With four players sharing the lead heading into Sunday’s final round, and several stars mounting a final-round charge, the US Open last week once again delivered the kind of drama and climax we have all come to expect from the second major of the year.
It’s a pity that some shine was taken off Jordan Spieth’s historic victory by the course conditions at Chambers Bay. The greens were in awful condition and extremely inconsistent over the four days.
Along with Spieth’s back-to-back major win, the tournament will also forever be remembered as the one that forced players to break ranks and openly criticise the United States Golf Association (USGA).
Here’s our report card of some of the leading players…
Jordan Spieth (10/10)
There is no better example than Spieth that talent, and form, can overcome any challenge, even the ones posed by Chambers Bay.
The 21-year-old was below the field average for the number of fairways hit (64 per cent against 71.43 per cent), the average driving distance (298.5 against 315.5) and the number of putts per hole made (1.94 against 1.81), but as he has often shown in the past, the sum total of being average in most departments of the game can still tally up to being brilliant overall.
Having won the Masters in April, there was a lot of pressure on himlast week, and he handled it all in a fashion way beyond his years.
Jason Day (10)
You can have all the technicalities of a golf swing correct, but if you are not balanced properly while executing it, you have no chance of posting a good score.
Which is why the performance of a wobbly Day, suffering from the after-effects of a vertigo attack on Friday while on the golf course, should rank as one of the bravest and resilient efforts ever seen in a US Open. It does not matter that the Aussie eventually finished tied ninth. For most golf fans, he was as much a hero as Spieth.
Louis Oosthuizen (9.5)
The South African was just exceptional to finish on four-under par and tied second place after ballooning to nine-over par for his first 20 holes. Oosthuizen has been struggling with a back injury for almost three years now, and it is a tribute to his unbelievable talent that he still manages to come up with such awesome performances.
Dustin Johnson (9)
He looked all set to win his maiden major championship before that unfortunate three-putt par on the 72nd hole from 15 feet. That was his third near miss in the Big Four, and while some fans are sympathetic and blaming the state of the greens at Chambers Bay for his misfortune, there are many others who are already branding him a ‘choker’.
Branden Grace (9)
Winner of this year’s Qatar Masters, Grace showed he is truly back in form with a solid performance – marred only by one bad swing on his way to three-under par and tied fourth place finish. The double bogey on the 16th on Sunday when he sliced his tee shot out of bounds, will continue to haunt him though.
Cameron Smith (8)
Like Spieth, Smith too is 21 and has a great future ahead of him. The Asian Tour regular nonchalantly made an eagle on his final hole to finish tied fourth, thus securing his Masters and US Open spot for next year and also special temporary membership on the PGA Tour. Admittedly, he had nothing to lose, but the pressure is equally intense when you have everything to gain.
Adam Scott (7)
The former world No1 Aussie reaped the benefit of teaming up with Steve Williams. The presence of the Kiwi caddie by his side could have been a reason as Scott closed with a stunning final round of six-under par 64 – the best round of the week – and finished tied fourth at three-under par. That should also put him in great mood for the Open Championship at St Andrews.
Rory McIlroy (6)
The only time McIlroy burst into life was the first 14 holes of the final round, which he covered in six-under par and looked like putting some pressure on the leaders. And yet, he fizzled away with two closing bogeys. It really wasn’t the kind of performance one expected from the Northern Irishman on a course where he was hitting the ball great. He needs to pull his socks up before defending his crown at The Open Championship.
Henrik Stenson (5)
He’d get a 10 out of 10 for the most hilarious, and, dare I add, accurate description of the greens at Chambers Bay (“like putting on broccoli”), but one expected much better from the solid Swede than a tied 27th place at +5 after starting with a round of five-under par 65. Perhaps Stenson let the conditions muddle his mind a bit.
Phil Mickelson (5)
With so much hype around him at the start of the tournament, anything short of a victory would have been a disappointment for the 45-year-old American. Mickelson started well with a 69 and gave a lot of hope to his followers, but was never in the picture after that and finished a lowly tied 64th and +13.
Martin Kaymer (3)
The defending champion did not enter the tournament in the best of form, but he battled his way for the first two days, eventually missing the cut by one shot thanks to a late triple bogey on Friday.
Rickie Fowler (2)
Looks like Tiger Woods is a bad influence on his playing partners as well. The reigning Players champion, who was top-five in all four majors last year, was a shadow of himself as he fizzled away with rounds of 81 and 73.
Tiger Woods (0.5)
What do you say when you post your worst res-ult ever in the tournament? No one is in any doubt that Woods is struggling at the moment, but no one imagined he’d end up shooting 16-over par for the two days he was in Chambers Bay. The only way is up for Tiger…
