Congratulations to Jordan Spieth. What an amazing performance! Just when we thought he had it in the bag he
hits a shot on 17 that made our blood pressure go up. Doubtless his did as well. But he played 18 to perfection and made the
required 4’ putt to go ahead and ultimately win our National Championship. My guess is there are going to be multiple
major wins in his future. Good heavens –
he has multiple major wins in his past!
Hard to remember he is 21.
With the most recent outstanding golf rivalry
for all intents and purposes on its deathbed we now have a new one. Jordan and Rory. Two handsome, nice, well-mannered young men
will go at it for years to come. I
cannot wait. And let’s hope that Jason
Day and Rickie Fowler soon make it into the conversation as well. Golf is in a good place and I think in good
hands.
Sunday morning at the Open is a quiet
time. Those at the bottom of the leader board
come through with arguably a lot of half-hearted play. (I wonder why we think
that all who make the cut are “on the leader board.” There is nothing leading about 10, 12, 15
over when the real leaders are at 4 under.
Just sayin…) Spectators arrived
in bits and pieces. Phil was out early
and there was a pretty good crowd that followed him anyway. I watched him walk up the hill to our tee and
he was moving slowly. Did not have the
usual spring in his step which is understandable I guess. The
highest finisher we saw before our shift ended was Sergio Garcia. By the time we left the course it was packed
everywhere. The crowd was so ready for a
showdown and they were not disappointed.
I think Sunday mid-day was the most
beautiful of the week. It was
picture-perfect and as I gazed out on the Sound once last time this week I was
reminded how lucky I am to live in such a gorgeous area of our country. There is no doubt in my mind that Chambers
Bay is right there with Pebble Beach for incredible scenery with views from
almost every hole. Surprising as it may
be we have had almost no rain since March. Because of that Chambers Bay was
brown in many areas that normally would have been green.
Sunday afternoon’s competition in my
opinion was the best I have seen in my seven Opens. Or tied with Torrey and Tiger. It was close at Oakmont with Cabrera and
Tiger. Tiger late on Sunday at Torrey
was the one for the ages. Bethpage was
just survival. Pebble was great on
Saturday afternoon but things went south on Sunday for Dustin, Tiger and
Phil. Congressional was a runaway. Olympic never caught the magic perhaps
because Webb Simpson was such an unknown. While Sunday started slow it heated up like
crazy.
Sunday at Chambers Bay. Rory got it to -2 and the crowd was loving
it. Adam Scott lit it up with 64. (I
think he would do anything to keep Stevie around) Sneds was on fire for awhile. Cameron Smith finished T4 and he is only 21
too. Louie Oosthuizen – what an amazing
turnaround to be leader in the clubhouse and almost get to a playoff. He shot a 67 with three early bogies. 29 on the back? Why were players complaining? Branden Grace.
He played with style (and grace) and a single errant shot took him out
of it with three to go. (and what an errant shot that was! Oh my.)
Jason Day. We all watched the way he struggled Saturday
and Sunday yet he perservered and finished.
He never complained. He just did
it. I am in awe of him. I can think of numerous players who really
could use a lesson from Jason about never quitting, never giving up, never
complaining and always being the best you can be in the most difficult
circumstances. If golf ever decides to give
an award for courage and honor it should be the Jason Day Award.
Dustin was awesome on the front while Jordan
appeared nervous. Then it was a 180
degree switch on the back. Jordan calmed
down and got into control and Dustin lost the mojo. On the back – Dustin had 3 bogies and a
birdie. But Jordan had three birdies and
a double. Bottom line is this…Jordan had
to birdie to beat Oosthuizen and he did.
Dustin had to birdie to tie Jordan and he did not. The better man on Sunday won. 69 vs 70.
They played the same course, the same greens and in my opinion the
discussion should end there. It was edge
of your seat, biting your fingernails golf and it was exciting as hell.
Congratulations to Jordan Spieth. He is the winner of the two most prestigious championships
in US golf and perhaps all of golf. We are in awe of this young man and his talents.
Chambers Bay was everything a US Open should
be. Cannot wait for 2016 at Oakmont.
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