There Is a Downside to Being Mr. 58

Olin Browne is not among the favorites to win the U.S. Open golf championship, but the little-known golfer at Pinehurst is fresh from a 59, which he shot during a 36-hole sectional qualifier at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.

The 59 followed a two-over 73, which caused him to contemplate withdrawing and giving up on his dream to play in the Grand Slam event. He’s glad he stuck around but was not as happy as he might have been after a birdie-eagle-eagle finish. “I thought I had shot a 58, but it kept adding up to 59,� he said.

A 58 would have tied the course record set in 2000 by Shigeki Maruyama, but Maruyama followed that with 77 and 80 and failed to make the U.S. Open cut.

Trivia time: What major league player holds the record for most home runs in June, and how many did he hit?

Bambi’s revenge: The Colorado Rockies’ Clint Barmes, reported last week to have broken his collarbone after tripping while lugging groceries up stairs, now says he was carrying deer meat.

Teammates can start referring to the rookie shortstop, who may be out for the season, as the deerly departed Clint Barmes.

Scary place: San Diego Surf Dawg Manager Terry Kennedy told the Orlando Sentinel that he was going to take struggling outfielder Rickey Henderson to dinner and try to get inside his head, although with great trepidation.

“If I get too far in there, I might never come out,� he said.

Fairy tale over: Danica Patrick finished 13th at an Indy Racing League event Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, putting the brakes on Danica-mania, which had been sweeping the land since the rookie’s fourth-place finish at the Indianapolis 500. Observed Gil LeBreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Her carriage, as it turned out, handled like a pumpkin.�

Hard to believe: Cousins Ruthie MacDonald and Joanie Villecco scored holes in one on back-to-back shots last week on a 115-yard hole on a New York golf course, according to Associated Press. The odds of two in the same foursome doing this are reportedly 17 million to one.

“To have it happen twice like that is just a miracle,� MacDonald said.

More miraculous, their back-to-back aces came less than a month after a Texas man and his stepmother accomplished the feat on a course near El Paso.

Dads will be dads: Some parents of a youth baseball team in Taylor Mill, Ky., were so upset after learning that a Hooters restaurant was its sponsor that they pulled their kids from the squad.

Writes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “On the bright side, however, there’s suddenly no shortage of dads volunteering to drive the kids for postgame treats.�

Trivia answer: Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs, with 20 homers in 1998.

And finally: Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg, poking fun at the recently unveiled NASCAR brand of wine: “The new NASCAR wine brings up an interesting question: Normally white wine goes with turkey, but do you go with a red or a white when serving turkey jerky?�