amid the pressure of competing to win the Claret Jug trophy, it’s easy to see why the tournament’s greatest moments linger long in memory.

Passov cites five of what he calls “the great moments” in Open history at St. Andrews:

• European golfer Costantino Rocca rocks St. Andrews with a sinfully sensational putt (1995)
• American icon Tiger Woods blitzes the field and the Old Course (2000)
• Perhaps the best golfer in American history, Jack Nicklaus fulfills his destiny in a wild St. Andrews triumph (1970)
• Arnold Palmer, who energized the PGA Tour, re-energizes the Open Championship (1961)
• The duo of Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus soar in their “Duel in the Sun.” (1977)

I did not have a chance to watch all of these “bests,” but I do remember Rocca’s win in 1995 (when he collapsed on the ground as the long putt made it into the hole).  I also remember watching Woods’ victory in 2000.

I’ll be waiting this year for another “best” to emerge.  Join me.