US Open 2015: Biggest Winners and Losers from Chambers Bay
Have you caught your breath yet, golf fans? I'm not sure I have.
This U.S. Open at Chambers Bay provided nonstop drama from start to finish, particularly in the final hour of play.
After a plethora of clutch shots and chokes, lead changes and lamentable decisions, Jordan Spieth is the 2015 U.S. Open champion.
But the story of Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, goes far beyond this history-making 21-year-old. Here are the biggest winners and losers from a fantastic four days of golf.
Winner: Jason Day
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Jason Day isn't walking away with the U.S. Open trophy this weekend, but I feel rather confident writing that he is leaving with the admiration of everyone who watched him play at Chambers Bay.
The 27-year-old Aussie collapsed Friday afternoon on his way to the ninth green, the last hole of his round. He was able to get up and finish, but it was later revealed by his agent that he was suffering from Benign Positional Vertigo, as reported by Eric Kay of CBSSports.com.
Though still suffering from dizziness throughout the weekend, Day dug deep and contended for the title. In fact, on Saturday he finished with four birdies in his last seven holes, a run that left him playing in the final group on Sunday.
“That was the greatest round I’ve ever watched,” his caddie Colin Swatton said on Saturday evening, as reported by Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. “I’ve watched a lot of golf, and to watch it live was pretty special.”
Day's Sunday wasn't as good as his Saturday; he shot a final-round 74 to finish tied for ninth at even par for the week. But despite the result, he clearly showed his championship mettle.
Loser: Phil Mickelson's Career Slam Hopes
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Another U.S. Open is in the rearview mirror for Phil Mickelson, and the 45-year-old still finds this trophy missing from his case.
Mickelson has infamously finished as the runner-up at the U.S. Open six times. But despite a great start in which he made four birdies in his first 11 holes on Thursday, he never got that close at Chambers Bay.
After a 69 on Friday, the five-time major champion shot a 74 on Friday, a 77 on Saturday and a 77 on Sunday. He ended up at 13 over par and tied for 64th.
Lefty was playing well coming into this U.S. Open and seemed to have a good grasp of the course, but his execution was lacking. He'll have to wait another year to try again.
Winner: Amateurs
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While the pros walked away from Chambers Bay with most of the money, the amateurs should be holding their heads high.
There were 16 amateurs in the field this year, the most since 1981, and six amateurs made the cut, the most since 1966.
There were some great stories from that bunch, too. Brian Campbell (pictured above) shot a 67 on Thursday and a 68 on Sunday, two of the best rounds of the entire tournament. He finished the weekend at five over par, making him the top amateur.
Nick Hardy, a 19-year-old Fighting Illini, made the cut as well, and as the last man on the course on Friday, it was his bogey on the final hole that moved the cut line back to five-over par, allowing 15 more golfers the chance to play over the weekend.
Fifteen-year-old Cole Hammer didn't make the cut, but he did make quite an impression when he shot a 77 on the first day, three strokes better than Tiger Woods.
As impressive as they were all week long, hopefully some of these pros will buy some of these amateurs a drink (of strictly soda, in some cases).
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Loser: Tiger Woods
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There were a lot of questions about Tiger Woods coming into Chambers Bay, and there are even more afterward.
The 14-time major champion proved that he's still a million miles away from his 15th when he opened up his U.S. Open campaign with an 80—and his second-day score of 76 wasn't that much better. At 16 over par, Woods was nowhere near making the cut.
As Brian Floyd of SB Nation points out, there wasn't a silver lining to be had.
"The thing about Tiger's two-day adventure at Chambers Bay is that he didn't do anything well. On a course that has played nicely for players with length, Tiger lagged behind the field. His irons were off just about all week, as well."
It's now been over seven years since Woods' last major victory at the 2008 U.S. Open. His struggles are just getting downright painful to watch.
Winner: American Golf
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With Tiger Woods flailing and Phil Mickelson aging, it's been easy to feel frustrated as an American golf fan lately. (The Ryder Cup results haven't helped.)
However, all fans of the stars and stripes should leave this weekend with a smile on their faces. The future is very bright, and it's not only because of Jordan Spieth.
Dustin Johnson had a horrible ending to the weekend, but he is only 30 years old and clearly has a very bright future ahead of him. The fiery Patrick Reed had his best result at a major, finishing tied for 14th after getting a taste of the lead on Saturday.
Brandt Snedeker, 34, finished in eighth place; and Kevin Kisner, Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau all finished in the top 15 as well.
When added to the amateur successes we've already discussed, American golfing's glass is half-full.
Loser: The Greens at Chambers Bay
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Chambers Bay was under the microscope as the first-time host of a major championship, and upon further inspection, there were some issues at this links-style course in Washington.
The greens were particularly a point of contention.
Pros from Billy Horschel to Sergio Garcia spoke out against the dry, bumpy and unpredictable putting surfaces.
Garcia even took to Twitter to express that the U.S. Open "deserves better quality green surfaces" than the ones in play this week. The Spaniard got a bit defensive when he came under fire for his comments.
"If my problem is saying what everyone thinks but they don't have the guts to say it, then I'm guilty of that for sure," he added. But Garcia was far from alone.
Henrik Stenson compared the greens to "putting on broccoli" as reported by Emily Kay of SB Nation. Rory McIlroy disagreed. "I don't think they're as green as broccoli, I think they're more like cauliflower," he said to Reuters' Mark Lamport-Stokes (via Yahoo Sports).
Ian Poulter even took to Instagram after he finished his final round to offer a lengthy rant against the greens.
I definitely thought the difficulty of Chambers Bay provided an exciting tournament. But hopefully, if the USGA decides to hold another major at the venue, the greens will be improved a bit. Nobody needs quite that much roughage.
Winner: Branden Grace
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Take a bow, Branden Grace. On a leaderboard filled with some of the biggest names in golf, this 27-year-old South African went into Sunday's round tied for the lead, and he certainly held his own.
Now, it is important to note that, while Grace had never finished higher than 18th in a major or won a PGA Tour event, he's not exactly a nobody. He has won six tournaments on the European Tour, including two at the start of this season, and is ranked No. 40 in the world.
However, he was not supposed to be such a big factor in this championship.
But Grace seemed unflappable until the 16th hole. There, tied for the lead at five under par with Spieth, Grace hit his tee shot completely out of bounds, right by the train tracks. He ended up double-bogeying the hole and finishing the day at three under par, tied for fourth.
Still, this top-five performance at the U.S. Open is one that could easily send his career to new heights.
"We all dream of this, and we all practice for this, so it's a matter of fact if you grab it or you don't," he said after his third round (via ASAP Sports).
Loser: Fox Sports' Television Coverage
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This was the first golf tournament Fox Sports has ever broadcast, and man, oh, man did the network's inexperience show.
Its coverage was one of the worst at a major in recent memory, which has led to widespread criticism. There were so many announcers that it was hard to keep up, and many, especially Joe Buck and Greg Norman, had a hard time keeping up with the action.
Many times throughout the four days of play, the cameramen would lose the ball completely, and the broadcast would show graphics of one player juxtaposed on images of a different player, or reported scores were frequently incorrect.
Not to mention, there was so much time spent in the studio, particularly throughout the first two days, that the on-course narratives became nearly impossible to follow. As USA Today's Chris Chase pointed out in his For the Win column:
"Too many big shots weren’t aired. For instance, early in the telecast, Rory McIlroy hit his tee shot into the bunker and the ball looked dead. Then, a few minutes later, viewers were shown McIlroy putting for birdie from about 15-feet, with no video to show how he got there.
"
Then there was that time on Saturday when David Fay spent an entire segment referring to Dustin Johnson as "Justin."
Covering golf is a very difficult endeavor, and a learning curve was to be expected. But Fox Sports' coverage of the U.S. Open left a lot to be desired.
Winner: Sunday Drama
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There are plenty of legitimate complaints to be made about Chambers Bay, but you can't deny that the course made for excellent theater, particularly on Sunday when it mattered the most.
Going into the day, there were four players with fantastic stories tied for the lead at four under par: Jordan Spieth, Branden Grace, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day.
But while the rest of the field was three strokes back coming into the day, the chasers put some major pressure on the leaders Sunday.
It started with Rory McIlroy, who had six birdies through 13 holes to climb all the way to two under par for the championship. He ended up bogeying twice in his last five holes to finish at even par, but he clearly gave other major champions some ideas.
Adam Scott ended up with a 64 on the day, which Shane Bacon of Fox Sports reported on Twitter was only the fifth score of 64 or better in the final round in U.S. Open history. Scott went into the clubhouse at three under par, which left little room for error for the leaders at five under par.
Then 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen continued his fantastic run, birdieing six of his last seven holes to post a four-under in the clubhouse.
When Grace double-bogeyed the 16th to drop to three under par, and Spieth double-bogeyed the 17th to drop to four under par, the drama really hit the fan.
At the end of the day, Johnson came from behind to give himself a chance to win the tournament on the putting green, only to miss two putts on 18.
It was a thrilling Sunday of golf that was a wonderful reminder of just how engaging the sport can be.
Loser: The Defending Champion
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Last year, German Martin Kaymer came into Pinehurst and took the U.S. Open by storm, shooting 10 under par on the first two days of play to run away with his second major title.
Things did not go as well for the 30-year-old at Chambers Bay.
Kaymer started out with a two-over round of 72 on Thursday and then ended his hopes of even playing on the weekend when he added a 74 on Friday to miss the cut line by one stroke.
Really, it wasn't a successful tournament for any of the former U.S. Open champions in the field. We've already discussed the woes of Tiger Woods, but in total six past U.S. Open winners missed the cut.
Of the seven former champs who made it to the weekend, none finished under par, and only Rory McIlroy finished in the top 10. That's brutal.
Winner: Jordan Spieth
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The wunderkind has done it again.
At just 21 years old, Spieth has now won his second major and become just the sixth golfer in the history of the game to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year. That means he still has a shot to win the calendar-year Grand Slam.
"I believe we'll be able to get it done if our prep is right," Spieth said during the trophy presentation on Fox when asked about his chances at the British Open next month.
This one wasn't a runaway victory like his Masters triumph. Far from it. Spieth was tied with three others for the lead at the start of the day, and he wasn't at his best all day long.
But he managed to grind it out and stay calm, even after he lost his two-stroke lead with a double bogey on the 17th hole.
Champions merely find a way, and Spieth is proving that he has what it takes to become one of golf's finest.
Loser: Dustin Johnson
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What a heartbreaker for Dustin Johnson.
For a while, it looked like this was going to be Johnson's coronation. The 30-year-old was tied for the lead to start the final round, and he got off to a great start with two birdies and no bogeys on the front nine. But then he had three bogeys in four holes to start the back nine, and just like that he was playing catch-up.
However, thanks to a late double bogey by Spieth, Johnson was right back in it. He had an eagle putt on the 18th hole that would have given him the title outright and then a birdie putt that would have forced an 18-hole playoff on Monday. Unfortunately, he missed them both.
As well as he played throughout the week at Chambers Bay, this tournament will be remembered as yet another major choke from Johnson, joining his performances at the 2010 U.S. Open and the 2010 PGA Championship.
Johnson has a lot of great years of golf ahead of him, and hopefully his day will come. But this one is going to sting for a while.
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