US Open heads downunder again

Geoff Ogilvy

Phil Mickelson's bid for a third consecutive major ended in stunning fashion when he double-bogeyed on the final hole, allowing Australian Geoff Ogilvy to capture the 106th US Open.

The winning shot in this test of survival at Winged Foot was Ogilvy's 6-foot par putt that he figured would only be good for second place.  The celebration took place not on the 18th green, but in the clubhouse.

Ogilvy, who won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in February, closed with a 2-over 72 for a 5-over par total, the highest winning US Open score since 1974 at Winged Foot.  He became the first Australian to win the U.S. Open since David Graham in 1981 and the first to win a major since Steve Elkington won the 1995 PGA Championship.

Ogilvy did not just stand around waiting for handouts, though. The 29-year-old Aussie battled to the very end. He holed an 18-foot chip to save par on the 17th hole and then had to overcome a miserable break on the 18th when his tee shot landed in a divot. His approach lost power as it reached the green, tumbling down the slope. He chipped up and, unlike Colin Montgomerie and Jim Furyk before him, made the putt.

Mickelson had a two-shot lead with four holes to play, but his miscues caught up with him. Mickelson hit only two fairways in the final round, none on the back nine.  While he found a way to escape most times, Winged Foot got its vengeance at the end.

His tee shot on the 18th went far left and clattered through the trees by a corporate hospitality tent, into the trampled rough. Instead of playing out to the fairway and trying to get par, he went after the green and hit a tree, the ball advancing only 25 yards.

The third shot sailed left of the green and buried in the bunker, plugged so badly that Mickelson had no chance to get close to the flag because the green ran away from him. He blasted out and through the green, into more rough, then chipped back 8 feet past the hole before making the last putt to close with double bogey.

"I still am in shock that I did that. I just can't believe that I did that," Mickelson said. "I'm such an idiot.  I had it right there in my hands, and I let it go," Mickelson said.

Lost in the final-round flurry was what proved to be the most demanding U.S. Open in more than 25 years.  Ogilvy finished at 5-over 285, the first time a U.S. Open champion finished over par since Andy North at Cherry Hills in 1978. And it was the highest score by a winner since Hale Irwin won at 7-over 285 at Winged Foot in the '74 U.S. Open.

He also joined Irwin in another footnote that spoke to wicked Winged Foot - he failed to break par in any of the four rounds.

Montgomerie had his best chance in 11 years to win that elusive major. He holed a 75-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole for a share of the lead and was in the middle of the 18th fairway, 172 yards from the hole, in prime position to do no worse than a playoff. But he missed well to the right, down a steep slope into rough that covered the cuffs of his pants.

The best he could do was chip some 40 feet by the pin. Then he did the worst thing he could do, running his par putt 10 feet by and missing the next one for a double bogey and a 71.

"I look forward to coming back next year and try another US Open disaster," Montgomerie said.

Furyk also will have a restless night.  One of five players tied for the lead on a steamy afternoon, he was 5 over and in the bunker on the 18th when he played a splendid shot to about 5 feet below the hole. He backed off twice, and the par putt caught the right edge of the cup, giving him a 70, one shot out of a playoff.  "I played my heart out, and it didn't work," he said.

"I feel for Phil.  He's won a few majors recently, so I can take one away.  I think I was the beneficiary of a little bit of charity," Ogilvy said.

He never imagined it would happen like this. No one did. Mickelson had been so dominant in the majors, and had poured so much into studying every nook and cranny at Winged Foot, that it appeared he would win this the way Woods often captures majors - making the fewest mistakes in the final round.

"I came out here a week or two ago in the evenings, just spending the evenings on the last four holes, thinking I'd just have to make four pars, thinking there was a good chance if I could make four pars on Sunday, I could do it," he said.

Ogilvy earned $1.225 million for his first major, and his third career victory on the PGA Tour, and it should be enough to put him into the top 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

In defence of his title, Michael Campbell missed the cut which came at 9-over par.  Joining him at 12-over after two rounds was the man he beat last year down the stretch, Tiger Woods.  Phil Tataurangi also missed the cut, but produced a better second round 73 after a first round disaster of 86.