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2010


Graeme McDowell

As the sun began to set over the Pacific Ocean, Graeme McDowell, an affable 30-year-old from Northern Ireland, captured the 2010 U.S. Open Championship, conducted at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links.

McDowell carded a 3-over-par 74 on the 7,040-yard layout to earn a one-stroke victory over Frenchman Gregory Havret, thus ending a 40-year European drought in this champion- ship. England's Tony Jacklin was the last Euro to claim the title, in 1970 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. McDowell, a member of the victorious 2001 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team, also is the first golfer from Northern Ireland to win a USGA championship.

I just can't believe I'm standing here with this thing [the U.S. Open trophy] right now, said McDowell, who claimed his fifth European Tour title two weeks prior at the Celtic Manor Wales Open. It's an absolute dream come true. I've dreamed of this all my life, two putts to win the U.S. Open.

But Sunday's story was also about who didn't win. Dustin Johnson, seemingly in control of his game and emotions going into the final round as the leader after 54 holes, shot an 82, his worst round as a professional by two strokes (he had an 80 at the 2008 Players). It was also the highest final-round score by a 54-hole leader since Fred McLeod's 83 in 1911. Gil Morgan (1992 at Pebble Beach) and Retief Goosen (2005 at Pinehurst No. 2) each had 81s after holding 54-hole leads.

Johnson wasn't alone. Three-time champion and world No. 1 Tiger Woods, coming off a brilliant 66 on Saturday, carded a 75 and finished three strokes back at 3-over 287, joining the world's No. 2 player and reigning Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who matched his Saturday effort of 73.

Ernie Els, of South Africa, bidding to join a select group of players with three or more U.S. Open titles, also had a 73 and finished third at 286.

Havret, paired with Woods and ranked 391st in the world, was the only golfer besides McDowell who seemed to be playing with any consistency. But he, too, faltered with a bogey on the 71st hole before missing a 9-foot birdie putt at 18 that could have forced an 18-hole playoff on Monday.

McDowell managed his game well enough to avoid all the carnage going on around him. Entering the round three shots behind Johnson, he watched the 25-year-old South Carolinian make a triple-bogey 7 at the par-4 second, then return to the tee at the par-4 third after spectators and officials failed to locate his ball in a hazard within the allotted five min- utes. Because nobody actually saw his drive enter the hazard, the ball was deemed lost and Johnson went back to the tee. His double-bogey 6 dropped him out of the lead for good, and the two mishaps effectively ended his day.

Given new life, McDowell, unlike the other Sunday pursuers, steadied his game. He birdied the par-3 fifth to reach four under par for the championship. And even though he regis- tered four bogeys coming in ( three on the second nine ) he didn't make any critical mistakes.

This golf course is extremely difficult, and it's very tough to make birdies, said McDowell. Dustin got off to a really bad start. After the way he played yesterday, I thought if the same guy turned up today, he was going to be really tough to beat.

I'm just so thrilled to get over the [finish] line. It's so difficult to win a golf tournament let alone a major championship. I really just tried to stay calm on the back nine and I really did. I did a great job of it.

On the 72nd hole, the former University of Alabama- Birmingham All-American wisely chose to lay up with his sec- ond shot from a good lie in the right rough to ensure a stress- free 99-yard approach to the green. Two putts, the first from 20 feet, the last from 18 inches, gave McDowell the title.

It was a nice Father's Day gift for his dad, who ran across the putting surface to give Graeme a congratulatory hug. His mom, who happened to be in Spain, was likely watching live television coverage.

Back home in Northern Ireland it was roughly 2:30 a.m. Monday morning, and the party likely was just beginning.

I think there will be a few pints of Guinness maybe going down right about now, said McDowell. I think that they might extend drinking hours a little bit tonight hopefully.

And it was probably rocking enough to be felt all the way in California.

OPEN RECORDS


Starts - 5

Best Finish - Winner 2010

Rds - 20

Cuts Made - 5

Top 3 - 1

Top 5 - 1

Top 10 - 1

Top 25 - 2

Avg. 73.15

Scores in 60s - 3

Rds Under Par - 3

Earnings - $1,551,481

Champions
YearPlayer
2012Webb Simpson
2011Rory McIlroy
2010Graeme McDowell
2009Lucas Glover
2008Tiger Woods
2007Angel Cabrera
2006Geoff Ogilvy
2005Michael Campbell
2004Retief Goosen
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    Historical Notes
    On Oct. 4, 1895, the first U.S. Open Championship was conducted by the United States Golf Association on the nine-hole course of Newport (R.I.) Golf and Country Club.
    The first U.S. Open was considered something of a sideshow to the first U.S. Amateur, which was played on the same course and during the same week. Both championships had been scheduled for September but were postponed because of a conflict with a more established Newport sports spectacle, the America's Cup yacht races.
    Ten professionals and one amateur started in the 36-hole competition, which was four trips around the Newport course in one day. The surprise winner was Horace Rawlins, 21, an English professional who was the assistant at the host course. Rawlins scored 91-82-173 with the gutta-percha ball.
    Prize money totalled $335, of which Rawlins won the $150 first prize. He also received a gold medal and custody of the Open Championship Cup for his club for one year.
    In its first decade, the U.S. Open was conducted for amateurs and the largely British wave of immigrant golf professionals coming to the United States.
    As American players began to dominate the game, the U.S. Open evolved into an important world golf championship. Young John J. McDermott became the first native-born American winner in 1911 and repeated as champion in 1912.
    In 1913, the U.S. Open really took off when Francis Ouimet, a 20-year-old American amateur, stunned the golf world by defeating famous English professionals, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, in a playoff.
    Another surge in the championship's popularity coincided with the amazing career of Georgia amateur Bob Jones, who won the U.S. Open four times (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930). Spectator tickets were sold for the first time in 1922 and a boom in entries caused the USGA to introduce sectional qualifying in 1924.
    In 1933, John Goodman became the fifth and last amateur to win the U.S. Open. The others were Ouimet, Jerome D. Travers (1915), Charles Evans Jr., (1916), and Jones.
    In each era, the world's greatest players have been identified by surviving the rigorous examination provided by the U.S. Open. Ben Hogan's steely determination boosted him to four victories (1948, 1950, 1951, 1953). Arnold Palmer's record comeback win in 1960, when he fired a final round of 65 to come from seven strokes off the lead, cemented his dashing image. Jack Nicklaus' historic assault on the professional record book began when he won the first of his four U.S. Open Championships in 1962, his rookie season as a professional.
    Nicklaus, who also won in 1967, 1972, and 1980, is one of only four golfers to win four U.S. Opens. The others are Willie Anderson (1901, 1903, 1904, 1905), Jones and Hogan.
    In 1954, the U.S. Open course was roped from tee to green for the first time. That year also marked the first national television coverage. Coverage was expanded by ABC Sports in 1977 so that all 18 holes of the final two rounds were broadcast live. In 1982, on the ESPN cable network, the first two rounds were broadcast live for the first time. NBC began televising the U.S. Open in 1995.
    The format of the U.S. Open has changed several times. The USGA extended the championship to 72 holes in 1898, with 36 holes played on each of two days. In 1926, the format was changed to 18 holes played each of two days, then 36 holes on the third day. In 1965, the present format of four 18-hole daily rounds was implemented for the first time.
    In 2002, a two-tee (Nos. 1 and 10) start was used for the first and second rounds. In addition, Bethpage State Park's Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., was the first facility owned by the public to host a U.S. Open. International qualifying sites were added in 2005 and the champion at Pinehurst Resort in N.C. was Michael Campbell, who qualified in England.