US Open:Who could have dreamed it? Perhaps a father who first saw his son swing a club on the outpost that is Royal Portrush close to the Giant's Causeway? Yesterday, some eight time zones away, Graeme McDowell – a son of that rugged northern coastline – created his own kind of magic on the Monterey peninsula which hangs out into the Pacific Ocean as he followed some famous footsteps to lay claim to the US Open trophy.
On an often bizarre, even at times cruel, day, McDowell – a 30-year-old Ulsterman – shot a final round 74 for a 284, even par, total which gave him a one shot win over Frenchman Gregory Havret with Ernie Els a shot further back alone in third. Dustin Johnson, the American who had carried a three shot lead into the final round, suffered a horrendous final round of 82, his train crash coming at the very start of the final round as he went triple bogey, double bogey, bogey from the second hole in a horrible public disintegration.
Yet, amid all the turmoil, McDowell stayed cool and calm and completed a job which had started last Thursday when, despite winning the Wales Open in his last start, he had sneaked in a little under the radar. But not those closely associated with him, as caddie Kenny Comboy – a faithful bagman for the last four years – and his manager, Conor Ridge, of Dublin-based Horizon Sports, along with his father, Kenny, were all on hand to provide backup.
Of course, McDowell himself was a tower of strength, a fervent believer in his own ability. And, when the tough questions were asked, he was more capable than anyone of delivering the appropriate answer. In a stunning endorsement of the health of Irish golf, McDowell’s win gave Ireland its fourth major title of the last 12 stretching back to Pádraig Harrington’s ground-breaking win at Carnoustie in 2007. McDowell became the first Northern Ireland winner since Fred Daly, at the British Open in 1947.
Oh, what a day. It produced compelling drama from early on, with Ernie Els and Tiger Woods among those to carve balls out in to the Pacific Ocean.
With Johnson’s challenge disintegrating before his very eyes, McDowell’s main challenger turned out to be the Frenchman Havret, a player who had booked his place in the field at a play-off in the international qualifier at Walton Heath outside London earlier in the month. McDowell had earned his place in the field by staying inside the world’s Top-50 after the BMW PGA at Wentworth and, since then, had finished fourth in the Madrid Masters and won the Wales Open.
For the final round, he arrived with a serene calmness which was necessary on those early holes as Johnson’s advantage disappeared and then became a deficit. McDowell’s run of four successive pars was followed by a 12-foot birdie on the fifth and, with that, he had grasped control of his own destiny. And, boy, did he refuse to let it go. He was like an Irish Wolfhound given a bone and he held onto it for dear life.
Els may want to curse the 17th hole, which cost him five shots over the championship. Mickelson might wonder about Saturday’s third round, and where the magic of the previous day went. Woods, likewise, failed to reproduce his magic of Saturday. But the US Open more than any other championship produces the winner who plays the best for all four rounds and, on this occasion, it was Mr Graeme McDowell from Portrush, Co Antrim.
He follows in the famous steps of those who have won here. Jack Nicklaus in 1972. Tom Watson in 1982. Tom Kite in 1992. Tiger Woods in 2000. . . . it’s an indication of how far his star has risen that McDowell’s march onto the podium was accepted by one and all as a worthy step.
In an emotional moment of the 18th green, McDowell said: “My mom (Marian) is in Spain, so I hopoe she’s watching. My dad (Kenny) is in the crowd. Obviously, a proud moment to have him here. I’ve so many great friends here this week, and so many Irish people in the crowd cheering me on ... I don’t know what it is about the Irish, they just seem to get everywhere.”
McDowell bogeyed the 14th – driving into a fairway bunker down the right – and the Par 3 17th, again finding sand, but played the Par 5 18th like a veteran. Displaying nerves of steel and a keen mindset, aware that Havret up ahead had failed to birdie the hole, McDowell – on the fairway with his tee shot – was debating whether to go for the green in two. He had 220 yards to the green. Aware of Havret’s play, he changed his mind and gave himself a lay-up of 99 yards. He pitched to 20 feet and two-putted for par and the famous trophy was his.
At one stage of the round, after bogeying the 10th, he allowed himself a peak at a scoreboard. “I saw no-one was going crazy. I couldn’t believe that. I really just tried to stay calm on the back nine and I really did. I did a great job of it. There’s bogeys out there no matter how good you play. Mr (Mike) Davis sets an unbelievable golf course up. It was fair. Good golf got rewarded, and bad golf got punished pretty badly.”
He added: “I really just tried to concentrate on my game, and I can’t believe I’m standing here with this thing right now. It’s an absolute dream come true. I’ve dreamed of this all my life, two putts to win the US Open. I couldn’t believe I actually had a 20-footer to do that today and, wow, this thing feels amazing.”
