Filed under: PGA, US Open

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Northern Ireland’s scruffy-faced Graeme McDowell, the man who on Sunday won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach to become the tournament’s first European champion in 40 years, had everything needed to alter history. On his side were a hot putter (third in the field), a steady and dependable swing (12th in greens hit in regulation) and plenty of help (the only real final-day pressure applied came from the 391st ranked player in the world, Gregory Havret, a Frenchman.)

“I couldn’t believe it,” the winner said. “No one was going crazy.”

That depends. McDowell, no doubt, was expressing his surprise that not a single golfer with a marquee name and promising final-round position had managed to mount a charge because there were certainly more than a few who went home less than mentally stable.

The voices in their heads that Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson will be hearing long into the future are all saying pretty much the same thing: “One that got away.”

That’s because McDowell, the first Euro winner since Tony Jacklin took the title in 1970, won with a final-round 3-over 74, the highest last-day score by a U.S. Open winner in 25 years — Andy North in 1985.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments