The conclusion of the U. S. Open in San Francisco on Sunday saw the Olympic Club tradition of a lesser name/underdog overtaking a more favored star continue, but the overtaking was of a different variety. The "overtaking" consisted of two solid rounds (68's, 2-under par each) by a quality young tour pro and a meltdown by two stars, one a superstar and three-time U. S. Open champion and one the PGA player of the year in 2010 and the U. S. Open champion of 2003.
The Lake Course at Olympic was beautifully rugged, even without water hazards, only one fairway sandtrap, and a short overall length. It did, however, have huge trees that swallowed golf balls, small fast sloping greens that let most chip shots slide right off, and horrendously shin-deep jungle-style roughs. After the 2011 embarrassment, where Rory McIlroy lapped the field, winning by 8 strokes at 16-under par, the U.S.G.A. made sure the 2012 edition of their Open was back to basics, cruel character-building basics.
Webb Simpson, this year's champion, was a two-time winner on the tour, and at 26 a rising star. Still, he finished with a 281 total, one over par. His brief flurry of birdies midway through his Sunday round and terrific par save on 18 were his only highlights, mainly because the NBC producers didn't give him much camera time until the end. And why should they? Bigger names were hacking up the circuit or making infrequent great shots.
Viewers were fixated on the screen when cameras depicted Tiger Woods making a bogie. Let's face it. For many, watching Tiger pull another epic fail was fun. Do you think Mr. Nicklaus let the champagne flow back in Ohio after Tiger's brutal bogey-bogey-double bogey start on Sunday? His meltdown was complete, even though he was tied for the lead starting Saturday play. He actually played solid golf after the first seven holes on Sunday.
I thought Graeme McDowell was going to win it, but he couldn't sink the birdie putts he needed, and when his long game went erratic, he was finished. Jim Furyk was in the steady driver's seat until the 16th hole, when his duck hook tee shot let to a bogey. When his terrible second shot on 18 led to another bogey, the cameras finally focused on Webb and his pregnant wife in the clubhouse.
Somehow, it all seemed a bit anti-climactic, after big international names of the past like Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington made their own charges and Furyk and McDowell both collapsed in their epic duel.
Comic relief was provided by 17-year-old pudgy amateur Beau Hossler, who confidently stated after Saturday play that he was no longer shooting for low amateur, he was playing to win it all. Really? By the end of Sunday's round and a six-over 76, he had lost it all: no overall title and no low-am title. That belonged to Jordan Spieth, a current Texas Longhorn, who quietly finished 7-over, or two ahead of Hossler. Yet, Hossler has reason to brag. He qualified for his second consecutive U. S. Open and finished tied for 29th at age 17.
With Hossler, though only a high school junior, also wearing the burnt orange of Austin, Texas will have one terrific college team in 2014, if neither Hossler nor Spieth become pro before then. The amateur who finished worse than them both, Patrick Cantlay, did declare on Tuesday that he was going pro.
NBC did a great job on the coverage, and it wasn't just Johnny Miller. The interviews were solid and the special mini-doc features were insightful. It also didn't hurt to have Jack Fleck ('55 Open champion) and Billy Casper ('66 Open champion) on hand. Like baseball, golf's greatest strength is its tradition, not its stars. Fortunately, the networks haven't forgotten.
Is there a new trend in grand slam golf? Yes. Four of the last five majors have been won by young rising stars: Keegan Bradley, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, and Webb Simpson. It could be the dawn of a new era of superstars, with American and international youngsters supplanting Woods and Mickelson. As for handling career decline while still a remarkable athlete, perhaps Tiger can ask his old TV commercial partner Roger Federer how he copes with it. Or not.
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