Par for the Course

This was going to be Phil Mickelson's tournament. He was finally winning majors. He had been near the lead for three days at the U.S. Open. If he won, he'd win three in a row, coming close to the Tiger Slam who won four in a row, but not in the same year.

With three holes to go, he had a two shot lead. Par, par, and par would be a safe win. Colin Montgomerie made a tough birdie, and it looked like he might force a playoff if he stayed at 4 over. The U.S. Open is notoriously difficult. It was predicted that the winner would not go under par. The last time it was held at Wingfoot, the winner won at 7 over. Monty had never won any major tournament. If he could hang on at 5 over, he might force a playoff.

But the last few holes did them all in. Monty followed up a birdie on 17 with a double bogie on 18, and he was at 6 over. Maybe good enough to tie, but he knew he blew his chance.

Geoff Ogilvy, an Australian married to a Texan, parred his last four holes and that left him at 5 over, but if Mickelson would shoot par all the way, he'd win outright, and if he bogeyed twice, it would at least be a playoff.

Mickelson was 3 over at 15, bogeyed at 16 to move him to 4 over. Still, two pars would win over Ogilvy. Mickelson parred 17. But like Monty, poor judgement did Mickelson on the 18th. He hit one bad shot, a second bad shot, a third bad shot, and was even in danger of not staying in second.

Mickelson double-bogeyed 18, to lose by 1 stroke, and fall in a tie with Monty and Jim Furyk. Mickelson has finished second (or tied for second) at the U.S. Open four times (1999, 2002, 2004, and now 2006).

Tiger Woods had not made the cut, the first time this has ever happened to Woods. He's had a gaudy record when it comes to majors, having made every cut. However, his dad passed away earlier this year, and for such a tough course, Tiger was simply not that sharp.

Despite the lack of a well-known name, at least, to non-golf fans, Ogilvy is ranked 17th in the world in golf. While it's more unlikely for a 17th ranked tennis player to win a major, in golf, surprises do happen.

I find that I can watch more golf than others who like sports. Even so, I only watched the last three rounds of the tournament. There was still plenty of excitement to see whether Mickelson could pull it off.

Congrats to Geoff Ogilvy.