The good, bad and ugly from RTO past

If you’re a golf fan, this is a great time of the year for you with the American Century Championship and the RTO, now the Barracuda Championship, in a span of three weeks.

I love to take a look back at some of the big names who have come to Reno. Some have had some success, and some have continually missed the cut.

Golf is truly a name recognition sport, and Reno has drawn some of the biggest names at one time or another.

Some of today’s biggest names have had problems here.

Here we go:

• Adam Scott missed the cut in 2000.

• Steve Stricker missed the cut in 2000 and 2005.

• Bubba Watson missed the cut in 2006.

• Fred Couples missed the cut in 2001.

• K.J. Choi missed the cut once and tied for 12th.

• Jason Dufner missed the cut in 2004, was 57th in 2007 and 29th in 2008

• Bill Haas has placed 45th, 15th and 73rd in his three trips to Montreux.

• Matt Kuchar has placed 66th, 36th, 26th and missed a cut in his four appearances.

• Graeme McDowell played here in 2006 and tied for 21st,

• Jose Maria Olazabal was 45th in 2004 and 63rd in 2011.

• Charl Schwartzel was 34th in 2009.

• Camilo Villegas missed the cut both times he’s played here. Ditto for Fuzzy Zoeller.

• Jimmy Walker, who has experienced a lot of success the last few years, tied for 58th and missed a cut.

• John Daly, in six trips, has missed three cuts, withdrawn once and has a best of fifth.

• Luke Donald missed a cut, took 17th and 36th in his three tries.

• Sergio Garcia played here in 2000 and tied for 17th.

So you see, big names don’t always translate to success.

Here are a few guys who have played well at Montreux:

• Brian Davis has three top-25s in four attempts, including a second-place finish.

• Jason Day tied for 11th in 2006, his only tourney experience.

• Justin Leonard has two top-5s in his three attempts.

• Andres Romero missed the cut in his first tourney here in 2009, but has finished third and tied for second in his last two events.

• Brendan Steele has played the last two years, finishing eighth and fourth, respectively.

•••

The news is good for both Carson High graduates Adam Whitt and Colby Blueberg this summer.

Whitt, as many know, was selected to play in the all-star game in the prestigious Cape Cod League.

Whitt has been nothing short of sensational. In a team-leading 15 appearances, he is 4-0 with a team-leading four saves and a team-leading 1.18 earned run average. Whitt has thrown 30 1/3 innings, allowing 19 hits and striking out 26.

Blueberg, who is throwing for the Eugene Emeralds in the Pacific Northwest League, has appeared in nine games.

He is 0-0 with an E.R.A. of 0.51. He has thrown 17 2/3 innings and allowed 15 hits and just one earned run.

He has 22 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.02.

•••

Former Carson High and Hiram University football standout Josh Peacock has been selected as an all-star in the American Indoor Football League.

Peacock, who plays for the Cleveland Patriots, was one of three defensive backs selected.

Peacock was a second-round draft pick of the team.

I would love to furnish you folks with stats, but none appeared on the team or league website.