By Tom LaMarre
There should have been no surprise that an Irishman won the U.S. Open on the greatest links course in the United States, because there are those who believe links golf in Ireland is the best on the world, no offense to Scotland.
However, it wasn’t Padraig Harrington or Rory McIlroy, but Graeme McDowell who was the last man standing in the U.S. Open, finishing one stroke ahead of unheralded Gregory Havret of France.
McDowell, an accomplished player on the European Tour who also won in his previous outing at the Celtic Manor Wales Open, claimed his first major with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els breathing down his neck.
“It’s a pretty surreal feeling right now, I have to say,” said McDowell, who celebrated on the final green with his father, Kenny, and later that night at Brophy’s Tavern in Carmel. “It hasn’t really sunk in. I don’t think I’ve put (the trophy) down since they gave it to me.
“The U.S. Open has always been a tournament, if people asked me which major did I feel like my game is most suited to, I normally said the U.S. Open because I’ve always been pretty good off the tee, accuracy-wise.
“No disrespect to Gregory, he’s a great player, but when you have Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els obviously there, you’re not expecting Gregory Havret to be the guy you’ve got to fend off.”
Dustin Johnson, who captured the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am the last two years and took a three-stroke lead into the final round, opened the door for those chasing by going triple bogey-double bogey-bogey starting at the second hole and slid to an eventual tie for eight.
Nobody made a charge, but the Irishman held his ground.
McDowell, who is a lock to make his second Ryder Cup team for the matches in October at Celtic Manor, finished at 71-68-71-74–284, even par, and collected $1,350,000.
Havret, who holed a 50-foot putt to get into a playoff in U.S. Open qualifying and then sank a 20-foot birdie putt to earned his spot in the field, finished second at 73-71-69-72–285, followed by Els, the big South African, who came in at 73-68-72-73–286.
“You have to take you hat off to Graeme, as he played wonderful,” said Els, who was seeking his third U.S. Open title, but the first since 1997 at Congressional. “He played nice and steady.
“But you know, I wasn’t the only one who had chances. I played with Phil and he also had chances, as did Tiger and a lot of other guys. It came down to the end and I’m a little disappointed, but it was a good tournament.”
Woods and Mickelson, the California natives with a history at Pebble, were in the hunt almost to the finish but could not find the magic they had on other days on the Monterey Peninsula.
Mickelson, the Masters champion who was trying to win the U.S. Open for the first time after a record five runner-up finishes, wound up at 75-66-73-73–287, to tie for fourth with three-time Open champion Woods, who totaled 74-72-66-75–287.
“I had opportunities,” said Mickelson, a three-time champion at Pebble Beach who incredibly made no birdies in the first round and only one in the last, on the first hole. “I had a 15-foot eagle putt on No. 4, and I made par. That was frustrating. I have a five-iron into No. 6, and I make par. That was frustrating.
“But at the turn, I was still under par for my round, even par for the tournament, which was ultimately the winning score. All I had to do was shoot even par in the back, and I’m in a playoff. I wasn’t able to do it, obviously. It was tough.”
Woods, who captured the 2000 U.S. Open by a record 15 strokes and also won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am that year, turned the tournament on its ear when he shot 5-under-par 66 on Saturday, making birdies on the last three holes to give him five on the back nine and eight in all.
However, like Mickelson, he had none on Thursday and could not make enough happen in the final round, when he managed only two birdies. At least his game seems to be heading in the right direction even though his personal life seems to be in disarray after months of tabloid scandal.
“I told Steve (Williams, his caddie) we made three mental mistakes,” said Woods, who again fell short of his 15th major title. “The only thing it cost us was a chance to win the U.S. Open. You take away those three mental errors right there and I’m right there. I’m tied for the lead.
“I kept leaving myself in the wrong spots. Every time was above the hole. (In round three) I made everything because it was all below the hole. But below the hole it takes a lot of that break out, and the putts I had today that were below the hole, I made them.
“(But) I feel like I can play now. I got a feel for my game, my shape of my shots, what I’m working on. In the two major championships, I had a chance to win both of them. So it’s not too bad.”
John Mallinger of Escondido and Long Beach State tied for 22nd at 77-72-70-74–293,
Ricky Barnes of Stockton and the University of Arizona tied for 27th at 72-76-74-72–294, Tom Watson, of Stanford and Kansas City, who won the 1982 Open at Pebble, tied for 29th at 78-71-70-76–295, and Ryan Moore of UNLV and Puyallup, Wash., tied for 33rd at 75-73-75-73–296.
Jason Allred of Pepperdine and Ashland, Ore., shot 72-73-76-77–298 to tie for 47th with Jason Gore of Valencia and Pepperdine, who wound up at 76-73-74-75–298, Erick Justesen Sacramento and Cal State Stanislaus finished 69th at 74-74-80-73–301, Matt Bettencourt of Alameda and Modesto Junior college tied for 70th at 72-74-77-79–302, and Nick Watney of Davis and Fresno State finished 76th at 76-71-77-81–305.
McDowell made only one birdie in the final round, at No. 6, to break a tie for the lead with Els. and played defense the rest of the way.
It was barely enough.
“I played in AT&T’s here and it’s been cold and nasty,” said McDowell, who became the first European to capture the U.S. since Tony Jacklin of England in 1970 at Hazeltine. “I thought we had a great week’s weather. I thought the golf course was well set up and the weather proved to be a really good test. And it was a lot of fun. I was proud of the way I handled myself this week.
“To win the U.S. Open here at Pebble Beach is a special feeling. I came here in 2001. I was a college player (at Alabama-Birmingham), and we were playing a golf tournament locally, and we came here to have a look around.
“We were in awe of the place. It reminded me of home quite a lot, the coast line and the ocean and just the beauty of it all.”
Now he will be linked with it forever.
2010 US Open
June 17-20
Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links
par-71, 7,040-yards
(Note: a-amateur)
1. Graeme McDowell …………… 71-68-71-74–284
2. Gregory Havret ……………….. 73-71-69-72–285
3. Ernie Els …………………………. 73-68-72-73–286
4. Phil Mickelson ………………… 75-66-73-73–287
4. Tiger Woods …………………… 74-72-66-75–287
6. Matt Kuchar …………………… 74-72-74-68–288
6. Davis Love III ………………….. 75-74-68-71–288
8. Brandt Snedeker …………….. 75-74-69-71–289
8. Martin Kaymer ……………….. 74-71-72-72–289
8. Alex Cejka ……………………… 70-72-74-73–289
8. Dustin Johnson ……………….. 71-70-66-82–289
12. Sean O’Hair …………………… 76-71-70-73–290
12. Tim Clark ………………………. 72-72-72-74–290
14. Ben Curtis …………………….. 78-70-75-68–291
14. Justin Leonard ………………. 72-73-73-73–291
16. Peter Hanson ………………… 73-76-74-69–292
16. a-Scott Langley ……………… 75-69-77-71–292
16. Lee Westwood ……………… 74-71-76-71–292
16. Jim Furyk ……………………… 72-75-74-71–292
16. a-Russell Henley ……………. 73-74-72-73–292
16. Charl Schwartzel ……………. 74-71-74-73–292
22. Sergio Garcia …………………. 73-76-73-71–293
22. Shaun Micheel ………………. 69-77-75-72–293
22. Angel Cabrera ……………….. 75-72-74-72–293
22. Padraig Harrington …………. 73-73-74-73–293
22. John Mallinger ………………. 77-72-70-74–293
27. Ricky Barnes …………………. 72-76-74-72–294
27. Robert Karlsson …………….. 75-72-74-73–294
29. Stuart Appleby ………………. 73-76-76-70–295
29. Henrik Stenson ……………… 77-70-74-74–295
29. Robert Allenby ………………. 74-74-73-74–295
29. Tom Watson …………………. 78-71-70-76–295
33. Jason Dufner ………………… 72-73-79-72–296
33. Ryan Moore ………………….. 75-73-75-73–296
33. David Toms …………………… 71-75-76-74–296
33. Kenny Perry ………………….. 72-77-73-74–296
33. Stewart Cink …………………. 76-73-71-76–296
33. Brendon de Jonge ………….. 69-73-77-77–296
33. Soren Kjeldsen ……………… 72-71-75-78–296
33. Ryo Ishikawa …………………. 70-71-75-80–296
41. Bo Van Pelt …………………… 72-75-82-68–297
41. Ross McGowan ……………… 72-73-78-74–297
41. SeungYul Noh ……………….. 74-72-76-75–297
41. Vijay Singh ……………………. 74-72-75-76–297
41. Robert Gates ………………… 75-74-71-77–297
41. Paul Casey ……………………. 69-73-77-78–297
47. Jim Herman ………………….. 76-73-81-68–298
47. Rafael Cabrera-Bello ………. 70-75-81-72–298
47. Chris Stroud ………………….. 77-72-76-73–298
47. Jason Gore …………………… 76-73-74-75–298
47. Thongchai Jaidee …………… 74-75-74-75–298
47. Jason Allred ………………….. 72-73-76-77–298
47. Scott Verplank ………………. 72-74-75-77–298
47. K.J. Choi ……………………….. 70-73-77-78–298
47. Luke Donald ………………….. 71-75-74-78–298
47. Ian Poulter ……………………. 70-73-77-78–298
47. Edoardo Molinari …………… 75-72-72-79–298
58. Steve Stricker ……………….. 75-74-77-73–299
58. Retief Goosen ………………. 75-74-76-74–299
58. Lucas Glover …………………. 73-73-77-76–299
58. Hiroyuki Fujita ……………….. 72-77-74-76–299
58. Yuta Ikeda ……………………. 77-72-73-77–299
63. Gareth Maybin ……………… 74-75-76-75–300
63. Toru Taniguchi ………………. 73-76-76-75–300
63. Steven Wheatcroft ………… 74-73-77-76–300
63. Jerry Kelly …………………….. 72-70-81-77–300
63. Eric Axley ……………………… 75-73-75-77–300
63. Steve Marino ………………… 73-75-73-79–300
69. Erick Justesen ……………….. 74-74-80-73–301
70. Camilo Villegas ………………. 78-69-79-76–302
70. Fred Funk …………………….. 74-72-77-79–302
70. Matt Bettencourt …………… 72-74-77-79–302
70. David Duval …………………… 75-73-74-80–302
74. Rhys Davies ………………….. 78-70-79-76–303
74. Kent Jones ……………………. 73-76-78-76–303
76. Nick Watney …………………. 76-71-77-81–305
77. Matthew Richardson ………. 73-75-80-78–306
77. Zach Johnson ………………… 72-77-78-79–306
77. Craig Barlow ………………….. 73-75-77-81–306
80. Mike Weir …………………….. 70-79-83-75–307
80. Ty Tryon ………………………. 75-74-78-80–307
82. Pablo Martin …………………. 73-76-83-79–311
82. Jason Preeo ………………….. 75-70-82-84–311
Missed the cut…………………….
84. Arjun Atwal ………………….. 75-75–150
84. Simon Dyson …………………. 76-74–150
84. Ross Fisher …………………… 74-76–150
84. a-Morgan Hoffmann ………. 75-75–150
84. Trevor Immelman ………….. 74-76–150
84. MiguelAngel Jimenez ……… 73-77–150
84. Tom Lehman …………………. 76-74–150
84. Hugo Leon ……………………. 73-77–150
84. Jean-Francois Lucquin …….. 75-75–150
84. Geoff Ogilvy …………………. 79-71–150
84. Alvaro Quiros ………………… 80-70–150
84. Adam Scott …………………… 77-73–150
84. a-Hudson Swafford ………… 76-74–150
84. Azuma Yano ………………….. 74-76–150
98. Richard Barcelo ……………… 77-74–151
98. David Frost …………………… 73-78–151
98. Brian Gay ……………………… 78-73–151
98. J.J. Henry ……………………… 79-72–151
98. Simon Khan ………………….. 76-75–151
98. Kenny Kim ……………………. 78-73–151
98. Marc Leishman ……………… 77-74–151
98. Louis Oosthuizen …………… 77-74–151
98. John Rollins …………………… 74-77–151
98. Oliver Wilson ………………… 75-76–151
108. Steve Allan ………………….. 78-74–152
108. Ben Crane …………………… 80-72–152
108. Jon Curran ………………….. 75-77–152
108. Paul Goydos ………………… 76-76–152
108. Mikko Ilonen ……………….. 75-77–152
108. Hunter Mahan …………….. 78-74–152
108. Rory McIlroy ……………….. 75-77–152
108. Heath Slocum ………………. 75-77–152
108. Gary Woodland ……………. 76-76–152
117. Gary Boyd …………………… 78-75–153
117. Rory Sabbatini ……………… 74-79–153
117. Paul Sheehan ………………. 80-73–153
117. Michael Sim ………………… 77-76–153
121. a-Byeong-Hun An …………. 79-75–154
121. a-Joseph Bramlett ………… 79-75–154
121. Brian Davis ………………….. 80-74–154
121. Bob Estes ……………………. 77-77–154
121. Rocco Mediate …………….. 77-77–154
121. Francesco Molinari ……….. 79-75–154
121. James Morrison …………… 78-76–154
121. a-Andrew Putnam ………… 76-78–154
121. John Senden ……………….. 80-74–154
121. Jerry Smith ………………….. 78-76–154
121. Charles Warren ……………. 75-79–154
121. Kaname Yokoo …………….. 76-78–154
133. Rafael Echenique …………. 76-79–155
133. Kent Eger ……………………. 76-79–155
133. Harrison Frazar …………….. 78-77–155
133. Rikard Karlberg …………….. 77-78–155
133. a-Ben Martin ……………….. 78-77–155
138. Mathias Gronberg ………… 80-76–156
138. Kevin Na …………………….. 80-76–156
138. Daniel Summerhays ……… 79-77–156
138. Y.E. Yang …………………….. 73-83–156
142. Aaron Baddeley …………… 80-77–157
142. Travis Hampshire ………….. 81-76–157
142. Terry Pilkadaris …………….. 78-79–157
145. Stephen Ames …………….. 74-84–158
145. Erik Compton ………………. 77-81–158
145. Soren Hansen ……………… 78-80–158
145. Dan McCarthy ……………… 80-78–158
145. Deane Pappas ……………… 81-77–158
145. a-Kevin Phelan …………….. 83-75–158
151. Derek Lamely ………………. 78-81–159
152. Michael Campbell …………. 78-83–161
153. Alex Martin …………………. 79-84–163
154. Mark Silvers ………………… 82-82–164
155. Blaine Peffley ………………. 86-79–165
