Notes and Quotes from the U.S. Open
Donald spinning wheels; tired out from over-golf – U.S. Open
BETHESDA, Md. – Lots of play sometimes makes Jack a dull boy.Make that Luke Donald, No. 1 player in the world. Donald spun his wheels again in the third round and shot 74, and was at 7-over 220 going into the final round and wondering what was going on.
“I just haven’t played consistently enough,” Donald said. “Just not quite sharp enough, and you pay the price of it at the U.S. Open.” Part of the reason he didn’t look like a No. 1 was a little tiredness. “I was struggling with a bit of fatigue,” he said. “It’s been a busy few weeks. I played four in a row, actually had a great stretch and won a tournament, and was forced to take a little bit of time off last week.”
PHIL AND THE DOUBLE DOUBLE: Phil Mickelson’s chance of winning this U.S. Open had disappeared some time ago, and then his chance of respectability went up in the smoke of back-to-back double bogeys late in the third round, costing him a 7-over back nine an a 6-over 77 for the day. He’d bogeyed the 10th, 13th and 15th, then doubled the 16th and 17th.
“Some things kind of fell apart in the end,” he said. “I felt I could get things going on the back side, and unfortunately I can’t believe I hit an 8-iron over the green on No. 10.” And that was just the start of his trouble.
WATSON THWARTED: Not that Bubba Watson had a chance anyway, after that 75 in the second round, but the news got only worse when he started the third round with three straight bogeys. Then he birdied the next three holes. What looked like at least a respectable round suddenly turned sour when he double-bogeyed the 11th, and he finished with a 74 that left him answering questions about everything but his day. On non-political golf, for example, after he, Phil Mickelson and Ryder Cup captain Davis Love delivered an invitation to the 2012 Ryder Cup to President Obama in the White House. What did they talk about? “It’s secret,” Watson said. “We had the door shut. You can’t talk about that.” As to Watson’s uninspired play in this U.S. Open, that’s no secret. “I’m just not that good – simple as that,” he said. “This is not the week for me. I’m struggling.”
THAT’S A RELIEF: Here, Webb Simpson was afraid it was him. This is his first U.S. Open, and he admitted to being nervous. “More nervous than I ought to be,” he said, and that was beginning to bother him. “Then I heard major champions this week say the pressure is more in a major,” Simpson said. “Which is refreshing, because I was wondering if it was just me.” Encouraged, he found his feet Saturday and shot a seven-birdie, two-bogey 66 in the third round for a 1-under 212 total. That ought to help his self-esteem. “Because last year, I thought I was a better player, and I wasn’t,” Simpson said. “But I kept thinking that, so I think this year, it’s been good to see that come to fruition.”
THE PAYMAN COMETH: The winner of this U.S. Open – presumably Rory McIlroy – will haul away $1,440,000 from the $8 million purse. And 69th and last place among the pros will get $16,537. The 75 pros who missed the cut will divide up $150,000, or $2,000 each.
BRIDGE TO NOWHERE: Japanese whiz kid Ryo Ishikawa got a free drop at the par-5 No. 9 – from a bridge. His second shot ended up on the bridge that crosses the valley. A rules official explained that since the bridge is “through the green” and not over a water hazard, Ishakawa was given a free drop at the nearest point of relief, which happened to be on the ground below the bridge. And that was just the start of his problems. He scratched a bogey out of the hole and went on to bogey four more coming home, against just one birdie, for a 74-218.
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