For a championship that had so much hand wringing over the course and relative unknowns turning up on the leaderboard, the 2015 U.S. Open gave us an exciting and, in the end, shocking finish.
Dustin Johnson’s three-putt par on the final hole to come up a shot short of a playoff was a gut punch for his fans, and you hate to see it end that way, but it’s hard to complain about the final leaderboard. Aside from a few surprises (Branden Grace and Cameron Smith), most of the names in final contention were ones you would expect to see. We saw charges from deep in the field by big names (Scott and McIlroy), and a 13-shot resurrection after an abysmal first round by a past major champion (Oosthuizen T2 -4). Adam Scott, in fact, was just one shot off the all-time low round at a U.S. Open, shooting 64 for a T4 finish (seems that having Stevie back on the bag agrees with him).
At just 21 (how many times did we hear that this weekend?), Jordan Spieth is the youngest U.S. Open winner since Bobby Jones. He has won two straight majors. And he will be going for the third leg of the Grand Slam at St. Andrews next month. It didn’t come all that easily, though. Spieth had a three-shot lead standing on the 17th tee before hitting his worse shot of the week and making double-bogey. He rebounded with a birdie on the par-five 18th. When Dustin Johnson, playing in the group behind Spieth, failed to convert a 12-footer for eagle to win, and then a four-footer for birdie to win, Spieth was handed the Championship.
The second biggest winner of the week may have been Jason Day, whose gutsy performance while battling vertigo and looking like he might collapse at any time earned him a lot of new fans. What a week! Let’s hit the links.
Hole #1: Spieth Outlasts Field
We had a Triple Crown winner this year, could we have a Grand Slam, too? Jordan Spieth has captured the first two legs, after taking the U.S. Open this weekend by a stroke. [Link]
Hole #2: Horschel Hates those Greens
Billy Horschel was less than enthusiastic over the greens at Chambers Bay. [Link]
Hole #3: Player blasts Chambers Bay
Gary Player went a step further. He didn’t like the course at all. [Link]
Hole #4: Fox’s Coverage Gets Mixed Reviews
Personally, I’d have been happy if the camera operators could have followed the ball with some consistency. [Link]
Hole #5: Golf Gets Obama in Hot Water
Barrack Obama played some golf in Palm Springs this weekend. But with California in the midst of a major drought, his choice of locations to play drew some flack. [Link]
Hole #6: Chambers Bay Tough on Caddies, Spectators
At the U.S. Open, there were hills to negotiate and lots of sandy walkways. Unless you were under a rock, you probably saw Tiger Woods fall on his backside on one of Chambers Bay’s hills. Two caddies also fell. And spectators report having trouble seeing the action in addition to the difficult terrain and blister-inducing walks. [Link]
Hole #7: U.S.G.A. Seizes Alternate’s Clubs
Things I didn’t know before last week: Alternates (even the first and second alternates) cannot play practice rounds at the U.S. Open. And they are pretty serious about the rule. [Link]
Hole #8: Candidate Trump
And you thought Obama played a lot of rounds in office. [Link]
Hole #9: He Won with What?
Here’s the story of how Patrick Reed won a hole in the U.S. Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay with a nine. [Link]