Beau peeps at fairytale
but Webb is the real deal
BRETT OGLE casts his eye over the US Open and finds a kid in a dream, an enduring Aussie and a disappointing Tiger. But most of all, he finds a golfer capable of winning multiple majors.
Beau Hossler finished only 29th but he was one of the great stories of the US Open. It took until Sunday before the inevitable happened.Simpson has been on a dream run ever since he finished runner-up at last year’s Transitions Championship in March to Gary Woodland. He lost a playoff not long after that to Bubba in New Orleans before breaking through with wins at the Wyndham Championship and the Deutsche Bank in a three week period in late August. Then in November he was a big part of the successful American team that took out the Presidents Cup here at Royal Melbourne. At 26 years of age he’s got plenty of game, grit and determination and I reckon he can become a multiple major winner in the years to come.
Simpson’s win at the Open also marks a mini resurgence from the Americans with the past three majors dating back to Keegan Bradley’s playoff win at the 2011 PGA Championship going to US
Meet The Simpsonsplayers. It had been just over five years since the Americans won three straight majors (two of those by Tiger), and more than eight years since three different Americans put together a streak that long.
It was great to see John Senden in the hunt last week and he finished one shot ahead of Adam Scott for top Aussie honours. Sendo got to equal third at one stage on the final day before a few late bogeys saw him finish at five over and a tie for 10th.
There are always new faces and names that come out of a major and this year was no exception. Firstly, fourth year pro Michael Thompson collected his best finish on Tour, placing second behind Simpson. This guy was the number one amateur in the world in 2008 and in the past three years has been slowly making his mark. The book-end rounds of 66-67 he shot at the Open proved that he has the game and it wouldn’t surprise me if he lands in the winner’s circle real soon.
And what about 17-year-old high school kid Beau Hossler! For three and a bit days the young American was chipping in, holing bunker shots, draining long putts and just doing all the things that you need to do to stay in contention. In the end he headed into the final round with a real show and knowing the fact that the last Amateur to win the Open was way back in 1933 when Johnny Goodman stole the show. I guess at some stage
And finally it was really disappointing to see Tiger Woods finish off the tournament the way he did. He was right in it from day one and I think everyone believed, including me, that his 15th major win was on the way. In the end the dreaded Olympic Club curse got him and its nickname of “The Graveyard of Champions” rang true once again. Tiger joined the likes of Ben Hogan (1955), Arnold Palmer (1966), Tom Watson (1987) and the late Payne Stewart (1998) who all looked destined to add another Major to their growing list only to see their hopes vanish at Olympic.
Next page: US Open Scoreboard »
US Open Scoreboard
| Rank | Player | Score | US Dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Webb Simpson | +1 | $1,440,000 |
| T2 | Michael Thompson | +2 | $695,916 |
| T2 | Graeme McDowell | +2 | $695,916 |
| T4 | Jason Dufner | +2 | $276,841 |
| T4 | Padraig Harrington | +3 | $276,841 |
| T4 | David Toms | +3 | $276,841 |
| T4 | John Peterson | +3 | $276,841 |
| T4 | Jim Furyk | +3 | $276,841 |
| 9 | Ernie Els | +4 | $200,280 |
| T10 | John Senden | +5 | $163,594 |