PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — On a day cluttered with calamity and crushed dreams, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell won the U.S. Open golf tournament Sunday the way so many players have before him.
He was the last man standing.
McDowell shot a final-round of 3-over-par 74, but it was just enough to earn him a one-stroke victory over Frenchman Gregory Havret at Pebble Beach.
“I’m so thrilled to get over the line today,” said McDowell, who has five wins on the European Tour but had never won on the PGA Tour before Sunday. “I can’t explain how I feel. It’s amazing.”
While the game’s top stars — Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els — were kicking away chances and third-round leader Dustin Johnson was shooting the highest round by a third-round leader (82) in 99 years, McDowell kept plodding away.
McDowell finished at even-par 284, one better than Havret who missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. It followed his bogey on the 17th.
“It’s a shame the putts on the 17th and 18th weren’t as good as the other ones,” Havret said.
Els finished two strokes back. Woods and Mickelson tied for fourth, three behind.
The cool, gray day took a dramatic, shocking turn almost immediately after the leaders went onto the course in the afternoon.
After looking so overpowering in shooting his third-round 66 Saturday, Johnson completed a sudden, stunning collapse that will be remembered on U.S. Open Sundays for years to come.
After parring the first hole, Johnson made a triple-bogey at the par-4 second with a wedge in his hand for his second shot then compounded his trouble by losing his tee shot at the third, tacking on a double bogey. In less than 30 minutes, Johnson lost five shots to par, his lead and his composure.
It was an epic meltdown, but Johnson wasn’t alone in his futility. Woods bogeyed four of his first eight holes. Mickelson missed too many chances. Els double-bogeyed the 10th hole when he hit his tee shot on the Carmel Bay beach.
McDowell was ranked 36th in the world entering the Open but he wasn’t particularly well known to American fans because he plays primarily in Europe. However, McDowell had five top-20 finishes in his past six major championships and won a European Tour event in Wales two weeks ago.
With Woods and Mickelson gathered behind him and Johnson holding the lead, McDowell stayed in his own orbit, gradually letting the tournament come to him.
When he was 4-under par through eight holes, he had a three-stroke lead and the opportunity of his golf life.
“He’s always been a great front-runner,” Ireland’s Padraig Harrington said. “He’s a guy whose game suits the majors. He hits lots of fairways and lots of greens. He’s a confidence player. That means that on his good weeks, they are winning weeks.”
Woods, who won the Open at Pebble Beach 10 years ago by a record 15 strokes, closed with a final-round 75 that lacked any sparkle other than a long birdie putt at the short par-3 seventh. “I made three mental mistakes and it cost us the Open,” Woods said.
Mickelson, chasing an elusive Open title, couldn’t conjure up any magic on the back nine where he made three bogeys and failed to birdie the 18th after hitting his second shot into a greenside bunker. With a chance to put pressure on McDowell, Mickelson couldn’t do it.
“It was anybody’s ballgame,” Mickelson said. “I had enough opportunities the first six or seven holes to take advantage of the birdie holes but I didn’t do it. But I love the fact I had a chance to win.”
Els faltered badly at the finish. He had two sixes on the back nine, bogeyed the 17th hole and missed a short birdie putt at the finishing hole to wind up at 2-over par.
For the final U.S. Open scores, see the Scoreboard on Page D4.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
