What a tremendous golf tournament, and golf course. Probably the shortest course the US Open has used for a venue but it played like a monster. Not one golfer ended 72 holes at or below par.
Hole #3 - 256-yard par 3. Coming up short was a trip to no man's land. Many ended up in death valley.
Hole #5 - the green was so tough that color commentator Johnny Miller wondered out loud if it was even within the rules.
Hole #10 was only about 280 yards (par 4) but going for the green off the tee was perilous. Even playing short was tough due to the narrow hooking fairway. Mickelson managed to hole out for an eagle from about 75 yards with a bit of magic. However a couple of double bogeys dropped him out of the lead.
Hole #15 - Out of bounds just two-yards left of the right doglegged fairway. On Saturday Sergio put three balls OB before getting one in play.
In the end Justin Rose survived to win (a +1 score). His putting is really clutch, as it was in the Ryder Cup. A very worthy champion.
The co-winner was Merion. What a breath of fresh air to see an old traditional course show the Pete Dye Stadium courses how to really challenge pros.
Hole #3 - 256-yard par 3. Coming up short was a trip to no man's land. Many ended up in death valley.
Hole #5 - the green was so tough that color commentator Johnny Miller wondered out loud if it was even within the rules.
Hole #10 was only about 280 yards (par 4) but going for the green off the tee was perilous. Even playing short was tough due to the narrow hooking fairway. Mickelson managed to hole out for an eagle from about 75 yards with a bit of magic. However a couple of double bogeys dropped him out of the lead.
Hole #15 - Out of bounds just two-yards left of the right doglegged fairway. On Saturday Sergio put three balls OB before getting one in play.
In the end Justin Rose survived to win (a +1 score). His putting is really clutch, as it was in the Ryder Cup. A very worthy champion.
The co-winner was Merion. What a breath of fresh air to see an old traditional course show the Pete Dye Stadium courses how to really challenge pros.