By MONTE DUTTON

I’m out of big thoughts, so I’ll string together some little ones.

The Open is a Russian novel. By the time one gets the names straight, there’s a whole new cast.

“The secret is how he looks at the putting line with his eyes.” As opposed to his feet?

Golf is slow moving, and, like baseball, lends itself to idle chatter. It’s bound to have its redundancies.

Don’t we all?

Columnists used to write, Whatever happened to Kermit Zarley? It’s obsolete. Two clicks and we know. (He is 82 and lives in Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Sometimes the putts don’t fall. Sometimes the jump shots roll in and out. Sometimes a bad call works. Sometimes a good one doesn’t. Sometimes a kick glances through. Sometimes it bounces off the upright.

The other guy or gal is trying, too.

Star Trek was in play on Sunday at Royal Troon. In the original, the closing credits showed a sky full of stars. One of them became the U.S.S. Enterprise and flashed by the screen.

Xander Schauffele was riding with Captain Kirk.

I heard a line in an old movie: You and that girl get along like an umpire and Leo Durocher.

Okay, Bobby Cox. Still too old? Then there’s nobody.

On the NASCAR telecast, the announcers said they were delaying a topic of discussion because the drivers were taking a trip down pit road to monitor the speed limits, and Jeff Burton said they didn’t want to distract the drivers by talking about something else.

This would make sense if all the drivers were watching TV.

My favorite auto racing movies: (1.) Grand Prix, (2.) The Last American Hero, (3.) Ford v. Ferrari, (4.) Winning, (5.) Days of Thunder, (6.) Le Mans, (7.) Talladega Nights, (8.) Red Line 7000, (9) Stroker Ace and (10.) Speedway.

I kid broadcasters a lot. It’s because I watch a lot. I think my own mistakes are funny, too. I enjoyed lots of broadcasters over the weekend. I’m a fan of Brad Faxon, whom I knew at Furman. I enjoyed Adam Wainwright on Saturday night’s baseball game.

I didn’t enjoy the game. I liked the broadcast.

When I heard it first, it was still the 1980s and Darrell Waltrip said it: Best I can figure, the owners are telling their drivers, if you can’t win the race, at least tear the car up.

When I heard NASCAR was taking two weeks off for the Olympics, I wondered which drivers were competing. Daniel Suarez for Mexico in the modern pentathlon? Some gas man in the shot?

Of course, NBC is televising the Paris games and has no room for NASCAR, or much of anything else.

The four-year workhorse of the Presbyterian College pitching staff signed a free-agent contract with the San Francisco Giants.

Lefthander Charlie McDaniel made 15 starts on the mound, pitching 92-1/3 innings as a senior, with 86 strikeouts and a 7-1 record, holding batters to just 39 earned runs and a .250 batting average. He recorded seven or more strikeouts in five different games, highlighted by two games with 10. The Sanford, Fla., native earned a place on the All-Big South and all-academic squads.

At PC, McDaniel posted 56 starts, the school’s all-time high. He struck out 241 batters, ranking him fourth all-time. He also secured 22 wins while allowing 181 earned runs.

During his freshman season, McDaniel helped the team earn its its only Big South Tournament title.

Center fielder Jaedon Goodwin led off Sunday’s decisive American Legion baseball playoff game at Inman with a home run.

As usual, Laurens players played a pivotal role in Greenwood Post 20’s 13-9 victory over Inman Post 45.

Goodwin was 2/3, walked twice, scored thrice and drove in two runs. Jackson Martin, in right, was 2/4 with a double.

Third baseman Brandon Hershberger also homered and scored four times in a 3/6 afternoon at the plate.

Greenwood (7-11) once led, 11-2, but the Braves had to turn a double play with two men on base to nail down the series in the seventh inning. Inman scored two runs in the fifth, three in the sixth and two in the seventh.

Matt Murray (W), the starter, gave up four earned runs in five innings on the hill.

The Braves open a series in Camden on Monday night at 7, followed by a Tuesday Legion Stadium matchup at the same time.

Chapin-Newberry (12-8) visits Richland Post 215 on Monday and follows on Tuesday at Newberry College. Both games are at 7.

Golden Strip opens its series versus Lexington Post 7 on Monday at Hillcrest High School, also at 7, as is a game in Lexington on Tuesday.

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