McDowell's Day: Graeme McDowell Wins Toughest Open in Recent Memory

This years U.S. Open Championship describes exactly why golf-lovers like myself tune in on a yearly basis. We love to watch the best golfers in the world struggle.  The fact that the man that was 3 shots behind coming into Sunday shot a final round 74 (+3) and still managed victory describes just how tough Pebble Beach was playing. Graeme McDowell became the first European to win the U.S. Open since 1970, and he did it with the best players in the world, (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Ernie Els), on his heels from the get-go. Tiger and Ernie have a combined 5 U.S. Open titles between them, and Phil Mickelson has 6 runner-up finishes, so you have got to give McDowell some serious credit for keeping his composure. Tiger bogied 5 of his first 10 holes, and was essentially out of the tournament before he made the turn. Phil and Ernie hung in a little longer, with Ernie even reaching 3 under par, but neither could hit the type of shots that are needed to win an Open down the stretch.

Dustin Johnson had perhaps the most memorable day of any golfer, and I certainly don’t mean that in a good way. He came into the final round with a 3 shot lead at 6 under-par, but that lead was gone by the time he walked onto the 3^rd tee. He tripled the 2^nd hole and doubled the 3^rd to quickly take a backseat for the rest of the day. By shooting an 82 Sunday, Johnson closed with one of the worst (if not the worst) final rounds ever by a 54-hole leader. He looked frustrated all day and could not handle the tests that Pebble was throwing at him. After I saw the immaturity he showed on the 2^nd hole, I pretty much wrote him off for the tournament. It is tough for a young guy like Johnson (turned pro just 3 years ago) to be able to sustain the amount of pressure that is required to win this golf tournament. That is why we often see the more experienced players on the leaderboard. I imagine Dustin Johnson will be in this situation again, and having experienced it once already, he will likely perform better. I feel bad for the kid, because he could’ve forced a playoff had he just shot a 6 over par 77.

Tiger Update: Questions were being circulated after Tiger fired an impressive 66 (-5) on Saturday, vaulting himself into contention. Is Tiger back to his normal self? Are we finally going to hear the Sunday roars that could only be orchestrated by the man in red? I will answer both of those questions with a firm no! Tiger must have shot that great 3rd round with a lot of luck, and a lot of willpower, because his swing is still not there. When have you ever seen him drive the ball as consistently as he did, and still struggle? I don’t think I ever have. He is continuing to lay the club off in his backswing, and it is causing his iron shots to be extremely inconsistent. When he would hit the greens it seemed he was always above the hole, which is certainly not where he was aiming. It also shows a little frustration on his part when he seems to be the only person in the field complaining about the greens, by saying “These greens are bumpy enough where putts above the holes are just pot luck.” Nothing bothers me more than when a golfer complains about the course conditions, when every other golfer out there is playing on the same stage.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with this year’s U.S. Open Championship. Sometimes its nice to see the underdog outplay the best players in the world. While I always like to see an American win the U.S. Open, my hat is off to the Irishman Graeme McDowell, as he faced the ultimate test in golf and came out on top.

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