US OPEN DIGEST:ENGLAND'S Luke Donald's US Open ended sooner than planned, when he was forced to retire with an injured wrist on the 15th hole of yesterday's final round.
Donald was level par for his round - at six-over for the championship and tied-22nd - when, after receiving medical treatment after sustaining the injury, he was unable to continue and shook hands with playing partner Carl Petterson.
The 10-shot rule meant a larger than usual number of players survived the midway cut, with 80 players - comprising 77 professionals and three amateurs - made it through to the weekend. One of the amateurs to miss out was former British amateur champion Gary Wolstenholme. He has the distinction of playing in three majors: the British Open, the Masters and, now, the US Open.
Police to probe Navarro incident
TONY NAVARRO, caddie to Adam Scott, hopes an altercation he had with two fans during Friday's second round is, as he put it, "history". It would seem not, though. Local San Diego police are expected to follow up on the incident, during which Navarro - a long-time bagman on tour who numbers Greg Norman among his previous employers - got into an altercation with two spectators, a father and son from the San Diego area.
After hearing a fan verbally abuse him and Scott, Navarro, it is alleged, charged behind the ropes that separate players from spectators. With his bag still on his back, Navarro confronted the heckler and allegedly "chest-butted" a 37-year-old spectator who was at the tournament with his 62-year-old father. The younger spectator then allegedly threw a punch at the caddie, and missed. The two spectators were arrested and jailed on charges of being drunk in public. Asked about the incident, Navarro replied: "I really don't want to talk about it. That's behind us."
West coast to host future events
ALTHOUGH THE west coast of the US has had only irregular US Opens, with Pebble Beach in 2000 the last time the championship was played in this neck of the woods before Torrey Pines made its debut this year, the event will be back in the land of Hollister quite regularly.
Bethpage Black on Long Island in New York plays host to the tournament next year - making it back-to-back US Opens on municipal courses - while Pebble Beach in California will the venue in 2010. Congressional in Maryland (2011), the Olympic Club in Los Angeles (2012) and Merion in Pennyslvania (2013) have been mapped in for future championships.
The next two US Opens will be played at the scene of Tiger Woods's two successes in the championship. Woods won at Pebble Beach by a record 15 strokes. Anyone can play Torrey Pines and Bethpage Black. In the case of Torrey Pines, the green fee is $181 while Bethpage is $120, Pebble Beach is $495.
