The U.S. Open Championship. Everything Came Up Roses For Justin.

Everything came up roses for Justin Rose as he won the 113th U.S. Open Championship at Merion Golf Club. Winning by two shots from Phil Mickelson and Jason Day, who were tied in second place at +3 over par.

Justin Rose and his 1st Major trophy / Getty Images

Justin is the first Englishman in 43 years to win the U.S. Open, The last English U.S. Open winner was Tony Jacklin in 1970. Nick Faldo was the last Major trophy winner in 1996 at Augusta. An even par total for the championship was the winning score for Justin, a great effort on the difficult and punishing course at Merion.

Justin said that when he walked over the hill down the 18th fairway to check on his tee shot, he knew it was his moment;

“When I came over the hill and saw my ball laying in the fairway, I thought. This is my moment. It was me hitting from the middle of the fairway. It wasn’t lost on me that today was Father’s Day. A lot of us come from great men and we have a responsibility to our children to show what a great man can be. For it to all just work out for me, on such an emotional day, I couldn’t help but look up to the heavens and think that my old dad Ken had something to do with it.”

On an amazing  day at Merion Golf Course, all the home supporters were rooting for birthday boy Phil Mickelson, sadly for him a couple of mistakes left him sitting in second place, again. Today was Phil’s 43rd birthday and it should have been a great day for him, but this is the sixth time Phil has been in second place at this event, the most coveted trophy missing from his display cabinet;

“Heartbreak, this is tough to swallow after coming so close. This was my best chance of all of them. I had a golf course I really liked. I felt this was as good an opportunity as you could ask for. It really hurts.”

Luke Donald was in position to challenge for this Trophy, but after his tee shot hit a female volunteer official on the third hole. It seemed to wreck his concentration, and everything fell apart after that incident.

As I predicted at the beginning of the week, the winner was not under par for the tournament.

U.S. Open. Phil is in Charge

Phil Mickelson is in charge, and the only player at the U.S. Open who is in red figures at Merion Golf Club, after three rounds have been completed.

Phil Mickelson / Getty Images

Phil had an even par round today, which was good enough to elevate him to the top of the leaderboard at the U.S. Open. He has recorded five previous second place finishes in this tournament, but is now in control at Merion, leading by one shot going into the final round. Saturday is usually referred to as moving day, but no one at  the top of the board moved forward today. The good thing for Phil is that this is the first time ever he has enjoyed having the 54 hole lead at a U.S. Open, that must auger well for him;

” It’s a hard challenge, but it’s a lot of fun, every shot requires such great focus because a penalty can bite you quickly. I can’t wait to get back and playing. I feel good ball-striking, I feel good on the greens. I think it’s going to take an under-par round tomorrow.”

One shot back at even par, and tied in second place for the tournament are; Hunter Mahan, Charl Schwartzel and Steve Stricker.

Another shot further back on +1 over par are; Justin Rose, Billy Horschel and Luke Donald.

Luke was cruising through his round, having had the outright lead until two equally poor swings on the last two holes. A 2-iron into the bunker on the par three 17th, that led to a bogey, and followed that with a shot into ankle-deep rough down the right side of the 18th green that led to a double bogey. And just like that, one of the best rounds of the day turned into a 71, and he was suddenly two shots behind. He also managed to miss three short putts as well earlier on, which in the end really hurt his final score.

Best round of the day went to Ricky Fowler, a -3 under par 67, but he is still at +3 over par for the tournament. It was tough going today for the players, but tomorrow will be even tougher, with some pins in the usual most difficult places. As I said a couple of days ago, the winner of this tournament may well not break par at the finish.

Asides;

Sad Sergio Garcia took a beating on the 15th hole, carding a 10 after going out of bounds with his tee shot,three times. He finished the round at +11 over par, when he could have been in contention.

World number one Tiger Woods had another disappointing day, a third round of +6 over par 76 has destroyed any ideas he may of had about making a late charge here on Sunday. He is currently at +9 over par for the tournament. Not fairing much better was his business buddy Rory McIlroy, the World number two finished one shot better at +8 over par, after his third round 75. The way these two are actually playing they may not be numbers one and two for too much longer.

Tiger Commented;

“It certainly is frustrating, I’m playing well enough to do it, and unfortunately just haven’t gotten it done.”

 

U.S. Open. Tight As At The Top, 2nd Day.

It’s Tight as at the top of the leaderboard when play was suspended due to darkness in the second round of the USGA U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club.

Billy Horschel and Phil Mickelson, tied at the top / Getty Images

Billy shot a second round of  -3 under par 67 for his -1 under par total, hitting all eighteen greens in regulation,while Phil had a disappointing +2 over par to slip back to -1 under par.

Billy actually said he was not in the zone today;

“I was not in the zone, trust me, the golf course, even though it’s soft, is still a tough golf course. I know what in the zone is for me, I don’t get nervous, I just see the shot and go. And I saw the shot and went with it, but I was still nervous with a lot of them. Your misses here can be bad if you miss in the wrong spots. I was just focused on what I tried to do. I didn’t know I hit every green until I walked off 18. It’s a cool thing. I’ve done it plenty of times in my career; obviously it’s a U.S. Open, but I think the softness of the greens helped that.”

Phil managed to birdie the last hole to back into a tie for the top spot, at -1 under par, Billy and Phil are the only two players to finish under par on the day.

There are five players tied in third place, just one shot back at even par; Luke Donald, Steve Stricker, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, who was one of those who have not completed the second round, currently played 14. The Chinese amateur Cheng Tsung Pan, he played nine, and John Senden who had finished his round before the gloom took over.

Luke said it is getting harder;

” U.S. Opens get harder as the week goes on, the pins today were a lot more tucked. They were tougher to get to. A few were on little hills or slopes. It’s very difficult to make those putts when the ball is breaking so much.”

Tiger Woods, currently tied in 17th place at +3 over par, agreed with Luke’s statement about it being tough;

“It’s hard with the wind and the pin locations, they’re really tough. We knew they were going to be in tough areas, but we didn’t think they were going to be as severe as they are. Am I surprised? absolutely not. Unless you played practice rounds out here and you’ve seen the golf course, you don’t realize how difficult it is. Because the short holes are short, but if you miss the fairway, you can’t get the ball on the green. And the longer holes are brutal. And this is probably the stiffest set of par three’s we ever face. And then they’ve thrown some of the pin locations in that they have, and it’s really tough. Just keep grinding, you just don’t ever know what the winning score is going to be. You don’t know if the guys are going to come back. We have a long way to go, and these conditions aren’t going to get any easier. They’re going to get more difficult. As the fairways start drying out, the ball is going to pick up mud and you’re going to get bad breaks.”

Rory McIlroy is just happy to be tied with Tiger on +3 over par;

“I’m very happy, right in there for the weekend. I don’t think I’ll be too far away by the end of the day. In a nice position going into the last two days.”

The projected cut is at +7 over par, at the moment, but there are plenty of payers who still have to complete their second rounds, some of them only at the half way stage. It will be another long day tomorrow for them. My prediction of the winner not finishing under par still looks like a good bet.

 

 

 

 

U.S. Open. 1st Round Suspended, Luke Donald at the top.

1st round play was suspended at the 113th U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club with Luke Donald leading the way at -4 under par, after completing 13 holes. It is actually just like I thought it would be, a rain-fest tournament.

Luke Donald / Getty Images

Luke said he thought the greens were a bit slow, because of the rain;

“The greens are a lot slower than we thought they’d be, because of the rain. And you could be an a bit more aggressive with the stroke. I saw the lines pretty well today and made some good putts.” 

Phil Mickelson was tied in second place after he had completed his opening round at -3 under par, 67. Sharing the second spot with him is Adam Scott, who has yet to complete his round, having only played eleven holes.

Phil Mickelson / Getty Images

Phil is determined to win a U.S. Open but has some strange preparation ideas. He traveled to the course from San Diego, about 2,400 miles in the air and then another 7,000 yards on the golf course. He took a short nap on his private jet from San Diego and grabbed another one during a rain delay when he found a secluded corner of the library room in the Merion clubhouse. Phil has five wedges in his bag, but no driver.

“If I’m able, and I believe I will,  if I’m able to ultimately win a U.S. Open, I would say that it’s great, because I will have had a win and five seconds. But if I never get that win, then it would be a bit heart-breaking. Being able to tune in and tune out was kind of nice the last hole or two, it’s been a long day.”

The opening round will not be completed until Friday morning, giving Phil plenty of time to catch up on his sleep as he won’t have to tee it up again for another 24 hours.

Players from the afternoon tee times were the ones left with holes to complete, the farthest anyone had got around the course  was 14 holes and the last group to tee off was through just four. All will now have to return at 7:15 a.m.tomorrow to complete their opening rounds.

There are three players tied in fourth place, at -2 under par, Webb Simpson, eight holes, Matthew Goggin, six holes, and Alistair Presnell, who has also played six holes.

Rory McIlroy is at even par through eleven holes, with business buddy Tiger Woods struggling at +2 over par, and has a four-foot par putt to make on number ten when he returns first thing in the morning.

The leaderboard is tightly bunched, and the way things are going the winner may not even break par over the four rounds, to lift the Trophy.

Another Rain Fest. U.S. Open at Merion.

Heavy rain at the U.S. Open, at Merion,  for  the first day of practice has havoc among the players.The course was eventually shut down for good later in the afternoon. This is a worldwide recurring theme this year, with weather affected events taking center stage. Events all over the World have been badly disrupted by poor weather conditions, especially copious amounts of rain.

This is Merion /Photo / AP

Ernie Els stated;

” After the rain this morning, it’s going to be very sloppy now,you’re not going to see a firm U.S. Open this year, I’m sorry. I don’t care if they get helicopters flying over the fairways, it’s not going to dry up. We’re going to have a soft golf course this week, all week.”

The course at Merion received more than 3 inches of rain on Friday, and Monday’s downpours, all three of them , didn’t help the situation. Mike Davis the USGA executive director said;

“This golf course is not built on sand, so it’s got the heavier soils, but it is maybe the best draining golf course I have ever seen. If you walk this course, you know there’s hardly any flat lies at Merion.”

Adam Scott thinks with the soft fairways, it becomes more of a target.

“Obviously with it being a little soft, it becomes a little more simple than what it was, the ball is just going to stop where it lands.”

2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell has been paired with 54-year-old Jay Don Blake and Brandt Jobe. Kiwi Steven Alker  is in the fifth final group off the tee, playing with Australians Alistair Presnell and Mathew Goggin.

Asides;

Sergio and Tiger have come close to agreeing a ceasefire over they’re little spat, but although there has been a hand-shake on the practice ground, nothing is yet set in concrete, Sergio saying;

Sergio and Tiger / AP

“Obviously we saw each other yesterday on the range, I was hoping to meet him after the round, but he was gone after the round. The weather obviously didn’t help. And this morning I was here early, I didn’t see him around. Obviously he got here later on, but I did leave him a note, a handwritten note, and hopefully he can take a look at it. I understand that it’s difficult to meet up and stuff. So hopefully we’ll be able to do it. If not, at least he has read the note and he’s happy with that. I mean the note is for him, so if he wants to show you, then he can, I don’t have any problems with that. But I am not going to be the one showing you. The people have made me feel very good out there, the last couple of days, so hopefully that will continue throughout the week and the only thing I can do is give my best effort and hopefully that would give me a chance.”

Tiger’s reported comments;

“No, we didn’t discuss anything. Just came up and said Hi, and that was it. It’s already done. We’ve already gone through it all. It’s time for the US Open and we tee it up in two days.”

So I guess the spat is still simmering, lets play Major golf.

FedEx St,Jude Classic. English Excels.

Harris English excelled his expectations with a win at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, in Memphis Tennessee.

Harris English / Badz / Getty Images

Harris had a final round of -1 under par 71 to win the FedEx St.Jude Classic, with a tournament total of -12 under par. A handful of old high school buddies had a calming influence from the gallery as Harris attained his first PGA Tour victory, with a two shot win at TPC Southwind in Memphis. He praised the support of friends and the influence of caddy Brian Smith;

“I had probably 10 high school friends out there today, and I know that if I make a birdie or a bogey, they’re probably going to be the same and they’re rooting me on. I was just really relaxed out there today. Bogeyed eight and nine, which was tough. But I knew if I kept it together on the back nine, I could make a run at the thing. I really didn’t think I’d be in this seat right here coming off nine.  I thought I kind of made some really dumb bogeys on eight, nine and kind of shot myself out of the tournament. But Smitty was saying, Hey let’s go beat this back nine. Let’s get back under par for the tournament for the day, and let’s get after it. So it was almost pedal to the metal. It’s quite an unbelievable feeling.”

Tied in second place at -10 under par were Scott Stallings and Phil Mickelson. Phil had a final round of -3 under par, 67 and was encouraged by the way he played going into the Major next week;

“I’m really encouraged with the way I hit my irons. Got to get the 3-wood in play a little bit more, although next week at Merion distance won’t be as critical as TPC Southwind. I’ll be able to hit higher and softer shots.”

Scott was looking good for a win, and was at  -12 under par at the turn, with four birdies on the front side. But he sadly finished with a double bogey, a birdie and a bogey in his final four holes. He hopes to have learned something from the experience;

“You have to learn from the experiences that you have like this today and hopefully I’ll get a little bit better break next time. Harris has played great coming down the stretch.”

Ryan Palmer was alone in fourth spot, he also had a final round of -3 under par for his tournament total of -9 under par, three shots off the pace.

Euro Tour. Diamond Joost Wins Lyoness Open.

Bright Diamond, Dutchman Joost Luiten won the European Tour Lyoness Open title in Austria on Sunday.

Joost Luiten / Getty Images

Joost had a final round of -1 under par, 71 which was good enough to win him the Lyoness Open trophy at the Diamond Country Club, in a weather delayed afternoon in Austria. His final total of -17 under par was two shots ahead of Dane Thomas Björn, who finished alone in second place at -15 under par for the tournament.

Joost was obviously very happy with his win, his previous victory came in the Iskandar Johor Open in 2011;

“It’s been a great week so I am really, really happy. It was a long day, I started off with a bogey but I hit the ball nicely so I just wanted to focus on that, hit the greens, two-putt and make the others chase me. Unfortunately I made a few mistakes on the greens and didn’t make a lot of putts, but in the end I was three clear after my birdie on 16 and that gave me a little bit of air. It’s always nice to finish par, par and hold the trophy.”

Joost spoke about the one hour weather delay, due to the threat of lightning in the area;

“At that time I wanted to play on but it was good to have a break for me because I wasn’t playing really well so I just had some food and tried to focus again and went out there and tried to make pars and sneak in a birdie and that’s what I did.”

Thomas rued the minor golfing mishaps he endured, but was gracious in defeat;

“I played very well at the weekend but I just didn’t do enough today. I bogeyed the sixth and that made it a tough challenge, but I played well down the stretch and tried to put some pressure on.I was unfortunate on the 17th with the bounce. I never really applied enough pressure. But I came here to win or to at least get a top ten and I’ve done that and I’m pretty happy.I hit a lot of good shots. I was a little too aggressive with the putt on the 16th. They didn’t quite drop today, but I putted really well all week and that’s the biggest thing I’ve been struggling with for a long time. It’s been nice to putt well two weeks in a row. Joost has been knocking on the door for a long, long time and he’s a great player so I have to take my hat off to him. He played some wonderful golf this week and deserves it as much as anyone else on Tour. I played with him last week on Sunday and he’s got everything to make him a world-class player. He’s carried himself well when he’s come close to winning but not done it, so hats off to him, he deserves it.”

Third place was shared by Liang Wen-chong from China and Frenchman Romain Wattel, both finished the tournament on -14 under par.

FedEx St Jude Classic. Stefani Steals 3rd Round Lead.

Shawn Stefani stole the third round lead at the FedEx St. Jude Classic with a -4 under par round 66, despite carding a 7 at the par 3 eleventh hole.

Shawn Stefani / Lyons / Getty

Shawn recovered to birdie four of the final five holes to grab a one-stroke lead at -12 under par, but still it was that quad that was the talk of the FedEx St. Jude Classic tournament at TPC Southwind.

Shawn himself shrugged off the watery mishap at eleven;

“I hit a good tee shot on 12 and the drive on 12 is not the easiest drive on the course, and then the birdie on 14 is when I got more calm. I’m actually playing a lot better than I was in Tampa. Having the lead was great, but I’m more prepared with my game. I can’t worry about what Phil’s doing out there, Phil’s Phil. I’m just going to concentrate on what I’m doing.”

Just one shot behind in second place at -11 under par, is playing partner Harris English who had a more modest third round, at -1 under 69.

Harris said is was tough to watch Shawn struggle on the par 3;

“It’s tough to watch that, I don’t care who you are, but he brought it back beautifully.”

Three players are tied in third spot, Patrick Reed, Nicholas Thompson and Scott Stallings, all at -8 under par.

Phil Mickelson has made his intentions clear, with a move up the leaderboard today with his third round of -5 under par 65 and is now at -7 under par for the tournament. Five shots is a lot to make up but if anyone can do it, Phil can, especially if putts like the one on the second hole start dropping;

“I’ve played better each round and I’m encouraged by that, I had a few bogeys and I left a few birdies go, let a few shots slide. It’s certainly out there. The putt on two was bigger, it was going pretty quick but ended up catching the middle of the hole and going in. Five under was a pretty good score today, but not great given the setup. I could really get some glimpses of my game getting where I want it. Hopefully, I’ll put together a really low round Sunday and catch the leaders.”

Rookie Eric Meierdierks is also at -7  under par after his third round of -4 under, 66 which included a hole in one at the par 3 thirteenth hole;

” The 13th hole, 8-iron, spun back into the hole, always helps the putting stats, that’s what I was looking for. Probably going to get some calls with bar tabs I have to pay.”

Euro Tour. Lyoness Open, Joost Jumps Into Three shot Lead.

In the European Tour Lyoness Open third round Joost Luiten has jumped into a three shot lead at the Diamond Country Club in Austria.

Joost Luiten / Getty Images

Joost took a leaf out of the balloon’s performance and took off during the third round with a -5 under par, 67 that elevated the Dutchman to the top of the leaderboard at -16 under par, and three shots clear of the field going into the final round.

Joost said he found it easy;

“It’s easy if you play like I did on the back nine, but the first fives holes were tough. Once I settled down a bit I started to play better, hit some good shots and make some putts. The first hole you’re always nervous. It’s always better to be leading than be behind. I don’t mind playing with the lead.”

Tied in second place at -13 under par are the Spanish armada of Jorge Campillo and Eduardo De La Riva, who will be fighting to chase down the leader all the way to the end on Sunday. These two are the only ones who realistically have a chance to challenge for the lead during the final round.

Round of the day went to Thomas Björn of Denmark who had a sparkling third round at the Diamond Country Club of -8 under par 64. This score fired him up the leaderboard for a share of fourth place at -11 under par. His polished performance started to shine in strange circumstances on the par fourth 12th hole, when he was contemplating changing his ball , then saw his approach shot find the hole;

” I hit the drive and I said to my caddie to change the ball at the next hole as the flight was a bit funny. Then I holed the second shot and he looked at me and said, flying funny is it. I’ve been plodding along and playing alright but not great. Something clicked into place today and I couldn’t stop making birdies on the back nine.”

Thomas could produce another sparkling round tomorrow, but Joost is the one holding all the aces at the Diamond Country Club.

 

 

Wegmans LPGA Championship. Choi Has 1st Round Lead.

Chella Choi, from South Korea, has taken the first round lead at the delayed Wegmans LPGA Championship with an opening round of -5 under par 67, at the Locust Hill Country Club course. The 2nd Major of the year is finally under way, barring more major rainfall.

Chella Choi / Halleran / Getty Images

The  wet and soggy conditions at Locust Hill Country Club could not prevent Chella from taking a slender one-shot lead at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. She carded six birdies in her first 10 holes and made just one bogey in her opening round, saying she had hit many fairways today;

“I hit a really good driver today, I hit 14 fairways.  So I’m really happy, my goal is just keep fairway.”

Tied in second place at -4 under par are Jiyai Shin, also of South Korea, and Morgan Pressel of America.

Morgan was also happy to have made many fairways;

“I played pretty well out there, I didn’t put myself really in any bad trouble which you can certainly find on this golf course.  I hit a lot of fairways, which you need to do.  I only missed I think two or three maybe, and the couple that I did, I most of the time saved par. I did not hit the ball very well here last year, I was in the rough a lot and I truly think that is kind of what caused it. It was just the many, many shots I had to whack out of the knee-high rough here.”

Alone in fourth spot is Brittany Lincicome, who is a further shot back at -3 under par. Brittany explained her thoughts on why she has had recent struggles with her game;

“For my game I really can’t even pinpoint one specific thing. Like the beginning of the year in the off season I tried taking lessons, and I’m a player that’s kind of more of a feel player.  I just kind of hit it, find it and hit it again. I think I was trying to change too many things at one time, so I kind of stopped doing that.  And then I wasn’t playing well, missed a couple of cuts in a row and lost my confidence. But took last week off to kind of go home and regroup, and you know, just try to remember that, you know, I’ve won five times on the LPGA Tour and I’ve been here before and I can do this. So I was just kind of feeling more confident today and every time I had a par putt or birdie putt I told myself, you’ve been here before, you can do this, let’s make this.  Just try to be more confident.  Even if I’m shooting 100, I’m going to try to be more confident.  That’s the mindset coming into this week.”

Yani Tseng got her first LPGA Tour hole-in-one in Friday’s first round on the par 3 15th, but she did not see it go in;

“No, I see where it was, but I did not see it go in, I had a hard time seeing the ball today.  So I see it was good in the air, so that’s all I needed. I mean after I hit it, I know it was a good shot, but I was just trying to be good distance, and I wasn’t thinking it was going to go in the hole.  I thought it would be perfect. This is my first hole‑in‑one since I turned pro.”