US Open Review

After a beautiful afternoon of battling on the links, Tiger Woods pulled the win for his 3rd U.S. Open title. Rocco Mediate missed a crucial putt on the first hole of sudden death to end it. Woods missed the birdie putt as well that would of sealed the deal. Now that its over, lets take a look at the event as a whole.

Reviewing the Champion:

Tiger Woods – Woods’ play was not beautiful by any means. He continued to miss fairways, his midrange game was a bit off and he didn’t impress. When it mattered though, Woods was able to hit the timely putts that mattered. His grit and character were definitely on display this weekend and today, playing through an ailing knee and working his usual ability to close out tournaments. He continues to be the best putter when it matters, as a matter of fact, he can be defined by it.

The Weekend Warriors:

Rocco Mediate – Mediate continued battling throughout the weekend, poking away at fairways and greens constantly. He kept himself in contention on Sunday and today battled Tiger neck and neck. His performance will be remembered. He was having fun on the course, but at the same time battling through.

Lee Westwood – Though he choked in the final round, he was able to find his way in the final grouping on Sunday. I loved his composure from the tee box and on the green. Only 5 bogeys in the first 3 rounds impressed. Westwood fell apart in the final nine of the 4th round though. Three Bogeys and a Double killed his final round. One more par and he would have been in the playoff round as well.

The “I Muffed and need a Mulligan…..or Two”:

Phil Mickelson – Hey Phil, did you want to show up to your hometown course? I don’t think so. After making the choice to hide the driver in the closet to open the tournament, Mickelson shot a 74 in the second round and a 75 in the third. His fairway accuracy was atrocious and even though he shot a 68 in the final round, his six over finish was a disappointment.

We all know though why he really needed a mulligan though. His 13th hole blow up. Mickelson would later say that when he was nine was the last time he scored an 8 on the 13th. I really think that his pairing with Tiger Woods is what threw him off to start the tournament in the first two rounds.

Vijay Singh – Singh has now made the cut in 14 consecutive seasons at the U.S. Open, but a 65th place finish was well worse than expected and history has written. In all but two U.S. Opens, Vijay has been in the top 25 when going into the final round. Singh was in the news earlier in the week and it wasn’t because of his play on the links. Singh claimed that “today’s young Brits get in a comfort zone and don’t work hard enough.” Apparently you need to keep working Mr. Singh.

The Tournament Changer:

Tiger’s putt in round three on the 13th for eagle is when I knew that he would pull it out somehow. But what really sealed the deal was his eagle on 18 of the same round. The back nine of the third round was the obvious game changer for me. Tiger’s putting was unmatchable, his rebounds from the tee box were outstanding and the magic was in the air at that point.