FIREWORKS!!! FINALLY!
It's day 187, or so it seems, of the 2009 US Open at Bethpage and we finally get excitement. And it was pretty darn exciting from the 17th green where all kinds of things happened. Some were outstanding. Many - not so much. And the second best part - NO RAIN!!! I don't think even the worst rain could have rained on Lucas Glover's parade today. Thousands of congratulations to the last man standing - the one that did not fold down the stretch. I am so glad he won it with his play and did not back into it. What a great finish for him. No one can ever take it away - Lucas Glover, US Open Champion!
When you go to the last day of the US Open, as in life, there are choices to be made. Do you try to follow a group? Do you pick out a good fairway? Do you plant yourself in a grandstand? In my opinion, following a group that is in contention is not a great idea. Following a group that includes Phil or Tiger? Downright stupid because you will never see him. Fairway? Could be a great location but there is no place to sit and if you move an inch, you bird's eye view is toast. That leaves a grandstand...which one to choose.
Bethpage is divided by a road - 1, 15, 16, 17 and 18 are on one side and every other hole on the other. The other side of the road has some awesome holes but you will not see anything close to the end of the tournament. 18 is great but, like Little Eva, a one-hit wonder. (you are really old if you know what that means :) So, we opt for 17 which gives us a view of 17 (duh!) plus 15 tee, 16 green and a really, really far away look at second shots on 18.
We are there when the horn sounds at 9. Between 9 and 1ish when the last group came through, we saw all but 5 groups. It was a stellar choice in my humble opinion. We also saw one birdie - I think. We saw an awful lot of bogies too.
17 is two-tiered with today's pin on the upper level about 8 feet from the down slope. Only two players were within 10 feet - Tiger and someone else early. I forget. Sorry. If you were on the lower level to get it up to stay, you had to hit it hard. Not one player left it below the hole. One one was within three feet. Nasty, NASTY pin placement. I think the guys who choose the pin placements escaped from some nasty prison and take their frustrations out on professional golfers. I can think of many who would agree this evening.
Tiger's shot was awesome but he missed again. Bad, bad, bad putter this week. He needs to send it to behavior modification classes before the Open. More on that later...notice that the US Open is the US Open...the British Open as we call it is simply "the Open" to everyone else.
Phil gave us some serious thrills...being ever the Tiger fan it was tough but I found myself really rooting for Phil when it was clear Tiger would not win. Actually, I was secretly rooting for Phil too while Tiger was still in the hunt - I just couldn't let Tiger know it. I don't know whether Phil lost it on 15 but he definitely lost it on 17. With Phil's putting ability I was floored that he did not make 100% certain he would hit the green. Instead he went for hole high but pushed it just a tad. Goodbye US Open. Hello Amy - I'm comin' home.
David Duval - a real sentimental favorite. Welcome back! He can be really hard to root for as his demeanor and attitude can be rather troublesome. I was rooting for him because he's had eight tough years. His physical issues (back) were difficult and it looks like it is better. But Duval married a lady during these years who was/is (not sure) quite ill and he took time away from his game to take care of her and her children. That says a lot about a man. I wish he had won. I'm glad he is back and I hope he keeps it up.
A little more about Duval - if anyone remembers back to the Ryder Cup when he made some rather negative comments about it and all the hoopla, etc. Didn't mean much to the somewhat arrogant Duval who was in his prime. The Ryder Cup gets to anyone who even admits to having a heart including people who never even play or watch golf. The Ryder Cup got to Duval and he learned a big lesson about team and country. Had the guts to admit it as well. I wonder if David took the time to seek out Rory McIlroy this week to give the young man a little advice about the Ryder Cup. Hope so - Rory needed it.
Ricky Barnes didn't have it today. Nerves? Three days of great play was all he had? Who knows but he seems like a very nice young man whose time has finally come. It is always sad to see a player blow up the last day of the Open but he hung in there to finish second. Good for him that he didn't give up. Keep it up, Ricky!
Don't know a lot about Lucas Glover other than he is the 2009 US Open Champion and we had dinner together on Friday evening. Okay, he was at the next table but still...Congratulations! Nothing else to say.
How I wish I had had a camera today...the scene from my seat was amazing. Bleachers overflowing, fans 10 deep on the fairways. Any place there was even the slightest elevation to stand on was taken for a better view. The New York fans finally had something to cheer about and they do love Phil. When he got to 17 tee, they forgot they were at a golf tournament and started and clapping that time-honored football cheer - Let's go Phil! It was amazing. Phil loves these fans and he gave them thrills. But disappointment is the name of the game for Phil Mickelson at the US Open. Wonder how many chances like this will come again for him...I hope at least one where he can claim the trophy that means so much to him.
There is always one hole at the Open that makes life miserable and this year it was 15. Long, long, uphill par four. It took the US Open away from Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and numerous others. Tiger was 4 over par on 15 - 2 bogies and one double. Let's see - 0 minus 4 is 4 under par. He is tied! Phil was 2 over par on 15 - I think 2 under minus 2 is 4 under par. He is tied! Granted, others bogied it as well including Glover one day. But in the scheme of things I think 15 provided the most misery. And excitement. It was the first bleacher to fill up each day - I never sat there but wish I had for a little while just to get the excitement of it all.
It was a very exciting finish to say the least...it's time for dinner and early bedtime. Going home in the morning. Final thoughts tomorrow...
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