SteveElling

DUBLIN, Ohio -- The marquee threesome delivered exactly what was expected in the first two rounds -- a slew of attention from fans and television.

Predictably, a knucklehead or two also appeared at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

The showcase trio of Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Mike Weir drew droves in both rounds of the Memorial Tournament, and on Friday, somebody with a big mouth and perhaps a few too many beers in his system decided to get involved. As the trio played the 15th hole, a man in the gallery bellowed, "America hates you, Sergio."

To their credit, Mickelson and his longtime caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay, immediately came to Garcia's defense. Mickelson said something to the fan and Mackay barked an admonishment of his own, "Show some respect."

Said Mackay afterward: "I reminded the guy, in case he had forgotten, that he's an idiot."

Garcia, who has been subjected to more than a few taunts over the years in this country, shrugged it off.

"Unfortunately, in a perfect world, there would be no stupid people," he said after shooting 77. "You can't control everybody. I am so used it, I really don't listen to people who have bad energy on themselves."

Weir, who shot 72, was on the other side of the fairway, said he didn't hear the exchange and was unaware it had happened until he was informed after the round. Mickelson made it clear that the fans were otherwise perfectly behaved.

"It was just the one time," said Mickelson, who shot 75. "I don't want to dwell on it, because for two days, it's been great."

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Mathew Goggin, in an odd resersal of travel protocol, is hoping and praying that he misses his scheduled flight out of nearby Columbus airport on Sunday night by hours.

Goggin, like about half the field in the Memorial Tournament this week, is scheduled to play in a U.S. Open sectional qualifier on Monday. Unlike the vast majority of the guys in the field at Muirfield Village, however, he elected to play a qualifier in another city.

In this case, it's Memphis, site of next week's PGA Tour stop. Goggin skipped the two in Columbus because he earned an Open bid in Memphis last year.

Here's the wrinkle: After finishing 36 holes at 7 under, he was still atop the leaderboard at Muirfield, which means that he might be among the last off the tee on Sunday afternoon. He's set to leave on a commercial flight at 5:50 p.m. Sunday.

"I might not want to get on that," he said, laughing.

"Then the next one is like 7 o'clock. So I'll just see. I'll just -- it's one of those sort of things that if you miss the flight it's a good thing. But ideally I would like to get in some time Sunday night so I can play 36 on Monday."