US Open Recap

Gonna keep this short, but the last 4 days at Merion Golf Club have been very interesting.  The 2nd major in the 2013 PGA Golf season, the U.S. Open, was definitely one to remember.

Going into the weekend, I went through the field, took Matt Kuchar to win his first major.  This, however, wasn't the case.  Kuchar finished the tournament +12.  The pre-tourney favorite, Tiger Woods, who hasn't won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, finished +13.  A lot of extra putts and other shots were to blame.  Phil Mickelson (finished runner-up at U.S. Open 5 times) traveled all week, including attending his daughter's graduation in California, arrived just an hour and a half before his Thursday morning tee time, and he found himself on-top of the leaderboard or close throughout the weekend.  Paired with Hunter Mahan today in the final round, Lefty struggled early, but eagled on the 10th hole to get back in contention, but bogied at 13 & 15 which set up Justin Rose for the win.  Rose birdied on 12 and 13 to give himself a cushion for the lead, including a solid front nine.  What Rose needed to solidify the win was for Mickelson to not birdie on 17 or 18, which did not happen.  This was a huge win and confidence from England's Justin Rose, who wins his first-ever PGA major.  Another exciting tournament for sure.

The golf course was interesting.  It's a small course, and the East Course (which was used in past years) is no exception.  Considering this course is right outside Philadelphia, there is alot of people.  Residents even shared houses with players and their backyards were used for interviews.  The course was also unique for the use of wicker posts, which were used instead of flagpoles.  This had it harder to players to determine the wind-speed as they approached the putting greens.  Another thing unique about the course is the travel.  Considering the driving range was a mile and a half from the East Course, players were bussed from each location, same with housing.  Also, before the weekend commenced, I figured there would be a lot of red numbers and birdies, considering how small the course is.  Instead, I was wrong and there were alot of bogeys as well as black numbers, for shots over par.  It was a great weekend, and the USGA would like to see Merion host this event in 2030, when Bobby Jones completed the grand-slam, we'll see.  Until then, got about a month until the Open Championship.

Congrats to Justin Rose.