More Traveling

How about some more travels for this week, after TigerBlog wrote about field hockey in Paraguay and rowing in Lithuania the other day? 

This time, TB starts with his old friend Bruce Wood, whom you may know as the Big Green Alert Guy. Before he can dive into another season of Dartmouth football, Bruce and his wife are traveling across the country, following the legendary Route 66, a 2,488-mile stretch of highway that long ago was a major pop culture sensation. 

Today, it's not as traveled as the major interstates, which is probably the appeal for Mr. and Mrs. BGA. Here are some highlights from along the way that he has posted:

And yes, children, that's a rotary phone. You can try all day and night to push the buttons, but you'll get nowhere. 

Safe travels, Bruce. 

Meanwhile, back in Paraguay, rising Tiger senior Talia Schenck and the U.S. U21 field hockey team defeated Chile 4-0 in the second game of group play at the Junior Pan Am Games. TigerBlog watched the game on the Pan Am Games stream, which featured a Spanish announcer. Even though TB doesn't speak Spanish, he still enjoyed the commentary. 

The game was actually way closer than a typical 4-0 game. Chile, in fact, had 11 penalty corners but couldn't score. The U.S. jumped out quickly, with two goals in the first five minutes.  

The win essentially wraps up Group B for the Americans, who will  play Friday against Guyana, who is 0-2 with losses to Chile (12-1) and yesterday to Mexico (9-1; the USA beat Mexico 8-0 in its first game, with two goals from Schenck).

Argentina is the big  favorite in Group A, and it's possible that it will be a US-Argentina final come Tuesday, after Sunday's semifinals. 

It's only 1,850 miles from Asuncion, the site of the Junior Pan Am Games, and Salvador, Brazil, where the U20 World Aquatic Championships are being held. You can drive pretty much directly northeast from Asuncion and be there in 41 hours.

Princeton's representative there is Emese Batizi, a rising sophomore who is a member of the Hungarian team. She is no stranger to international competition (and lots of travel), since she has played on the Hungarian U14, U15, U17 and U19 teams prior to this. 

Hungary defeated Australia 17-12 yesterday to advance to a quarterfinal matchup against Spain this afternoon. The win yesterday was the first for the Hungarians, who lost all three group matches, by one-goal each against the U.S. and Italy and then 15-11 loss to Greece. 

It's a 12-hour flight from Asuncion to San Francisco. From Salvador to San Francisco is about a 21-hour trip, since there are no direct flights apparently. 

The next stop on the Princeton summer travel tour is San Francisco, where rising sophomore Reed Gresyerman is competing in the 125th U.S. Amateur golf championship at the Olympic Club. The oldest golfer in the field is 61 years old. The youngest is 15. 

The history of this event is extraordinary, and the list of winners reads like a Who's Who of golfing greats. If you go back 10 years, the winner was Bryson DeChambeau. If you go back 100 years, the winner was Bobby Jones — who won a record five times. 

Tiger Woods has won it three times. Arnold Palmer is on the winner's list. So are Phil Mickelson, Craig Stadler, Jerry Pate, Lanny Wadkins and so many others. 

The 1933 winner was Princeton's own George Dunlap.  

Gresyerman finished tied for fifth in the two-round stroke play, which put him into the round of 64 for match play, which began yesterday. His first match was against German Tim Wiedemeyer, who also plays at Texas Tech. 

Gresyerman ran out to a quick lead before Wiedemeyer rallied to eventually win 2 and 1. TigerBlog got to watch the last four holes on the Golf Channel, and he saw Wiedemeyer hit a nearly perfect shot on 17 to close it out. 

Not all of the summer travels result in wins. They do, though, result in amazing experiences.