After two rounds at the US Open at the Olympic Club, it looked like Tiger was about to have one of his field demoralizing weekends; the type where he whips the course and leaves the rest of the field gasping for air. But, we all know what happened on Saturday. An historic meltdown by the golfer still chasing Jack Nicklaus’ record for majors threw the door open for any of a number of players to claim our national trophy.
As an admitted homer, I woke up Sunday morning with an uneasy feeling about an American golfer capturing the crown. Atop the leader board was Jim Furyk and a host of Euros all with the game and the credentials to add the recent spate of foreign winners. I was especially nervous about Graeme McDowell. Olympic seemed to be the type of course he thrives on. One that requires straight drives and steely nerves on the green.
As the day progressed, Furyk seemed to be holding his own as McDowell and the other Euros kept slipping further down the leader board. The only thing that still gnawed at me was the fact that Furyk is no longer in his prime and his recent play has been spotty at best.
Yes, Furyk faltered as I feared he would and McDowell made a valiant charge right up until the last hole where a 24′ putt for birdie would have put him in a tie with US Open Champion Webb Simpson.
Simpson flew so low under the radar, that he wasn’t even on the telecast until later in the round when he started to make some birdies and slowly move up the leader board. Thankfully, he was able to put together a round that staved off all contenders and returned the silver hardware back to US soil. Finally, I could breathe a sigh of relief. Now maybe we can send our boys over to Royal Lytham and steal away the Claret Jug.
