US Open Golf Results 2012: Most Surprising Peformances from Grueling Week

If the US Open was anything, it certainly was surprising, with multiple shocking performances during the tournament.

With a winner who had never finished top 10 in a major, a late collapse by the steady Jim Furyk and an abysmal performance from one of the favorites in Phil Mickelson, the US Open proved impossible to predict.

Furyk was not expected to succeed at all at Olympic. The course was long and demanding, and the short hitting Furyk was not expected to have the power to be competitive.

With steady play through the first three rounds, though, Furyk maintained his position among the leaders. His steady play was incredibly effective at the grueling Olympic, which punished the more inconsistent players in the field.

Unfortunately, that steady play did not carry over to the final round, as he shot his worst round of the tournament with a 74 and two bogeys in the last three holes.

Furyk's collapse was atypical, but not surprising, as maintaining a narrow lead on the last day of a major is one of the hardest feats in golf.

Ultimately, that Furyk was even in the running to win is surprising enough, but to lose the lead in the last few holes is really shocking.

Furyk eventually lost to the young Webb Simpson, a 26-year-old who had never had a top-10 finish at a major in his career.

Simpson was simply spectacular in his final two rounds, shooting a 68 on each of the last two days. His comeback from being +5 after the second round was both incredible and shocking.

Though he was by no means considered the favorite, Simpson managed to avoid trouble and string together four birdies in five holes in the final round, which was enough to win.

The same cannot be said for Phil Mickelson, who unfortunately was unable to even be competitive at Olympic.

His +16 performance was one of his worst in recent memory, and his horrific 78 on Sunday was the icing on the cake, as well as his worst US Open round since 1994.

Mickelson really struggled with putting, and he seemed to hurry at times. That kind of performance will never get it done on golf's biggest stage, so Mickelson needs to get it together to be competitive this year.

Though Mickelson's collapse was a major story, and Webb Simpson took the day, the biggest story had to be the performance of Beau Hossler, a 17-year-old high school senior.

Hossler was incredibly in contention after three rounds, sitting at +3 and with the realistic goal of taking the tournament.

Ultimately, Hossler collapsed in the final round with a score of 76, but that cannot take away the fact that he competed with the top golfers in the world, and he did so with great poise.

Congratulations are due to Hossler and the Texas Longhorns, who have scored themselves an excellent recruit for their golf team.

All in all, the US Open was full of twists and turns, and like the course it was played, one never quite knew what to expect.

From a high school senior being in contention to the collapse of some of golf's biggest names, the storylines at the 2012 US Open will make it one of the most memorable of all time.